Have you ever taken time to notice...

The older I get, the more I realize just how lucky we all are to have dads.  Ever since I was a little girl, I can remember my mom talking about her "daddy."  I remember the wonderful stories she told, I remember the excitement on both of their faces each time we went to visit. I remember him listening to her stories and her listening to his. He has passed on now, but still the bond they shared is a driving force in her life. I look at so many of the things that she is able to do, the determination she has, and although I am sure that some of it comes from her mom....I believe a lot of it, comes from her dad. 

 

I have a dad like that, too.  Much of who I am, comes from my mom. There are so many things she has taught me and continues to teach me, but a lot of who I am comes from my dad, too. My dad has always been my hero.  A lot of that comes from the fact that he didn't ever get involved in the hard stuff - he left that to my mom! Lol!  My dad loved my grandpa, and my grandpa loved him. Since my dad's dad wasn't the greatest at expressing himself, I think my Daddy Earl became a wonderful father for my dad. He was a role model, a mentor, a proud spectator, and a friend.

 

I guess what I am getting at, is how grateful I am for the "dad's" in my life.

My grandpa was an amazing man.  Not only did he shape my mom's life, I think he helped shape my dad's too.

My dad is an amazing man.  He has helped shape my life in so many ways, and he is helping to shape Cole's life, too.

Cole is a great dad. Our kids KNOW he loves them. Despite not having a very affectionate dad, Cole loves and holds our kids all the time.

 

My kids couldn't have better Grandpa's either.  They both are so involved in their lives and offer such sound advice on such important things. I know my dad always wanted sons.  I can't help but be grateful that he didn't get them. Ash and I got them instead and I am so grateful that my dad can be a "dad" to them (without actually having to do all the hard parenting stuff!)

 

This year, the church put out a non-denominational video about fathers.  We watched it in Primary and the message has stuck with me.  I know I've taken for granted all the things that dads do - all the things that make a dad a dad. 

"Have you ever noticed why you like to work with your hands? or why your friends always played at your house?  how vacations are made? why the night monsters never came back? or why you and the princess always had the same name? Ever appreciate how happy a dad can be when he came in the house? how goofiness can ease the tension? or the nonstop battle he faces between supporting his family and supporting his family? Because if you really look around, you just might. You might appreciate where your passions came from, wonder on the dreams of those before, or find that being the bad guy is sometimes a very hard job. You may even discover the ultimate pride in his eyes when you've learned for yourself. Remember the Fathers who taught you what it takes to be a good father."

Click here to watch the video. It is really touching.

Happy Father's Day to all the awesome dads in our lives! We love you!

ALL-STAR Summer...ALL summer!

This was a fun summer for our family. (Hopefully a foreshadowing of the years to come!)

 

All 3 Roundy kids made the All-Star team for their divisions! This was especially exciting because the boys were playing "up," in a division with boys a year or two older than them.  Kaitlin was also playing "up" in the Majors, instead of the minors and this was her first year even playing softball!

 

It was pretty exciting!

 

The summer started off with the 4th of July parade in which the Washington Little League stole the show! Poor Kaitlin was planning on riding on the float with her All-Star jersey on, but once she saw all those boys, she chickened out! (Not that I can blame her!)

 

She opted to watch the parade from the sidelines with Alli and me instead!

 

 



A look at those handsome Roundy boys ready to make their 2013 All-Star debut!

Oh wait! Guess I'd better show all 3 of the Roundy boys ready to make their debut! Cole was once again asked to coach the All-Star team! They had to twist his arm a bit, but he finally accepted! {wink! wink!}

And now....

 

Drum roll, please!

 

Here is my darling "little girl" making her first All-Star debut!

Can I just tell you...she tore it up!

She had never pitched an inning in the regular season, but pitched every game of the All-Star tourney and did awesome! She is fearless and determined and it was so fun to watch her energy.  She absolutely loved her coach, Jordan, which was a funny coincidence since my father-in-law was Jordan's favorite coach of all time.(Jordan and Cole's younger brother, Lance, played ball together in Richfield.)  It's funny the way things come full circle.  Jordan believed in Kaitlin and Kaitlin believed him when he told her she could do anything! He was perfect for her!

 



So thankful for my sweet friend, Jen, who helped personalize Kaitlin's jersey! Kate wanted hers to say "ROUNDY" just like the boys...so we made it happen...but with a girly flair! She was the only one with her name on her jersey and I thought it looked awesome! I was happy that everyone knew she was ours!:)

She is so lucky to have such good brothers.  Brandon was such a great brother during all of this.  He spent a lot of time being catcher and giving her feedback. He would play catch with her every time she asked. Everyone who saw Kaitlin play, said, "You can sure tell she learned to play ball with her brothers! She is going to be an amazing player!"

 

I think it was fun for her to enjoy the limelight a little! I was sure proud of her for trying her hardest and for learning that "we can do hard things" and that they can be fun!

Kaitlin and her friend, Sage! Cute girls!

 

My mom and dad were out of town during All-Star week.  I do say "week" because literally, between the two teams our kids played on, they played everyday for a week....and they played in Cedar! Thankfully Cedar City is only 40 minutes from home, but we sure blew through gas going back and forth each day!

 

Cole's mom and dad were troopers and made the much longer trip from Richfield several times! (What can I say? They are baseball junkies!)

Long story short, we had a blast that week in Cedar. It is a week we will never forget.

Hanging out in the car and trying to wait-out the monstrous rain storms!

Eating dinner at Sizzler with the whole motley crew!

Team play date at the pool!

Games at the wooden park!

Eye black!

Pump-up jams!

Wild pitches and amazing catches!

 

All-in-all, the boys got a weird draw in the tournament bracketing.  They had a rough seed, but were able to come back and win the drop-down bracket.  One person said, "It's the toilet bowl."  I say, "Whatever!" They walked away with medals and a huge win in the end and they had a blast! The final game was played in pouring rain! I do mean POURING!  There were puddles all over the field and it was a mess! It finally started letting up a little right at the end! I think it kind of added to the awesome atmosphere of the final game of the 2013 All-Star season!

 

Kaitlin's team didn't make it into the championship, but sure had fun! She met some amazing new friends and learned that she is every bit as talented and competitive as her brothers.

What a fun week! Hopefully we'll do it all over again next year!

My babies don't keep...

It's amazing to me that no matter how much I seem to accept it, no matter how many times I tell myself it will happen...when it actually does....the reality of it pierces deep in my soul.

Another summer gone, another new year of school. A little girl growing into a beautiful young woman, two tiny toddlers growing into strong, good boys, and my baby, growing into a little woman herself. How does time fly by so quickly?

I've always prided myself in my ability to "enjoy the journey," "to trust that God is at the helm," "to enjoy each moment as I live it"....but good heavens, I can not seem to wrap my head around the speed at which life keeps passing me by.  If God truly is at the helm, and if he knows me so well...can't he just slow things down a little? Just a teeny? for me?!

It truly was just a moment ago that Cole and I walked out of the hospital, carrying that light blue and yellow car seat (the coolest one available at the time), which held the sweetest thing we could ever imagine. It's good we didn't know back then just how fast the time would disappear before our eyes.  If we did, I am quite sure we would have been content to never leave the confines of our humble apartment. I believe we would have contentedly spent each day watching her every yawn, smile and relishing each new milestone. 

But life's lessons are most always learned in hindsight.  While I can't go back and recapture each detail of my children's littlest moments, I can remember and recognize that life will NEVER slow down. Just as the years before have flown by, so will these years now.  Before I know it, I will be watching my 3 older children venture off to teach the gospel, to go to school, to start families of their own. I surely don't want to look back then and wish I had truly relished each moment. I want to do that now...and look back then, with no regrets. 

The words of a familiar poem have been on my mind a lot this summer. As I have neglected my house, my friends, my exercise, this blog...nearly everything, as we've run from here to there and back again...I am reminded that nothing really matters more than being right there in those moments with my kids.

Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing and butter the bread,
Sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
 Oh, I’ve grown shiftless as Little Boy Blue
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo).
The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren’t her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).
The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
For children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.


Could it paint a more realistic picture of the state of my "shocking" home these past few month?. I think not! The sink has been full of dishes, there are crumbs all over the kitchen floor. Laundry is piled up high and stacks of out=grown clothes are scattered in the garage waiting for a DI run! My yard needs a good trimming, my flower beds need weeding. Basbeball pants are soaking on my kitchen counter and shoes are scattered in every single corner! Hairbows and bobby pins scatter my bathroom and homemade "masterpieces" clutter the walls. My cupboards are bare and we've had to borrow toilet paper twice from my parents, but all the while - something magical has been happening....we've been living and enjoying every moment of this crazy life.

I'm quite sure that years from now, none of us will remember the crumbs or the dust, but I do believe we will remember the car trips to baseball games and the talks that we've had. The games in the backyard, the bike rides to grandma's and even the new hermit crab! I always hoped I'd be the mom that had the darling, behaved, perfect kids, the romantic, sensitive, perfect husband, the spotless house, the beautiful figure and the sparkling, white smile to top it all off!

Now it's funny that those things seem so trivial! I'd much rather have a smudge on my clothes, a stain on the carpet and sweaty, dirty, spunky kids surrounding me. (Although I'd still like to have the romantic husband part';)  I'll trade my idea of "how I hoped it would" be, for how it is - any day!

So that being said...."quiet down, phone calls and all those distractions.  Dust and vacuuming go to sleep. I'm going now to go snuggle my baby and heaven knows, my babies don't keep."