Queen For A Day

Today was a really tough day. I don't feel like posting about my troubles -- they will make a great blog story when I am able to look back and laugh about them -- so I decided to pull a happy day out of my magic hat of unfinished blog drafts.

Way back on May 21, over a month ago the boys and I had a magical day. I got to take a million pictures (okay, a couple hundred), play my favorite sport with my favorite boys, go shopping, and plant flowers.

The three of us played tennis for the first time this season, and Max and Mitchie thought I was the most awesome tennis player they had ever seen. (I probably was, since they haven't seen many tennis players.) The praise flowed endlessly from their sweet little lips, and it was yummier to me than a chocolate fountain. I soaked it all up, and when I was worried they were done giving out free compliments, I showed them my serve. Back in my tennis glory days, the first official serve of the first day of practice was very important to me; as silly as it sounds now, I was convinced then it was the best predictor of the outcome of my season. (Back then, I also wasted a little energy thinking about horoscopes and black cats crossing my path.) On this hot, sunny afternoon, I smoked an ace across the court as they watched with wide, amazed eyes. That hour on the court made up for a dozen bedtime struggles and at least a week's worth of, "I am not going to eat that for dinner!"

After our tennis time and visit to the adjacent playground, we stopped at Lowe's so the boys could choose flowers from the garden center for their pots. They chose their favorites and we had so much fun planting them early that evening.


It was good to be queen that day (and my mom says I'm always A Princess).

Mitchell picked me the hugest dandelion I have ever seen.

I saved it in a vase until it smelled so awful that I couldn't keep it any longer.

I saved the memory forever with this closeup.

Isn't Minnie the cutest dog ever?

Max enjoys his own bit of magic as he scatters dandelion seeds and makes a wish.

Mitchell loves to play The Foolish Game. He invented it with Max.

Mitchie climbs onto playground equipment, puts his little body in a precarious pose,

and says to me,

"Look, Mama, how foolish I am!"

Max finds treasures wherever we go, including this half walnut shell

he wanted to bring home to feed our "pet squirrel."

Mitch never falls asleep in the car. As my family likes to say, he was pooped out!

The wrestling is always just a moment away.

Memorial Day Weekend

On Friday, we played tennis at Goose Egg Park for the second time this spring. Max and Mitchell's forehands were amazing! We would love to play tennis every day this summer. When they needed a rest after almost an hour of hitting and chasing balls, I pounded out some serves.

On the way home, we stopped at the soccer park since Mitchell had been wanting to play there for days. Mitch looked like a little explorer in his Diego safari outfit.








On Saturday Jack came over to play. Their birthdays are less than three months apart and they get along perfectly. Jack and Mitch washed Max's rocks, played on the swingset, dug in the sandbox, and shared a snack.

On Sunday, Max went to his first baseball practice of the season. This is his third season playing baseball and his third season with coach Darin and his son Brady, who have become friends of our family. We love Coach Darin because he values fun over winning and he always has positive encouragement for the boys. The six boys who were able to attend practice during the holiday weekend had lots of time on the baseball diamond, batting and fielding the ball. They were excited to wear their bright blue t-shirts, and Max is busy trying to think of a catchy name for the"blue team." After practice, the grown-ups reminisced about how much the boys have learned during their short baseball careers, from the time they were kindergarteners and weren't always sure which way to run or what to do with the ball, to last year, when Max's favorite pastime was kicking sand in the infield, to now when they are soon-to-be third graders, learning specialized skills, yet still need to be reminded to keep their heads up and gloves ready when the batter steps up to the plate.

While Max practiced with his team, Mitchell and Troy explored the elementary school playground, playing Indiana Jones and hide and seek. Later, Mitch hit lots of home runs while we took turns pitching to him.



The boys asked for a trip to Dairy Queen on the way home from practice, but we reminded them that Dairy Queen treats are reserved for game nights during the season. Instead, they had snacks out on the deck after their baths. We enjoyed the colorful sunset and watched the stars and satellites decorate the sky, looking for constellations like the Big Dipper, the Seven Sisters, and Gemini.

Look at that string cheese smile!

My day started early on Monday morning when Muffy got into some mud. She needed a bath, and the temperatures weren't warm enough to put the garden hose on her filthy fur, so I carried out buckets of warm, soapy water. With a coat of almond-scented conditioner, her shiny coat smelled fresh and clean. I was the one who smelly like a wet puppy!

I spent the rest of the morning working in the garden. I finshed planting heirloom tomatoes: Mexico Midget, German Pink, red currant, and Beam's yellow pear varieties; as well as other organic heirloom vegetables, including leeks, red and green onions, kale, broccoli, eggplant, celery, and several kinds of sweet and hot peppers. I also planted some more annuals and I filled a pot with some of my favorite colorful flowers --aster, salvia, bright orange marigolds, pink begonias, and coleus -- for the cemetery.

Later that afternoon, Mitch and I had "special time" while Troy and Max stayed home to put the finishing touches on the stairs for the deck. Mitchie and I visited Kiersten and new baby Nadia at the hospital. Nadia Jeanine was born on Sunday, May 25 in the afternoon. She weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces, and had a head of silky black hair. She was absolutely beautiful, just like her big brother and sister!

After we left the hospital, we brought the flowers to the cemetery to remember the three babies we have lost. Watching Mitchell run and play among the graves was comforting and reassuring, that life does indeed go on, and that God blesses us richly in unexpected ways. He loved watching the colorful pinwheels spin in the evening breeze. It was the first time the visiting the cemetery was actually enjoyable.

On the way home, we stopped to play at Mayo Park, across the river from the civic center, another favorite stop of Mitchell's. We admired the baby ducks along the edge of the river, played store, and tried out all of the slides. Our short playtime there was probably the best twenty minutes of the day. Sometimes we have to make time for those things we think we don't have time for.