Charleston..... - updated @ 8:50 p.m.

Ronnie and I didn't make the trip - he is a Sr., lol....so Chase and the team traveled to Charleston, WV to meet with the Govenor.  It was a recognition event to honor them as State Champs.  Very nice -  I was happy to get this picture from Chase -

What a great picture of him and Coach.  I have encouraged him to cherish these moments.  Most of these are once in a life time opportunities.  Enjoy!

here's the link... exciting day for JHS baseball.

Cleanin' up -

Am I the only one that can use up every bit of space on a double hard drive?  UGH.....it's all those pictures.  Like 42,000 pictures on my computer plus 4 hard drives and some thumb drives.  Pathetic.

So in my frenzy to clean some off so I could post about our weekend, I found these.  This is a beautiful Blue Heron I snapped while floating on the Potomac River in Shepherdstown.

And I remember when this (much younger) Chase bought his Kayak -

Trying it out at Dick's - Then trying it out in the pool -

And then that first fish -

And what I wouldn't give to know what he was thinking'.....

Where oh where did my little man go =)

Hesitant....

I'm always hesitant to say much about a 17 year old and a 'new'/used car but when I looked back through the pictures, I could see the excitement.  AND...we have to keep Nanny up to date =)

So this is Chases' 3rd car.  But after a few inconveniences, we decided to bite the bullet and look into a dependable car with a warranty.  I found one a little less sporty and cheaper than this but it all worked out (in Chase's benefit =).  And the day finally came to sign the papers and pick it up.  I have to say that Shockley is awesome to deal with.  We have purchased 3 cars from them.

Now every day I just pray for safety, for peace, for an uneventful 17th year (and 18th and 19th....)

The last one.......whew!

Yep!  Our last child is heading into his Senior year - and I think at the end of this, we will ALL celebrate =)

Lisa @ Tiptoe did an awesome job last week with his 'informal' pictures.  I think you will agree -

Here's to an awesome senior year!

Wordless Wednesday?

No, it's Friday but NO words needed here.

Only Chase......

Chase actually did something tonight that no one else in our family has ever done. He traded fish, ha!

So the story goes like this. On September 5th of last year he 'rescued' Renegade. This fish had been in Brandon's Mom's fish tank and wasn't getting along so well with another fish which resulted in a big "chunk" out of his nose...

He came here in a bucket and was soon happy in Chase's 30 gallon tank.

His nose got better and he was a very happy fish. He followed Chase around the perimeter of the tank and knew when it was feeding time. He actually turned out to be a pretty cool fish.

At Christmas Chase got a 75 gallon tank which made Renegade even happier. The goal was to have a few other fish like this pretty goldfish -

but one goldfish, an algae eater, three cory cats later it was confirmed that Renegade wanted to live alone, regardless of how big his tank was.

Last month Chase decided he wanted to either give Renegade away or sell him. He made up a sign to hang at our local pet shop but it never quite made it there. One day Chase decided to call a fish store we visit frequently to see if they would take 10 - 11 inch Red Oscar as a trade and believe it or not, they said "YES"!

Our weekend was pretty busy but this evening Renegade once again landed in a bucket and made his way to his new home. It's a win-win situation. He will be happy in his new fish home and Chase can get more fish =)

Good luck Renegade! I think Chase just might miss you.....

Of ALL times -

to not have my big camera...urgh!

Saturday night Chase went to a birthday party. It seemed to come up at the last minute and I never saw an invitation, hmmm. So we drove him there and when we pulled into the driveway, there was only one car. Because I didn't know these people, I went up to the door with him and introduced myself to the Mom. She said the kids were down stairs and he should be picked up no later than 9.

Around 8:55 we arrive to pick him up. Still only one car in the driveway so we ring the doorbell. Very quiet. The house is dark. Suddenly Ronnie said he heard kids out back so we head around the side. Next we see two boys. Ok, feeling better..Chase wasn't the only boy. The boys looked worried....so we said "hey, we're Chase's parents and we're cool", lol. Well, that must be true because the next thing we know, about 10 kids come running! It ends up there were over 40 kids at this party. Shew...glad it was them and not me, haha.

I wanted a picture but only had my pocket camera. I ran to the car and got it and without even asking, several of them came to the fence and started posing, ha! One little girl said "am I going to be on your web-site?" So I asked how she knew about the blog. She said Chase had showed her so now she looks every day. I'm honored to have such young fans (smile). The best thing is that it was her birthday party so Miss Kylee....this is for you! (sorry the pic is not the best).and here's some of the group being silly. They did make us laugh after such a sad day..Of course I have to show one of Chase and Lexi although he's going to be mad since it's not a 'great' picture....and then there's the girls -What we wouldn't give to be 12 again....

7 to 7 Spooktacular Lock In

We're pretty particular with where our kids stay overnight but I guess we didn't see any harm in allowing them to stay at school for 12 hour lock-in. It was their first time but they were definitely excited...So they packed up and we dropped them off.After that we dug out some of the Florida wine (which was very summer like) and had dinner at Red Lobster.

I picked them up this morning at 6:30 now they are sleeping like little rocks! Chase only has a few hours until he heads off to baseball practice. Uh oh.....I hope the coach goes easy on him today, lol!

West Virginia plays tonight at 7:00 pm and I picked up Blind Side (we haven't seen that one yet) so it should be a pretty quiet evening..... I'm thinking they will be in bed really early.

Looking for a sponsor...

Just kidding (for now at least) but after a fun day on the track Chase was pumped! He had a great time and even came home with a 1st place trophy! He had a very interesting day, full of instruction and track time. There was one mishap which certainly could have been a lot worse but we are thankful everyone is ok. We are very proud of Chase for doing so good the first time he has done something like this! A special thanks again to the Cobbs. Without them he wouldn't have had a fun day on the track!

In his glory....

this is where Chase is spending today. All day. Having fun.


Thanks to The Cobb's he is participating in somewhat of a 'test' by racing go-carts. There are 12 children participating and based on the schedule I saw, it is an action packed day.

Fast cars and motorcycles typically race on this track so it did seem a little odd just dropping him off with people I don't know (except for Greg) and signing my life away since it IS a 'race track'. I know, he is almost 12 :)

Good night, sleep tight...

Please - no sleep walking tonight!


I'm hoping this Sleep Fairy will watch over Chase as he sleeps and take away the 'sleep walking'. This is something new for Chase and just started Labor Day weekend. The first time it happened I was completely freaked out however, we have checked it out and it is all pretty normal (if any sleep walking is normal). It happens within the first few hours of him going to bed and is very common in boys betwee the ages of 11 and 13. Shew...please say we don't have two years to get through. The past few times I have still been awake when it happens and know right away that he is really 'asleep' (although that really doesn't make it much easier). In the morning, he doesn't recall any of it. Wow.

So, say a little prayer for Chase for him to get a good night's sleep!

Wednesday's walk.....down memory lane

We just wrapped up the Spring/Summer baseball season and are now heading into the Fall league. As I was finishing up his scrapbook for this season I couldn't help but glance back through the years. Here's his first t-ball practice...

and here's this year! Wow, he really is growing up. (and yes, this is my son who keeps 'bait' in his fish tank in his room :)

Fishin' Fools

From baseball to fishing in less than 60! Yes, that's true. Right in the parking lot, Hunter striped down from baseball uniform to fishing clothes and loaded up his gear.

These two started planning their 'fishing' adventure last week and that's all they talked about between games. (luckily it didn't affect their focus) On Friday they spent 7 hours at the ballfield, playing 2games and Sunday 12 hours, playing 3 games.



They were down at the pond until dark last night then watched 'youtube' for fishing tips. We heard the alarm going off this morning and they were ready to go again. Why can't they get up that easy for school :)

So off they go for another day of fishing!