Travel Baseball. The end.

Mason wrapped up his travel baseball season with a trip to the Field of Dreams where his team made it to the semi-finals (gasp) before being eliminated. They went 4-1 on the weekend, doubling their total wins for the season in a single weekend. It’s hard to believe that there are teams out there with less talent than the Canes, but we found them! I say this with absolutely no disrespect to Mason. Going from 12u to 14u is a huge leap, and Mason had his best season yet. He hit the ball well and consistently, his catching was the best I have ever seen it, and his grace to the bottom-of-the-barrel teammates that surrounded him each game was a true test of his character. He went out on the field each game working hard to play his best game, regardless of what follies and circus acts were happening around him. 

We were lucky to have our Iowa fan base in attendance, and spent a lot of time eating great food and visiting some pretty unique and fun wineries and breweries. It was a great weekend! 

{After the last game. None of us will miss a single thing about this team!}

{We spent a good chunk of time at the actual Field of Dreams despite not actually ever playing there. Mason participated in the home run derby, and Caleb was picked from the crowd to participate in the Ghost Players entertainment show that took place on the field. And though he will make excuses for his performance, let’s just say that Caleb has lost all grounds to criticize Mason’s baseball skills…}

{The boys found some time to trout fish while the rest of us strolled around downtown Dubuque.}

{Our chauffeur for the weekend. He’s really good at long-haul highway drives, and I love not being behind the wheel!}

Cicadas!

From those of you living under a rock—much like the cicadas—this is the year that both 13-year and 17-year cicadas emerged simultaneously, something that hasn’t happened since 1803 and won’t happen again until 2245, so literally once in a lifetime. The emergence was very sporadic—meaning that while my parents had very few at their house, and our former neighbors had none at their house, our current neighborhood was crawling with them. Pun intended! 

According to the Internet, hearing loss begins at a decibel of 85. The decibel meter app on my phone clocked those noise machines at 93 during some points. It really was a deafening loud, and it started as soon as the sun came up!

No surprise that they were as loud as they were given the fact that they coated our plants and sidewalks and tree trunks.

And because they caused no harm other than freaking you out when they landed on you while riding in a truck with the window down, or bounced off your face when you were taking your dog for a walk, I loved having science come to life in our backyard! And now that they are gone, we are left with a yard littered with exoskeletons as a reminder of what was. 

June Bits

 The pieces of our June puzzle.

{The kids went to the eye doctor and this one needs a follow-up appointment. Something about not being able to focus, weak muscles, near-sightedness, and eye therapy. Wasn’t expecting that…}

{This girl had her annual check-up, and the doctor finally let her petite size lay to rest without blameful discussion. For the record, she is 4 foot something and 58ish pounds. Camryn also had her cholesterol taken and was given an arsenal of immunizations. The boys were with us as we were en route to Iowa immediately after the appointment so they were extremely *helpful* when it came to calming her nerves pre-shot. But after working her up, I will say that Mason was so sweet to soothe her anxiety with meditation music featuring flamingos. Maybe he isn’t a completely rotten egg after all…}

{Our local brewery released a new sour beer named after my favorite juice from my favorite island. We had no choice but to spend a night out drinking it!}

{I ran in to my all-time favorite friend’s parents at our town’s fair. If only they had Jenni with them…}

{Lazy summer vacation days are the best!}