Baseball is the essence of all life in the universe

Who joined the "Boys of Summer" this year? Why, our very own Logan did! That's who!

We signed him up for baseball in the spring and he waited excitedly until practices finally started in June and games in July. He was our ever enthusiastic boy and played the game with his whole heart even when he was still learning. The 6-7 year olds' team that he was on used the pitching machine. Logan used the tee a lot as well, but by the end of the season got a hit or two off the machine which made us all cheer!

He was on the Werner Plumbing and Heating team and was ultra cute in his little uniform. His shirt was enormous (but he was thrilled to get the #1 shirt!) and his hat was too big and made his ears stick out funny (How adorable is the above picture of him?!).

We spent many a Tuesday and Thursday at Ryan Fields. I spent a LOT of time watching my brothers' little league games there as we grew up. It was a treat to get to take my little boy to the same place to play. We loved that he got the experience and can't wait until next year!


Base running


Throwing hard from the outfield


On a night when his team got to go meet the Helena Brewers. He was with #75, who I think, from all my searching online, might have been a player named Ruben Ozuna. We'll go with that.


Running to the outfield with his big Brewer baseball buddy!


Goofing around at Kindrick Legion Field with a teammate.

He was always very proud of himself for making it all the way around the bases as you can see here (Note the thumbs up at the end.):



Love my little ballplayer!

4th of July -- Part Two

(continued from previous post)
We packed up from the lake and headed home. For a whopping $5 we'd purchased a Cars 2 slip-n-slide a few weeks earlier. We were all still in our swimsuits, so why not pull it out now? Yes! That sounds like a great idea.


Logan was so ready to be first to try it out!


Uh, yeah. That'd be me. Tons of fun, but can't believe I'm actually posting this.


Ross got into the fun as well!


Luke was only brave enough to run up and down the slide. Eventually, he'd slide on his tummy, but not that day. It certainly didn't ruin his good time though!

Samantha was busy inside working on a new paint by number picture she'd received for her birthday. Becky and Timothy mostly just played outside and didn't venture into the water. We also got a kick out of using the high speed feature on our camera to take pictures of ourselves shooting down the slide. The kids still love to watch me flip through it in our photo program!


Our 4th of July FEAST! We had barbequed pork sandwiches, hot dogs, corn on the cob, a few other typical Independence Day picnic type items, I think. But no watermelon. I'm not a fan. Wish I was, but I just don't like it! And do you know what I love about this photo? It, without a doubt, would be rejected by Good Housekeeping or Better Homes and Gardens Magazine, but it still feels patriotic to me!


This is our red,white, and blue Key Lime pie. I got the idea off a blog I read. I just used red food coloring for the lime filling. I felt so creative! ;o)

That night we went out to the Zinn Ranch up on MacDonald Pass. We met up with Ryan and Celeste and their kids and had a great time once again at the fireworks show. It's such a beautiful mountain setting!


Luke and Olivia (Logan, Isaac, and Hyrum in the background)


Samantha sitting pretty


My awesome photography (ha ha) of the beautiful fireworks


Baby Timothy and I enjoying the display

And so, dear Independence Day, that was our fun day. Did I do better this year at celebrating the freedom that is ours? I think so! It was a memorable day. Can't wait until next year. See you then!

4th of July 2011 -Part One

Dear Independence Day (aka The Fabulous Fourth of July),

This is a letter of apology. For the past few years, I feel I have let you down. I have not celebrated in a fashion that becomes you. Plans have not been made. Effort has not been put forth. No fun picnics prepared. Just finding some fireworks to watch in the evening and calling it good. (Although, last year you fell on the Sabbath and it rained, so you've got to give me that.) However, this year -- well, this year, I did it! I planned! We partied! It was probably the most memorable day of Summer 2011!
So now, at this moment, I will once again relive the amazing day we had celebrating freedom and family. Come and see. We did so much this will take more than one post!

The weather was beautiful. Clear skies. Warm and very pleasant. And green showing up everywhere thanks to the wet spring we'd had.

I called my brother Ryan and his family to see what they were doing and he invited us to come with them to Clark's Bay on Hauser Lake. My parents were invited too and we spent a lovely late morning there splashing and sunning, picnicking and playing.

Ross as we arrived


Squinting Becky Boo next to the moat that Uncle Ryan built as only Uncle Ryan can. (I think that's Isaac, Olivia, and Luke in the background. And the kid with his hands down his shorts is thankfully not related. Ha Ha!)


Luke and his super muscles


Logan and Isaac and their super muscles


Where do those boys get their super muscles? Apparently from Papa Lay!


Kicking back on the beach


Timothy spending his time relaxing as only a 7 month old baby can!


Samantha and Maryann showing some love


The "Raise your hands in the air!" shot. Ross must not have heard me. (And I promise that even if you can count his ribs in this picture, we do feed Logan.)

This video makes me laugh. Luke is lots of fun!


Coming up: Slip and slide silliness!

Nine is fine

Was it only March that I posted about Samantha's 8th birthday and here I am posting about her 9th birthday already? I guess that just means it only took me not quite 3 months to write about her birthday this time instead of nearly 9! I am so on top of things!!! Go me.

First off, how saintly is my mother? I hadn't even asked her to help when I got this text message the day before Samantha's party. She just knew I'd need and gratefully accept the help. She amazes me and I hope I can be even the tiniest bit like her.


Samantha wanted to start her day off with a special breakfast, so I made her some "Cinnamon Snails" from a kids' recipe book we'd been using. (More about that in a future post!)


She'd been talking and talking and talking for MONTHS about having a "Tom and Jerry" party when she turned 9. So I found all I could online to print up T & J invitations and a poster for the front door and a "Put the cheese in Jerry's hand" blindfolded party game. The girls also started the party by doing coloring pages of Tom and Jerry. They were all so funny about using just the right colors for the cartoon cat and mouse!


Present time included lots of art supplies and animals and sometimes a combination of the two. She is so into both things that she was very excited. Here she is with a cake decorating kit we got her.


For her cake we frosted it yellow to make it look like a big wheel of cheese and I printed off pictures of Tom and Jerry to stick on the top. (Jerry might have started on fire as she blew out her candles, but we managed that little mishap as it went out on its own, thankfully!)


Feasting on birthday "cheese" cake!


The kids always get excited to see what cards Grandma and Grandpa Wilkins will make for them on their birthdays. And they don't mind the money either!


For dinner we munched on pizza. I know. I am a gourmet cook, right?


One of the best things about her birthday this year is that Samantha did such a good job looking at the camera! It seems like a little thing to most, but we were so excited she did it! Isn't her smile cute here?



Here she is with the "loot" from the day. The mermaid Barbie is a fun present because she wanted a very specific one and we thought we'd gotten it. Then I asked her about it before we gave it to her and she said something about how the mermaid's tail turned into a hood. So her sweet daddy went out to another store to find just the right one even though it was more money and already late in the evening. What a guy!


And now, some of my favorite pictures of her from when she was 1.

When she was 13 months old we went with Ross's brother, Curtis, to a nice Italian restaurant in California. The staff did not look pleased with us when they saw Samantha in our arms. But she totally charmed all of them and they even gave us a complimentary dessert because they loved her so much! (Just look at that big, cute grin! You would have given us free dessert too, right?)


I put her wisps of hair up in permanent wave rods one day because I have a picture of when my mom did the same thing to me as a baby.


On a visit to my brother Jeff's house, she really enjoyed her pancakes and syrup one morning!


Everyone called her Boo (even strangers!) so there was no other Halloween costume option that year!


Samantha with our friend Rena Dandy in Monument Valley. Rena made the BEST fry bread. EVER.

Ross's brother Blaine and his wife Charity and their little boys came to visit us in Monument Valley in December 2003. Their skateboard came along too so that I could get one of my favorite shots ever of my girl.


We went to the girls basketball tournament in Emery County Utah when Ross was coaching. These cute girls were in the room next to ours. Vincynthia, Oskiana, LaTonna, and Mallory.


I loved, loved, loved Strawberry Shortcake when I was a little girl, so obviously I love, love, love this adorable little girl in this adorable little outfit.


Samantha at her first major league baseball game. GO ANGELS!

Love you, my 9 year old Samantha!!!

Going "Back East" (although not as far as you'd think...)

A trip to Billings, Montana to my sister Wendy's house over Memorial Day weekend includes:


Samantha and Eliza


Three 3 year old girlies


Cecily making me laugh with the silly face she has in this picture!


Henry and Luke


The three "little" kids getting together thanks to Russ and Carmen making the drive down from Great Falls. They, of course, had their trip planned for weeks. We decided to take ours the day before we left. Typical of both of us!


My little monkey finding some little monkey friends


Nolan and Becky


Logan and Henry showing their muscles


Eliza being the "photobomb" in the pictures I was trying to take. Funny, cute girl!


Luke and June having a light supper


Sleeping kiddoes. I love the position of Logan and Luke here and this was when Samantha was wearing her orthodontic mask. She was a trooper with that!

And apparently, it also includes no pictures of Carmen or Mike or Ross. Oh, well. I don't think they'll mind all that much that they're not included in this blog post. We went. We had fun. Ross and I got to go to the temple Friday night and we had a fun barbeque (shish kabobs, baby!) after Russ and Carmen returned from the temple on Saturday. We went to church with Mike and Wendy on a very rainy Sunday morning and spent most of that time in a dimly lit church that was running on a generator because the main power had gone out. It all made for a fun, crazy little trip and we loved it!