Let Them Eat Cake

Claire has signed up for cake decorating for 4-H.  She has been busy making practice cakes all summer.  We've been passing along cakes to neighbors, church, and work to get all those calories out of the house.   

East Tipp vs. East Tipp

 The Pinto League Tourney came down to two East Tipp teams.  This happens quite a bit here in Tippecanoe County.  We seem to breed winning ball teams (or super competitive Coach Dads).  Whichever way you look at it, it's hard when you have friends on both teams.  Parents find themselves cheering for all the kids.  Ike's team came in 2nd.  They battled so hard in the semi-finals that they just had no gas left to go on for the final game. 

Still, we are a happy Hamby family just bursting with pride.  We love these boys and all of the coaches.  The coaches, make or break the ball experience.  These guys always have a kind word to go with the instructions.  They point out when the boys do good, and never ride them when they don't.  I will be a bit sad to see this season end.

Brace Face

How cute is this cool cat?!  Ava is in love with her new braces.  She choose four different shades of green bands to make them uniquely hers.  She has adjusted to having braces like a champ.  The first day, I offered to stay home from her ballgame with her.  She said she was fine and just couldn't give up her spot at third base.  I will admit the team does count on her.  Funny enough, sore mouth and all, one of her best games ever.  She made five outs on third, threw several "assist" outs, and hit a triple!  Maybe these braces will straighten out more than her teeth.

End to Elementary

 Fifth grade, is the last year at elementary school, and for girls, it's all about friends.  Paige had a brilliant year in 5th grade. We loved her sweet teacher, Mrs. Ferguson. Paige constantly tells me that Mrs. Ferguson never yells.  (Good for Mrs. Ferguson. *blah*)   Paige also formed some tight bonds with good friends.  Hoping they carry over into middle school.  Heaven help us -- that's a rough territory with a lot of drama.

Claire also had a terrific fifth grade experience.  She and her best friend of three years were finally in the same class.  I constantly asked and emailed if they were behaving together.  They never acted up in class.  My theory -- they saved it all for weekend here!  God love 'em -- they are a cute, little team.

Tough Game

The hardest game of the year for Ike is the one against his BFF's from the 'hood, Cooper and Bricker.  We love these guys, and can't imagine our neighborhood without them.  There was a lot of friendly banter before the game, but someone had to lose.

Ike had a couple good hits and some pretty good fielding.  We were behind the whole game, but in the last inning, we pulled ahead.  It was a bittersweet victory that a good night's sleep will heal.

2nd Grade Zoo Day

I called in sick to spend all day at the zoo with the 2nd grade class.  The day started out with a down pour, but finally the sun crept out and the fun began. As you can see from these pictures, my shy son has blossomed into a hambone.  He loves to make the ladies laugh, especially his sisters.

Besides enjoying the zoo, we rode the mini train, which Ike and Ava said was no different than riding the lawn mower.  We ate cones from Frozen Custard.  We pet a ferret, skink, and red-footed tortoise.  Then wrapped it up with some play time on the huge playset.  All in all, the best sick day I've ever had.

Grueling Game(s)

What a day!  Paige and Claire are playing "real" softball now -- no more mamby, pamby, kiddy stuff for my girls.  They are the youngest girls on their Junior team, but the other girls treat them no different.  With the transition to real ball, comes real tournaments.  We woke up Saturday morning early to drive 40 minutes for a 9:00 start game (you have to warm up for 45 minutes prior also).  The funny way the bracket worked -- they played 6 games back to back for 12 hours!  They had approximately 20 minutes to break in between each game.  It was a long day that landed them second in the tourney.  I could not have been more proud.  Not because of the win, but because these ladies stuck it out and supported each other cheerfully and prayerfully through the whole day.  Way to go CLS team! 

Oh yeah -- our sponsor is the largest pawn shop in Lafayette, so we are the CLS Pawn Stars.  Nice, right?