Something different than baseball!!!

Yesterday the boys were invited to participate in something really cool. One of Jonah's friends invited the boys down to Bad Animals Sound Recording Studio in Seattle to do voice overs for a movie. First of they got to go into the historical studio which is pretty amazing. Then they got watch bits and pieces of a movie that is almost finished. They were given lines to say and then they had to scream A LOT! The recording session lasted about an hour and a half and then the kids were all treated to dinner at Red Robin. It was such a neat experience and the kids had a great time. They said the boys would get a copy of the movie when it is finished and they will be credited as the "Loop Group." So cool.
Thanks Horn Family for inviting us!!!!

Mother's Day Happenings....

Things have been crazy per usual. We have had several baseball games and I have been working more than usual. So for Mother's Day we did nothing. If you looked at my calendar you would laugh. Every day there is something written in, squished beyond recognition. I am amazed I can even fit all the tasks on the calendar but on Mother's Day it was blank. So, the only thing I asked for was not to be rushed into doing any activity. I woke up, Chris put a movie on for me, he made breakfast, I drank a cup of coffee and relaxed. We thought about different things we could do for the day but then the rain came. I decided a bath sounded nice. Then I took a nap while the boys watched golf (I didn't really fall asleep though). Before I knew it the day was over. We played a little Tiger Woods golf before bed and the day was done. It was perfect. The down side in doing absolutely nothing is that Chris and I both forgot to call our mother's. We are in big trouble. But, the fact that we did nothing all as a family was perfect. I needed to slow down and regain some of that energy. We started back up as usual yesterday with, errands, dr. appt, baseball games, board stuff and work. The good news is that in July we really don't have too much going on. I am sure life will take care of that!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mom's out there!!!

Way to go Jonah

So Jonah is AWESOME as we all know. What we didn't know is just how great of a hitter he has become. Last night he was the big hitter of the game with a singe, a double and a triple. The double would have been a triple but he stopped running to admire his hit and rounded second a hair to late. Stinker. He has a pitching practice tonight. (they start pitching on Friday) He is so cute. Max had a game at the same time, that I missed but I looked over a couple of times and he was running the bases or playing pitcher. He is adorable. He went home with his best buddy after the game. That child is soo lucky! Christian is making a name for him self as a great umpire and I deposited a ton of money for him today. Little working man.

I pampered myself today with a mani-pedi and now I have to go clean the house before cranky gets home. I will say, the relaxation was long over do and I feel like I just slept for 12 hours. Just think how productive I would be if I got a pedi every day!!!

Sunday Family Day

We had a crazy weekend that started with a game and BBQ on Friday. Then up and at the fields by 8am for a day full of games. Christian umpired two games and played in one. I missed Jonah's game because I had to work 2.5hrs yesterday. Lame. But I was told he had a great hit. Max also smacked the ball and is so cute. Christian had another great game and they won after a tough loss on Friday. His buddy pitched a great game and he came in to pitch the last three outs. He got them in 11pitches. He rocks.

We woke up this morning and went to 8am mass and then the boys went to Sunday School. After church we headed out to the golf course for some family golf time. We had so much fun. The kids crack me up but they made it through without too many freak outs. I don't golf so that was quite amusing. I think I did ok. I am up to three outings and I think practicing on the Wii helps.

Here are a few photos from this Beautiful Sunny Day (we aren't used to the sun!)

Way to go Dodgers

I was feeling like I was neglecting Jonah on the ball field. I had no pictures of him playing ball until tonight. He did a great job and had a ton of fun. The boys and Jamie were all hitting the ball and making plays. Jonah hustled and had some really big hits to the outfield. He is so cute out there. He does however, like to be the big cheese out there and often is GOOFY! Well the Dodgers had a terrific outing. Christian plays tomorrow and Max on Thursday.

Oh by the way Happy Birthday Tori. Tanya's daughter turned two today. She is soooo cute and very sweet.

Saturday

Well, we had a great day at the fields. Chris and I dropped the camper off in the parking lot so we would have a place to hang between games. It proved to be a great idea. Lots of friends stopped by the Duvall Casa to say hello. Tons of fun. All three boys played ball but I only managed a few pics during two of the games. Lance took over for me while I took Max to a birthday party, hence all the crazy pics.
Jonah had a great game and played hard. Then he promptly left for an overnight with his buddy Andy.
Max also had a great game and was a fantastic catcher and got a big hit. His team is so fun to coach. The kids are adorable and say the craziest things.
I hope you enjoy the slide show....

Check out my Slide Show!

Christian pitched a great game. Pitching 4 2/3 innings before being pulled for pitch count reasons. He had 8 strikes outs and allowed only 3 hits and 2 walks. So proud! Alex Burns came in relief and only used 4 impressive pitches to end the inning. Our Tigers are starting to come alive out there and it is fun to see. As you can tell from the slide show above we are a crazy crowd. Nathan Blazevich almost had his second homerun missing it by just inches. Everyone got on base and we had some nice hits made by Will, Matt, Ian, Andrew and Jacob. Way to go boys. The hits in combination with the tight defense pulled out another W for us. Go Tigers.

BASEBALL

Well, it has been a crazy week, with board meetings, piano, baseball, Chris's birthday/vacation and anything else we could pack in. Jonah played a great ball game last night. He was hitting the cover off the ball and had some terrific defensive plays. I must say that I am really proud of him and he is working hard on the field. He also had an audition at the village theater for a play. He didn't get the part but he nailed his monologue and got great experience. Christian's ball team has had a rough start they are 3-4. They have been playing in snow, rain, hail and chilling wind. However, they pulled out the much needed W today with some stellar baseball. Christian is having a blast and is always impressive to watch on the field. Max has his first game tomorrow and he can't wait. I will try to be more consistent in my posting but it is hard to even get a meal in.

Alright Dodger Fans our first game was awesome.....

So our first game was really a scrimmage. The boys did great. We were short a couple of players so Max stepped in along with another six year old from my other team. We won by a large margin scoring 13 to something.....Jonah was awesome smakin the ball all over the place. He is sure getting to be a great little hitter. Max even smacked a good one. LOVE IT. Max also had a fantastic out at second. Christian was the umpire and had to call Jonah out base running which was awesome. (well Jonah didn't think so) It was a good night.

We spent Tuesday at the science center before I had to go to work and yesterday I had 10 kids over....not relaxing but the boys had a great time. I work everyday this week which is a bit hard since it is Spring break but the kids are getting a lot of time with their friends so it works out. I am exhausted but I can rest in July.....Maybe.

Tigers 7 Mariners 8

The dugout
Christian catching

Nathan the ball slammer... Logan Roy receiving the game ball after a homerun.....

The boys battled hard tonight with some impressive pitching, great bats and fantastic defense. Logan Roy slammed our second home run of the season. Alex Burns and Christian were fantastic at catcher. Christian threw out a base runner stealing third and blocked a steal at home. Alex Burns blocked his second steal at home of the season. Connor Jensen and Nathan Blazevich continue to hit hard. We had so many fantastic hits, plays and strikeouts that it is difficult for me to remember them all. We almost had it....Chris spent the evening at El Caporal drinking his sorrows away lamenting a bad decision that ended the game (don't tell him I mentioned it) but the best part of it is.....as you can see from the smiles in the end game huddle the kids didn't seem to care. They had fun playing a great game. We play the Mariners for the third time in a row tomorrow night....Lets Play Ball!!!

Detroit Tigers 5-4

Christian pitched a great game with Logan Roy getting a necessary 2 outs coming in Relief. Ian Fursman got the save and Nathan Blazevich hitting a fantastic home run to get our bats going. The boys looked sharp in their new uni's. Their defense was tough with Alex Burns getting a runner out stealing home. These boys are great and we are looking forward to an exciting fun season!!!!! GO TIGERS

Posting when I can

So yesterday I sat down and wrote half a post and then had to walk away. I never came back to it. We had a wonderful Easter at Chris' cousins house with his aunt/uncle and grandparents. The kids had a great time with their cousins....Fabulous.

I got a call from the library and I am hired on with regular hours which should be nice. I think it will work out really well. I am nervous about adding one more thing to my schedule but in the end, I think it will work out just fine.

The boys are excited for Opening Day baseball this weekend. Christian was trained as a little league umpire (Paid). So he has a new job too. He wants to save his money for a snowboard. Christian and Jonah both have games this weekend and I am ready for things to get started. I can't believe we are here again.

The other exciting thing is all three boys are preparing for their piano recital this year. Christian was asked to do a duet with one of his best friends. They are the youngest kids to ever be asked to do a duet. SOOO exciting. Our money is starting to pay off as the boys are one of our favorite forms of entertainment. Love it.

Check out my Slide Show!

March Madness

As usual things are crazy. I made a new slide show to compile the most recent happenings. First and formost we had the annual beard shave. Yeah. Now I know what my husband looks like. We also decided to take a road trip to a fishing spot the barber told us about. We had zero luck but we did score some great family time. Don and Kathie drove out to meet us which was really nice. My little Irish boys had a fun St. Patricks day eating Bangers and Mash, drinking some rootbear and ending the day with a Wii tournament. FUN FUN FUN. Finally, baseball season has kicked into full gear and we are having a lot of fun with that. Busy busy busy but we asked for it. We spend every evening at the baseball park with boys. Between all the baseball, fishing and guy trips I am starting to feel the pangs of no girl time. Oh well, I can wait for my granddaughters.......

Guys trip

Here are a few crazy pics of the boys. Chris took the kids down to the coast for the weekend. They did some clamming and crabbing with their uncle Don. They had such a great time and I spent the weekend by myself. With the boys out of town it was a bit strange but I never get any girl time so it was fun. Baseball season is off and running. I feel like the last few days have gone by quicker than imaginable. We got a lot of our kids back on our teams and things look good for the year. Christian is excited to be back playing ball again. Jonah has lost a total of four teeth now this month. Max has a bottom tooth that is ready to fall out and I am thinking the tooth fairy will be broke before the summer. Well, I hope life finds everyone well.

The Tooth Fairy

Well, the tooth fairy has been very busy lately. Jonah lost a tooth everyday for three days and now has a giant gaping whole where his teeth used to live. He was so excited to get some money that he could not wait to spend it. We took him to target and he bought an I pup. It was a ton of fun. Things have been busy over break. Chris has been home so we have spent plenty of time at the park and skiing. We are going to take the boys to a hockey game tonight which should be a lot of fun. I will post a couple of pics of Jonah's gap toothed smile soon.

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The Duvall Brothers

I remember when I was young, I would dress up and dance about the house singing my favorite songs. I loved it. I remember singing Neil Diamond's America, Billy Ocean, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Cindi Lauper. You named it and I sang it. I came home to three boys dressed up and crazy, dancing about to their favorite c.d. Jonas Brothers. Here are a few pictures of the concert they put on for us.

FAT TUESDAY

Last night was Fat Tuesday and we celebrated by ordering pizza (which we never do). We talked to the kids about lent and the 40 days Jesus spent in the dessert and how we can honor that through sacraficial giving of our own. We also talked about different ways to observe lent by participation instead of abstaining in events. Jonah wants to give up t.v. Max says he'll give up the speed channel and Christian didn't commit. We talked about various ways they can help in the community in addition to their sacrifice. We talked about spending more time in prayer. So with all that in mind I thought it might be nice to make a list of the things I would like to do this lent well, and forever...
1. Pray more, do my devotionals regularly instead of sparatically.
2. Swear less, even when I am mad at Chris
3. Honor my body by eating better and healthy exercise.
4. No alcohol for 40 days at least
5. turn off the t.v and computer and spend quiet time with the kids
6. worry less about finances
7. I would really like to take the kids to a soup kitchen

I am still trying to think of ways to volunteer and help out in the community more but it is hard to come up with new and interesting ways. Also, I volunteer a lot and am not sure that it is mentally safe to add more.... Hmmm.....any good ideas, I would love to hear how other people honor this time. I know my list is long and goofy but it is a goal so I hope I do good.