Play Ball

Mads birthday ended with a bang last night. One of her birthday presents was a day at the ballpark watching her loved Texas Ranger"s play the Detroit Tigers. When we got there we learned we were chosen for a complimentary upgrade of our tickets to right behind Homeplate. Also, while watching the Ranger's warm up Mads saw her favorite player, Josh Hamilton in centerfield. She called out to him a couple of times and when he heard her he waived and she added on, "It's my birthday." Josh threw a few more times then turned & again waived to us motioning he was going to throw her a ball. I ran and got my glove while he walked a bit closer to throw it. All the while what was going on in my mind was, "don't miss the ball, you better catch this ball!" Thankfully, or maybe luckily, I caught the ball and Mads day, maybe even year, was made. The Ranger's lost the game but wow what a day it was. On the way home she fell asleep mid sentence.
Mads starts ball T-Ball/Coach Pitch baseball league tomorrow. We have been working with her to learn to catch the ball, she throws (not like a girl) and hits pretty well but still had not got the hang of catching. Well tonight she got the hang of it. Kelly spent about an hour and a half with her tonight. She is excited to play on a "real" baseball team and we are hoping she GREAT! Play Ball Keep your eyes open and you won't get hit in the chin Finally a catch Getting the signal from the catcher Visualizing the strike The wind up The strech Throw Keeping her eye on the ball

"Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed... Whenever government becomes destructive to life, liberty, or property [i.e., the pursuit of happiness], it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it... It is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security."

— American Declaration of Independence (1776)

M.O.L.A.

The Museaum Of Living Art at the Fort Worth Zoo is FINALLY open! A year and a half after when it was suppose to open. I had no plans on packing up the girls opening day but as zoo members we got to go in early before the crowds. OR SO I THOUGHT! What I failed to consider is the zoo has many members and the place was packed full of pushing kiddos and kamakazi mothers with strollers...I, of which, was one of them. The M.O.L.A. is an amazing new exhibit and the animals were cooperative as well. The girls and cousin Nathan had a wonderful time. Even Rebekah, who is afraid of ladybugs, enjoyed herself but kept her distance. She suprised us a few time by actually touching the glass.

Madeline and I ran in the Fort Worth Cowtown 5K this morning. It was a chilly start but we warmed up quickly once we began moving and the sun rose over the buildings. There was literally a sea of people lined up for the start. We were about 10 yards back from the starting line, I felt like cattle waiting to be herded.This was a first for both of us, running in a 5K. I have been told not to run seeing that the majority of the cartilage is missing in my right knee.I did anyway and my knee made it all of 5 minutes before it buckled and lost most of its strength. I was able to continue to the end but slowly which was not a bad thing. At first Madeline had a hard time running at an even place. She wanted to sprint the whole race but quickly realized that it was longer than she had expected and slowed to a more even pace. We ran most of the race only walking for 3 short distances.
We crossed the finish line with a time of 1 hour 7 minutes 56 seconds and I thought "WOW, that hour went fast." I looked at my watch and realized we had only been running for 25 minutes. I later learned that either the "kids 5k run" was marked off wrong or a "course monitor" sent the whole lot of us on the wrong route. We ACTUALLY only ran a 2.5K (1.8 miles). Again, this turned out not to be a bad thing and my knee was very appreciative. I know the 2 weeks of pain I am going to have in my knee is all worth the GREAT time spent with Madeline today.
Crossing the finish line ~ YEAH
All smiles before the race

Spring is Coming!!!

What a beautiful day it was today after a record breaking snowfall for the DFW area one week ago. There are still snow patches here and there but they are quickly dwindling in the mid 60's temps. I noticed today that my lone rosebush Madeline gave me for Mother's Day last year is showing signs of spring with budding leaves. This was a shock to me seeing that I neglected to cover it during several cold spells. BUT thankfully it survived and I excited for the beautiful roses that will don our dining room table this year. I also noticed the trees around our neighborhood are also budding. I am excited for this spring and especially for the warmer temps.