Spring Training & Gratitude

Some of you may remember that last year we traveled to Myrtle Beach, SC with our sons' travel teams for a long weekend of spring training.  This year, we decided to head down a day early and have a family day before the workouts began.

Friday was an absolutely beautiful day.  We hit the beach for most of the afternoon, walked some shops, and ended the night with friends at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville ~ yummy!!

This reminded me of a cathedral.  A nice place to sit and reflect.

All my boys on the beach.  Notice the teenager pose - head down texting his teammates.

Treasures found along the way...

Last year, my little guy wanted to ride the sky wheel, but we never made it.  It was his goal to ride, so ride we did!

My boy's with their buddies..if you read the newsletters from the Strawberry Sampler, you have heard of Beth's nephews and their love of baseball...the two redheads are the nephews!

So, on to spring training....not so sure it is supposed to look like this....especially in Myrtle Beach!

It all started as a cold rain Saturday afternoon...

This was Sunday morning...yep, snow...

I love the sign with the snow and ice...not sure this was the experience we drove all that way for!

After the snow and ice melted from the fields, it was time to get back to business.  Despite the cold and bitter wind, the games went on.

Maybe next year they should travel all the way to Florida!

We had a great time, but were happy to get home and see this face..

 

 

I have some thanks to give.  First off, I won Terri's Valentine's Giveaway over at Dixiesamplar.  Thank you so much Terri ~ I was surprised at all the goodies!

Terri sure knows how to spoil a person!!

This is the sweetest little pillow.

I love how she personalized the back.

Thanks again, Terri!

 

 Vickie,from a Stitcher's Story, had a draw for this magazine and just look at those beautiful pins she sent as a surprise.  Thank you so much Vickie.  I am looking for just the right pincushion to stitch up for these pins! 

 

Then, Peggy Lee surprised me with this beautiful heart box that she painted.  I love it!!  There were some chocolates and a skein of DMC in a lovely pink color inside.  So sorry to report that the chocolates didn't make it...they had to be taken care of before the boys got home from school!

Thanks Peggy Lee for the wonderful surprise!

 

I have managed a few stitches on the Pomegranate Study.  This is such a fun piece ~ hopefully it won't take me too much longer.

 

Thanks for sticking it out through another marathon post!  I really must try and post more often.  Thanks again to all of you who have made my February a little less dreary with your generosity!

 

“Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.”
― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

Preparation and Gratitude

Preparation.  It's a large part of life and keeping up with all of the activities that go along with having active boys.  We hit the road this past Friday bright and early.  Four o'clock in the morning early.  It's not just the professionals that head south for spring training! 

Two and 1/2 days of training at the Cal Ripken complex in Myrtle Beach.

Our older two boys have been training over the winter inside since early December.  It was fun seeing the teams able to play outside on a full field.

Our Oldest

The Middle Guy

Our little guy enjoyed the playground and practiced taking pictures.  He made my husband and I pose for this picture.  I think he did pretty good!

And of course, I had to take one or two of him!

We did get to spend a little time on the beach.  I enjoy being at the beach when it's cooler.  No crowds and no worries about fitting into a bathing suit!

 

 

 

 

There were quite a few dead jellyfish on the beach.  The boys were very interested in these! 

 

 

The men in my life are Kiss fans, so we had to hit this place...

 

And I like Jimmy Buffet and margaritas, so...

In case you were wondering, I did take my stitching along.  With all the activity, the stitching time was limited though.  Here's my start on my ornament for the month.

I picked an easier one to stitch this month, so even though I don't have much done, I know I can get there by the end of the month!

It's TUSAL time already!

I have been stitching!  And now, I can reveal on what!  I participated in the Stitched With Love Exchange.  The theme was Love and Friendship.  Here is what I sent to Tricia.

Since this was a secret partner exchange, I had to ask Lainey to get me some information, as she moderates the exchanges.  I placed Tricia's maiden initials, her husband's initials, and their wedding date on the pin pillow.  I didn't even realize it until she told me, this year marks their 25th anniversary!  Tricia's blog is The Stamper's Stitches, if you've never been, pop on over and say hello!  I've definitely made a new blogging friend.

My package was from Pam at Confession's of a Southern Stitcher.

 

Pam mentioned that this was a new type of finish for her.  She did a fabulous job and I love it! 

I loved all of my goodies ~ oh, and there were cookies too.  Can you guess who ate them?  Thanks again Pam, I love it all!

If you are interested in joining along in the next exchange, you can do so by clicking on the link above.  The next theme is Spring into Easter.  You can also see the gallery of all the goodies that were sent during the last exchange!

Thanks for stopping by!  I am grateful, grateful for being able to do the things we do with our boys, and grateful for all of the friends I have made through my blogging journey!

“Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.”
― A.A. Milne