Havin' a Ball

It's Taylor's favorite time of year - soccer season! She moved up to the passers division this year, which is for 6-7 year olds. The cutoff is July 31st, so that makes her one of the youngest in the league. She had her first practice this morning and it was funny to see her as one of the smallest kids out there! She came up to one girl's armpits, haha. It's an all-girls league now and she always plays hard, so I'm not too worried about her. Still the cell phone, but these came out cute! No pictures from practice.

Pretty much every girl had a pink ball. :)

I like having Taylor involved in different activities and off the couch. I think one activity per season is perfect. She just finished tennis two weeks ago. I have to brag - all of her coaches and even a coach from the USTA told me how talented and athletic she is. They said her tennis stroke is beautiful and better than a lot of the older kids. Mike was even stopped at the grocery store and at the bank by people bragging on her. Go Taylor!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Yankee Doodle Dandy

Being married to a teacher means I get to reap some of the rewards of summers off. Since I work part time right now, I can rearrange my days and it's easy to take some family road trips. On Tuesday, we drove to Cleveland for the Indians/Yankees game. I'm a Reds fan through and through, but Mike has always been a Yankees fan, so I cheer for them too. Let it be known though, that if the two ever face off in the World Series, I'm 100% all about the Big Red Machine!

Somehow, I've lucked out of any road trip driving duties. I guess it's because we have two kids now and I've officially become the "car manager", distributing snacks, breaking up fights and keeping everyone happy. The three-hour drive to Cleveland was easy peezy.



The Pear in transit. Yes, I'm still using my cell phone camera. The charger is officially lost so I have to find time to buy another.


Taylor has always been a great traveler. That girl has logged some serious road time!

I get a little antsy in the car.

Hanging out at the Progressive Field pavilion.

Daddy and his little girl.

Before the game with Daddy.

He had some much fun!

My Pear and I!

My Worm and I!

Look, an actual picture of Mike and I.

The boys studying the game.

As always, Taylor got her ballpark cotton candy. We got the mega bag and I had to cut her off.

The kids were so good on the drive and during the game. They have another nine-inning game under their belts, pretty amazing for kids their ages. Of course, there were lots of snacks, games, scoreboard graphics and even a little bit of the actual league to keep them entertained.

Off to our next summer adventure!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Can't Take it Anymore!

Wouldn't it figure that the one extended time period that I'm without my camera (the charger is still in Pittsburgh) is the same two weeks that a) some of Mike's former players come to visit, b) our 8th wedding anniversary occurs and c) two of my very best friends in the world, who live on opposite coasts, come to Wilmington to visit at the same time?

I hate cell phone pictures, but that's what I had to resort to. Couldn't let all of these friends pass through town without some pictures!

First, two of Mike's players from Wabash came to visit. Tyler actually spent most of the week with us as he was caddying in the Nationwide (step below PGA) event at a golf course near us. We loved having him! Chris came down on Friday and joined us for a night. We went out to Generation's for pizza, stopped off for ice cream at Peppermint Patti's, then hung out at home. The kids loved them both!


Chris, the Pear, Tyler and "Coach."

On Sunday, San Francisco's finest, Ms. Popo Mahoney - aka Joanna - visited our humble abode. Lots of laughs, lots of happy kids and lots of reminiscing. I miss her so much! Luckily, she was able to stay until Monday when...

Lauri arrived!!!! Oh, how I miss my darling friend! Lauri and her cuties Scott and Tony were in Cincinnati from Virginia, visiting Scott's family. As I've mentioned before, Tony is only six months younger than the Pear, so we've already arranged for them to be roomies at Ohio State. Gah, I wanted to keep them all in Wilmington forever. It was almost sensory overload, ha! I took several pictures of the kids playing, but of course, pictures and craptastic cell phone camera do not mix. Here are a few shots I got that weren't completely blurry.

Lauri, yours truly, Joanna. The last time the three of us were together was at my wedding eight years ago. We plan on having a big bash in Vegas for our 40th birthdays (Lauri and I are three weeks apart; Joanna is the baby of us, but she'll just celebrate a few years early.)

Tony and the Pear. Will we see these positions in the dorms in about 17 years?

Cute picture of the Pear and the Worm.

Gotta get back to work. I should get my charger back tomorrow. Yay!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Posts to Come

Sorry for the lack of updates. I have some good posts coming, but I left the battery charger for my camera in Pittsburgh so I can't upload photos! Working on a solution today...

Taylor's Birthday Part II

I really believe that the Worm has the best birthday imaginable. July 4th - middle of the summer, outdoor parties, no school, no work for mom and dad, fireworks, ice cream, etc., etc. I just love seeing how happy she gets about her birthday!

No big parties this year, just a few friends and family over for what I call a "budget-friendly" party. I made the cake (pictures and laughs to come), printed out decorations and invitations on the computer, bought a $1 pack of balloons, had some under $10 make-your-own beaded necklace craft and had the party in the middle of the afternoon (so no meal, just snacks, cake and ice cream). She had an absolute blast!

Her birthday was on Sunday, but we had the party on Saturday (the 4th is a family day to me). She was so excited that we let her open one present in the morning before the party. She was thrilled with this $3 dog bracelet that she spied at Big Lots months ago. She's so easy to buy for.

I now unveil the cake! No I didn't invite a second-grader over to do the writing. :) I also couldn't get the cake out of the pan, so I iced it right in it. Pink border, flowers, sprinkles. Oh, there's more. Just read further down.

Some of the decorations.

The bounce house was a hit with all of the kids!

The cake with dog decorations that Taylor requested. Taylor thought the cake was "beautiful."


Make a wish...

We gave each kid an ice cream cup and then had adults walk around the table with chocolate syrup, sprinkles and whipped cream. The kids loved it, especially Michael!

Taylor and her friend Hailey. They were in the same preschool class 2008/2009 and still just adore each other.

Getting so big!

Taylor and her buddy Bryson. They go to the same sitter and have known each other since Taylor was 1 and Bryson was just a couple of months old.

Spoiled by Gma, as usual. :)

Hanging with G-pa. He always gives the grandkids money for their birthdays. He threw in a big bag of Smarties this time. Taylor is still bragging about those Smarties!

Taylor and neighbor bud, McKenna.

I love this picture of our neighborhood buddies Michelle and Ben with Tay-Tay.

Happy girls.

My sweet little girl and I.

Taylor got to open the rest of her presents from us Sunday morning (first thing - excuse the bed head!). A new Pet Pals game and a Pucci pup and she was thrilled. We also plan to take her to Kings Island. Here, she's getting a big birthday hug from Michael.

Posing with some of her loot.

The rest of Sunday was perfect - time at the pool (and nobody was there!), dinner on our neighbors' deck, ice cream cake compliments of the lovely Michelle and a fireworks show we could watch right from the driveway with family and good friends.

Happy Birthday, Taylor!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Happy 6th Birthday to The Worm!

Happy Birthday to my baby girl! I love you with all my heart. More pictures and commentary to come later. :)

Until next time,

Mommy Kel