The Close of our Summer...

The last few weeks of our summer was jam packed!

We enjoyed fun at home on the 4th!

I also took the boys to Gravity Extreme!

They each reached the top...

And then dropped!  Yikes!!!

Next we went to California for a short family vacation, as well as a USA tryout for Ryan!

Freddy and I got a date night at Don Cuco's...

And we all went to the beach!

It was 20 degrees cooler on the coast than it was inland!

So because of that, Ryan was really the only one who went in the water!

Freddy and I enjoyed taking in the rays,

then it was time to head back to Santa Clarita for baseball.

Ryan's buddies, Brayden and Ryan (Rhino) were at the tryout too...

Along with Connor!  Our time together with them and their families was a blast!

Below is a short link to Ryan's Highlights on the field! Enjoy!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/a3y5g0zdexfmy48/Ryan%27s%20USA%20Tryout%20Highlights%20.mov?dl=0

When Ryan was at the field one day, Evan and I went to Magic Mountain!

I hadn't been there since I was a teenager, and Evan had never been.

He is a huge thrill seeker and loved it!

I loved the time I got to spend with him there!

The day before we left town, we HAD to squeeze in a trip to Corner Cottage!

I introduced my friend Tania to the good stuff!  Ha ha!

Vic came to visit and watch Ryguy play,

so while Freddy and Vic hung out for the evening...

I took the boys to Universal Studios!

We went on everything they wanted...

including Harry Potter the rollercoaster!

We also got them Butterbeer for a treat...

And met a funny cop!

Evan and I rode the new Jurassic World ride together...

Then he and Ryan went on The Mummy together...

So while I waited for them, I found a friend!

Before the Tram Tour, the boys each got a HUGE donut!

It was a great afternoon & evening with the boys at Universal!

Before our flight out, we swung by Giamela's for a yummy pepper steak!

It was a wonderful trip!

The last week of July, Ryan started school!

He is in the CTA program at Charlotte Patterson Elementary.

6th Grade in Mrs. Smith's class was off to a great start on Meet the Teacher Night!

Ryan decided before he hit the books to run a lemonade stand...

And made some decent cash in doing so!

On the 23rd, Ryan started his LAST 1st Day of Elementary School!

(On the left was a pic of his 1st Day of Kinder.  Where does the time go!?)

Evan decided to have himself drawn as a Simpson character!

We all loved the result!  

Since the commitment didn't interfere with baseball,

and he showed interest in the trumpet,

Ryan joined the band at school!

To close out the month, a few other baseball things happened!

There was a cool article in the LA Times that was posted... 

And Freddy did a signing. He was asked to have his autograph included on this.

It's a Ty Cobb Batting Title winner poster!

Sorry I was a little late into the month to post this.

August's blog will follow shortly after!

We hope this finds you all healthy and happy!

Our Family Time in June followed by Baseball/Travel Fun!

Since Evan's Junior High didn't have a graduation ceremony, 

we decided to have a small family party to celebrate his accomplishments! 

He even jumped in the pool with his cap and gown on!

Freddy's Mom and Dad came, along with Cousin Jason and his daughter.

It was a fun day!

I love summer...and these boys!

Last summer Ryan bleached the front of his hair and dyed it blue.

This summer he wanted to bleach the whole top and color it pink!

The color came out quickly last year,

so we found a color depositing conditioner for this summer!

On the 11th, we flew to Omaha for Ryan's Slumpbuster Tourney!

Half of the team happened to be on the same flight!

The boys had been trying to complete this stunt for over an hour on the first night in town.

They finally did it when we told them it was their last chance before bed!

They were initially trying to throw and catch the ball without touching the pool deck

which is why it took them so long. 

Way to go boys!

It was finally time to play ball, so Tania and I "cheersed" while watching the boys warm up!

The photographer had the boys pose for a banner picture. 

Tania took this from behind.

Besides swimming, in their down time the boys would play basketball at the courts in the same parking lot as our hotel.

On the 12th, the Nachtigall's drove from IL to IA,

so on the 13th they were able to come watch the games!

Afterwards, we went to eat and then to a Go Karting place in the area.

Ben got to ride with Steve! His wheel even "helped" control the cart!

The kids had a great time, and we enjoyed watching them!

In the evening, we hung around the fire pit at the hotel.

It was SOOOO great to spend time with Nell and her family!

We hadn't seen them since our trip to the Bahamas in March!

The last day of the tourney, the boys battled through 3 bracket play games!

They ended up taking 3rd in the invite only 11U division!

They had an amazing season, playing mostly up in 12U! 54-15!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/suym0fzorbhaq8l/Ryan%27s%20Slumpbuster%20Tourney%20Highlights.mov?dl=0

Copy and paste the above link into your browser to see Ryan's highlight reel from Omaha at the plate!

He was intentionally walked twice in the semi-final game, but those aren't in there.

Walks are never included in the reels either.

We'll take 'em, but they aren't very exciting to watch! Ha ha!

Danielle and I's Aunt and Uncle, as well as their daughter and granddaughter drove in from Missouri to visit and watch the bracket games! 

We got a group photo before we said goodbye!

Evan chooses to stay in Arizona with Freddy's parents when we go out of town for baseball,

so that is why you don't see him in any of the photos from our Omaha/Iowa trip.

On Father's Day, we came prepared with cards and gifts to celebrate Dad!

This was the highlight!  A Swaroski crystal USC football!

Also on Father's Day, we attended a College World Series Game!

Ryan wanted Louisville to win!

Can you tell!?  LOL!

It was a super sticky/hot day, but worth it in the end!

Ryan borrowed an NCAA ball that a teammate caught in BP before the game for this photo opp.

On the way home, 1/3 of the team was on our flight!  What a memorable trip!

Our next trip of the summer was to NC for Ryan to participate in the 10U USA Futures Tourney with the Top Tier Americans, so I decided to be festive with my pedicure for that and the 4th of July!

We flew in a day early so we could spend some time with our friends, the Elmore's!

Once again, Evan stayed in Arizona, but here is Ryan at dinner with Chris and Heather's 4 kiddos!

We had a wonderful time catching up!  It was so nice of them to host us for the night!

Chris and Banks even came to watch a game!

Chris came up in the Red Sox organization with Freddy which is how we all met. 

These photos are from the USA photographers.  I need to go online and order them still, hence the watermarks.

Joser, Ryan and Bobby were the 3 10U Arizona boys on the team!

Day #1 was a success!

In addition to getting together with the Elmore's,

we were grateful the Stewart's were able to meet up with us for dinner!

Paul came up in the Red Sox organization with Freddy also!

On Day #2, it was photo and skills day along with games.

Another successful day of baseball!

The Twitter videos USA posted were a lot of fun to see!

On Day #3, Brayden and his family came to support the boys!

He is Ryan's BF and Teammate on the Stars!

He was on the 11U Top Tier Team the week prior in Cary, NC.

Swimming is always a great way to let loose after a day of baseball!

On Day #4, Ryan and his Top Tier Team placed 3rd...

Taking home the bronze!

Our "Blockfather" had a pretty nice tourney!  

He caught all but a few innings over the course of the weekend.

He also got the opportunity to pitch and did well there also!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/dxu9cra71dmkndf/Ryan%20with%20Top%20Tier.mov?dl=0 

Copy the above link into your browser to see Ryan's quick highlight reel from Cary, NC! 

On the way home, the AZ boys sat together on the plane!

Another memorable trip!

We just couldn't wait to get back to... 

EVAN!

He posed for this photo while we were gone!

Our shy guy!  Ha ha!

This month was a very busy one for us.

We hope this finds you all healthy, happy, and enjoying your summer as well!