T-Ball and Pony Rides

it was another busy weekend for the Welsh family. We started Saturday morning at 9 am with Little League Opening Ceremonies. This was followed by T-ball practice and Matthew's first official game ever. He has enjoyed lots of sports lessons, but never been on a real team before with a real uniform, playing in a real game. He was so excited, and nervous, too.

He was so nervous going up to bat for the first time that he forgot which side he bats on, and the coach had to move him to the other side and show him how to hold the bat. Now, keep in mind this kid has been hitting balls off a tee or with a pitch since he was 2. So, it was pretty funny to see him get so nervous and completely forget what to do. He was totally into the game, though, and once he got over his initial nervousness, he played great.

It was so fun to watch the kids - they do the funniest things when they are first learning. On the other team, there was a kid running to second base, and his teammate had just hit the ball. The ball was coming toward the base runner, so he picked it up and threw it to first base for us. Very funny. Here is a pic of Matthew getting ready for the next play. Yep, that's Andrew out there behind Matthew is the shorts - he's an assistant coach.



After T-ball we headed up into the hills for a birthday party where the kids got to ride ponies around a ring. Matthew loved it and took many turns riding "Spirit" (who was not at all very spirited).



We finished the day with Swimming lessons for both kids, and a date for me and Andrew. Andrew's mom came down for a visit, and was generous enough to spring us for the night. We saw Slumdog Millionaire. I can understand why it got best picture - we both really liked it.

The Face on the Shirt

So let me start by saying that this is a very random post, but I can use your help.  

Last night Andrew and I are talking in the kitchen and I look at his shirt and there is a face on the shirt.  Kind of like when someone sees their Cheerios form the face of Abe Lincoln.  Andrew asks what I am looking at, so I tell him not to move, and that I'm going to take a picture of the face on his shirt.  He, of course, moves to look at the face, which distorts the left side of face a little bit, but I get a pretty good shot of it nonetheless.  I show Andrew the picture and he can't see the face for the life of him.  He affectionately calls me "stark raving mad," and a "total loony bin."  So, I decided that I'm posting the silly picture of the "Face on the Shirt" on this blog for others to judge my sanity.  

Now let me just clearly state that I don't believe I've seen Jesus or anything...I just thought it was cool that Andrew's shirt was making a face, and apparently I may be the only one who can see it.  So, let me know if you can see the face, too.  It's on the right side of the picture underneath the "O" in Colorado.  You might have to squint your eyes a little to see it.  

And while I think it more closely resembles a pirate, let me know if you think it looks like Jesus so I can submit it to the National Enquirer for a few bucks.  We are in a recession after all.

Our Weekend in Arizona

We're back from a great weekend in Arizona! We stayed at a beautiful golf resort, saw two baseball games, and visited with our friends Linds and Chris (and baby Carter).

Here is a pic of Andrew and the kids on the golf cart. Andrew and Matthew went golfing with Andrew's Dad every morning.


Here we are at the Giants/Angels game on Saturday. I can see why people love coming to Spring Training. The stadiums are very nice, and much smaller so you sit a lot closer to the action. For this game we had the best seats (see first picture below)! We sat in the 4th row, right behind the Angels dugout, and right in front of first base where all the action was. At the end of one of the plays, the first baseman threw the game ball right up to us. Andrew caught it and gave it to Matthew. Both of them were very pleased! Here are some shots at the game.



And the weekend would not have been complete without seeing our dear friends Linds & Chris and meeting their adorable baby! Andrew and I spent Friday night with the Phillips' drinking beer and eating pizza, snuggling with Carter, and watching crazy Baxter (their dog) run all over the house after tennis balls. It wore us out just watching him!

Poor Bree, I know you are dying reading this because you haven't seen Carter yet. You should be very jealous, Bree, because Carter is just so dang handsome and very sweet. We brought the kids back to see the Phillips family with us on Sunday morning. Both Kayla and Matthew took turns holding Carter. Here are some pics from our Sunday morning visit.






What a great weekend! Now we're gearing up for trip number 3 this year to the Outer Banks in April. Can't wait for that...

Upcoming Weekend Getaway

We're off again this weekend for our second of four family trips this year. Yes, it's a fun year for the Welsh family! We're headed to the Phoenix area for Spring Training. Andrew's dad is treating our family to this trip, and we're all very excited to go. I'm looking forward to this trip for three main reasons.

The first is that I live for vacations. I'm already thinking about potential vacations in 2010. I love being able to slow down our hectic pace of living, even if just for a weekend, and instead fill our days with fun things on our own schedule.

Secondly, I am going to get to see my dear friend Lindsey, her husband, and their baby boy, Carter. I'm definitely looking forward to getting my hands on that adorable baby!

And the third reason is that the weather in Phoenix/Scottsdale is sunny and 75-80 degrees and it has been raining here non-stop. A little sunshine is definitely in order!

And the mom in me will admit to this other small thing that I'm looking forward to...snuggling with the kids, 'cuz chances are that they won't sleep together this trip either. Don't get me wrong, I love snuggling with my hubby every night. But the kids never sleep with us - our queen size bed is only big enough for the two of us - and I'll admit it feels pretty great to have your little ones snuggle up close to you all night long.