BIG OUCHIE!
On Tuesday I arrived home from Youth Conference in Juneau. That's a whole other blog, because it was an amazing experience. On Wednesday night i went back to work at the Cedars Lodge. I'd only been working about an hour when Aaron called in a panic, then Travis called on the cell phone. I couldn't understand either one of them. Finally I hung up on Travis and said to Aaron, where is dad? He said, "he took Aspen to the hospital." I dropped the phone, grabbed my keys. It only took me five minutes to get to the er. I ran inside to find Travis holding Aspen on the end of the bed. Apparently she had got her thumb stuck in the front gate and it had ripped the top right off! There was a huge chunk out of her thumb. The nurse was washing her hands. I tried with all my might to not cry or throw up. Aspen was only whimpering. The doctor came in and looked at it, he said that luckily there wasn't any damage to the bone. This meant no surgery he said and the thumb will heal. They had Travis take some xrays to make sure there wasn't any bone damage. Luckily there wasn't any. After only two and half hours they sent her home in a bandage. She has been in a little pain, but okay so far. Now I have to keep her out of dirt and water. Yeah right!

Home Run Hero
Out of the 74 boys attending this years SouthEast Alaska's All-Star Tournament only 12 were chosen to participate in the home run derby. Aaron was the second to last in the competition. He hit two way over the fence. They weren't just over the fence, they were waaaaay over! If the field had been set up for the High School they still would have been homeruns. I was so proud! After he hit the first one he turned and looked at me. He is such a cute kid! The second place winner hit three and the next one hit four. I was sooooo proud!

The game didn't stop the awesome day. In the first inning Aaron had this suhweet catch in right field. He had to sprint to get it, but he got it. He also hit a long double and made it all the way home on the next hit. The team continued to play strong through the whole game. The won 11 to 1. This may be Aaron's last game as the team will play tomorrow at 3:00 for the semi-finals.

Hey Now You're An ALL-STAR!!!
Aaron was chosen for the 11-12 year old All-Star Team. He started the year at 12 years old so he was still in Majors this year. He was the only one going into 8th grade. He is also the tallest on the team by 5 inches.

On Sunday they had a meet and greet with the other teams. It was held at a prestigious restaurant here in town. They were introduced to each other and swapped pins. I felt that even though it was Sunday I'd allow Aaron to go. The next day they held opening ceremonies. It poured the whole time! They also held the first three games.

Aaron's team played Juneau East the first night. He played right field. The first hit to him was straight down the foul line. He sprinted for the ball and threw an amazing catch to second. He got the runner out!! It was an awesome throw! His first time up to bat he hit a single to first base. What a beautiful hit! In the third inning the coach substituted him out. I asked the coach why, but he didn't ever answer me. Funny how the sons of locals stay in the whole game. Not mad at all though. Okay, I am, but I'm trying to be good about it! Why take out the kids (not just Aaron) that are playing really well? Why not substitute everyone? Let everyone play equal time? They are all all-stars, they are all equally good players. I'm not good at this relax and let them play. Tonight they play again, I hope it goes better for Aaron tonight.

ZIP - LINE
A very generous family here in Ketchikan gave a free Zip Line Tour to Aaron's All-Star Baseball team. They needed a volunteer parent so I went. It was totally wicked!

We were able to go on six different routes. The guides were so cool and helpful with the boys. They had a blast.

At the end of the tour was a slide. It was the scariest part of the whole thing! You went soooo fast. The instructions before you go down were, don't put your feet up you'll flip over, don't put your hands out, you'll burn them, etc. It was a little daunting to say the least.

Another part of the tour was a rope bridge. At first I was a little nervous, but you are still hooked up to a rope so that helped. I never thought that Aaron playing baseball would be so fun. Thanks Aaron!

CAMPING
During the month of May I realized that it was so crazy I'd have to put camping on the calendar for it to actually happen. Good thing I have Sarah to keep me to my word. As the week got closer I was so tired. I considered canceling, but we had made a deal.
The kids were good in helping to get a little bit ready everyday. Aaron had all-stars and I had to work each night, this made packing a huge feat. Finally Thursday morning we were ready. We loaded up the car as tight as we could and headed out.

We decided to go out to Settler's Cove. We love the beach there and thought the camp spots would be good. Sarah had found one earlier and we went straight for it. It was perfect. Big enough for two tents and lots of kids. Good thing too since I brought my five plus two more. Aaron, Dylan and Morgan were awesome setting up the tent and getting things unloaded.

As soon as we were set up we started to relax. Some of the kids went down to the beach to play, others stayed at camp. Morgan had a new book and dove right in to it. It wasn't long before I had to head back in to town to take Aaron and his friend to All-Star practice. It took me and hour and a half to go to the park and back. AHHH! We got back and had hot dogs and smores. After a few hours of playing we hit the sack. Aspen slept terribly. The boys did okay, apparently when really tired I snore.

The next morning we played at the beach all day. We made sandwiches and goofed around. Morgan spent hours looking for bull fish and hermit crabs. They had a wonderful time. That night we had dutch oven chicken and potatoes. I had to take the boys in to baseball again, but this time they got a ride back out. I'm so glad I went. We had a wonderful time and will do it again in a few weeks!!

It's Official!!
As of July 6th, 2009 Aaron is officially taller than me. After much deliberation and argument we measured. I stand 5 feet 10 inches tall. He is now 5 feet 11. AHHH

He wanted to make sure everyone knew this. Aside from yelling from the rooftop I thought this would work. It's a good thing he's so humble, cuz he's sure cute!

HAPPY 4th of July

Morgan's team was asked to pass out flags at the beginning of the parade. Dylan's team won the championship so they got to help too! They looked so sharp walking along the parade route.

Aspen was very good at staying by the sidewalk to run out for candy. She was also quiet, not so sure she liked the noise.

Aaron was chosen for All-Stars this year. He was on their float. I had to go around the truck to get a picture. He even smiled. He's slowly learning.

Travis appeased me again by wearing the annual shirt! Jayden too!
HAPPY 4th!!