Diamond Diva's vs Alto

Last week was our week to play Alto.  We had three games on the schedule, one of which was a make game for the rainout last week.  I was a bit nervous b/c this is my home town.  I know most of these ppl and here I was sitting on the other side.  But I survived.  I actually enjoyed getting to see everyone and after all it is Tball - it's not the world series.  While our ump was much to be desired and we had a few disagreements about which rules were to be followed, all in all it was a good game.  The little Alto team was a bit freaked out it seemed but by the 3rd inning they pulled out a 3 up and 3 down.  Our little diva's pulled out a win.

Carli's at bat, she hit really well at this game.  Still working on running fast and not watching the ball.

 

Ava's at bat.  She made it all the way around the bases more than once!

 

 

Ava LOVES to play catcher.  Now if we could just talk to the ump about getting out of her way so she can catch the ball when they throw it in.

 

 

Diamond Diva's WIN!

 

Our make up game on Thursday got rained out again...so we played again on Friday in Alto.  It was a bit wet but none of us really cared, we were ready to play!  We were all thinking that if the Alto team that played during the third inning showed up to play all game today we might not do as well as we did on Tuesday.  Since we were visitors, we batted first.  All was going well, until it was Ava's turn to bat and she was hysterical in tears.  All the coaches tried to talk to her, but she was having none of it...she did not want to play!  Finally, I managed to waddle (yes, I'm waddling these days) out on the field.  Ava said, "I only want to play tball in Troup.  I don't want to play in Alto."  All the fans were great, and so patient.  I finally got her to agree to hit and run to 1st base as long as I stood at first.  And from there, I told her I'd meet her at third and she eventually made it all the way around the bases.  She even gave me a smile once she was back in the dugout.

 

 

I ended up having to go to 1st each time it was Ava's turn at bat.  She did finally loosen up.  She played catcher the whole game and being on the field did not bother her but she was not so happy about hitting.  She did hit great though!

 

 

Carli had a great game too.  She played first and managed to field the ball hit to her and tag out a runner.  She was very pleased with herself!  She also hit very well, and did a great job hitting the ball where coach told her to hit it.

 

 The girls were so excited to see "our Becky" at the game.  She got more than one hug and lots of smiles.   :)

Grammy & Pa were ball watching fools this week.  They came to the girls game on Monday night, watched a double header for Logan on Wednesday and were back to watch more tball on Friday.  Blessed grandkids right there!

We had a great week in tball and are surprised to find ourselves undefeated in league play.  We haven't gotten to play all the teams in our league yet so I'm sure there are more surprises to come, but it's tball I think that's pretty much the case all the time!

Ava's Oak Tree Academy Graduation

 Our Ava-Boo is a Pre-K Graduate.  She was so excited that she was graduating and couldn't wait to sing songs for us at her little ceremony.  So on the morning of May 19th Ava performed her little heart out, smiled smiles that melted all our hearts and made us beam with pride!

Ava's graduation was a bit different from Carli's in that, she and her other seven classmates had their own ceremony dedicated just for them.  Oak Tree opted to spread out all the Pre-K classes so it wasn't so crowded.  That sure made it a lot easier to get pictures!  :)

We let Carli skip school to come to Ava's graduation.  Carli was so excited to be there and she even insisted on wearing her OTA graduation shirt.  I think she sang along to every single song!

Here is the first song Ava performed, her Oak Tree Academy song.  Love it!

I probably snapped over 100 pictures trying to capture all the facial expressions and movements. 

Mrs. Denise presented Ava with her Pre-K Graduation Diploma.  Ava wants to be  princess when she grows up.  :)  Already done!

Ava was showered with love on her graduation day.  Her Daddy brought her flowers, her sister skipped school and Grammy & Pa came to watch her too!  Naggy & Pappy were eager to hear all about the program - there is no shortage of love for our Ava-Boo!

 

Before we all left for the day, we had to make sure we got a good picture with Mrs. Denise.  Mrs. Denise has been jewel to all of us all year.  She has let me drop off Ava early to hang out when I make my OB appts too early and has even met Keith to take Ava to school when I was out of town and he couldn't get out of a mtg.  She has loved our Ava and Ava treasures her!  Mrs. Denise truly has the heart of an amazing teacher and the patience of a saint.  Ava has demanded she get to have a Bueno date or two every now and then!  :)

Before we left, we decided we'd better grab a picture by the OTA sign.  We forgot to get one last year with Carli but how awesome is it that I had both girls right there in their OTA shirts?!  So we took advantage.  OTA has been a huge blessing to our family.  They have loved our girls and worked so hard with them both in academics and even in overcoming a fear of Santa.  Such an amazing group of people and we are so thankful for them all.

 

 

One final video of Ava's performance.  This is one of my favorite songs they sing - makes me smile every time.  

 

Happy 5th Birthday Sweet Ava!

She can light up a room with her sweet little smile and get her to laugh and it's infectious. She has this East Texas twang that she can turn off and on at will. She loves to find crickets, rollie pollies, and ladybugs, but she'll wear a dress any day over shorts and a shirt if given the option. She LOVES her sister and is getting really good at irritating her. She holds her Daddy's heart in the palm of her hand, and is the best cuddle buddy I could ever ask for. Happy 5th Birthday Ava-Boo! You are a treasure!

Go Carting

I can remember growing up that Pawpaw had this Go-Cart that he somehow kept running despite all the grandkids riding it year after year.  Some us managed to flip it more than once, the majority of us mastered hitting wet cow patties so we could cover our passenger in cow manure and yet manage to keep ourselves clean.  I remember driving the Go-Cart in front of Pawpaw's shop, and then in front of the barn off 241 and later out in the pasture by our house.  By the later years, as a passenger you kind of had to tuck and roll to get off the Go-Cart so it wouldn't die.  Like most things Pawpaw kept running the older he got, the more creative he got!  :)

Check it out...Andy is driving and I'm clinging to him...notice the cow patty in the bottom left corner!

My Dad, AKA Pa, took the Go-Cart to get fixed up earlier this year.  He picked it up not long ago and b/c Ava just happened to be there when he brought it home, she got the privilege of being the first great grandkid to give it a test run.  I was very impressed when I got the pictures of Ava driving.  She had to scoot all the way forward but she absolutely LOVED it and had a blast!

She could not wait for Carli to get out of school so that she could show her how to drive.  The difference between Carli and Ava is that Ava will listen very intently to what you want her to do.  She hangs on to encouragement and takes all the building up she can get and then she'll give it a try.  Carli wants someone else to do it first and then she'll try it.

So when Carli got home from school, Ava gave her a demonstration and Pa gave her some instruction and it didn't take long before the dirt was flying, squeals of laughter could be heard and lots of smiles all around. 

 

Now the girls have tried every time they go to Grammy and Pa's to convince Pa to let them ride the Go-Cart.  Because we are usually there on a Wednesday and it is right before church, and there is a lot of mud we have had to divert their attention elsewhere.  I have a feeling this summer the Go-Cart will get a lot more miles put on it...just like it did when their Momma and Uncles were kids!

Here is Ava driving...

 

 

And here is Carli, you can tell Carli is a bit more careful!

 

Carli's School Pictures

Oh my goodness.  I finally got around to loading Carli's Fall and Spring Kindergarten pictures.  Where did my baby go?!

Fall 2014 Kindergarten Pictures

 

Spring 2015 Kindergarten Pictures

 

 Can you tell that Carli is a lot more confident about school and well, everything these days?! 

Bueno and Ava

Ava's most favorite restaurant EVER is Taco Bueno.  She often times takes advantage of me when I am running errands and begs for an Ava Momma date at our place.  I loved Bueno in college, but as a pregnant Momma, it's not my favorite.  But for Ava, we end up at Bueno more times than not.

It turns out that Ava's soon to be Aunt Holli LOVES Bueno too!  I foresee some Bueno dates in their near future!