July by the Numbers

ONE Northern California State Title for the Woodcreek All Stars. Woot-Woot!

TWO home runs hit by Carter.

FOUR practices/basketball games for Garrett.

FIVE days of Scout camp for Tanner and friends(6 days for them, Tanner was picked up a day early to watch Carter's final game).

SEVEN girlfriends get together for a dinner/birthday celebration for my sweet friend, Meridee. She was visiting from Utah.

EIGHT layouts created(KOTW/GTKC).

TWELVE blog posts.

FIFTEEN A. All Star games played/attended.

FIFTEEN B. The # of times we got to hear the National Anthem sung live by Katie Martini(I got teary eyed each and every time...that's what I do).

NINETEEN Fit Club classes attended at Fitness MD( I missed two,one on the 4th of July, and one day to have breakfast and watch the sun rise with the YW at the Sacramento Temple).

TWENTY new songs purchased off of itunes...I love me some new, fun music.

FORTY NINE miles logged(some walked, some jogged).

SIXTY minutes spent listening to TRAIN live with my sweetie. They sounded awesome!Did I mention it was free?

Nor Cal State Champions

Belmont beat San Francisco. We played Belmont tonight. The deal was, if we lost, we would play them again on Saturday. If we won, we claimed that Nor Cal State Champions title. The boys were pumped up for this game. The parents were pumped and still on a high from Tuesday nights game/win. Carter is the lead off hitter for the team. We were the visiting team for the evening so we were up to bat first. Carter takes his place at the plate and the first ball crosses the plate. Strike one. The 2nd ball is thrown and Carter nails it, hitting a home run right over the center field fence. It was awesome! The crowd went wild. As the innings went on, our pitching was phenomenal. The bats were making contact with the ball. The boys were on F-I-R-E! Carter gets up to the bat during the 3rd inning and he hits another home run over that center field fence again. Two home runs in one game. It was simply A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Carter's pal, Daniel also hit a home run. The WOODCREEK (9-10 yr. old)ALL STARS win the California State Title. Out of the 350 teams in Nor Cal,they are the last team standing. That is something to be proud of.

Here are a few of my favorite photos from today's game/win! So proud and happy for Carter and his entire team. What a ride it has been.

State Games

We have begun our All Star games at the state level. We are traveling to Danville to play against the top 6 teams(including our team) in Nor Cal.. Out of 350 Little League teams, we are down to the final 6 teams. That is something to be proud if. Our 1st game was against Hollister. We ended up winning the game but only by 1 run. Our boys played flat. We have no idea what happened but we needed the win and were super happy when they pulled it off. Up next, we played Fresno. We beat them 14-4. Right on! Those are the All Star boys we know and recognize.














Now we are up to speed/date. Today's game was against Belmont. We had heard from others that this was the team to beat. Let me just say, beat them we did but not without some serious excitement. This was seriously the most exciting game to date. By the time we entered the 5th inning, our team was down 11-1. Yes, you read that right. We were down 11-1. The boys were dropping balls out in the outfield due to the sun setting. They said they could not see the ball until the ball dropped. Belmont loaded their bases a few times due to the balls hit into the outfield. Our little All Stars rallied back and we cheered them on like crazy. By the time we hit the bottom of the 6th inning(our ups), the score was 10-11, we are still down by ONE run. With one out and 2 boys on base, Carter gets up to bat and hits a walk off double. We win the game by one run! Oh my! What a game.

Here is Carter receiving big hugs from Dad after hitting the walk off double.



















We loved having our family here to cheer Carter and his team on. Tonight, we had Grandpa Randy, Grandma Sandy, Uncle Brandon, and Uncle Tyson here.











This was such a BIG come back and a HUGE win for the boys. We headed back to the hotel so the boys could swim and enjoy a pizza party. The smiles said it all. Way to go WOODCREEK ALL STARS.













Now we just wait to see who wins the Belmont vs. San Francisco game. We will play the winner on Saturday...can't wait!!!

We have had a wonderful Summer, filled with many adventures. I can't believe that school starts in about 2 weeks for our boys. It just doesn't seen right to have to start school in August, let alone the 2nd week of August. We are trying to cram as much as we can in, as our Summer is flying right on by. We are having so much fun and are not ready for it to end. My goal is to catch up on blogging all of our Summer adventures...stay tuned.

Section 4 champs

The Woodcreek All Stars took one more title tonight. They are the Section 4 champions. They played the Tri-City team from Rocklin. Carter was put in as the relief pitcher during the 4th inning. He struck the batters out to get his team out of that inning. Carter then closed the top off the 5th off with another strike out. It was a good game but we clenched it in the end. Way to go boys. We are so proud of each and everyone of them. GO WOODCREEK!

On the lake

We enjoyed a fun outing to Camp Far West today. It was our first visit to this lake. We loved it! When we left at 7:45 in the morning, it was cold and dreary looking. As we made our way towards the lake, the clouds began to part and the sun decided to peek around the clouds. It ended up being a perfect day on the lake. Warm sunshine, with a cool breeze = perfection. It was a wonderful day with friends.





This cute little munch was happy to be the passenger on the boat. He wanted nothing to do with the tube rides.


These boys just wanted to be pulled and flung around the lake. They kept giving the thumbs up sign because they wanted to go faster. They had so much fun!


Sienna wasn't too sure about riding with the wild boys who just wanted to go fast:-).


Holden found the perfect seat on the boat, he crashed and took his nap right up next to Sandi!


Again, he was just happy to be on the boat...the one that was moving slowly!


Garrett, Tanner and I went out for one last run! We had a blast. We laughed the whole time as Jason zipped us all over the lake. We caught air and got wet!

A big thanks to the Packer's for a super fun day! We had a blast!

Our very own All*Star

We have all been on a serious high since the Woodcreek 9-10 old Stars beat the El Dorado Team, to take the Section 54 title last weekend. I have sat on this post for a few days so I wouldn't feel so overwhelmed when sitting down to record the memories. Well, here I sit and I still have a ton of emotions(all happy) that accompany this post. The 9-10 year old El Dorado Hills team was the team to beat in this series. We played them a total of 3 times. We lost the 1st game to them, but not by much. We played them a 2nd time and beat them, 13-6. Our boys were on fire when it was their turn to bat. One of the Uncles of a teammate heard one of the EDH's Moms say(when it was evident that we were beating them...bad)"What are we going to do with the 20 pizzas that we have waiting for the boys at the coaches house?" They were so sure and smug thinking they were going to beat us and take that District 54 title. By the end of the 2nd game, each team had 1 win. That allowed us to play them one more time. We came out swinging during the 1st inning of that 3rd game. We were ahead 3-0 by the end of the 1st inning. By the 6th inning, the score was 6-4 and we were losing. It was a good thing that we had the home team advantage. We had one more chance at bat. Our first batter struck out. Our second batter walked, taking 1st base. Our third batter got a base hit, sending runners to 1st and 2nd. Our 4th batter singled. Bases are loaded. It is now Carter's turn to bat. He has an awesome line drive that brought two runners home, making the score 6-6. Our 4th batter takes his stance on home plate and hits a double all the way out the right field fence. That double brings Carter across the home plate to WIN the game. All of the fans were on their feet cheering and yelling so loud. It was AMAZING. I still get goosebumps when I think about it.

I love this shot. Coaches picking up their players. Coaches picking up each other. Players dog piling Carter and Daniel(winning run and hitter of that winning run) at home plate = magic on the ball field.



















Seriously, if this experience is even a tiny bit of a glimpse of what it is like to win the World Series, those SF Giants deserved all of the credit, cheers and hoopla that they got. This experience has been AMAZING and so much fun...I am not even a player, just the cheer leading Mom on the sidelines!

We have had a week off from games and will resume play next week. Sections, here we come! We will be back on our home field and are excited for what the week holds. GO WOODCREEK!

p.s. The boys even made the front page of the Roseville Press Tribune. There was a great photo of the boys at home plate, ready to high five their teammate who had just hit a home run. The reporter gives another boy credit for crossing home plate for the win but it really was Carter :-).

Cow Appreciation Day

We enjoyed a free lunch at Chick-Fil-A. It was cow appreciation day. If you dressed up to resemble a cow(in any way), you received a free meal. We made it simple and raided my scrap file and tore black spots to attach to our shirts. Carter had ears and Brody had a tail. Our whole family was able to score that free lunch. As were were sitting down to enjoy our lunch, Tanner reminded us that this was our 4th year attending and that we have sat at the same table each year :-). What can we say? We love traditions and creating silly memories.

colorful yumminess

I have had this image saved/waiting on my computer for over a year now.



















Just dreaming and waiting for the morning when we would have some extra time to make some of our own. My friend, Amy posted this recipe, with her version of these colorful pancakes. We decided to make them for dinner this week.The boys thought they were great and well, I love anything that is colorful.

















Next on our "to make/create" list...















YUM!

Fun on the Fourth

We had a fabulous 4th of July. Forget the apple pie, the boys enjoyed their favorite All American treat...the Slurpee. We played in the water, enjoyed a yummy BBQ dinner, and the fireworks are always a hit. Brody is still not a fan of the loud noises that those fabulous fireworks produce but at least he wasn't holed up in the car watching them this year. We can't let this holiday(or any other day) pass by without expressing how very grateful we are for the men and women who serve our country on a daily basis. Their service allows us to live in this great land and to enjoy the many freedoms that we do. So very grateful and thankful.

This is this weeks Kit of the Week at Green Tangerines. I am happy to report that those are photos from this years 4th of July, all scrapped. Am I allowed to say "go me?"










There are kits available for this layout at Green Tangerines. All you have to do is provide your own photos and purchse the kit and you can get your 4th of July photos scrapped in a heartbeat.

Life with Boys

One of the boys favorite activities is to pull the ramp out. Most people know that my boys have NO FEAR, none what so ever. Here is Garrett, showing his stuff. Notice how he just couldn't jump off the ramp? He had to add a few skateboards to jump over. I have learned to just shut my eyes and pray that I won't be spending the afternoon/evening in the ER.

Recipe Share

As promised, here is another recipe that I made for John, on Father's Day. These potatoes were a BIG hit with the whole family. We enjoyed them with yummy spicy-honey chicken(I'll share that recipe soon) and a green salad.
The Ultimate Twice Baked Potatoes
Recipe found on allrecipes.com















4 large baking potatoes
8 slices bacon
1 cup sour cream
1/4 to 1/2 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
8 green onions, sliced, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bake potatoes in preheated oven for 1 hour. You can just microwave the potatoes instead because it is way faster and they taste just as good. About three minutes per potato, just check for tenderness. Make sure to poke holes in the potatoes with a fork before microwaving so that they don't explode.

Meanwhile, place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.

When potatoes are done allow them to cool for 10 minutes. Slice potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop the flesh into a large bowl leaving about 1/4 inch of flesh so the potato maintains it's shape; save skins. To the potato flesh add sour cream, butter, salt, pepper, 1/2 cup cheese, 1/2 the green onions, and milk (start adding 1/2 cup of milk but you may not need to add it all depending on the consistency you want. You don't want them too runny). Mix with a hand mixer until well blended and creamy. Spoon the mixture into the potato skins. Top each with remaining cheese, green onions and bacon.

Bake for another 15 minutes at 350 degrees.
Enjoy!

Raimi's Notes:
* my family does not like green onions but I do. Loved that I could add them to my potato.
* I didn't use the microwave to bake the potatoes. I am kind of old fashion that way. Let me know if you try the microwave method.