your team wears dirty socks

Today was the last day of softball mania. They played 3 great games, ending in the championship. They took second overall and we all had a hot July day full of fun. The best part is that Bella got a hit! She'd been freezing at bat the past couple games, but when she swings, she hits!! She even batted in a run. So exciting!

All night we've been singing softball cheers and making up our own words. Here is my favorite:

"Your team wears dirty socks (How'd ya know?)

I saw you take 'em off! (How'd ya know?)

You put them in a tree (How'd ya know?)

You killed a bumble bee (How'd ya know know know know how'd ya know!)

Our best lines were:

Your team wears dirty socks...

We saw you take 'em off...

You threw them in the sky....

Those socks make babies cry!

And this one that Bella made up:

Our team wears clean socks...

we all just took them off...

put them in the machine...

our socks are squeaky clean!

Pretty pretty funny.

Here they are:

and here are some of the rug rats, aka lil siblings (Emma is sad b/c someone just hit her- aren't I a great mom? I'm all it's OK, Emma, smile for a picture!!):

And another trophy for these awesome girls!!

She really wanted the big trophy, but this one is good, too. :) With dad's glasses.

and done

jam and muffins... all in about a half an hour!! Yay! Now off to softball!

on the list

...of things to do today is to make some muffins from these bursting-with-juice berries we picked at the barn yesterday. Looks yummy, right?

Berry picking yesterday was like a treasure hunt because, I don't know if it has something to do with the dryness of the winter or some other reason- but the berries are not exactly ready yet, and when we did find them, they were few and far between. Nonetheless, we found enough for a recipe of Olallieberry Muffins and maybe even (yet another) small batch of jam. I can't wait!

peachy

Whenever I think of making jam, I think work. Tons of fruit or berries, lots of jars, giant pots of boiling water.... but last week, my beautiful friend Yensi gave me a great idea. She brought me some peaches from her garden, just enough for a small batch of jam! I just boiled the peaches with some sugar and it only took a little bit of time! Now we have a jar and a half of yummy peach jam to throw in the fridge. Just enough! It feels great to make something special and yummy with such little effort. And it's so cute! :)

Goleta Tournament 8U Div 2 Champs!

They did it! It was a crazy game! Santa Maria vs. Ventura! It began with "Blue" making a REALLY bad call, when the girl was a foot from first on (what should have been) the 3rd out and the ump called her safe!! Meanwhile, another girl scored- one to zero.

Another two runs from the other team in the next inning put us at 3-0. With 2 outs and just one inning left, we were feeling a little sad! Just then, our last batter made a base hit!! And then they just kept swinging! They scored 3 that inning!! We tied it up 3-3! After extra innings and doing the "International Tie Breaker" rule, putting a runner on 2nd, we scored to win!!! And it was a great play! (Don't you want to hear it?!) There was a girl on 2nd and one on 3rd. The batter hit a base hit, they threw it to home to get the runner out, then tried to throw it to first to get the hitter out! Meanwhile, the one who started on 2nd scored!!! It was so exciting/nerve-wracking in the stands. The parents were SO into it! And they won!!! The girls were so excited. And they are happy with their trophies!

funny girl

Evie got herself all dressed this morning in Bella's uniform- including the sock! She came out of the bedroom all proud of herself. Pretty pretty funny.

full

This week has been a whirlwind of grace and hope and love- mixed with the chaos of life. We had such an amazing time on Wednesday night with our college group at GenChurch- and my girls had such a fun time hanging out with the 30+ people who came over after. Jesus promised full life- that's what we've signed up for, and that's what we have. After this crazy week of bonfires, softball practices, dentist appointments, piano lessons, laundry (it's all done!!), dishes (they were all done yesterday!), goodbyes, youth group, out-of-the-blue coffee with friends, parties... tears, hugs, hope and healing.... I am feeling full.

And now we're off for our tournament-filled weekend! 3 days of games in lovely Santa Barbara! I really hope we WIN!