Lunch Time!

Yesterday I hosted the weekly ladies potluch lunch. It was a lot of fun and we had a great turnout. Everyone brought their own meat to grill, which ended up being a little challenging because the wind kept blowing out the flame. Eventually though, all of the meat got cooked and it turned out delicious. There was also lots of other yummy food that people brought to share. All of the kids had fun playing out in our back yard. They managed to stay pretty entertained the whole time, giving us adults time to visit. I think these lunches have been such a good idea. It is nice to get out and socialize with people you wouldn't ordinarily see during the week.

Watch Your Child Dance Day

Today was "Watch Your Child Dance Day" at Ashlynn's dance class. I was very impressed with what the kids had learned. Ashlynn did a great job. She is really quite coordinated, unlike her mother :). It was really fun watching them do their little routines. They also got to demonstrate a lot of things that they learned one at a time. Ashlynn is normally shy and afraid of doing stuff in front of people, but to my surprise she did not even hesitate today. She was really confident and did awesome! I think this has been a great thing for her to be involved in. Her teacher, Stephanie Baker, does a wonderful job with these kids. My favorite part of the whole thing was when Ashlynn had to demonstrate her skipping. I had to laugh, because of how she learned to skip. One day she came home from dance and said that she was suppose to work on learning how to skip. So, we were standing in the kitchen and I started showing her how to do it. Step, hop, step, hop, step, hop...... She wasn't really catching on. Before I knew it, Dustin came in and started trying to show her too, then all of the sudden he started skipping around the circle in our house. In our house, you can go around in a circle through the kitchen , through the living room, through one door of the bathroom and out the other door of the bathroom, and back to the kitchen... anyways you get the picture... it's like running around in a big circle. Then one by one the kids started following him.....all of them singing some made up song while they went around and around. After I stopped laughing at my husband as he skipped around singing, I decided that it looked like fun and joined in. If anyone would have walked in our house at that moment , they probably would have thought that we were a little on the odd side. It was actually pretty hillarious. In the end, Dillon and Ashlynn both learned how to skip, and Samantha did a pretty good job for a three year old. So, needless to say, when Miss Stephanie asked Ashlynn to demonstrate her skipping, I couldn't help but laugh.

Mets Minute

Dillon drew this picture today. I just had to post it because I thought it was so cute.

Every week we receive an e mail newsletter called the "Mets Minute". Gretchen Lin, Jason's (one of Dillon's teamates) mom writes it, and does a terrific job. This week it was Dillon's turn to be one of the spotlights. I just loved how she worded the paragraph about Dillon. This week was great for the Mets, they won their game again on Saturday against the Yankees. Dillon also got another great "powerhouse" hit which was mentioned in the newsletter.

Mets Minute

A quick recap of the week and a snap-shot of what is to come. Where the focus is not on the score or the championships but rather on the next week, having fun, learning more about Little League baseball, and getting to know our team and families better. (And of course, where your comments, questions and ideas are always welcome!)



"It might be...it could be...it is! A home run! Holy cow!"

– Baseball Radio Announcer Harry Caray

(and a lot of us in the stands this past week)



Your Rookie Mets were absolutely on fire this past week with home runs for Jameson and Noah and powerhouse hits by Dillon V. Amazing defensive plays included a particularly nice out at Second made by Nycholas and an amazing catch for Chase. The boys soundly beat both opponents this week (Reds and Yankees) and were really playing as a team.

Meet Your Rookie Mets: Veenendaal & Villagomez

His dad, Dustin, missed his incredible hits that earned him a game ball on Thursday, but everyone in the family (Mom Stephanie and sisters Ashlynn and Samantha) was there to see Dillon “The Gentle Giant” Veenendaal whack that ball into the outfield on Saturday. I am sure his family’s traditional meal out and movies after the game on Saturday were a bit more boisterous than usual given the excitement surrounding his incredible play! It is only his first year playing baseball, but if Dillon continues to show the strength he showed over the past week, he also may just have found a way to pay for school and those expensive digs he dreams of going out on. Yes, he loves dinosaurs and dreams of being a Paleontologist.

As Coach Pete’s son, Nycholas Villagomez, has had an unusual opportunity to form a wonderful baseball tradition with his father. He loves helping choose the team trophy every year. They take a whole afternoon together to search out all the trophies available over the Internet. They narrow it down to three and then choose the best one. The thing none of us probably know about Nycholas and his Dad is that they also play the drums together (his father as teacher and him as student). Nycholas started to play when he was four. Today he has his own drum set, plays very well and dreams of becoming a professional drummer and architect. In addition to his dad on the field, his mom, Team Mom Selina, Grandma Gloria, Grandpa Eli and little brother Ryan (who can't wait to sign up for T- ball and play Second Base like his older brother) can be found in the stands at nearly every game.

Parent Tip of the Week

Have a special family baseball season tip: Like how to get red-dust out of uniforms, feed the kids between school and games, get homework done, entertain the siblings during games, where to sit, how to stay cool/warm? Please share it with us…you may just help others find a cool way to handle some aspect of being a Little League family.

Yet here’s a spot! Out spot! Out I say! Do you cringe every time your Met slides into base or throws himself across the field to catch a ball? Kathy Rich reports getting red-dirt stains out of uniforms is a breeze with Oxy-Clean. Just pre-treat/spot clean offending areas in Oxy-Clean and then wash clothes normally. Thank you Kathy and may our Mets sparkle for the rest of the season!

Sorry I keep posting about baseball, but it takes up a lot of our time, and has just been very exciting lately! :)

Great Job Mets!!!

Dillon's game tonight was so exciting! The team played so well! They were making great plays throughout the whole game. Dillon had a great night also. He had 3 really great hits, one of them was a triple! This was really good for him, since he had been in kind of a hitting slump the last couple of games. I think he really needed this boost of confidence! The Mets ended up winning with a score of 16 to 7.
Dillon was so excited because Coach Pete awarded him one of the game balls. The game balls are given to the players whom the coaches feel gave an extra effort to do their best.



To celebrate, we went with our friends the Bushmans to Krispy Kreme Doughnuts after the game. It's pretty fun for the kids to watch how the doughnuts are made.





The only thing that would have made the night better is if Dustin could have been there. Unfortunately he has had to work the not so fun schedule of 1:30 PM to 10:00 PM this week. He was sad that he didn't get to see Dillon's hits. I guess Dillon will just have to do it again at the next game just for his Dad! :)

CAN ANYONE BELIEVE THESE GAS PRICES?

I don't know about the rest of you, but these gas prices are starting to tick me off. Sorry just had to vent for a minute. lol :)

Day Of Rest...

Yesterday was a pretty relaxing day. My family left to go home on Saturday, but Dustin's family stayed until today. We all just hung out yesterday and relaxed. We went to the park and let the kids run around and play while the guys played catch. Elena Prodan, a good friend of ours, and her darling triplets came with us to the park. All of the kids had a good time burning some of their energy off. We had to break out the sunscreen though, cause it turned out to be pretty warm. I don't know about the rest of you... but I don't think I am ready for the HOT weather quite yet! Anyways, I got a few cute pictures I thought I would share.

A Very Special Day

Dillon's baptism turned out beautifully. Despite some minor setbacks, everything went very smoothly. I think I worried and stressed myself to death for no reason, as usual. The whole week had been completely overwhelming because of all the preparation that had to be done for the baptism program, the scheduling of the building, getting someone to fill the font, arranging stuff with the bishop and the primary, etc., etc. Plus, I was completely stressed because I of course had to have my house perfect, my laundry done, groceries bought for company, I had a Relief Society meeting, baseball game, dance, homework, and all regular routine things that still had to be done. I ended up with quite a few headaches and was pretty much an emotional mess all week. I have to thank Tara and Shawna who helped me out so much. Tara, for keeping my kids over night and allowing me time to get things done that I needed to, and for washing all my blankets for me, and for listening to me cry. :) Shawna, for bringing me lunch from Amigos (mmmmmm... my favorite!) oh, and the diet coke (I really needed that) and for all the food that you gave us and for the yummy guacamole, and for listening to me cry again. :) And to both of you for singing with me at the baptism. I have said it before, and I will say it again, it is very difficult not having family around to help out when you need it. I would never survive down here with out the strong support of friends that I have here. Needless to say, after all of the preparation, worry, and stress... I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. The program was beautiful... thank you to Shalise, Gloria, Shawn, and Bishop Gorup, for your wonderful thoughts and words of wisdom. And, a special thank you to Marissa Moss for playing the piano, and to Melissa Anderson for all your help in arranging and coordinating all the details. I especially want to thank my dad for baptizing Dillon and to Jeremy for confirming him. You both made Dillon's day very special, and one that he will never forget. I am grateful for the effort that mine and Dustin's families made to be here for Dillon's special day. It meant a lot to us and especially to him. We are so very blessed to have the support and love of great families.
I want Dillon to know that we are so proud of him for making the decision to be baptized. He is such a loving, kind, and talented boy and we are truly blessed to have him in our family. He is a great big brother, and has now set the example for his little sisters to follow. Congratulations Dillon! We love you!












We went to Famous Dave's Barbeque for lunch after the Baptism. YUM! YUM!