A look into the future...

There is this guy on Richard's softball team that looks like what Hudson might look like in 15 years. He plays catcher and at one of the first games, Hudson was standing behind the fence kinda beside him and I was just like, "Oh my gosh...that's what Hudson's going to look like!" They have the same crazy hair. Seth is a little sweaty in his picture and Hudson wouldn't stand beside him for me to take his picture so I had to find one to show for comparison.
A really nice guy. By the way...Richard's softball team is undefeated for the regular season. Tournaments start next week. They'll probably get moved up to a different league but I hope they do well.

Happy Birthday, Chandler!

Last Friday, the 21st was Chandler's 12th b'day! We were a little late throwing together a party but we pulled it off and he had about 10 boys come to the park for some football and food. I think they had a good time. Taking a break from football to enjoy some cupcakes.
Caroline, Chris, Chris' brother Chad, Sydney, and John Evan stopped by. Most of the kids were dressed in Alabama stuff since it was a game day.
Of course John Evan enjoyed the food :)

The boys thought they were too cool for me to take their picture so they did silly poses.

Most of the extended family was at church Sunday for the primary program and Chandler's receiving the priesthood. They came over for lunch after church and it was a great day. I am very proud of Chandler and the person he is and his accomplishments. Happy Birthday, Chandler!

Hudson's t-ball game

Hudson is having fun playing t-ball. It's better to me now than it was in the spring. It doesn't seem quite as chaotic. Richard is wore out after every game from trying to make sure kids are where they are supposed to be and that they are paying attention. I think they've won all their games. Does this lady in the blue shirt not look just like my sister, Elizabeth? It is crazy how much they resemble one another. Even their mannerisms are alike. I'll try to get a better picture. Chandler saw her from a distance and said to himself, Oh Elizabeth came to the game, where's Shelby?
Hudson giving Troy's Daddy five before he hits the ball.
Richard and the umpire looking on as Hudson gets ready to hit.

$4.75

Who knew that $4.75 could bring so much happiness? That's right...I got this pool at BigLots for $4.75! Hudson was so excited when I brought this home. We haven't been able to use it much cause we're never home but Sam came over one afternoon and they had a good time. Too bad summer's about gone!

Baseball, school, and job

Fall season at the ballpark has started. Well, practice anyway. Games start on Labor Day. Richard is coaching Hudson this time. He wasn't going to coach either one of them but the park called and asked him to coach in Hudson's age group because they needed one more. He's excited about it but hopes that his and Chan's games aren't always at the same time. The season is short, only 4 weeks and they don't play any games on Saturdays. I'm glad they are both playing.
Richard is playing softball for my bank's team. They had their first game Monday night and won 17-2. The other team was pretty sad. Richard hit the ball good. He didn't get anything hit to him in the outfield but he had a good time. He is the oldest on the team by about 10 years. It's pretty funny but as he says, "I may be the oldest but that doesn't mean I'm the most mature." So between him and the boys playing, we will be at some ball park 4 nights a week sometimes. Gotta love it!
School is going great for Chandler and Hudson. Chandler's school had open house last week and I met all his teachers. They all seem really nice and fun and they are all pretty young. I don't remember having teachers like that when I was in middle school. Hudson's doing well, also. He has a new best friend at school and talks about him all the time. His teacher writes notes in their folders everyday and that is my favorite thing to read. They are always positive and she shares a little bit of what his day was like.
For those of you who don't know, Richard is now full-time in the t-shirt business. He quit his other job in late June. Things have been going really well so far and he's been getting new business everyday. So...if anyone needs any t-shirts, uniforms, signs, or things like that, please let him know and feel free to spread the word along:)

P.S. Richard's b'day it tomorrow so Happy Birthday! I love you!
P.S.S. ROLL TIDE!

A sweet little voice on the phone

Last Friday I got a call at work. There was this sweet little voice on the other end asking, "Valoree, can Hudson come spend the night with me?" It was my niece Sydney and it was the sweetest thing ever. After talking to Caroline and making sure she was up for it, of course I said SURE! Richard and I decided it would be a great opportunity for us to have a much needed date night. We were going to a 5:20 movie so we were just going to leave Chandler at home but just as we were about to leave, one of his friends called and invited him to spend the night. So...it all worked out great and we were able to have a date without getting a babysitter. We went to see the Bourne Ultimatum which was great by the way! After the movie we grabbed something to eat at Zaxby's and were home by 8:15. How sad is that? We had a great time and it was good to just spend some time with each other. It was just nice to go to bed when I wanted to and sleep late. We got up and ate IHOP the next morning.
I was able to partially repay the favor by watching Caroline's kids for a couple of hours the next day so she could go shopping. I still think I owe her though! Not quite an even trade :)
Chandler really does have some great friends and I hope it remains that way as he gets older. He started middle school last week and is liking it so far. I can't believe he's so grown. I think back to when I was in the 6th grade and what I knew and how old I thought I was and it's really scary. I guess that's what prayers are for, right? Anyway...I am so thankful for the great family and friends that we are blessed to have! I can't imagine life without them.

A much needed vacation

We have been back from vacation for a little over a week now. It was wonderful. 10 days of no work and no responsibility. We went to the 11 year old Dizzy Dean World Series held in Rossville, Georgia. We actually stayed in Chattanooga, Tn. The park was about 20 miles away from the hotel. Some people say that it's a lot to take a week of vacation for a baseball tournament and that's not how they would want to spend it but we love it. How often do kids get to go on vacation with 11 of their friends and hang out at a hotel and swim with them everyday? Okay so maybe a few of those 11 you don't want to be with a whole week but you get the idea. We left on Thursday the 19th at about 3pm. Chandler went up earlier with a friend so he could be there for the opening ceremonies which consisted of a parade and a picnic at the park with a rock climbing wall, home run contest, bunting contest, and other activities. We met them at the hotel at about 8pm and the kids of course went swimming. Later that night, we made a family trip to Wal-Mart to get some groceries and lots of candy and junk food. We stayed at Country Inn & Suites so our rooms had a small kitchen area with a sink, fridge and a microwave. Note: vacation is the only time Richard goes to the grocery store with me. Richard's brother Russell stayed the weekend with us and his dad stayed the rest of the week. The games started that next morning at 9am and of course that's what game time we got. It was actually raining that morning so the games got pushed back until 11 so we got up at 6am for nothing. Oh well. We won this game and played again at 5:30 that night. We won that game also.

This is Chan playing 1st during our first game.

Anyway...we won Saturday's game and didn't play again until Monday night. We ended up losing Monday to Tallahassee (the team that beat us last year in the championship game) and Tuesday we lost so that put us out of the tournament. They ended up tying for 5th out of about 30 something teams so I guess that's not too bad but they should have done better. Let's just say we'll blame the coaching and I won't go into any details:) Chandler played great and had a great tournament. We are very proud of him and his talent and attitude!

Between game times we were able to do some fun things. One night we went to a place that had putt-putt, go-carts, batting cages and so forth. Hudson thinks you have to ride the go-carts every time you are on vacation no matter where that might be so luckily we found a place to do this.


This is Hudson with wind blown hair after the go-carts!


Richard had to get in the batting cages!



One day we went to a Children's Discovery Museum. It was okay. Not near as cool as the one we went to in New Orleans last year.

Here are the boys digging for dinosaur bones.




Hudson had a great time at the hotel and the games with the other "SOB's" (I'm not cussing, see earlier post for explanation) We were able to go swimming every morning and pretty much have the pool to ourselves since the bigger boys couldn't swim until after their games. The hotel had an indoor and outdoor pool. Hudson amazed the other parents by his swimming abilities. While other kids his age and older were wearing life jackets, he was doing flips off the side and swimming in the deep end by himself! He wanted to be a big boy and hang out in the lobby and walk around the hotel by himself but we couldn't let him do that just yet. The park where the games were played had a really nice playground so I took him to play on that everyday before Chandler's games.




All in all we had a great week and it was fun to spend so much time together. In the weeks leading up to this, Richard had been working like crazy so we hadn't been able to see him much. We ate a bunch of good food and at a couple of different places. It was a much needed break!

Finally!

I got my hair cut about a month ago and I've been meaning to post pictures but I just haven't gotten around to it. I took a couple but then didn't really like them so I didn't use them. I'm not real crazy about these either but oh well...you'll get the idea.

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

Hudson has a boy his age that lives next door. Recently we had a 6 year old move in on the other side of Sam. It's great that Hudson has friends to play with. Here are a couple of pictures of them in action.



This is Hudson as Spiderman and Sam as The Rock? (fantastic 4) The other little boy is one of Sam's friends and he didn't want to play dress up this day.



Sam's mom does hair and has some cool hair gel that she hooked the boys up with. Sam used to have a real mohawk and often has cool hairdos.

State Champs!

Chandler's all-star team went undefeated in the State Tournament and won the Championship on Tuesday night. This is the 3rd year they have won it! Congrats Northport Blue 11 year old All-Stars! World Series here we come!

"We interupt this family for Baseball Season"

Richard bought me a cute little board with this saying on it for my birthday. (Which was on Father's Day by the way) Thought it fit our family perfectly. We have been busy with baseball of course. Chandler's team played in a Regional Tournament this past weekend in Thorsby, Alabama. They won 1st place. They did great and had a good time. Hudson enjoyed playing with his friends and also enjoyed a night at Sydney's on Monday. Caroline offered for him to stay with them since our game wasn't until 8pm and we were an hour from home. Thanks Caroline! It was very different watching a ballgame and not worrying about where Hudson was. Our next tournament is next weekend but it's in Northport at our ballpark. Yea!
Hudson is still enjoying his new school. He amazes me at the things he's learned in such a short period of time. He can say the Pledge and sing parts of My Country Tis of Thee. He even knows a few words in spanish. He loves talking about his friends and what they do. I love my family of boys and wouldn't have it any other way. :)

Our first tournament

Chandler's all-star team played in their first tournament this past weekend in Columbus, MS. It was a travel ball tournament which is not something we normally participate in but they wanted to give the boys a chance to play before the State tournament in July. They did good. They had to play 3 games on Saturday. The first one at 10:50 then one at 2:30 and the last one at 6:10. So, we were in Columbus all day! It was a long hot day but it was fun. They won the first 2 games but lost the 3rd one. On Sunday, they won the first game and lost the 2nd to the same team they lost to on Sat. So, they came in 2nd place. Chandler hit the ball really well. He missed a homer by just a few feet. It just doesn't seem like it's meant to be that he hit one over. He's come close so many times. Oh well. He also broke his bat one time. Richard's dad went and bought him another one. Those things aren't cheep! Thanks Rickey! He played a few innings at first, third, and catcher.


Hudson had a good time playing on the play ground, the slide, and the moonwalk, and of course hitting me up for money for the concession stand. I think he had 3 or 4 snowcones on Saturday. I so wish I would have taken his picture at the end of the day. He had on a white t-shirt that was brown with blue streaks down it by the end. Of course he had on flip flops so his feet were black! He was pretty nasty. The shirt came completely clean though. Gotta love Spray N' Wash, hot water, and Clorox!

Here's Hudson and some of the other SOBs. (Sibling of a blue teamer) Richard wants to make them t-shirts with that on there!

Updates

Well, we found out Saturday night that Chandler did make the blue (first string) all-star team. We were really excited. Go Northport Blue! The coach is one we've never played with before and there are some kids on the team we've never played with before so it should be interesting. We're excited about a summer full of baseball and traveling. We are hosting the State tournament this year so at least we don't have to travel for that one. We love it though!
Hudson started his summer camp at his new school Tuesday and is doing great! He talks about going to his school. He didn't even cry or anything when I left him Tuesday morning. I started really worrying about it Monday night. How will he feel when I just dump him off at a new place with new people? Will he eat his lunch? How will he do at nap time? But, he seems to really like it and I think it might be really good for him. Some structure and learning.
I really enjoyed my day off for Memorial Day. I needed a day off! I took the kids to the pool and then we did some much needed yard work. It was a great day! Can't wait for another one!

School's out!

Chandler graduated from the 5th grade yesterday. He got an award for outstanding academic achievement. It was a pretty good ceremony. About as good as those things go. Both sets of grandparents and Caroline and her kids were there. We are so lucky to have such supportive family. We are very proud of Chandler and for the good kid that he is. Congrats Chan and thanks for making me feel old. I am now the parent of a middle schooler!

Chandler with his friends Zack and John Todd.

End of the season blues

Well, baseball has come to an end and the Morgan household is sad. This morning Hudson said "I am so sad that I don't have anymore games." They had their first tournament game on Saturday and they lost so that's it for them. Chandler's tournament was double elimination and they lost last Monday and then on Sat. Their season started out pretty good but I think we lost our last 7 ball games in a row. Not fun. They both did really well this year and we are really proud of them. I'm so glad that Hudson loves playing. Chandler could make all-stars but we'll have to wait until the tournament is over to find out about that so he could still have a summer full of playing ball.

Other news...I got a new car. A Nissan Altima! I love it! We got rid of Richard's truck and he's driving the Durrango.

Fishing Trip

Richard and his dad took Chandler and Hudson fishing Saturday afternoon. They caught lots of fish and had a great time! I enjoyed my childless afternoon :)

Random Stuff

Hudson was so proud of the "calapalar" he found the other day. He went on and on about how cute it was. I just didn't have the heart to tell him it was an inch worm! :)

We got to keep John Evan a couple of weeks ago so Caroline and Chris could take Sydney to the A-day game. Hudson wanted to feed John Evan and he did a great job! Check out his great faces while feeding him. I also got some cute shots of big boy trying to walk!

Athletic and Smart!

Today Chandler was in the Knowledge Bowl at his school. He did such a good job. They had to stay after school 2 days a week for about a month to practice. There were 2 teams of about 20-25 students and they competed against each other in groups of 4. He answered about 11 questions. That was the most in his round. I was very impressed and proud of him. I heard a woman comment to the man beside her after Chandler answered, "wow, he's good." I have to say, too that he was probably one of the non-dorkiest looking boys, too :)

We're still busy with baseball. Chandler's team is 3-6 which is not very good but they will be fine. Most of the games we've lost have been really close and Richard believes if we had played 6 full innings like we will in tournaments, we would have won some of those.
I'm not sure of Hudson's record but he is still enjoying playing. He loves getting his "teama drink" after the game.

Easter

Easter weekend was pretty busy for us. Hudson had to be at the ballpark at 10:15 Sat morning for his 11:00 game and Chan played at 11:30. We were then supposed to help Caroline and Chris move into their new house. Chandler was asked to play in the 1:00 game b/c they didn't have enough players so we ended up staying at the ballpark longer than expected. Caroline brought her kids over about 9am so my mom could watch them at my house while they moved so we dyed Easter eggs before we went to the ballpark(which explains why my kids are still in their pajamas and have bed head in the pictures below) Sometimes I am amazed at what I can accomplish when I get motivated. I got up about 8 and cleaned both bathrooms, vacuumed the house, kid a load of dishes, and dyed Easter eggs before 10am. Needless to say, we never made it to Caroline's to help. I kept Sydney & John Evan for a few more hours when we got done at the ball park so I guess I helped in someway. Sunday after church we went to my parent's house for lunch and so the kids could hunt eggs. We had a good time. I love Holidays and being with my fam!

Baseball updates

Chandler:
I have no pictures. The couple that I took are too far away to tell it's even him. His team is doing okay. They started out pretty rough losing the jamboree game and the 2 regular season games after that. We were worried it was going to be a really long and not good season but, they won their last 2 so things are looking up. Chandler has done well so far. He's hitting the ball really good and he had an awesome game at catcher the other night. He threw out some people trying to steal second, got a double play, and tagged someone out trying to steal home. It was fun to watch!


Hudson:
He is having a blast! He asks everyday if he has practice or a game. On Saturday mornings when he wakes up, he wants to get dressed right away for his game. They've lost 2 games and won 1 but if you ask Hudson if he won his game, the answer is always yes. He hit a homerun in the game Saturday. (In 4 yr old tee-ball if the ball gets to the grass, it's probably going to be a homerun) It was so exciting and he was so happy. He had the biggest smile on his face. I'm just proud that he goes out there and half way pays attention to what's going on. His favorite part is at the end of practice or a game when they get in a huddle and say "Go Cubs".









Hudson and our
neighbor, Sam. It
was so cold that day!


























Hudson is more interested
in the sprinklers on the
field than what his coach
has to say.











Hudson and Allen,
the coaches son. They
are a mess!