Summertime Fun….Rollercoaster Madness

Me and my beautiful sisters

Another summer is in the books….

Yet again we were spread across the globe doing various baseball related things.  Haven't you heard? Baseball is LIFE!  HAHAHA

Clay (our oldest) started his summer off playing baseball with a travel team out of Perth, Australia, which required him to play in multiple games at locations ranging from Oregon, Idaho, and California.  He made great friends and created amazing memories through all his experiences along the way. Then he finally made his way to our Texas home to join me and his brothers for a little while.  He was given a great opportunity to have his first "real" summer job, and his performance there was impressive enough that he was told to come back next summer if he was interested.  During his high school years here in the Land of Sand he has been taking Spanish courses.  They paid off during the summer while working.  The majority of his coworkers were Hispanic, and this allowed for them to communicate a lot easier. They really appreciated his willingness to communicate with them in their native language.

Clay playing 1st base

Clay playing catcher

Joshua (our second born) started his summer off staying with a friend in Oklahoma and working on baseball skills at camp.  They spent time riding Razor ATVs and just having a good ole time.  Then he joined us in Texas to soak up a little bit of home.  Church camp was a must do on the summer time list. He and Denver (our youngest) ventured off with our home church to spend time with friends and learn more about our Lord.  Fun was had, memories were made, and hearts were fed! Joshua also had the opportunity to work this summer.  He worked for a couple of weeks and was thrilled to have a little change in his pocket!  (WOW, you mean work means money?!!?)

Off to Church Camp

Team picture with the S. Korean team

Denver (our youngest) started his summer off with a trip to S. Korea to participate in the Little League World Series qualifying tournament.  Clint and I went with him on this adventure.  It was a great trip! (I will write a separate blog entry just about that trip.)  He and his team played hard and although they did not win, they have the memories and the pictures that they can tell the stories someday about this moment in their lives. After S. Korea, we made the journey back to the Land of Sand and then the next morning Denver and I set off for Texas.  Let the jet-lag begin!

Denver and I landed in Texas and set off to get things settled at our house.  Our first visit of the summer to our home resulted in being greeted by hundreds, YES HUNDREDS, of spiders in my living room and kitchen!!!  UGH!!!  I hate those little sneaky critters…yes they kept the moth population down but now I had to attack them with a vengeance!  There were so many that there was no way I was staying the night there…NO WAY!!! Denver and I returned the next day and began cleaning.  Sweeping cobwebs and 8-legged critters out of all the corners and edges.  We sucked them into the vacuum cleaner until sadly, RIP the vacuum. The vacuum gave up the fight so off to WalMart we go!  While we are there I grabbed bug bombs and 4 devices that you plug into outlets that send out an ultrasonic sound waves to run off the critters!  So we set the bombs off and leave to return the next day to clean up the aftermath.  Thank goodness my beautiful sister lives just 10minutes away and loved having us stay with them. The bug bombs did the trick!! Plugged the outlet devices in and went to cleaning everything. Now we had to clean up dead critters and wipe all bug bomb residue from all the services. Finally all done and the house was once again a place I didn't mind sleeping in.  Denver turned to me as we finished and said "Once Clay and Joshua get back here they are responsible for all the chores…I have done way more than my part!"  LOL, crazy kid!

We finally gather all of us back into one spot in our hometown in Alto, TX.  Clint, my hubby, was able to join us at this point for a couple of weeks.  He was so looking forward to getting on his tractor and mowing. (He's still a good ole country boy.) We took a family trip up to Oklahoma for a work function for Clint.  Enjoyed the lake and the open road together without beginning World War III in the truck.  It seems to be getting closer to our boys becoming friends with each other, rather than annoyances to each other. (Thank you Lord!)  Clint had to return to the Land of Sand before the rest of us, but it was nice that he finally got more than 2 days at home.

We were also able to show off our beloved Texas to Clay's friend from Norway.  He and Clay became friends when we moved to the Land of Sand.  Clay spent his Spring Break holiday in Norway with him, so we said you must come spend time in Texas with us.  So he did! It was great having him.  We took him to his first Major League baseball game, the spring-fed swimming hole called Camp Tonkawa, a little fishing in a neighbors pond, and introduced him a Texas staple--Whataburger!!! He loved it!!

Before our summer was over Denver was invited to go play some more baseball….MORE baseball!! The same group that Clay had played with at the beginning of the summer out of Australia had

Look who made the news!

also put together a 12U team and were in need of a player because another player had been injured.  So we said sure, why not! The planning began for travel and supplies.  It was a great opportunity for Denver.  He went and joined the team on his own.  Two flights (flew unaccompanied minor--the airline makes sure he gets where he is supposed to be) later he was safe with the coach in New Jersey.  Denver made some wonderful friendships with the guys on the team (Aussies are cool!). I joined him a few days later after getting Clay and Joshua on a flight back to the Land of Sand.  Denver and I saw/experienced Niagara Falls, Pittsburgh Pirates game, road trips in the van across 2-3 states, games against various teams troughout those states, a game on the Original field where Little League began, watched a couple of games at the 2016 Little League World Series, and just had an overall good time.  Denver was able to experience NY city before I arrived.  I was a tad jealous of that actually. He saw the memorial of the Twin Towers, Times Square, the Statue of Liberty (from a distance), and the Empire State Building.  So very cool!!!  We wrapped up our baseball tour, said goodbye to new friends, and headed back to the Land of Sand.  The trip back to the Land of Sand required us to end our summer the same way we began….a flight from one location to another, a layover and then a 15+ hour flight to our final destination.  More jet lag….but that's just all part of it! (It was a very busy summer!)

As soon as we returned to Abu Dhabi we had to be ready to begin work and school the very next day…YIKES!!  In the end it probably is best to just force the time change rather than allowing yourself days of sleeping in and being lazy!  So stay tuned to posts from this year, it is going to be an emotional one.  Clay is a senior in high school, so we are in prep mode for college and leaving the nest.  It is going to be a rollercoaster for me and for Clint.  So keep us all in your prayers as we make our way through this part of our life, the joys and the tears.