9/10 All-Stars Pizza Party

Rhett, Nolan, & Layne

Justin, Brice, Rhett, & Nolan

Dylan, Aaron, Langdon, & Kain

Mason, Bradley, Charlie, & Layne

After winning their first All-Star game, we all went to Sir Dano's for a pizza party! The kids were so hyped up: lots of celebrating, caffeine, several trips to the toy vending machines for fake mustaches, and an occasional spit ball. ;)

9/10 All-Stars

Rhett playing in the outfield.





Tony talking to the boys after the last game.

One last "bring it in"



Charlestown Little League

 Warming up before the game.

 Getting ready to pitch.

Here are a few pictures taken during the regular season of Little League in the spring. Rhett was on the Braves ...imagine that! Tony and our friends Ryan & Rex coached the team. Rhett played Short Stop, Pitcher, Catcher, and a little at 2nd Base. I didn't get a lot of good pictures. I'm hoping Randy's turned out better than mine. I think I spent just as much time in line at the concession stand with the girls as I did trying to watch the game! ;)

Weekend Getaway



Rhett waiting to catch a ball during warm-ups.



Posing for a picture at the Creation Museum

Riding the triceratops!

I love this smile!

Practicing taking pictures using my new camera

Tony's been dropping little hints all summer that he'd like to go to Cincy when the Braves play the Reds. At first, it was just going to be a boys only trip (Rhett & Tony), but then he mentioned wanting to go the whole weekend and also taking the kids to the Creation Museum. So, we all went. The girls and I spent the day swimming at the hotel pool while the boys went to the baseball game. They were there when the gates opened and watched all the pre-game activities. They said it was very hot and they were in the direct sun, but they had awesome seats which made it worth it! They loaded up on plenty of water and ice to keep cool and hydrated. Today, we were off to the Creation Museum. Rhett and Micah had been there before, but if Blair did, she was too little to remember. They each bought a little souvenir at the gift shop (some colored quartz, polished stones, and arrowheads). Thanks to Shawn and April for letting us use your guest passes!

Busy, Busy, Busy

That's been the theme of this summer. I had one week off, and then I spent the next 2 weeks taking classes. (I'm working on finishing my +30.) After that, it was a mini-vacation to Indy, Rhett's All-Stars, 4th of July, more All-Stars, and cheer practices twice a week. Add in dentist appointments, a doctor's visit, a couple of shopping trips, cleaning each closet and the basement, some sleepovers, and some pool time, and here we are. I can't believe it's already this late into July! Don't get me wrong, it's been a lot of fun, too! I love having my summers off and just hanging out with the kids. I remember several summers ago, worrying that I might get bored in the summers when my kids were a little bigger and I wouldn't have to do so much for them. Hahahaha! I guess it didn't occur to me at that time how busy I would be with their activities and their social lives!

CHARLESTOWN 9U BASEBALL TRYOUTS

 July 10, 2011  7:00 pm

@ Charlestown Little League Major Field

We are putting an independent 9U summer & fall baseball team together that will be based in the Charlestown and surrounding areas. We will be having a tryout July 10th at the Charlestown Little League Major baseball field at 7:00 pm. The 9U (nine and under) age group are boys who were 9 or under as of 4/30/11. If you turned 10 on or after 5/1/11, you are considered 9U for the remainder of summer ball. Our intent is to improve the skills and knowledge of the game of baseball for the players and to increase their team development for years to come. Also, we would like to add that Charlestown High School Assistant Baseball Coach Brian Hester will be helping with the development of the players.

We will be scrimmaging other local area teams and will possibly play in some local area (Paoli, Mitchell, etc….) tournaments from now until early August. If enough players are available we can play in a fall ball league, such as New Albany, starting late August. But this is not a requirement.

There will be an initial $40 fee for the players that make the team to cover shirts, hats, equipment, and team insurance. Tournaments are pay as you go and generally cost around $25 per player per tourney and scrimmage games are usually around $4 per player per game to pay for umpires. We will accept sponsorships and donations if they are available!!!

Note:  We will be doing basic drills for tryouts...throwing, catching, fielding grounders, catching pop-flys, baserunning, and some hitting.  Please bring at least cleats, glove, helmet, and bat.

For more information please contact Tony Kaelin at 502-594-0971 or send email to tkaelin@sbcglobal.net.

My First Weekend of Summer Break

It's been forever since I've blogged. I've been so busy, I actually forgot all about it.

Here's a recap of my first few days of summer break:

Friday I had to work a half day. I spent the afternoon cleaning Micah and Blair's closet and catching up on laundry. The kids went to Clayton & Trevor's to swim and then Rhett had his last baseball game that evening. He stayed all night with Gage and the girls stayed home.

Saturday my mom kept the kids so that Tony and I could go to a home show. We are getting ready to add-on to our house, so we wanted to get some ideas. Tony took the camera and took so many pictures, the battery ran out. Wow! Then I took Micah to a birthday party and then we met up with Tony at Sterling's graduation party. From there, Rhett went home with Brian Anthony and the girls went home with Desiree (&Olivia). Tony mowed the grass and I cleaned the house (it was quite messy after 4 ballgames in one week). Oh, and we watched the new True Grit (unlike a few weeks ago when I accidentally rented the 1960's version by mistake!)

Sunday we took Brian Anthony for the afternoon. After church, we ate at Texas Roadhouse and then played some wiffle ball as a family in the back yard. It was Micah and Me against Brian Anthony & Rhett. Tony was all-time pitcher in the first inning. I switched to all-time pitcher in the second inning because Micah's super-competitiveness wasn't happy that we were losing (and apparently I was to blame). Blair left for a little bit with a friend (Trevor) and then he came to our house for awhile. Rhett had baseball practice (All-Stars) Sunday night and then he spent the night with Justin, while Micah spent the night with Alyssa, and Katie spent the night at our house with Blair.

Monday, Tabby came and picked up the girls for some swim-time at her house. I ran some errands in Clarksville and then picked up Rhett and his friend Justin on my way back. I took the boys up to my mom's so they could fish and swim. Not much luck fishing. I think my dad was the only one who caught one. That evening, the girls had tumbling and Rhett had practice. After practice, Tony played wiffle ball with Rhett & Justin. Then I drove all the kids around on the golf-cart. We ended the night catching lightning bugs. My favorite was watching Blair run through the neighbor's field, tumble dive from a fall, and get back up, all while still clasping her hands together as not to let any lightning bugs escape.

Today Tabby and I took the kids to Atlantis Water Park (Rhett, Justin, Micah, Brian Anthony, Blair, Desiree, and Olivia). When we first got there it was cloudy, cool, and even sprinkled for a little bit, but then the sun came out, it got warmer, and it ended up being a pretty day. We dropped Justin off on our way home and Cindy came to get Brian Anthony soon after we got back. I fixed dinner and took Rhett to practice. The girls are playing in the basement with the neighbor, while I'm doing laundry and catching up on the world of blogging.

Wow! All of this and it's just Tuesday! ;) I LOVE Summer!!!

Spring Break in Gatlinburg

Desiree & Isabella

Rhett & Olivia

Brian Anthony & Micah

At the entrance of Wonder Works

Micah laying on the Bed of Nails

Tony beating everyone in Putt-Putt

Micah striking a pose!

Rhett concentrating on the game!

Tuesday was "Hello Kitty Day"

Hanging out at the creek

Wading in the water

family pic

Blair taking time out for a smile

At the cabin

Here's a recap of our week in Gatlinburg:

Sunday: We left after church, stopped to eat at Wick's Pizza while Beth & Josh dropped off their dog, and then were on our way. It was about 7 or so when we got to our cabin. We unloaded everything, decided who would sleep in each room/area, and then Beth and I header to the grocery store while Tony and Josh stayed with our kids who spent most of the evening going back and forth between the hot tub and the theater room.

Monday: Beth took family pictures of everyone on the balcony before we left, and then we all headed up to the mountains for some sight-seeing adventures. We stopped several places for some pictures and to let the kids play. Then, we headed to the shops in Gatlinburg. Beth went on home to make sure her kids had naps and to get tickets to a show they were seeing that evening. We split up between the girls (Tabby, Cindy, Blair, Olivia, Desiree, and myself) and the boys (Danny, Johnny, Rhett, Tony, John, Devin, Brian Anthony, and Micah wanted to go with them). The only thing I bought was a small rolling suitcase for the Blair & Micah to store their American Girl clothes in. Desiree and Olivia had matching airbrush shirts made and I think Cindy bought a pair of flip-flops. That evening everyone else went to the Dixie Stampede and our family went to the Nascar race car track to let the kids ride the little cars, do some rock climbing, and ride some of the kiddie rides. We stopped and got ice cream on the way back to the cabin. Again, the evening consisted of the kids playing in the hot tub.

Tuesday: The guys (minus Brian Anthony) left fairly early to go white water rafting and the rest of us headed toward the outlet mall. Beth stayed back with Isabella and McKinley and just did some small shopping in Pigeon Forge. Micah, Blair, Isabella, and I all had Hello Kitty shirts, so we declared Tuesday to be "Hello Kitty Day." I didn't get a picture of Isabella with us, though. At the Disney Store, Micah bought 4 little Disney Princess dolls and Blair bought a crayon/marker set. I also bought them some flip-flops at Old Navy and some outfits at Gymboree. We met back up after shopping and ate at Olive Garden. We arrived back at the cabin just after the guys came back from their trip. We all just chilled most of the afternoon. Well, except for the fact that the kids decided to play tag through the 3 levels of the cabin. ;) That evening, each family did their own thing. Cindy's family joined us for some putt-putt and then dinner at Texas Roadhouse. Tuesday night was pretty rowdy at the cabin but definitely a good time hanging out!

Wednesday: Beth made plans for us all to eat breakfast together at the Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant and then we all headed to Wonder Works. The kids really liked it! The highlights were the mind game (I can't remember the name of the exhibit), the rock climbing, and laser tag. Each family went on their own when we left so Tabby's family and our family decided to go up to Ober Gatlinburg to do the Alpine Slide. However, due to the winds, it was closed for the day. So we decided just to go back to the cabins. Rhett was really tired and had a headache, so we took a nap. The girls played with Desiree and Olivia and Tony ended up taking his own nap in the theater room. When I woke up, I packed everything except for what we would need in the morning. That evening it was raining, so we all decided to go bowling. Beth found a place on-line and it was clean, cheap, and we had a lot of fun. Tony had a really good night, I can't say that for me. I think I had one strike and one spare all evening. After we left there, all of us headed back up to the shops in Gatlinburg to eat at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. The food was great and our waiter was very entertaining. It was extremely late for my kids, and I was very proud of how well behaved they were because I knew that they were so tired! Micah and Blair actually fell asleep on the way home and Rhett went to sleep as soon as we got back to the cabin.

Thursday: Each family left on their own time. Some were headed straight home, and some wanted to do a little more sight seeing. We went to the Nike and Addidas store at the outlet mall, ate at Chick-Fil-A and headed home. I unpacked and got caught up on the laundry (I had try to do a few loads at the cabin, which helped a lot!) and Tony took Rhett to baseball practice. My mom was at our house to pick up the kids as soon as Tony and Rhett got home from practice. She missed them and wanted them to spend the night. Although we had a great vacation, it was nice to sleep in my own bed that night!

It was a fabulous trip with fabulous friends! I'm hoping that this will be the start of a new tradition!

United All Stars

UAS Mini's Team

These two were at the beginning of the season, back in the Fall.

This weekend was the last competition and I realized that I haven't posted any pictures. If only the gym had wi-fi so that I could upload pictures and blog while they were practicing!! ;) It's been a great season. The girls have had a lot of fun and met a lot of new friends. I've really became close to the parents, too. I'm very proud of how much they've improved since the fall. It amazes me how fast they catch on and learn the routine!! Great job, Blair and Micah!!! We are very proud of you and all of your accomplishments this year!!! Way to go, UAS!