Mud Hens watching Mud Hens

I mentioned before that our boys took Minor League baseball team names this year. Catlin was represented by three teams at the rookie level: the Bats, the Grasshoppers, and our team: the Mud Hens.

We were fortunate to take a wonderful little family/team trip over to Indianapolis at the end of June to watch the real Toledo Mud Hens play, and we had an absolute blast!  

We all got dressed up in our Mud Hens gear and headed to the stadium after dinner at TGIFriday's.

Daddy and the boys

The fam! 

{Minus Lolee girl, who stayed home with Grandma Jane :)}

Our friends (and Colin's head coach) Nate and Kara, and Colin's best friend Colden/sister Addie

More friends/another coach! Ryan and Laine, and their son/Colin's friend Bennett

Same story! Our friends (and assistant coach) TJ and Amy, and their son/Col's friend Reef

Cameron checking out the giant field!

The boys were in heaven. They thought this was just the coolest!

Now, we were at the Indianapolis Stadium--so all of us in our Mud Hens' gear really stood out! We were able to get the boys down near the dugout, and the real Mud Hens took notice of all of our little Mud Hens and signed some autographs!

{L to R: Blake, Colden, Bennett, Colin, Cameron}

Getting, as Col put it, "real life autographs"

The boys loved it!

L to R, back row: Cameron, Colden, Reef, Colin, Blake, Bennett

Front: Brayden and Ethan

The boys (and siblings) stood at the front and watched for a long time.

It was an exciting night and even though the Mud Hens lost, the boys had a great time!

L to R: Reef, Isaac, Bennett, Sebastian, Hayden, Ethan, Blake, Jackson, 

Brayden M., Colden, Colin, Cameron, Addie, Brayden N.

Such a wonderful group of kids and parents--so thankful we got to be a part of this special night with all of them! Great, great memories!

Holiday World!!

Right at the close of school, our family packed up and decided to do a little two day trip to a place we had never been: Holiday World!

Tom and Jen had been before, as well as several other people we know, and raved about the place. We've always wanted to go, and thought now was as good of a time as any! We decided to head down together and let the kids experience the fun!

Checking out the lazy river!

Our kiddos! What a cute little bunch :)

Aiden, Cameron, Ethan, Colin, Brooklyn, and Lola.

The fam--ready for a water adventure!

(possibly one of my new favorite family shots)

I should have known to trust this girl. Holiday World was as great as she said it would be!

I don't have a ton of pictures from day one, because we were in the water all day. The kids were exhausted by the time the park was about to close, so we grabbed something quick to eat, headed back to the hotel, and everyone was asleep in no time. Good thing--we needed good rest to get up and do it all over again the next day!

Holiday World is in a town called Santa Claus, Indiana. 

So, you can guess what the theme of the one hotel in town was, I'm sure!

The kids in Santa's sleigh

Cameron and Ethan were so excited--today we were going to ride some "land" rides--their favorite!

Love this family picture at the entrance of the park!

Colin did a very big boy ride (after muuuuuch convincing)--the Raven.

Then Daddy took the boys on the Scrambler.

I almost throw up just watching that ride. *shudder*

But they loved it!

The big (BIG) boys went on another coaster....

....and then did this one! I like to call it the Super Soaker.

Yeah....this geyser got them GOOD!

We did a few more "baby" rides for Lo and Ethan..... 

(Poor guy--he was just shy of the mark to ride the bigger boy rides. Like by 1/4 inch!)

{My amazing helper....Colin just adores his sister and would do absolutely anything for her!}

Even though they were meant for the littles, the bigs even had a good time riding them!

The canoe

Lolee girl loved this one!

I braved the one ride I can handle with the boys....

....the swings!

I was only sick for a few minutes afterward. LOL

The kiddie coaster

They loved this one, too. Could have ridden it 10 times.....oh, that's right. They DID!

While Daddy took the big boys on a few other rides, I took Ethan and Lola on the train.

The space was as cramped as it looked. I don't know how regular sized grownups fit in here....

seriously you don't want to know how long it took me to get back out.

But the effort of getting in the train was worth it for the smiles on these two's faces!

Holiday World was awesome, and I would highly recommend it to anyone. We will definitely try to make this a Summer tradition with our two families!

Hearts at Home

For the last couple of years, I have been able to attend a great women's conference called "Hearts at Home".  It is a conference designed specifically for mothers, and each year I leave refreshed and encouraged. I was so excited to get another chance to go this year with two of my dearest friends! 

On Friday night, we headed over to Bloomington to begin our adventure. We found our hotel and unloaded, went to dinner, and then made our way to the ISU campus for the start of the conference.

Laura, Jen (you may recognize her from my cruise pictures!) and I

waiting in line to get our registration packets

We had the chance to go to a hilarious event called "Mom's night out". They started the night with a skit that had us all rolling!  Two moms, each wearing a sling filled with a 10-pound sack of potatoes and a backpack filled with bricks (to simulate the "pregnancy pounds" they had put on before having their baby) had to put together a pack and play. The one who could do it the fastest--keeping one hand on her sling with the 'baby' inside at all times--won!

One drawback to the night was the that air conditioning wasn't working. 

Who would think you would need a/c in the middle of March? Only in Illinois!! 

Jen, demonstrating how hot she was :)

Musical guests Abide. These ladies used to sing in the group Sierra, which I listed to growing up!

This, I thought, was amazing....the Hearts at Home band had a drummer 

who was wonderful--and only in eighth grade!!

One of the most special things about the conference for me was that I got to meet and spend time with a dear friend who I have been corresponding with for several years. Carolyn and I found each other (somehow...man, I don't even remember now, it's been so long ago!!) shortly after I lost my little one in December of 2007. She had also miscarried around the same time, and we bonded through that.

She was a missionary in Mexico (at the time--she is home in the states now along with her husband and four absolutely adorable little boys) and we began an email/facebook/blogging friendship that has continued to deepen over the years.  We both got pregnant around the same time--me with Lola, and her with Hudson--and were able to share most of our pregnancies together.  Now, we are both raising families of four with two of the cutest two-year-olds on the planet!

We talk weekly and it was so neat getting a chance to meet her and spend time together in person.
She was just as awesome as I always knew she was, and I thank God for our friendship!

The fun continued with 3-2-1 Improv comedy. In this scene, the "wife" was mad at her husband for buying a motorcycle without asking her first. (Oooooh, I know....awful, right?) The two on the left were acting out the scene, and the one on the right was trying to guess what was going on. Hysterical!

After the comedy, we needed some milkshakes. :)

Jen wanted to make sure she had the booth all to herself.

The next morning, we were treated to the keynote speakers of the conference: 

Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar.

The Duggars were really awesome. I believe they really get a bad rap in our society because of the lifestyle choice they have made, but truly--they are the real deal. They have struggles just like we do (and have thought at times 'what have we done!'), but they simply continue to rely on the Lord each and every day to carry them through. I immensely enjoyed hearing their testimony, and was very encouraged to do my best to continue to raise my children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord!

The day was full of great workshops. Because our Sunday School class is specifically geared towards marriage and family, this year I chose to take NO parenting sessions. I chose instead to learn about everything from adult friendships to money saving to fashion, and really enjoyed my time in those classes.  I felt like I came away with a lot of practical knowledge--and a few big ideas for things I'd like to change!  I also had the chance to have lunch with Carolyn, and spend some more time talking with her.  Maybe I will write a little more in depth soon about my favorite things I learned in those workshops.

Pretty soon it was time for the closing session, where were were encouraged once again to seek wisdom from God's word. This session is probably the one that impacted me the most.  God's wisdom is there, just waiting for us to find! And God will show us if we seek it and ask of Him.

One other great thing--our friend Stephanie was able to join us on Saturday! 

She grew up at our church, but now she and her husband are serving in the Air Force out in 

Las Vegas. It is always wonderful when she comes home, and this was a special treat 

that we got to enjoy some of the conference with her!

I would love to encourage the Mommies reading this to check out the Hearts at Home website. There are a few conferences, each in different parts of the U.S., during the year. If you would love a refreshing weekend away while still learning some great practical parenting advice and widening your Biblical knowledge on a variety of subjects, it's a great resource!