We're finally done with baseball and softball. I loved the season but I'm ready for a little time away from having to get kids to practice, often at the same time and across town from each other. Blair really did a great job in softball. Her coach took me aside and told me how much they appreciated her being so teachable. I really appreciated hearing that and it got me thinking about the season and what our take-away was from it.

3 Things:

The first thing is what the coach said, being teachable. It's a valuable life lesson. Being able to take direction and learning how to work with others will translate in any setting whether it's in school, sports, careers or just being a decent human being.

Because it was her first try at softball, she was a little hesitant and a bit nervous. She felt that everyone was ahead of her in skills. While that may have been true, I encouraged her to get out there with a positive attitude and reminded her that practice was the only real difference. If she was consistent in her practice, she would improve quickly and her determination would catch the coaches' eye. I think we can all be like that. We're looking at the person next to us, thinking that their skills might be stronger than ours. Sometimes they are and that's ok but we all have areas of strength. The only difference is in the area but we're equal in strength.

And the most important thing gained on the field this year was her confidence. I liked seeing her get ready for her game with determination and making sure all of her equipment was in check. She hustled out to the field in such a way that we told her brother his team could learn a thing or two from watching the girls. She quickly became picked for an in-field position on 2nd base due to quick feet and quick thinking. Did she make some errors? Absolutely. But she started out afraid of the ball and in the end, ran up on it, trying to control the play rather than letting it control her. I love seeing that drive in girls! Those goals being accomplished over a short amount of time really boosts their confidence and they take what they learn and apply it to the next thing. And so it just continues and becomes stronger.

We love #42 around here - paying homage to the great Jackie Robinson.

Blair (right) running up on the ball to throw to 1st 

  Adjusting the visor

 

The last huddle

Idaho, The District and a Pennsylvania wedding all in one - Belén and Jordan

We were in wedding mode for about 4 months which is one of the reasons I have been super lame in my blogging. But I thought I'd show a few wedding pictures. Eventually I will get into detail about the bouquets, the decorations and budget. (I was on a serious budget.) But for now please enjoy a few pictures from the National Mall in Washington DC. More to come!

A night teen-age style

Summer concert with friends. My girls are on the right.

Hands up for one of the opening bands.


Paramore and lead singer, Haley Williams. The girl can sing.

I had the opportunity to go with my daughters to a concert last weekend. It was a good time.

We saw the band Paramore but unless you have a teenager or a tween, you might not know who they are.

The crowd was young and it was pushing to the stage. I lost my kids in the crowd but I was content with not getting right up to the stage. I wanted a little breathing room. I figured that Charley would be disappointed if I didn't get a picture of her favorite band so I stood in the middle of hundreds of teens and early 20 somethings to wait for them. We had to listen to 3 so-so bands to get to the good stuff.

It was a bit of torture. The kids around me kept saying, "come on!" when those bands would start another song. I felt the same way.

Everyone around me was actually pretty nice. The girl in front of me had pretty, long blond hair but she kept tousle-ing it every 2 seconds which would hit me right in my face. The girls next to me would look at me and roll their eyes with sympathy. I was so happy when she moved a little to the left. And then the poor girl to my left winced when she got it. The blond girl finally put it up in a ponytail.

After a few songs I motioned to some girls next to me to take my spot and ducked to wind my way back out of the crowd. It was about 20 degrees cooler outside of it and the view was much better. I sat on the hill, ate Twizzlers and enjoyed the band.

My ears rang all night which was always a sign that I had a good time when I was a teen-age concert-goer.

Oh the things you do for your kids.

And the things they do for me, like inviting me to hang out with them at a concert and not even being embarrassed.

They're young, fun and happy.

And I loved every minute. (Except for the hair tousle thing... but at least it was clean.)