Our Tiny Dancer

Camryn had her first dance recital earlier this month. She was so excited to have an event to showcase her talents (and I believe she was secretly thrilled that her brothers finally had to sit through her activity!). She said she was nervous, but she did a fantastic job! We are all so proud of the hard work she put in over the past several months learning her routine and putting in her own sprinkles of sass! Way to go, Cam-a-roon!

{Quite the cheering section, with all of the grandparents there!}

{Camryn’s hip-hop class danced to Aladdin, and they did a great job!}

Cam was invited to join the competitive dance team, but she said she is not ready to commit to that at this point. Stay tuned… 

About last night.

 “19yo shot and killed at Bott Park 20min after we left.” Got that text around midnight from the wife of a Plainfield First Responder whose son is on Mason’s baseball team. Credible. And confirmed this morning in a press release from the police department. 

We left Bott at 9:45. It was just “another” night. The boys had goofy walk-up music, we got slaughtered by our opponent, we sang Happy Birthday to a teammate and had cupcakes post-game, I helped Camryn pee in a dark and wooded corner of the parking lot while we waited on Mason to load up his gear, and we all laughed about our night on the 5-minute ride home. It was really just another night, but now it will never just be “another” night. I am absolutely sick to my stomach. 

I was told there was gunfire exchanged between two cars in the parking lot at 9:55. There was still a game wrapping up when we left. I can only imagine the chaos and confusion if that crowd was still there. I hope they weren’t.

The reminder to hug your kids tight barely has time to wear off anymore before the next one comes in, but, boy, this one is hitting me hard, and I am shook to my core. 

So now my mind is racing. I didn’t hear anything rowdy, didn’t see anyone acting suspicious, didn’t feel like anything was “off.” How can I teach and prepare my kids to strategize against being caught in this, when I didn’t even know I needed to protect them?

 

Our community is safe. This park is safe. I have never once worried about attending an event there. The kids roam freely about the playground, skate park, and open areas without me ever thinking I need to check in. Things will never be the same for us. 

We aren’t a team who gets slaughtered. We played this team last week and lost 1-0. Had we not been slaughtered we could have very well been in the parking lot 10 minutes later. Everything happens for a reason, I firmly believe that. But holy shit, this has me on edge. 

*Video of Mason’s spoof walk-up and reaction from the dugout of the first batter’s music. It was such a fun night. Thank God we get to see these smiles again. 

 

First Anniversary

Celebrating this pup’s Gotcha Day. Lots have changed in one year. We love you, Molly Dog, you big old horse!

So. Much. Baseball.

It’s summer, which means that our weekdays and weekends are dictated by where and when Mason plays baseball. The other weekend we traveled to near Indy for a tournament. And while the point of traveling is for baseball, it really is about so much more than that. Caleb and I got to spend a few days with just our little in the middle, and it was a great time for us all. The Stars didn’t come out on top (the team they tied in pool play went on to win the whole thing, so Mason was happy to say his team hung with the best). Outside of playing ball, the three of us ate at some great restaurants, played a round of putt-putt, and fit in a trip to an Air Force museum (Mason’s current obsession are airplanes, so he was thrilled with this quick stop!). Our Star played well, and even got to pitch (19 strikes in 31 pitches. Not too shabby for a non-pitcher!). 

Thanks for the memories, Indiana!

May bits

 The pieces of our May puzzle. 

{This kids has green eyes sometimes, and crazy hair all the time.}

{The weather felt like winter, but ready or not, it’s time to get our yard summertime ready. Off to all of the nurseries!}

{We moved roughly one million Hostas to various locations around our house, including this very wet and shady corner of our backyard. So. Many. Hostas.}

{Also in our backyard: this very large camper that our dingbat neighbor took for an off-road joyride while the soil was very wet and squishy. It stayed there for about six weeks before he hooked up a couple of trucks to pull it out. Bringing the redneck country to suburbia must make Caleb feel right at home.}

{Our backyard does provide a pretty fantastic backdrop for summertime sunsets!}

{The first ever middle school dance for this bunch. Mason came home and his exact words were: That. Was. Amazing. Nothing beats a crowded gym full of sweaty and hormonal adolescents. I remember these days with just as much excitement as Mason. High fives for getting back to normal in this crazy Covid world!}

{Last day of school for these two. And both earned the all A high-honor roll. For the second straight quarter. A couple of smart cookies who worked their booties off for those grades!}

{And the last day of school for this third grader. Leaving behind the best teacher ever is just as hard as it looks. We will be forever grateful to have had the one and only Miss McDermott teach all of our kiddos—and Mason twice. She really is second to none!}

{Camryn finally had her time in the spotlight! Dance recital dress rehearsal and stage rehearsal before the big night. She is used to applying her own makeup in a heavy fashion, so stage makeup felt right at home on this tiny dancer!}

{Mason’s team is struggling this year, but managed to pull off a second-place finish at a tournament. Work hard. Play hard!}

{This is how Jacob prefers to spectate Mason’s games.}

{I missed a step in our basement on the way to watch Jacob’s conference track meet. I had to walk but couldn’t walk. Probably not broken, but Ima tell you what, that hurt like a mother!}