CHOP THE MOP

Cole was in desperate need of a haircut and since the weather has started warming up a bit, Nathan thought it was time for a good ole buzz cut. That boy's hair is so thick and coarse and grows so unbelievably fast. He really could use a haircut every 2 weeks...And that's pushing it.

Cole would loooove to have a mow-hawk, but he doesn't have the type of hair that sticks up easily and stays that way no matter what you do to it. Plus, we're not rednecks...Even though we're surrounded by them :)
Just kidding!He thought it was cool for a moment, but off it went. None of that here, folks.
His hair was shedding in mounds all over the yard. Maybe it'll help the patchy spots in the grass grow in a little better. His stark whiteness really stands out with his bare forehead beaming in the sunlight. No more distractions from a spikey hair do. Geez, we might need to lather him up with sunscreen between every inning during those sunny baseball games.I like his hair with a bit more on the top to style, but we figured chopping the mop completely would be much easier to deal with now that he's playing baseball and will be taking a hat on and off such much. At least I don't have to mess with fixing it before school for a while. One less thing to deal with during the morning rush is always a plus!

PRETTY PINK HAT

Brooke got a pretty, pink cowgirl hat from her Nana for Christmas, and it made its official debut with the horses over the weekend. Rambo hardly recognized Brooke with no front teeth, no bow, and a strange shadow...But there was no mistaking her sweet voice. The weather was much nicer than last time. A mild and sunny 58 degrees made for a very beautiful day.
You know I took many, many, many more pictures, but I decided to only post the good ones with the hat on this time. This could have really been a "Wordless Wednesday" post, but oh well.

BASEBALL TRYOUTS

Cole had his baseball tryouts this past Saturday and what a challenge it was. Nathan called me just as Brooke and I were getting in the car and said not to bother coming.

All they did was try and catch a ground ball and a pop fly from the shortstop position and throw it to first base. Then they pretended to swing from home plate and ran around the bases. Wow. Not even an attempt to try and hit the ball. I really wanted to find out how the coaches will be pitching to the kids so that we can practice with Cole the same way. I guess hitting is secondary to catching, throwing, and running. Whatever, I just hope it's not a sign of a crummy league and a season that will never end.

Nathan took a video with his phone but forgot to turn it sideways. He had to put it on youtube so it could be seen upright. This way is better than leaning your head on your shoulder and getting a crick in your neck to watch it the other way.

They left the tryout with no clue of what was next, which was kind of weird. Nathan finally got a phone call Sunday afternoon with some details. The coach remembered Cole as the one wearing the Texas Longhorns stuff. That's right, represent! The coach said that he was selected for the upper level team, and he showed lots of talent (not sure if upper level is the name of the team or it has to do with Cole's skill level).

The coach was shocked when Nathan told him that Cole has never played baseball before. He said that practice starts this week and he was looking forward to see what Cole can do, but they would have to work on switching him from Texas to Tennessee. Nathan responded with, "That will NEVER happen."

ASPARAGUS

For some unexplainable reason, I decided to try making asparagus. I've only tried eating it once before and thought it was completely foul. I've been trying to eat much healthier the last couple of months after feeling so sick to my stomach all the time. And I decided that I will eat better and sometimes more expensive stuff even if it's just for me because I want to...And I need to do so.

I got this crazy idea to actually touch this stuff in the store and then proceeded to stick it in a bag and buy it. Just nuts of me, I know. I looked up online how to steam these little weeds and noticed a few people recommended roasting or grilling them for a better taste. Since my propane tank ran out on me in the middle of grilling pork chops (grrr!), that option was out.

I wasn't sure about the explanation of the stem things, so I only used a vegetable peeler on half of the bunch. A drizzle of extra virgin oil, a sprinkle of salt and pepper, mix it all up, and throw in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes.

I cooked them twice as long as the recipe suggested, but they never got slightly crispy as promised. They were just beyond limp. And limp is never good :)
It wasn't even possible to withstand the taste of the ones with the spikes still on them, but I could tell the others would've tasted pretty good if they hadn't been so squishy and soggy. A little salty though.

I did attempt them again a week later with a hotter oven, no salt, and no spikes. This time the insides of half of them were completely hollow. Like the heat just evaporated it or something.

What in the world?! I really want to cook and eat cool and healthy foods, but when I screw up the simplest of recipes, it's really frustrating. I think I need some serious lessons.

CORRECTION

So, Nathan finally read the blog post about Brooke's front teeth, and I was informed that I had something totally and completely wrong. I said her teeth looked like Chunk's from The Goonies, but I should have said they looked like Sloth's teeth. So please excuse my inexcusable error. In my defense, I didn't watch the dorky movie 50 times like he did and love every second of it. My bad.

Chunk is the kid and Sloth is the weirdo.

TWO WINDOWS

Brooke lost her other front tooth at school on Monday. I had no clue until she jumped in the car with this huge gummy grin at pick up time. That tooth was so beyond ready to come out. It had almost shifted to the middle and was hanging there diagonally. It was very gnarly looking and kind of reminded me of Chunk's teeth from The Goonies...But now it's sooo adorable!
She now has "two windows" as she says...Or so her teacher says. It's so funny to hear her try and talk. Sometimes it's almost as difficult as when she was a toddler trying so hard to say new words. You have to really concentrate on what she's saying to figure it out when that tongue thtickth thooh tha thpatheth (you know, sticks through the spaces).

My goodness, she looks so cute.

Brooke lost her two front teeth an entire year before Cole did. Wow, what are we in for? She is our baby, our last baby, and she's changing so fast. It's amazing to see the milestones that Cole experiences first, but for some reason, it sometimes seems like it's even more exciting when it's Brooke's turn. I don't know if it's because she's a girl or the youngest or what. Maybe it's simply because there isn't another child (whew!) that we know we can still baby and enjoy those little moments with again. It's just plain crazy I tell you...Or maybe it's just me who's crazy :)

LOOK AT THIS THING

We got this cool contraption the other day to help Cole practice his eye/hand coordination for baseball. Tryouts are this Saturday, and we're a little bit nervous for him. He seems to have everything down, he's just never played on a team before.

He struggles a little with catching the ball because it's still hard for him to squeeze his glove. Nathan has oiled it a few times, but it still needs to be worked in. He might get stuck in outfield because of that, but at least he has a rocket arm if he does.

He can smack a whiffle ball all day long, but we have no clue how fast the ball will be coming to him in this league. It's coach pitch for 7 and 8 year olds. I just hope he doesn't let go of the bat and it make a b-line to someone's face. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Cole has always enjoyed hitting the ball...

Now his big league dreams can finally begin.

RAMBO RETURNS

Brooke finally got to ride Rambo again and enjoy something wonderful that she loves. Yay! Between the cold weather and our Texas trip, I think it has been over 2 months since she last saw the horses. She asks every week if she can go, and it finally worked out this past Saturday. I thought it was going to be pretty nice, but 47 degrees and windy is actually still fairly cold. The sun was shining so bright and would've been all we needed for a pleasant day, but the wind just constantly blew this bitter chill across your face.

Brooke ran up to Rambo like it was her long lost best friend that she hadn't seen in years. Karley already had him saddled up and ready to go. Brooke didn't hesitate for a second and got right on there. No one mentioned her fall at her last outing, and it didn't even seem to cross her mind at all.
Brooke didn't care that it was chilly one single bit...And I knew she wouldn't. Every time they came around, I asked her if she was cold or wanted her big jacket. She always just shook her head "no" with a sweet smile on her face. By the way, she does have on two shirts underneath that thick sweater and vest.I think Karley was tired of walking around in circles but I could tell that Brooke didn't want to get off of Rambo, so I asked her if she wanted Karley to ride with her. She nodded her head and off they went.
Brooke won't say much when we try to talk to her while she's on the horse, but Karley says she chats up a storm when they get going.
I made sure she wore the pink cowgirl vest and boots in case the weather was too warm for it from here on out. She looks so cute up there on the horse. I'll try to get her to sport her cowgirl hat next time.

Brooke gives Rambo a few treats at the end of each ride.
She loves it!

They sold two of the horses last week leaving them with only seven, but the new addition that I mentioned a while back should be born some time in May. I can't wait to see Brooke's excitement of being around a little baby pony. Maybe if we live here long enough and miraculously find a way to be able to take care of a horse, they will give it to her! I kid, I kid.

But seriously...She would LOVE that!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

A LITTLE MORE BASKETBALL

The second half of Cole's basketball season went by so quickly. And so did the month of February. It's really unbelievable. That means that April is even closer, and I'm not quite sure that I'm ready for Cole to be 8 years old yet. I just hope that with age comes wisdom...And less back talking. Grrr!!!

Cole loves the fast pace of basketball. It's great for his never ending, ridiculous, often annoying amounts of energy. My house would be spotless year round if I had even half of his energy...But we all know that will never happen.This has to be the best quality basketball goal ever made. I love the way the goal even has higher performance written on it. The crooked rim must be an added bonus. The YMCA spares no expense.

All lined up for their first experience of a free throw shot. Cole was so excited when he finally got his chance at it (see it in the video).

Nathan giving Cole a few pointers and what not to do.

Here are some clips from Cole's last 3 games. It really was fun to watch him play. I can't wait until next year to see him in action again. A little more maturity and he's seriously going to shock some people!