Take Me Out..

To the ballgame!  Or in my case, ballgames.  The boys have just started their Little League tournament seasons.  We have games, scrimmages or workouts everynight of the week right now.

The little guy played on the 8U All Star team and had a blast with all of his friends.

The middle guy is playing hard.  They have one win and one loss so far.

And the oldest is on the 12U team.  The core group of these boys have made it to states the last two years.  If the trend continues, we'll have a lot of baseball coming up.  This also being the year that if they perform well enough, they could advance to the Little League World Series.

The oldest was also on the regular little league team, the Panthers, they won the Majors division championship!!  He pitched two complete games during those playoffs, including the last one for the win.

As you can imagine, with all the traveling to baseball and the new puppy, my stitching has taken a back seat.  I miss it, but know it will be there when things settle down.  For now, I love watching my boys ~ these times will be over all too soon.

The gardens are very dry, but some flowers continue to bloom and the weeds continue to take over!

The puppy is quickly growing!

He soaked up all the attention he got at the games.

Waiting for me and the little guy after the game.

I am really behind in posting my Tusal. 

And despite the overall lack of stitching, I did manage to put a few stitches into this piece.

I was tagged by Veronica, from Veronica's Stitching Vault, to answer 11 questions.  Thanks Veronica!!  I am going to save that for another post and hope to get to it soon!  If you have never visited Veronica, pop over and say hello!

Oh, and if you haven't already seen Vinniey from Sometimes I Stitch, pop on over there too.  She is finally making her dream come true.  She has opened her online shop, Cottage Garden Samplings, for her original designs and is having a fantastic giveaway.  There will be two very happy winners ~ fingers crossed!

Thanks for stopping by and reading through this long post.  Hopefully I'll have more stitchiness to show next time!

I chose to end with this quote, because in addition to my lack of stitching time, there hasn't been much time for garden maintainence.

“Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them.”
― A.A. Milne



School's Out!!

Yesterday was the final day of school for the boys.  The last few weeks have been a flurry of activity.

There was the final field trip, yes, I chaperoned and survived three!!  This time was with the middle guy.  His class visited the Hagley Museum in Wilmington, DE.  The place where the story of the duPont family begins in America.

The kids were divided into groups and participated in activities such as making ice cream and lemonade the "old fashioned" way, as well as attending school as it would have been 150 years ago.  Here they are being shown how to crank the ice cream, after which they each took a turn.

The best part was getting to eat the ice cream afterwards!!  Yummy!

I didn't take too many pictures as it was a very overcast day.

There was the last of the homework assignments to be done, along with the help of the newest family member, Panzer.

The graduation from elementary school!

Class picnics and shows to attend.

Oh, and the summer haircuts ~ I'll have to try and snap a picture of the boys before it grows back in too much. 

They started off the summer by camping out in a neighbor's backyard last night.  5 boys!!

My time at the Strawberry Sampler will be cut back now that the boys are out of school.  I'll try and sneak in a day here and there when my husband is off.  I have come to rely on my "girl" time at the shop.  Being that they are huge animal lovers ~ especially dogs, Panzer was allowed to go to work with me the last few times I went.  He worked so hard that this is how he rode home in the car.

How did he spend his time at the shop?  Well, like a puppy of course! 

Yes, he fell asleep with his head in the empty water bowl!

See, that's hard work!!

We are in the midst of the Little League playoffs.  My little guy's team lost, so they are done, but not before he incurred an injury while at bat.  Turn away for the next picture if you are squeamish..it's the biggest blood blister I have ever seen!!

That's what happens when the ball gets pinched between your hand and your bat while you are hitting!  He was one of a few on his team to be chosen to play on the All Star team, so hopefully this will heal up quickly and he'll be ready to swing that bat again for one more game!

Then there are a few garden pics to share.

This little bird family keeps visiting my basket and taking the coconut grass for their nest.

For some reason, the male feels like he has to oversee which pieces the female is picking out.  ;)

And yes!  I have a bit of stitching to finally share.  Here is the ornament I stitched for March.  I picked something very small as I knew how busy the month would be.

It is a freebie that can be found on Cathis Stitching Blog. 

I am also working on a surprise for a non-stitchy friend.   

From Heartstring Samplery ~ Friendship Pin Pillow and Needlebook.

There is one more that I still can't show, as I have to find time to assemble and send out to a birthday girl!

And a belated birthday gift from my dear friend, Lainey of Lainey's Stitching Hoose.

Look at these wonderful goodies!!

And Lainey knows, that in addition to sheep, birds and bunnies, I also have a great fondness for Pooh!

Thank you so much Lainey!  I love it all!!  It means even more to know that you thought of me when you have so much going on in your own life.  Hugs..

With all of this craziness in my schedule, the new puppy, and my lack of stitching time, Heidi reminded me of a wonderful Pooh quote to use.  Thanks Heidi!!

“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.”
― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh