Batter Up..It's T-Ball Time

Baseball season is upon us!  I grew up going to countless baseball games as a kid.  Justin played from the time he was 5 and my Dad was always his coach.  The dirty and dusty fields of American Indian Little League hold many memories threaded throughout my childhood.  I remember Justin playing T-Ball on the smaller field for two years and then graduating up to the 'real fields' a few years later.  I can see the canvas bag my Dad would pick up at the beginning of every season along with that years team uniform and hats.  A perk of being the coaches son was that you always got your favorite number (12) unless for some reason that year your number wasn't in your size (happened once!).  Dance drop off and pick up always had to be carefully planned out with the weeks practice and games.  For years my family rarely ate dinner together.  Rather eating in shifts when you got home (with one parent and Andrea) after your activity.  I met many friends at the field.  Many were friends from school or just had a brother on the team.  Dad was the coach you wanted your son to have.  Not always the best team, but the most patient and one that always had a kind word of encouragement to go along with an offer of advice in how to do something better.  Palmdale is notorious for wind...many  nights were spent wrapped up in a huge blanket with Andrea on a cold metal bench watching Justin and Dad.  So many of my childhood moments are held on a baseball field.

 

Cash now loves the sport.  And my watching has shifted from older sister to proud Mama.  He is so serious when he plays.  Getting into his fielding position, patiently waiting for the ball to lop his way.  He has learned this year that if it doesn't look like it is coming his way, he will hold back, opting to stay out of the dog pile that ensues.  This will be his last year of T-Ball and I am sure many memories will be held on a new baseball field next year, for Clara and us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

hank & june

 

     I wasn't always a crafty person.  In school, my drawings were completely abstract.  Not being able to draw a single thing to save my life was usually how it went.  Justin was always considered the artsy one out of the three of us.  My parents are awesome artists.  My Mom can draw anything and my Dad can create amazing things out of wood. 
     Something changed in me after Cash was born.  Maybe it was the fact that I was home with a newborn and quite frankly, things get boring.  The first thing I made was a scrapbook for my Mom for Christmas.  I spent many hours placing pictures with corresponding themed stickers.  The pages were loaded with baby pictures of Cash and Ryan and everything they had done in their first year.  I kind of got the crafting bug.  I moved onto making cards.  It was fun to be creative and personalize cards for different people and occasions.  After people started liking what I was making, I got more and more addicted! 
     After Cash was bigger, our crafting bloomed again.  He would sit with me and "do a project" while I tinkered away on the latest thing I happened to be working on.  We have many birdhouse that have been painted and canvas prints around the house from this time period. 
     Just this last Christmas I got the idea to start sewing.  Andrea had bought me a kitchen towel for my birthday that had cute scraps of fabric sewed on.  Thinking to myself that I could totally pull something like this off but using the shape of MT (or various other things) and perhaps make something of it. 
     After that, Hank & June was born.  I bought some towels and cute fabric and made my first one.  Getting a decent response from family and friends, I figured that I would take a leap of faith and buy a space at Farmers Market this summer!  I have been sewing every spare second I get and have a stock pile of 30 towels so far.  I want my booth to be cute and draw people in, so I have been searching Pinterest for ways to decorate a booth.  I have an 8ft space to fill.  It's still a work in progress but I am getting excited as the day approaches.  It's scary to put myself out there, hoping that it sells and people like what they see!

I have also done custom orders for a few people.  Onesies, burp cloths and various different states!  Let me know if I can make one for you ;)  betsycope@yahoo.com

easter

Behind once again on blogging, I am finally getting Easter up!  We had such a fun time spent with family all day.  The kids slept til 6ish (!!)...Cash woke up first followed by Clara.  The Easter Bunny kept things small and simple this year.  Both kids got new swim suits and a few pieces of candy along with bubbles.  They were both happy with their loot and Clara was eager to put on her new bathing suit :)

 

We had brunch at Mom and Dad's this year.  The weather was PERFECT!!  Clara didn't even have to wear a big coat over her dress this year!  Mom always out does herself with the kiddos baskets.  A tradition I see brewing is getting silly string for holidays.  It's the best 30 seconds of fun money can buy!! 

 

 

The kids had an egg hunt in which the big boys scooped up most of the eggs.  Partially because Evan said that he was having to drive to the hunt first and Clara would gingerly crack each egg open and inspect what she found before hunting for the next. 

 

Later that afternoon the Cope's came over including Uncle Bobby who was in town from OK.  They brought a ham dinner and we all spent the evening together.