July 4th

Our 4th July weekend started with the Lewis Center Parade.

Miss Ohio—which Alyssa was obsessed with…she brought her up about three times following the parade.

And of course, the Hooters’ girls.  Which Cole was sure to chase down to get his OWN Frisbee!  Alyssa liked the “I love Hooters!” stickers so much, she INSISTED on wearing them to church on Sunday……..

What could be annoying Brady??  Is it that he didn’t get his own Frisbee???  Hard to tell! Nice of him to show his patriotism, though…hat, shirt and even chair…what about a smile?

Here comes the Olentangy Orange High School cheerleaders and band! 

Olivia…our favorite OOHS cheerleader!

   

The OOHS band:  Maybe Brady should join the band…they look so happy and they are having so much fun! 

 

After the parade, we had a neighborhood party at Keith and Karen’s house! 

 

Then on to Dublin, for their 4th of July festivities.  Liza and mom won 3rd place on the table decorating contest.

  

We enjoyed the music and performances from Boys II Men & The Four Tops.  And even a few glimpses of AJ Hawk (former OSU player and now Greenbay Packers player) and his wife, Laura Quinn (Brady Quinn’s sister, player on the Browns) and some ladies thong…seriously…can’t she feel the draft…or even the rain!!!!!!! 

And of course honoring our nation’s flag and then the fireworks!

 

 

The celebrating continued into Sunday, as we ventured into Powell for our good friends, the Kashmiry’s, Big Bear Boom party.

More of Alyssa and her LOVE of softball…NOT!!!

Alyssa played the catcher for an inning or two.  Good thing her Rattlesnake teammates really didn’t need her help at home base because she didn’t move one foot from the beginning of the inning to the very end! :)

 

 

 

                   Up to bat at a night game under the lights.

In the dugout, cheering!

Not a very good picture, but this is one of the very few times Alyssa was putting some effort into doing something on the field…running into home!

Thanks Uncle David, Katy, Mima, George, Tía Monsi, Aunt Liza & Meme for coming to Alyssa’s night game and cheering her on!

It was the girl’s softball teams from OYAA (Olentangy Youth Athletic Association) a few nights ago at the new Huntington Park.  The girls went onto the field to be a part of the first pitch of the game.

 

LouSeal signing the girl’s shirts. Alyssa and her BFF, Paeton!

Too bad Alyssa isn’t a real fan of softball, because she does look cute in a hat!

 

During the last game…Notice, she is posing for the camera as the rest of the girls are actually paying attention and playing!

FINALLY, the end of the Alyssa’s season has arrived.  She is very proud of her trophy…although, she was sure to tell me that she didn’t want to play softball again!  At least she tried it and FINISHED the season!

Myrtle Beach

We had a great time at the beach this past week. Looking back at the week together, we recall the long drives, the greasy, delicious dinners, the hot sun, the terrific ocean breeze, the fun lazy river, the sadness of loosing one of the original Jackson Five members & the loss of Brian's first love, Farrah Fawcett, the arcade, the Ripley's Mirror Maze, the occasional fights between the kids, riding the waves, searching for seashells, celebrating Father’s Day and 13 years of marriage, evening walks at sunset and drinking lots of root beer and other beverages :)!

One evening we visited the restaurant Dick’s Last Resort.  A place where the servers are rude and really smart mouthed to their customers…..we felt like we were at home!  The boys LOVED the atmosphere and they couldn’t get enough.  They even tried to come back with a few, but they were shot down every time.  Our server made each of us hats with funny phrases:

 

Alyssa’s hat says “I tore my mommy a new one”  Little do they know, Alyssa was a c-section…so no tearing!!  My hat said “Brady is my favorite accident”.  He wasn’t accident, but he sure was a surprise, especially only two months into our marriage.

Waiting for a good wave to ride……and FINALLY!!!

 

 

Some more evenings out on the town.

  

 

Walking the beach as the sun is setting is a wonderful thing!

 

Alyssa LOVED the camera this week and I think the camera is fond of her too!

"Take me out to the ballgame..."

Our evenings are just about consumed at a softball or baseball field these days. Between Alyssa and Cole, rarely does a free evening pass us by.

Watching 4-5 year olds play t-ball is very entertaining and at times a bit painful. Alyssa only goes because she knows there will be a drink and a snack afterwards. The video below is Alyssa's first time at the tee. It's so cute to hear her teamates cheer her on.



Cole is doing awesome! He has made the All Star Team and will participate in a 4 game tournament in mid July. His last game he received the game ball for hitting 4 doubles (or as Brady calls them "twoers"). Check out one of his hits!

Cole's LAX

Cole is done with lacrosse for the spring. We overlapped a few weeks between lacrosse and baseball....very busy.



Check the video out of a great catch and then the goal he made...even after a quick stumble...at the end of the video, some guy says "Alex, nice job"...he's confused...

In memory of BFF

Well, the summer heat got the best of BFF...he croaked!!! No really...he croaked..not the froggy kind of way but the terrible

"your're the worst Mommy in the world, you kill everything"

kind of way. I thought BFF would enjoy spending some time outside. I felt awful, especially because a few hours before we found the beta fish dead too.........which of course was my fault...

In loving memory of BFF (BullFrog Forever). May 2008-June 2009. BFF joined us as a slimy, dark green tailed tadpole in the late spring of 2008. He went through all the phases of a bullfrog from a poliwog to a froglet which consumed crickets. He was blessed by Father Daily at St. Michael's Catholic Church in the fall of 08. He enjoyed spending time under his rock and appreciated water changes so he could exercise by hopping around the kitchen floor dodging the bulldog. Recently, BFF moved to a new habitat in which he lived his last few weeks happy. In lieu of lily pads, please consider attending the Adoption Appreciation Night at the Columbus Zoo on June 24th in order to adopt an amphibian in honor of BFF. See site below:

http://www.columbuszoo.org/ADOPTAppreciationNight.aspx


We are trying again with three tadpoles, B, F & F, their names in honor of our cute little bullfrog that the kids will never ever let me forget.