Last Softball Game of the Summer

Waiting on First Base to Run

Last At Bats

Playing in the Outfield

Last night was DD's last softball game.  They had a great season and came in 2nd in the tournement.  After the game they went out for ice cream. 

Its hard to believe that we have only 4 weeks left of summer vacation.  School in Wisconsin doesn't start until September 1st, so just another month to go.

Jared Progress

During a very busy weekend, I found sometime to sew together the blocks and sashing for Jared.  Its looking pretty good.  I just need to add the borders, and I'll be done (with the top).

This past weekend DD's softball team was in their league tournament.  So we had a game Friday night, two on Saturday (that had a delay from 9am to noon due to a soggy, wet field), and a 4th on Sunday.  If the team was one of the top 2 teams, they would qualify for the Championship.  Well, after the 4th game, we were 2-2, but so were 2 other teams, so off to the tie breaker (based on total runs scored, and not more games).  We won the tie breaker and at 1pm on Sunday played in the Championship game.  We played the #1 team (undefeated all season) and lost 6-3,  But the girls got silver metals.  And the Championship game was pretty exciting in that it was held at the "big field" with bleachers and a concession stand.  Since they had a PA, they announced each girl at the beginning of the game, then when they came to bat and then again as they awarded the metals.  I'm an awful parent; I forgot my camera and didn't get any pics.

After the last game (except that we have 2 more this week, just for fun), we came home and rested for a few hours, then we had a band concert at the band shelter.  DD's 6th grade band played and sounded pretty good for kids that had only been playing 1 full year.  DD is in the front row in blue, turned around and talking to her friend in the trumpet section.  You can't see her face, its behind the music stand.  The big girl next to her is in high school, kind of a teachers aid.

In case we weren't totally pooped (which I was), we then (its now 7:15 at night) went down to the Port Pool where the softball/baseball leagues had rented the big pool for the evening.  DD swam with her buddies and I did one lap with my knees and gave up.  It was too cold and my knees weren't ready for that kind of movement yet.

Today at work, I told my boss I needed a few days off to recuperate from my weekend and he just laughed.  Have you had weekends like that?

My Summer Garden

Many of you have vegetable gardens and are starting to reap the rewards.  While I do have 3 struggling tomato plants (for DD, 'cause I don't care for tomatoes), my flower garden, which takes up 1/3 of my front lawn is going gangbusters due to the rain we've had this spring.  Here's some pictures just to show off.

I hope your gardens look great, too!

Jared Progress

Well, I have 9 Jared blocks done and laid out on the living room floor to see how I like it.  I really like how the dark pink chains "link" it all together, but I see trouble brewing where I'll have to match all the blue points where the blocks meet.  So I think I'm back to considering a sashing between the blocks again.  I just saw another Jared where the sashing was the beige back ground color and I liked that it added space without throwing another color into the mix.  I'm concerned if I have enough of the background fabric, tho.  I'm pretty sure I know where I bought it (Banner Crafts in the next town over), so maybe since I'm on a vacation day I'll pop over there and see if they have anymore.  All of their fabric is in the flat, so its a little harder to find things, but the quality is quite good for not being a LQS.

DD is in summer school every morning (mostly fun stuff:  sand volleyball, band, choir, and math) until the end of July, so that helps out alot on the day-care bill for the summer.  She just turned 11, so this is the last year of day care anyway.  Her maturity is nearly to the point where I'm thinking of letting her come home everyday after school (in the fall) by herself, unless its a no-school day or an early release day.  Some days she acts very mature, and some days she acts like she's still 2.  I guess that's par for the course. 

We're going to my dad's for the weekend as soon as DD gets out of summer school at noon.  We spend nearly all our holidays with him, its good for both us and him!

Have a wonderful, exploding 4th of July!