TGIF

Here's the scoop on Jori's softball: The machine doesn't really pitch too fast, 30mph sounds super fast, but I heard a house cat can run up to 30mph, too! (Just a little Jeannie tid-bit.) Most of the girls were comfortable with the machine, too. We had our first injury, though. One of the girls was warming up her swing, and well, hit a boy in the head. Poor kids. The girl was doing exactly what she was supposed to be doing, in the the location where she was supposed to, but the boy was playing in the grass and well, got too close. He'll be okay - needed 4 or 5 stitches.

That was Wednesday's ball practice, now onto Thursday. Jori was nervous and got a little frustrated when they were warming up b/c she missed every single ball thrown to her. It was a combination of both girls' throwing - but there were tears. She didn't make eye contact with me, so she must have got rid of them quickly. The coach worked with Jori and helped her feel better, and he worked with the other girl, too. I am not sure who is new on this team, but I think it's Jori and another girl. The rest of the parents and children all knew each other. Hopefully, someday it'll be like that for Jori and I. Some of the girls are almost 11, but their birthday falls at age 10 on January 1st - I got the feeling the parents wanted their girls in 12U. Oh well. Our first game is Thursday!!

Enough about softball. GEEZ. You'd think I was a proud parent or something. Things are good for me. As you can tell, I'm busy driving around JoJo, and I decided yesterday that I'll start running when Jori does fast-pitch practices. I don't need to be there... I'll still help on Jeff's team practices. Running would be good for me and I really have been missing it. I'm getting very excited about summer and riding our bikes, camping, swimming and gardening. Speaking of gardening, I got a new bush this week. Chris is so cute, and I love him so much. I found him Wednesday after work sleeping on my couch; he'd just planted a Burning Bush in my front yard. It's so cute and it looks very good where it is. This fall I'll have to get pictures as it turns red.

Now, this is the best part of this blog. I actually had to call Jori back to the car this morning after dropping her off. She was walking to the door and I happened to take inventory of what she was wearing: Red capri sweats, long sleeve red shirt, aqua-ish tee, yellow softball hat, and her socks pulled up to her knees. WOW. It was so cute and all I could think about was capturing the moment to share and where are Geranimals now??

Softball Season

Softball season has officially started! Jori is playing on Monday and Wednesday for the South St. Paul (SSP) Parks and Rec. Jeff is the coach again this year, and boy does he have his hands full. Only two girls have played before; Jori and Andrea. The other 7 I met last night had not been on a field before. Now, this truly isn't an issue since all kids need to start somewhere, and I'm a full supporter of "let's have fun out there", but (and I mean a big but) the machine is pitching at 30 mph. We didn't get the machine out last night, so I'll need to update you Wednesday. I've attached this picture of Jori wearing her new t-shirt for the team. The shirt situation is pretty funny. It's been great to see many girls in SSP who are athletic and built as such, but our 3rd/4th grade team got YL as the biggest shirt. Let's just say I saw lots of tight shirts last night. This picture doesn't do justice; Jori really looked like a scarecrow! Just to help keep things straight, this league only runs now till the end of May.

Tuesday/Thursday is our new adventure! Jori is on a traveling fast-pitch softball team. We have our first practice on Thursday. I'm a little nervous. Jori is on a 10U (under) team where we travel to other cities and play. WE PLAY DOUBLE HEADERS??!! This kid is going to be tired at night this summer. In this league, the girls actually begin pitching to the other team. Who knows, this might be the start of something new. Jori might find this is what she likes and takes it from here. I wonder if she'll pitch? I wish I could upload video to this blog. I guess I'll need to make some DVD's off the video camera and mail them out to you all. That's right after I get the copies of the cruise photos :)

As for me, I'm doing great! Since I haven't been in my house during Spring it's been exciting to see what lays underneath the leaves. Actually, I'm pretty proud of myself because I have already combed through all of my rocks, bushes, and possible plants and cleaned out the past few years of guck. I have 4 hostas coming in the front and several really nice looking plants in the back. What a feeling when I was done and able to look around and see some gorgeous new growth. No tulips, so I'll need to get some bulbs planted this fall.


For those of you who haven't seen Oli in awhile, here he is!! My cuddle-cup.

Love you ALL!!

PAINT

This is what m$crosoft is good for. Jori made this original black and white, but has added different colors, too.

Today was a good day. Jori is currently testing for MCA's this week and next so she is conscienous of her rest. She has cancelled two offers for Thursday night just to make sure she gets to bed early. Speaking of which, I gotta run and read another chapter of Harry Potter (first book) to Jori.

More later... or tomorrow.

Introducing Jori and Jeannie

I do not know why I didn't do this earlier. Jori and I laugh everyday, we enjoy each waking hour together and now we have a place to share it with our family and friends. If I do this the way I have in mind, you'll see lots of daily pics, hear about our week and up coming events. Come back often because we hope to both publish to this site. This is our first blog together, so have patience as I teach Jori how to post (and soon she'll pass me up on my skills!)

With love and excitement! Jeannie