Spring Break

Well, we saw Bethany off to the beach for the week on Saturday. Of course, we all miss her but there's one person in particular who hasn't taken to the idea of her spending Spring Break away from home so well...

That's the two of them before we went to drop B off at her friend Molly's house so they could head south. I won't tell you who wanted them to be twins. It's not who you think it would be, though. :) When we got to Molly's house, Towns hung on to Bebby's leg and wouldn't let go. She cried all the way home. They both spent the last few weeks begging us to buy Towns a go phone so they could text and talk to each other while they were apart. When we left B Saturday, a full 15 minutes hadn't passed before she texted me wondering how soon we could make the phone thing happen because she was missing Towns already. The two of them are so close, despite the age difference. It's so sweet! It's now Wednesday and we all agree that it feels like a month since she's been gone. By Saturday afternoon Towns was asking me how much longer Spring Break would last. She's beyond ready to get everything back to normal!

I, on the other hand, am not. I could get used to having nothing to do and nowhere to be!

You can most certainly bet that I've had to kick it into high gear to keep the girls entertained during all of our down time. I put in a phone call to my dad, and he was overly excited to help me out in that department. So for the past couple of days we've spent lots of time bouncing ourselves silly...
I took this next picture two seconds before Cate fell face first to the ground because she was so worried about making sure that huge bunny rabbit was safe...
When I picked her up she had a nose filled with dirt, a mouth full of grass, and a huge goose egg on her head. It was bound to happen eventually. Bless her heart!
We spent some quality time at the baseball field, too...
There's not much more in the world that makes me happier than watching baseball. The little ones passed the time by dancing on the bleachers and drawing pirate treasure maps on napkins...
They're such clowns...
The highlight of the game was Towns singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the 7th inning stretch without her even knowing it was coming. That's thanks to a recording of her singing it when she was 2. My dad's American Legion team was playing in the state championship game, and I desperately wanted to be there but was about 37 weeks pregnant with Cate. It wasn't really an option for us to make the trip. Naturally, my dad was disappointed but understood. The game had literally started already when I got the idea to record her singing the song and email it to the sound guy in the press box to play as a surprise after the 7th inning. The cherry on top was her saying, "I love you, Paw Paw" like it was the last four words of the song. He had no idea we'd collaborated to make it happen, but loved it. He had it put on a CD and plays it at all of his ballgames. Towns didn't know it, and it was priceless when she heard her voice over the sound system. She didn't know whether to laugh or be embarrassed, but it was too cute. The whole crowd stood up and clapped for her after it was over. And I would almost put money on the fact that my dad had a tear or two in his eyes.
We stopped by practice the next day on our way out of town where the girls got front row seats to watch the action...
With this crew there's never a shortage of good stories and belly laughs. Case in point...
My dad has used the same clip board to post line ups and such during baseball games for 22 years. That was until Norman, a JV player, punched it out of frustration during a game and broke it. He knew immediately what was coming. He thought he'd have the worst punishment known to man. No one wanted to be the one who broke that clip board. Instead, my dad made him build a coffin, dig a three ft. hole behind home plate and bury it. He had to officiate a ceremony in front of the entire JV and Varsity teams, and every Monday he has to bring flowers to put on home plate. Hysterical.
Possibly the worst punishment of all was me telling him in front of the whole team that I needed a picture of the person who laid the clip board to rest...
Can you say embarrassment?! He was such a sport about it.
Most of the players also play for American Legion in the summers so it's sort of become one big happy family. They're used to Towns and Cate riding the bus with them to games, making them sing along to "If You're Happy and You Know It" on the microphone on the bus, etc. Honestly, how many 17 and 18 year olds do you know who would so eagerly clap their hands and stomp their feet on cue just to make two little girls happy? Here they are with my girls...My dad requested that picture. He's had most of those players since they were about Towns' age. I think he's a bit sentimental, don't you? Ha!

We couldn't get away without seeing the infamous cows that live behind my dad's house (they're not his)...
It was a good idea in theory. But that big black bull was feeling territorial and let us know it. He walked right up, lowered his head, and started moving his foot as if he was about to charge the barbed wire fence. That's when we bowed out gracefully and made our way back to the house. I tend to think that wimpy fence wouldn't keep him from getting to us, and I'd rather not add "trampled by a bull" to our list of things we did during Spring Break.

We decided to stick to nicer, kinder animals that can't flatten you like a pancake. Like the Easter Bunny at the mall...
I had to laugh when I looked back at this picture. Towns is all smiles and loving life. Cate's got a temporary smile on her face, but has positioned herself so that she can bolt if need be. That's the first time she's ever agreed to a picture with a character (if you will) without J, Bethany or me right there with her. She's always been terrified of them. But she promised that this time she would be a big girl and wouldn't be scared. I'd say she halfway delivered on that promise, wouldn't you?

We're getting J ready to board a plane to Orlando on business this week. That requires making him lots of pictures and notes to hide in his suitcase, naturally. If only it was us tucked away in his suitcase instead. B tells me all the time that Disney has been her favorite vacation and is dying to go back. I say we need to capitalize on that while it lasts...right?!