More Baseball

Since I was 14, my idea of a perfect day has involved avoiding all responsibilities of work or school, going to an afternoon baseball game, and eating candy. Thursday was about as close as I’ve gotten in nearly 31 years of trying.

Isaac and I left home around 10 am. Summer was running various errands, and I was off work, so we two boys were going to spend the day together. We took the bus to the corner of UNM campus and got lunch. We then walked to Isotopes Park, where the Lobos were playing UNLV in the first game of the final home stand of the season.

Afternoon college games are anything but crowded, and when we arrived there were about 100 of us in the stands, so we chose two seats behind home plate in the shade. We sat there for one inning before Isaac wanted to get something to eat. We sat back down on the third base side. Two innings later Isaac wanted to sit in the first row near the visitors dugout along the left field line. After a few innings in the hot sun, we moved back to the shade.

Now, the fun thing about Lobos baseball is the fact that these sparsely attended games, which cost all of $3 for a child and nothing for me, as I am still a UNM student, are played in what may be the finest minor league ballpark in the country. The AAA All-Star Game is being played here this July, by the way. So there’s plenty of room to move around (as evidenced in the previous paragraph), and a spectacular facility. Add to this the Sandia Mountains looming in the distance behind the outfield wall, and you’ve got a great day at the ballpark.

Toward the end of the 6th inning, Isaac was clearly tired, so I cuddled him up, and within a few pitches he was out. He slept until the bottom of the 8th, then woke up slowly just in time for the last out half an inning later. UNM wound up winning 9-4 behind a strong 8 shutout innings from their starting pitcher.

Ryan's Tooth

For the past week or two, Ryan has been fiddling with his first loose tooth. On Monday, Summer took a look and noted that the new tooth was pushing in behind the loose one, making it too tight to fall out on its own. So, being the brute she is, she pulled it. Below is Ryan with the fruits of his mother's labors.

On a related note, Isaac came out of his room an hour after bedtime Monday night. After I tucked him back in he got all teary and said, "I don't want the toof fairy come mine room." Apparently the idea of a strange winged specter sneaking in and taking little boys' teeth didn't sit well with the toddler. Go figure...

Mommy's Adventures

I am writing this mainly for my Allyson, Ryan and Isaac, but if anyone else really wants to read, proceed.
I had a wonderful time at Women's Conference. It was fun walking around BYU campus again. I walked by the spot where Daddy and I and our FHE group met for the first time. I also walked by the place where we got decided to get married. Maybe you three will get to see those places sometime yourselves.
I heard some wonderful talks and I even got to see Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and his wife Sister Holland. They spoke to all the sisters at the very end of the conference. During all of the talks I thought about you guys a lot and thought about ways I could be a better mommy for you, and teach you about the gospel.
I got to be with Grandma Catherall, Liz, Kiki, Judy, Megan and Kathi, and we had a lunch with April and Zoe. We all stayed up really late talking and laughing together.
When Women's Conference was over we came home to Grandpa's and Grandma's house. I was so tired from staying up so late and walking around campus and up so many stairs that I slept for 10 hours last night!
This morning after finally waking up and showering, Grandma and I did a little shopping and then we went to the spa. I got a pedicure (my toenails are a dark red), a massage, and a facial. It was very relaxing and helped me feel better. Because I was lying down so much the baby kept waking up and bouncing all over the place. When she gently massaged my tummy though, he calmed down and went to sleep. So the baby got a little massage, too!
With all this sleeping in, getting pampered, doing what I want to do at all times, it is fun for a moment. But I feel lost and alone without my Allyson who gives me hugs all the time, my Ryan who loves to read with me, Isaac who loves to cuddle with me, and Roy who gives me all the love in the world and makes me feel like a queen.
I can't wait to come home on Monday and see you all then. I love you all so much!

Baseball

The kids and I went to Friday night's UNM-BYU baseball game. Below are some pictures, but I want to start with a story. The local news covers UNM's home games on the nightly news, and most nights the piece starts with a shot from the crowd. During the 3rd inning I thought of this, and knowing that the cutest people in the stadium were the kids, I decided to watch the news carefully. And, wouldn't you know it, the opening image from the game is the four of us; it was after the 2nd inning, because I had taken off my long-sleeve shirt after dribbling mustard on it...And, since you're all big Mountain West Conference baseball nuts, UNM won 4-3 after coming from behind.

Saturday we went to the afternoon game. It was cool and cloudy, threatening rain, but the sun did break out after a few innings. But Ryan--he of zero percent body fat--was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, so we stopped by the Isotopes gift shop and bought him a long-sleeved shirt, and I bought toys for Allyson and Isaac so they wouldn't complain that I was being unfair, which of course made Ryan jealous; you just can't win sometimes.

Anyhow, being an afternoon game, we were able to stay for the all 9 innings, which happens rarely with our kids. The Cougars gave up 2 in the 1st, and the Lobo starting pitcher was on fire for the first 5 innings. But once Isaac fell asleep (he napped for 2 innings), BYU had a big inning and eventually won 5-3.

Audioblogging

The kids wanted to record a message for Summer, and this makes a good way for me to experiment with audioblogging. First we have Allyson. A bit of warning. Her message starts off with a bang, but there's a lot of dead time when she's not sure what to say. The file's 60 seconds, so wait for her grand finale.

Next is Ryan. He's a natural at this; I'm awaiting his radio show when he's in college. Isaac resists the headset, so you'll just have to imagine him.

New Links

This makes two lame entries in a row, but since Summer's out of town, nothing interesting is going on. I do have some stuff planned with the kids that will warrant a new entry with adorable photos, but for now it's just an announcement.

I've added two sets of links--family blogs and my favorite podcasts. For the former, I've linked to Mom's new blog and the Forbes' older one. Since the readership of this blog reaches well into the single digits, and I know some of you have blogs, let me know if you would like yours linked here.

As for the latter set of links, for a while now I have been subscribing to a number of podcasts to listen to on the bus. I commute via bus a few hours each day, and if I have a fun, enlightening, or interesting podcast to listen to, I'm a much happier person when I get to the office or back home. If you're looking for good podcasts, I hope these interest you. And if they don't, well, blogging is just a vast exercise in narcissism, so I don't really mind...

My Voice?

I'd like to ask for a favor, and I'll need to preface this a bit. You who know me well can be a good and honest judge of whether this works. For some time I have been interested in creating educational podcast materials to supplement my classes. And I think that the blog might be the best way to do this. So, please listen to this one-minute file and let me know, via email or a comment on this entry, what you think. Would this format be useful for students? What are the pros and cons? If you were a student, would this sort of thing help? And, most importantly, do I sound like a deranged Muppet? Thanks.