Pumpkin Porch

Long Time No Blog....

Yes, it has been way too long since I have updated this blog. We are busy, busy as usual. Kelly coaching, Jake and Kaitlyn growing. Time seems to fly. I am honestly going to try harder to keep this blog current! Jake is in 7th grade now. A middle schooler!! He loves it, especially since he gets to spend the day at the same school as his dad. Since he is with Kelly and they start earlier than Kaitlyn and I, we are a house divided in the mornings. Kaitlyn and I get up a little later, and I have really enjoyed our girl time together. But the evenings we are back to one, big, happy basketball family. Year round. For example, last night we had a pumpkin carving party with some of the girls from Kelly's team. We LOVE these girls. They are such a great group and a pleasure to be around. Everyone who knows me knows that I love fall, and I love carving pumpkins. And was it ever interesting!! We were cleaning out our pumpkins on the front deck and we ended up getting into a pumpkin gut fight! And yes, it was kind of gross. But listening to everyone laugh, Jake, Kaitlyn, and my basketball girls, the mess was well worth it. Check out the mayhem below. I will try to get some pictures of the fabulous pumpkins on here later.

Everything started out normal, ha. Just cleaning out our pumpkins.

And then, things got crazy! All it took was one person tossing a few pumpkin guts...

And then it was everywhere!!!

I think the girls really enjoyed getting coach!

The aftermath....

And then, finally, all my girls (and Jake) come in and get cozy to watch a movie.

How lucky are we to have so much fun!! Happy Fall and early Halloween to everyone!

Family Fun

Fourth of July weekend was fabulous here in Ketchikan. Kelly got in a day early and made it in time to watch Jake's championship Little League game! They lost after three extra innings to take second. But after the game they announced All Stars and Jake made it! We are so proud of him and so excited! Kelly is back at camp, but Kaitlyn and I will be going to Sitka to watch Jake play!!

Kasey, Melissa, Kyle, Tanner and Ashlynn all came over for the weekend! Along with Rob! It was so much fun. We miss those kids so much! They are all growing so fast. And it actually stopped raining and the sun came out for the parade on the 4th! Here are a few pics. And they weren't easy to come by with this crew....

Ashlynn sacked out on the couch. It was a long trip, people!

She really liked Aunt Jenn's clam dip!!

"Surrrrrrre, Dad...."

Grandpa Rob reading a story to Kaitlyn and Ashlynn.

Kyle looking a little tired.

Tanner looking sleepy also.

The boys.

One of the many cool things about living in Southeast Alaska is the wildlife. I had the window open and we could hear the whales before we saw them. We went out on the deck and I tried to get a good picture, but they never came out of the water long enough to get one. At least I got some of the back. Gotta love it.

Beaches and Baseball

It's that time of year again! Jake's baseball season is going strong. He's doing well as usual. I swear, the kid is getting so tall! And we finally had a nice enough day to go to the beach!! My poor Alaska kids, especially Kaitlyn! We couldn't stay out too long! No matter how much sunscreen I put on that poor girl she started to look a little red and we had to head out. But we still had a fabulous time. Here's hoping for some more sunshine soon!

Finally, a new post!!

I have been so bad about posting on this blog. It's not that I don't want to, I actually love it. But when I finally get home and make dinner, do the dishes, spend time with the kids, or go to various baseball activities, etc., I just don't feel like I have the energy! So tonight I will play a little catch up. Basketball season is over (in theory of course) and we have moved on to baseball. Sometimes I wonder if there is any sport Jake wouldn't be successful at. Kaitlyn considered playing softball this year, but decided against it. Probably next year. And I must admit, selfishly, I am glad. She is my partner watching Jake play and Kelly umps most of the time so I would be very lonely without her!!

Jake and Kaitlyn both celebrated birthdays in March. They are now 11 and 9. How does this happen?? They are growing up and all I want is for life to slow down. Hmmmm, I just don't think it's going to happen.





Lastly, we had the awards banquet for Kelly's team last week. We hadn't seen the girls in a while, and it was so great to see them. He brought the girls up by grade, except for the seniors, He recognized them one at a time. I think I cried during every one. I'm amazed and grateful for the opportunity to get to know these girls, and the only sad part is that we only had one year with the seniors. I honestly feel like they are family, and it made my heart smile when they were all just as emotional and hugged me like I was hugging them. Besides all that girly stuff, Kelly did such a great job this year. It was his first year coaching girls, and of course, he did an amazing job. I can never get over what a great coach he is! The kids and I are so proud of him.




So now we are working towards summer. After such a beautiful summer here in Southeast Alaska last year, I am hoping for a repeat. So far, Spring has disappointed, but here's hoping!

Goodbye Grandma Babe

My Grandma Babe passed away today. I will miss her so much. She was old-fashioned, classy, fun. I could always talk to her about pretty much anything and I knew she would listen. Without judging anything I told her, she would always give me the best advice, usually with a side of humor. Some of my best memories are spending Christmas at her house. We would get to her house, which was always so festive. She had this awesome Christmas village that got bigger every year; the tree got smaller and smaller to accommodate it. We would have yummy food and then we would play games. She loved Scattergories! I really don't know what I will do without her. I feel selfish for being so sad and still wanting her here. I know it was rough at the end, and it is better this way. But my kids will never know her. They won't get to laugh at watching her cooking in the kitchen, drink in one hand and cigarette in the other. Kaitlyn won't get to go to "ladies lunch" with her and then shopping while she explains what kind of makeup is better or which shoes look better with that shirt. Jake won't get to watch her cheer her heart out for the Seahawks or Mariners. For lack of a better way to say it, Grandma Babe kicked ass. I'm glad she was a huge part of my life, and I will miss her so much. Goodbye Grandma. I love you.

Love and Basketball

Basketball is a BIG part of our lives. Kelly coaches and Jake and Kaitlyn play. Saturday marked the opening day of the kids' seasons. I have to admit, being mom, I was a little nervous. It's amazing to me how protective of my kids I can be, even when it comes to playing a game like basketball! Kaitlyn played first, and she got moved up this year. Normally she would be playing in the Pee Wee league, which is 1st - 3rd grade girls. Well, they decided to have her play in the next age group up, which is 4th - 5th grade girls. Kaitlyn's team is all 5th graders except for her and one other 3rd grader. I can't ever remember feeling that nervous for either of my kids! Jake is just so confident in everything he does; it's just a different feeling when he plays! But my Kaitlyn went out there and worked so hard! She played some amazing defense and her team won by 20! She's not quite ready to shoot when they pass to her, but that's ok. I think Jake shoots enough for the both of them! Kaitlyn is number 14 in the pictures below.

After my little girl got done playing we headed to another gym for Jake's game. And do you think Kaitlyn was sick of basketball yet? No way! She sat right down and yelled for her brother. What a little sister!

Jake, below, getting ready to jump for the ball.

Fast break!!

Jake's team won 44-38. Jake scored 31 of those points! I guess we have a good balance between the two of them. Kaitlyn won't let anyone score, and that's all Jake does! I love watching my kids play, and I'm amazed at how far each of them has come from last year. Hopefully some of these "mom's nerves" will calm down by next game!!