Mr. Hustle

Tonight was the Cubs' baseball end-of-the-season party at the local mini-golf course.  It was very fun to watch the kids play with their coaches and have a blast.  I have never played golf so FAST in my life - it was basically SPEED GOLF.  It was my worst game ever, ha ha - but fun nonetheless..  :)  Anyway, after we played, the head coach gave out trophies and said a few words about each player.  What he said about our son made me cry.  He gave him the "Mr. Hustle" trophy.  He said that, not only does our son run FAST, work extremely hard, and do his best in every game and practice (he's really improved this year), but he possesses unique character and determination that will take him far in life no matter what he decides to do..traits that don't come from the coach or any amount of practice or training.... they come from us - his parents.  :)  (This is when I started to cry...).  I couldn't be more proud of my little man.  He is the sweetest, most amazing boy I know, and I adore him.  I know I'm biased, but it was incredible to hear his coach share the same feelings tonight.  Here is my son and two of his happy teammates. :)

Travel Team

My son is one of 11 kids who was picked to be on the Lower Keys Travel Baseball Team this year.  This is a huge honor.  He has improved greatly and made amazing strides this season.  We are so incredibly excited for him...he was thrilled to hear the news.  His first words when I told him were: "Yey! I get to keep playing baseball!"  That's pretty great, right?  He deserves this privilege - he's worked so hard this year and never does anything without giving it 150%.  I couldn't be more proud of him.  Tonight was his first practice with his new team.  He had a blast.  Here he is with his coach doing a little sliding practice. :)

Playing with Lite Brite

I found the boys playing Lite Brite in my older son's room this afternoon after school.  They spent a good 45 minutes working on this picture together.  They were so content and shared the picture board so well.  My older son was very patient - making sure his brother was doing it correctly and telling him what colors to put on what letters.  They kept turning the light off and working on it in the dark to see it all lit up.  It was priceless.

Brothers

Another rainy day...  The boys were playing "Planet Heroes" in the living room - running around like lunatics - when I stopped them to take their picture.  They actually cooperated immediately, which is highly unusual - but I am NOT complaining!!  :) 

Trouble

Today, my sweet and very patient son tried to teach his little brother how to play the game Trouble.  It was completely adorable and hilarious.  Since it is a +5 yr old game, there was a lot of frustration, but bless his heart, my older son hung in there and patiently kept trying to teach his younger brother the rules.  So cute.  They wound up playing very well together in the end. :)

Just sitting in the tupperware...

Today, it rained almost all day.  Since we were house-bound, we decided to build a big Geo-Trax train layout on the living room floor.  After it was built, the kids wanted an ice pop and a show.   I went into my room to fold clothes, and when I came back a few minutes later, this is the scene I found.  They had both climbed into the empty train tupperware containers and pushed them together to eat their ice pops and watch their show.  How cute is this?  Later, I caught them holding hands and had to snap another picture.  UGH....isn't their bond heartwarming?  

Nani and Papi's visit

My amazing and wonderful parents, aka "Nani" and "Papi" to the kids, drove down from Jupiter - 4 hours - this morning (woke up at 3am!!!!) to watch our son's last two baseball games of the season.  They arrived at the field at 7:20am!  They couldn't drive down yesterday or stay overnight tonight due to a very busy schedule (isn't it supposed to get easier when you retire??).  They left again right after the games at 2pm today.  I wish they could have stayed longer...  I feel guilty that I barely got to spend any quality time with them.  What a whirlwind day! But, I am so lucky and thankful they were able to "squeeze a visit in", and I'm grateful to have such loving parents in my and my children's lives.  They didn't bat an eye over the long car trip.  They had fun watching my son play and couldn't believe how much he's improved since last year. :)  They also enjoyed hanging out with both children on the bleachers afterward.  Good memories here.