Take me out to the ball game

This last Friday evening, we got 5 free tickets to the Diamondbacks game. Jacob wanted to take some pictures, so the first lucky subject was me. I had him hand me the camera so I could return the favor......the 2nd picture is much cuter!

After we sat for a while and watched the game, the boys were ready for a walk. We went to the kids area and they each batted.

After that, we went to sit back down for the rest of the game.

The Diamondbacks won that game. It didn't look good until the 9th inning when they got two runs in and tied up the game. At the bottom of the 10th inning, they scored again and won, 4 to 3. We stayed late and watched the post-game fireworks show. It was fun to see it from inside the stadium. Other that being up way too late, it was a great night!

Happy 14th!

For our 14th Anniversary, we went out to dinner at P.F. Chang's China Bistro. We enjoyed the atmosphere of people enjoying each others company. We liked the decorations a lot and it made us miss China, even though it was nothing like the real thing. For our 15th, we hope to have an Acupuncture license! I love you babe!

Rain, Rain, don't go away......

Now, I realize that some of you are going to think this is just gross and wrong, but it's nothing that can't be washed off in the shower. I want the boys to remember fun things and they thought playing in the rain was so great! We usually have a few decent storms, but the monsoon season this year has been pretty unproductive here on the west side of Phoenix. A few weeks ago we had a great storm roll through that didn't have any lightning so we let the boys out in the street. Our neighbors joined us, and they all had a ball. The picture above is not too long after the storm started. You can still see the middle of the street.

These were taken near the end of the storm and the street is completely flooded. Lightning came soon after so in the house and to the shower we went! They really had a great time.

Back to School!

Kevin - 1st grade
Jacob - 7th grade
Brian - 4th grade
Where did the summer go?

Playing catch-up and my back brace appointment

We were told that Krispy Kreme doughnuts will give kids with good grades a doughnut for their A's. We thought we'd give it a shot. We went and took their report cards. The manager was so great and gave us a dozen doughnuts! What a treat!

Summer is almost over, it's hard to believe. It seems to have gone by pretty quick. The kids have enjoyed playing at the neighbors house and having them over to our house too. Here they are with friends doing a cheese puff smile. Silly kids!

Jacob built this Bionicle creature while over there one time and had it attack their dog Zoe. She is such a great dog and puts up with everything the kids do to her.

In June, Brian and our neighbor friend got to attend a cub scout day camp for three days in a row. They had tons of fun and earned a lot of belt loops. Some of the activities included BB guns, archery, swimming, games, crafts. I know I am missing some, but that's all I'm remembering right now.

During this craft, he was making this and ended up getting......

This.
Poor little guy! It wasn't too bad of a smash. He was ok after the ice.

Onto the news about my back.

I had another follow-up appointment Friday for my brace. I have been hurting a lot more lately, much to my dismay, and it has been very uncomfortable to wear the brace, so I wasn't sure what was going on. I told Dr. Andy many things that were on my mind and he said, "Oh, it sounds like you need your elastic bands replaced. Let's see, how long have you been in the brace?" He was already starting to input information into his laptop when I told him I got fitted for it the first part of October 2008. Wow, has it really been that long? No wonder the elastic is worn out....it's almost been two years of stretching to hold my back in a less stressful position. Wow. So yesterday my brace got a transformation. It has pretty white brand new elastic bands on it that actually feel like elastic. They are so fantastic. I had forgotten how good it felt to wear the brace. He helped me get all strapped in and it felt so good to have the support. 100% better, no kidding! Off we went to do the x-ray in the brace. My curves have improved a few degrees since last July. Here's the run down since the beginning.
October 2008, out of brace - top curve 68 degrees, bottom curve 54 degrees.
Same day, in the brace - top curve 63 degrees, bottom curve 49 degrees.
January 2009 - top curve 59 degrees, bottom curve 49 degrees.
July 2009 - no change, same measurements.
July 2010 - top curve 57 degrees, bottom curve 48 degrees.
Let's celebrate the small things, right? I'll take a few degrees better! The good thing now is that I know the signs of my elastic wearing out and can hopefully not get to the point I was at this time of hurting so much again. It was a great Friday!