Morgan plays the cello. She began playing when it was first made available to students to start playing musical instruments in grade school (5th grade). She chose the cello. Yep, a very large instrument and also not the cheapest when it comes to rental fees. That’s ok, I’m supportive because she already has a good musical base to build on. For years, I took her to Kindermusik lessons as a toddler…because you can do that when it’s your first baby and you have all the time in the world to devote to this one precious child in your life. Every Saturday I would dance around with her and play instruments and sing because someone told me this was really good for toddlers. Ok I’m in…I’ll do whatever I need to do for her to be a successful and well rounded toddler and I’m sure she will be the smartest too. All of this makes me chuckle now that I have 4. Don’t get me wrong, I completely want the very best for all of them.  But, I’m not entirely convinced that putting a toddler in music classes is going to make her the next President of the United States. I digress. She has continued to play cello through her 7th grade year and I am now completely envious of her talent. Listening to her play from day 1 to today is absolutely mind-blowing. Middle school orchestra students are very talented! Last week I had tears in my eyes listening to them play in their 7th grade ensemble concert. They were GOOD! Last night, April 11, Morgan played in her last concert for the school year and probably her last concert ever. She has decided she does not want to continue to play cello. She is no longer enjoying it. This makes me incredibly sad because of all of her hard work she has put in! However, I do want her to be happy and pursue interests that she is passionate about. Maybe this is just another phase of life for her that we will have great memories of and there will be something else coming that we will adore. Whatever life has in store for us is yet to be determined. But for now, I have tears in my eyes and I couldn’t be more proud of what she has accomplished as a musician and as a young lady.

My sweet 12 year old daughter really never asks for a whole lot.  Honestly, she doesn’t!  But a few months back she asked me if we could get tickets to the Justin Bieber concert.  I actually sing JB songs regularly in my car, so I’m not judging.  AND we all know I LOVE concerts – always have and probably always will, so I was actually sort of proud that she had an interest in going to one!  What I wasn’t proud of, was the fact that the tickets had been sold out since like 10 seconds after they went on sale and to get them on Stub Hub, we would be paying $500 for 2 tickets in the rafters.   Whoa, not even a giant lover of music was willing to do that!  So in a last ditch effort, I asked my sister to check with her work contacts for tickets in the Hallmark Suite at the Sprint Center.  My sister apparently worked her magic and just before Spring Break we found out that we had 4 tickets!  WOO HOO!  You can’t even imagine how happy this made Morgan and my sister for making her so happy!  Does that make sense!?  Morgan asked her sweet friend, Emma, to join her who has a strong case of Bieber Fever.  So, on Wednesday, April 6th, The four of us went to dinner in the P&L, girls bought $50 T-Shirts, got the closest we will probably ever get to Eric Hosmer, ran into Dom Dwyer & his wife, and enjoyed every last minute of the JB show–super late on a school night.

The girls looked adorable–2 librarians amongst lots of skimpy teeny-bopper outfits.  I couldn’t be happier.  They were the most adorable 12 year olds in the Sprint Center.

Just a side bar….I’ve been to A LOT of concerts in my lifetime.  This was by far the loudest.  It’s either my age, or perhaps it’s because the concerts I usually attend aren’t sold out, or I’m not used to being around thousands of teens, or maybe JB is just THAT POPULAR!  Either way, I’m happy to share this experience with Morgan and extra special thanks to Aunt Shauna for making it happen!  Bieber Fever baby!

It’s the weekend of April 1st, 3and2 Baseball has its Season Opener Tournament which means both Jake and Drew are playing in it (minimum of 3 games each), Jake has a buckle fracture in his right wrist which limits him to only some pitching & bunting, Morgan is playing in a soccer tournament in Lawrence (min of 3 games) and turkey hunting, Drew also has a league soccer game that we are praying doesn’t conflict with a baseball game, Reece has a soccer game and a birthday party to attend, and Brian bought tickets for us to go to the Royals Home Opener Sunday night.  SHOOT…how is this all going to work out!?  At this point, I’m not rattled very much with scheduling because it’s a daily battle in this household, but I’m not going to lie, I’m a little nervous on this one!  Here’s why…Baseball season is always more complicated.  Bottom line.  Brian is the coach of Jake’s baseball team which means he gets Jake and I get the other 3.  This also means I miss a lot of Jake’s stuff and Brian misses a lot of MD&R’s stuff sometimes, boo!)  And baseball is time consuming and hard to plan around (ie if you win you keep playing on Sunday).  All I have to say is thank goodness for family and friends that are willing to help out!  THANK YOU!

Brian LOVES baseball so for him to be able to coach this team is a blessing.  It is also a blessing for Jake who loves the competitive nature of the sport.  Because he also plays competitive soccer, it is difficult for him to find a team that will take him and his crazy schedule on!  Coaches don’t typically want to deal with a kiddo that has to sometimes choose between attending a soccer game and a baseball game.  They want kids that are 100% committed to that sport during that time frame.  Let me present to you…Bulldogs Baseball!  This is a group of 4th grade boys who love the game of baseball but also love other sports!  These boys are very dear to our hearts because Brian has put a lot of time into coaching and developing them.  He treats all of them like they are part of our family.  The team has lost and gained some players over the years but the commitment and Bulldogs spirit has remained the same.  These boys are awesome.

By Sunday night, the Bulldogs had fought their way into the championship game against the Steelers (which happens to be coached by Brian’s childhood friend).  These boys were tired–we had endured hail, super cold weather, mega windy conditions, etc. but no one gave up.  They rallied through a tense last few innings and won the championship!  The look on these kids’ faces I will never forget.  Jake has won baseball championship games in the past but it has been awhile and not with Brian being the head coach.  So with Royals home opener tickets going unused in Brian’s pocket and hundreds of dollars spent, every morsel of packed food eaten, dust in every crevice of our bodies, we brought home a championship trophy and I couldn’t be more happy about it.  Wouldn’t change a thing. Congratulations Brian, Jake, our Bulldogs, and their families.  What a great way to kick off the baseball season!

Side note…I’ve never seen Jake more excited about a trophy.  I mean it is quite huge, so I guess that mere fact makes it pretty awesome.  He got out his stool, removed all of his trophies and trinkets from his dresser and put them all back up in a certain special order.  Doing this takes quite a bit of time!  The care and attention he put into this little project makes me smile, maybe even more than the athleticism displayed this weekend.  It’s a life lesson to take pride in yourself and others.  Jakers, I am so happy that you are proud!  GO BULLDOGS!