The blogging portion of my brain feels cluttered. So many pictures to post. So many events have come and gone without even a sentence granted on the blog. When I get this far behind in my writing, I feel overwhelmed and simply want to give up. But then I remember that I don't scrapbook for my family, nor do I simply print our photos, so if I don't blog, what do we have to show for our lives?
In an effort to declutter my foggy blog brain, here's a post of random photos.
Garrett finished out his t-ball career by being chosen as one of four from his team to advance to the All Star tournament.
His kindergarten teacher came to his final All Star game.
Mrs. Whitsell is one of a kind, and Garrett was sure to show off some of his best baseball skills in front of her. This is where I should rattle off all of his amazing defensive stats, but I simply can't remember one. Suffice it to say, he played well, very well. And he's more than ready to move on to coach pitch in the fall.
Meanwhile, Liam's Dirtbags were winning a semi-finals game the same night, and they advanced to the Championship. Garrett and I were able to make it to the final game, where the Dirtbags defeated the Giants. This win was a huge victory, because the Giants had only lost something like 3 games in two years!
Trophies all around for the Dirtbags!
On a non-baseball note, (Imagine that...something in our lives that doesn't relate to baseball!) Jackson and Garrett graduated from Kindergarten. I would love to show you some fantastic photos of my babies' graduation, but a certain someone, who will remain nameless, deleted many, and I mean MANY, pictures from my camera. So we're left with mediocrity, such as a blurred picture of Jackson receiving his congratulatory hug from his teacher, Mrs. Woods.
He blew her off like he'd blow a spider off his arm.
But Garrett paused for a sweet moment with his girlfriend, I mean teacher.
Yes, I must admit I teared up when I saw my babies walk across the stage. Not because they're graduating from kindergarten, but because I couldn't help but flash forward to twelfth grade in my mind. Be still my heart, what will I do when my kids all finish high school?!
After the 50,000,000 kindergarteners walked across the stage, they sang songs such as "New York, New York". How does Frank Sinatra's famous song qualify as a graduation song, you ask? The words were changed to something like this:
Start spreading the news
I'm leaving today
I'm gonna be apart of it
first grade, first grade
It was cute, and, of course, hand signals had to be incorporated.
I'm not sure who was most excited about the last day of school, the boys or me. But let me tell you, when the dismissal bell rang, we hightailed it outta there without a glance back. Woohoo, summer!
One of our first summer days was spent riding horses. I have wanted to introduce my boys to horseback riding for quite some time, and a perfect situation came up. A good friend of ours recently inherited two horses from his dad, and he invited us to meet him at the corral.
This is where I'd love to post pictures of my boys riding their first horse, but that nameless person deleted about 100 pictures of our horseback riding experience. About all I have to show you is Liam brushing Alley.
Alley happens to be the horse that also bucked Liam off. The horse decided he didn't want to be ridden and threw my boy off within two minutes. Thankfully, Liam didn't have any serious injuries, but he was sore for a few days. But he was brave and got onto another horse with me within a few minutes of his fall.
Liam tried out and made it onto the summer All Star team again. They've gone to championship level all but one tournament thus far, placing second twice and even first place recently. Summer baseball is hotter than hades, but when the boys win, it's worth the sweat. 
Another big event of our summer has been Garrett pulling his own tooth.
He was so proud of himself for pulling it on his own. And I cried, because I'm simply not ready for my baby to grow up.
In other news, Marshall had his manhood and dewclaws removed a few days ago. He came home looking pretty pitiful.
Yes, we've had a grand ol' time trying to keep him from chewing his bandages. A neighbor asked why Marshall has casts on his paws. Garrett said, "We had his claws removed so he won't run away and make babies." He kind of got my explanation confused.
Now that summer is in full swing, we're enjoying a relaxed schedule. Staying up late, sleeping in until 7, no homework, play dates, swimming, etc.
We're also hitting the batting cages frequently.
Just call them the Bad Bat Boys.
And on that note, these bad boys are ready to go burn off some energy, so I better run before something gets broken.
I can't promise when I'll be back, but I hope it's before summer's end.
Decluttering
Life is Good
"Life is good when you have another baseball game," is what I read in Liam's journal the other day.
He'll be disappointed to know tonight's game is canceled due to rain. But he'll be happy when he realizes he has a tournament of 3-4 games next week.
Yes, I read his journal. I'm nosey that way.
And I just love that my boy's journal is full of nothing but baseball talk. Pure, innocent fun.
Making a Case for the Abandoned Blog
I've had a few friends ask if I'm okay, since the blog has been abandoned. I'm fine, thanks for asking. I'm just a baseball mom, and that's the way baseball go.
Garrett is playing for the Angels this year.
He is an angel in real life most of the time. Ahem.
He's loving the sport even more this year, and I think he has big aspirations for MLB someday. The MLB may want to remember him. My only request, MLB, is that you allow him to live with his mommy forever, because I'm not sure he and I will be able to part EVER. Furthermore, MLB, he's quite the leftie and making many plays this year. His favorite positions are pitcher, catcher, and 1st base. I may be biased as his mommy, but he's the best little Angel out there.
Liam is a Dirtbag again this year. Of course, he's still loving the sport. He's enjoying 1st, 2nd, and left field this year. His hitting is improving by the day, and we're anxiously awaiting his first official homerun.
It might appear that he is crying in the above photo, but rest assured that we have taught him there are no tears in baseball. Instead, he decided to use eye black to paint his number (14) on his cheeks for the first game.
Jackson, if you'll remember, chose Jiu Jitsu over baseball this year.
However, two weeks into baseball season, he was regretting his decision. Raise your hand if you could see that coming.
Yea, I know. I saw it, too, but we needed to let him try something new. But just last week, he told me that he didn't really think he would miss Jiu Jitsu, so I pulled him out immediately. Why waste the time and money? Guess who will be playing fall baseball?
Baseball is not the only culprit for the chaos in our home. About 3 weeks ago, this photo jumped onto my cell phone, and I have no idea how this happened, but we have a new puppy.
If I blink away the fog in my mind, I seem to remember a conversation between Rick, Liam and myself. It went something like this:
Liam: Mommy, I love dogs. Can I have a chocolate lab?
Me: WHAT?!?! NO!
Rick: Mommy, hear him out.
Liam: Mommy, Winston loves you and follows you around. I want a dog that loves me and follows me and sleeps with me.
Me: Liam, we have a dog. Yes, Winston prefers me, but we don't need another dog. We are too busy with baseball and school, and two dogs are hard to travel with. Winston is the perfect dog...small, playful, loving.
Rick: Mommy, he's an animal lover just like you. How can you deny him? This would be a great way for him to learn some new responsibilities.
Yadda, yadda, yadda.
I kept saying no, but we somehow wound up with a chocolate lab that Jackson named "Marshall".
Yes, he's cute and all that. And the boys, especially Liam and Garrett, love him.
No, he doesn't sleep with Liam, because he's still waking SOMEONE up at 2am for a potty break. That someone would not be the two males that begged for him. (Now, Rick will pipe in here to say that he helps sometimes, but you and I know that I'm the one getting up MOST nights with the little darling.)
Cute?
Yes, cute.
Is he loved? Yes. Is he a lot of work? YES. Is anyone regretting this decision? Yes, but they will remain nameless and work with him to make him a well-behaved member of the family.
So now, this busy family takes a puppy and his bag of chew toys to every game.
I must run and take my new sidekick on a potty run. I'll be back with a Lil Ron update.
He's All That
Our middle man, Jackson, is all boy. Actually, ALL of my boys are all boy. But Jackson is ALL BOY.
He's rough. He's wild. He's impulsive. He's a mess. He's funny. He's cute. He knows it.
We've wondered for some time if martial arts might be a good sport for him, since the field touts the teaching of focus, respect, and self-control. In January, we asked JMan if he would like to skip baseball this Spring and try Jiu Jitsu instead.
He was on board as soon as he realized he would have a "costume like karate people".
That would be a uniform, and it's called a Gi (gee).
Rick told Jackson to "show the camera a move", and this is what we got:
That's not exactly a Jiu Jitsu skill. And neither is this:
But we are pleased with what he's learning. After only two months, he's gained three stripes on his belt for the skills he's gained. Take down is his favorite move so far. He's also getting stronger. He can give us 10 properly formed push ups now, which is a big improvement over the zero he could do before.
We would love to see him really succeed in this sport. Who knows? Maybe he'll even compete at some point. If nothing else, he'll be able to defend himself if/when the need arises.
In other news, he recently lost his fifth tooth and his two front teeth are finally peeking through the gums.
Cute little toothless stinker, he is.
I better be careful what I call him. He might be able to take me down soon.
Lil Ron Rallies
As I was sitting in the school carpool line Tuesday afternoon, my cell phone rang. It was the Rangers again.
Yep, the Rangers have my number. Let's just pause and let that soak in....
"Hi, Ami. Have you all had a chance to settle down," Cherie (with Promotions) asked.
"Today has felt somewhat normal," I said.
"Well, that may change again," she continued. "Because the Rangers' coaches and players felt that Lil Ron was such an integral part of the World Series, they would like to feature him at our rally tomorrow night. The whole family can come this time. Would you all be available?"
"Wow, we had no idea this would continue! Yes, I'm sure we can come," I responded.
As soon as we got to the Ballpark, we tried for another Christmas card picture. It's not quite what I'm wanting though.
I won't quit until I'm satisfied.
Anyway....
Liam was recognized immediately, even though we arrived two hours before the rally began and the crowds were small. Immediately, his picture was taken by more people than I could count.
We'll pretend that this next picture was not taken inside a beer truck. It was a cute truck, okay!
Liam and I were quickly weary of all the picture taking. Thankfully, a Rangers' rep approached me and asked if we needed to be rescued. I responded with a quick "YES!", and he took us behind the fences. Fans could still take Lil Ron's picture, but at least there was space between us.
There was plenty of waiting, but the boys brought baseballs and were pretty content.
Remember when I said that deciding to take Garrett to the World Series game was an easy decision because he can sit through a game without falling out of his chair? Shortly after this picture was taken:
Jackson fell out of his chair in front of thousands of fans. Yep, he did.
We were interviewed by KRLD, Fox 4, Fox Sports Southwest, NBC 5, and probably someone else that I've since forgotten about. Radio and television interviews all run together after a while.
Now, there's a statement I thought I'd never make.
CBS 11 wanted to interview Rick this time. It's funny that he gets more nervous in front of the camera than I do. He's the extrovert in this relationship, yet he stumbles over his first few words when a reporter is asking the questions.
That sweet lady in the background with the red jacket is Cherie, the Rangers' rep that took such great care of us at the World Series. She feels like family now. Mom, I think we should set an extra place for her at our Thanksgiving table.
The rally began at 6pm. The coaches and many of the players were introduced and seated on the stage, while we stayed in the "family" seating.
All owners and coaches were present. A lot of the players have already gone home, but all of the big names were there. Kinsler, Hamilton, Murphy, Feliz, Andrus, Young, Oliver to name a few.
When Ian Kinsler was interviewed, he said, "I don't see that stadium over there, 'cuz this is where all the action is!"
He was referring to the Cowboys' stadium across the street, which is gigantic. But considering how horrible the Cowgirls are this year, his statement was hilarious! Kinsler got laughter from 10,000 fans and a high five from Emily Jones.
I won't bore you with picture after picture of the players on stage, but I will post another picture of my fave, David Murphy. Every time this guy sees my boy, he stops to acknowledge him. There's something very genuine about him.
When it was time for Chuck Morgan to introduce Ron Washington, Lil Ron was brought forward instead of Wash. The crowd cheered and laughed.
Wash found it hysterical, too.
Chuck asked Liam, "Wash, what do you have to say tonight?" Liam said, "That's the way baseball go!" And the fans cheered.
Coaches and players continually thanked the fans for their support throughout the season. And they all promised a winning World Series next year. I can't wait!
The players and coaches split pretty quickly at the end of the rally. I can't blame them. Their off season is very short.
But Captain stayed long enough to play with my boys and to bite my head.
I'm sorry; there's not a photo of him biting my head. I was a bit taken aback and didn't think quickly enough to take a picture.
How do you like those World Series jackets? Cherie gave one to each boy. But because they're too big on the boys, guess who scored herself a World Series jacket?!
The family with the antlers:
My mom was able to go with us, and we got a cute picture of her and the boys. 
I owe her BIG time after this whole ordeal. She was a huge help to me during the many interviews! She watched the little boys so that I could focus on reporters, and she took behind-the-scenes photos. She even brought us a lasagna for dinner the night after the big game. She knew I was worn out. Thank you, Mom!
Once the crowds thinned out, we made our way to the car. Liam's picture was taken a few more times, until he finally said, "No more pictures. I've taken like a billion tonight!"
With that being said, we've made sure there are no more photos, and we've turned down interviews. We told him all along that we would make it all stop as soon as he got tired of it.
Lil Ron woke up early the next morning, so we pulled out the clippers. He was ready to be Liam again.
I missed that cute head.
All good things must come to an end.
But what a wonderful time it was!
Lil Ron & the World Series
So, if you haven't opened your web browser or turned on your tv in the last week, then you might not know that my eldest son, Liam, dressed as Lil Ron Washington, the Texas Rangers' manager, for Halloween. His photo spread like wildfire on Facebook and Twitter, and before we knew it, we needed our own assistant to help us field calls for interview requests.
No, I do not have an assistant, but it sure is a nice thought.
Lo and behold, the Rangers called last Friday and invited him to the 4th game of the World Series and to say "Play ball!" in costume.
For those of you that have missed my previous posts on this whole outer body experience, they are here, here and here. (Is the phrase "outer body" or "out of body"? Words...sometimes they fail me.)
The Rangers gave us two tickets. Rick was able to buy two more, so that he and I wouldn't have to have a knock-down-drag-out over the whole issue. People often ask how we decided which little brother to take with us. One of our little boys can sit through an entire game without falling out of his chair, and the other can't. It was an easy decision.
But if Jackson had been with us, we would have the perfect Christmas card.
The Rangers requested that Liam not arrive in costume as a safety precaution.
Let me tell you that walking from our car towards the Ballpark was a surreal experience for me. I have been a Rangers fan since I was a little girl, and I can't tell you how many games I attended in my high school and college years. I have loved this team since before they were anything big, and here I was walking up to the beautiful Ballpark with a World Series ticket in my hand! And my son was getting to say "Play ball!" Yes, I had to breathe deeply to keep myself from passing out.
Liam's disguise didn't do much good. We were spotted a few times, especially after Fox 4 found us and put a camera on our tails. Actually, we were happy to give them and The Dallas Morning News each an interview while we waited.
At 4:30, we were swept away by our very own Rangers promotions rep, Cherie. She was an amazing asset to us for the next 3 hours! She put bracelets on the four of us, which told all Security personnel to let us be. And with that, we were whisked into the bowels of the Ballpark. She continually asked me if I was okay with how my son was being treated. She said, "Our number goal is to make sure you all have a safe and fun time."
First on the agenda: change Liam into Lil Wash clothing. Because the two former President Bushes were there, bathrooms and dressing rooms were at a premium, so we took Liam into the Groundskeepers' bathroom. Those guys acted as if we handed them the best Christmas gift ever when we asked to use their restroom as Lil Wash's dressing room.
They waited with their cameras and iPhones ready for Lil Wash's first appearance.
Yes, the Rangers made a #38 jersey just for him! He ended up not wearing it for the game because of the size, but I can assure you that he wore it to school the next day.
As a side note, Jack and Garrett were also given some fun gifts. Those Rangers know how to make some boys happy.
Cherie took us to the players' equipment room next. Liam enjoyed touching the bats and counting the helmets.
While we were waiting around, the players began to walk through the hall next to us. The first player we saw was David Murphy. He is very personable and now my favorite player.
The rest of the players filed by, and each one of them took one look at Liam and smiled. Some laughed. Some gave him a high five or knuckles. But each one of them welcomed my boy, and they all couldn't wait for their coach to see him.
Then, the moment we had all been waiting for! THE Ron Washington came to talk to Liam.
After a few minutes, it was time for a press conference in the dugout.
Wash took Lil Ron to the bench. We were told there were 100 media present for this press conference, and Liam felt the heat. He clammed up in a big way, so Wash handled the questions for him. Liam did, however, give them the antlers and the claw.
Meanwhile, I was standing in the background trying to hold myself together. I was overcome with emotion. I couldn't believe that the Lord loves us so much that He chose us to live this big adventure! He loves us so much that He chose something so big to us, yet so trivial in the grand scheme of things, to bless our socks off with. Yes, tears flowed.
Once we saw how nervous Liam became during the press conference, we scratched the idea of him announcing the starting lineup. It would have been really cool to hear, but we needed to make sure that Liam would remain excited about his main job of saying "Play ball!" instead of becoming overwhelmed.
We were then taken back into the tunnel to wait. Everywhere we waited, Rangers' employees took pictures with Liam. Eventually, Mrs. Washington wandered over and said, "Are you my husband?" Liam gave her the deer caught in the headlights look.
Liam, Rick and Garrett were then taken into the clubhouse, where they were able to meet every single player, except for CJ Wilson. Rick said it was amazing to see these star athletes taking pictures of his son.
The players needed to get their mental game on, so we left them and went into further hiding. We were able to spend most of the time watching the Giants warm up.
When it comes to baseball, we don't get bored.
When it came time for Liam to be prepped for his announcing job, Garrett and I had to leave. Only one parent was allowed with him from that point. Liam originally said he wanted me with him, but Daddy gave me the boot, as if it wasn't a girl's job. I may never forgive my husband.
Garrett and I had a long walk to our nosebleed seats, so I had to suck it up and get movin'. The crowds in the breezeway were so tightly packed that I was afraid we wouldn't make it to our seats in time to see Liam's part. I was even more afraid I would lose Garrett in the crowd. He clung to my hand for dear life, and I prayed like crazy until a man finally reached out and parted the crowd for me to get through. I didn't even tell that man I was desperate to move, but he saw the emotion on my face. Thank you, dear man.
We made it to our seats with time to spare. Our seats were true nosebleeders, and I had to use binoculars to find my men. But I did find them in time to see Liam playing with Captain, the mascot. Once I saw him having fun, I knew he would be okay. Rick said it was awesome to see Nolan Ryan, the two former Presidents and their wives, and a big whig with MLB all waving at his son. Joey Votto, recipient of the 2010 NL Hank Aaron award, even stopped to have his picture taken with Lil Ron.
At one point, Liam seemed to be taking it all in. He asked Rick, "Daddy, can I just down reach down and touch the dirt?" He just needed to feel it to make it real.
Finally, his big moment came! I held my breath from my seat, as I watched him through the binoculars and waited to hear his voice in the Ballpark. "PLAY BALL!" He came through loud and clear to 52,000 fans, and I cheered with tears pouring down my face. It was a proud mama moment.
After Lil Wash's big job, he and Daddy were taken to meet Chuck Morgan, the big voice behind all Rangers' games. He specifically requested that Liam be brought to see him.
Once Rick and Liam were ready to find their seats, they plopped a hat on Liam's head, removed the mustache and his glasses, and put a new jersey on top of his t-shirt, all in hopes to disguise him. It didn't work. A white dad with a black boy is an automatic giveaway, especially when that particular child has been all over the internet and television for the past four days.
Finally, MLB found out where they were seated and asked if they would like to be moved to their suite. YES! He was able to call me, and all four of us were escorted to a much more comfortable seating arrangement. We had plenty of elbow room, and they fed us well. Most importantly, we were left alone to watch the game. Thank you, MLB!!
And we were ten feet away from Lyle Lovett!
Liam said, "Lyle who?" We said, "Just smile, son."
After the game, we were interviewed with Fox's post game show. Liam was asked what his favorite part of the day was. He thought about it for a few seconds and replied, "Church." The news caster giggled and repeated, "Church was your favorite part of the day?" Liam nodded.
Everyone asks me if that made me proud. Yes, it made me proud but not the way you might think. I'm proud because only God could do that kind of work in his heart. Only He could keep a 7 year-old boy grounded through several days' worth of television, newspaper, and radio interviews. Only our Father could form Liam's heart to keep Him first in spite of the biggest day of his life. But for the grace of God....
At 11:30pm, we called it a night. Lil Ron and his baby brother fell asleep within minutes of buckling up. Rick and I talked all the way home about how amazed we were at our experience. "We just went to the World Series! And met the coach! And the players!..."
No, our Rangers didn't win. And they lost the next game to end the Series with a Giants' win. But they made some amazing memories for us. And we are forever grateful.
Once the Texas Rangers' promotion office has time to sort through their photos, I will have some good ones to share. I can't wait to see what they captured on camera!
