I get by with a little help from my friends...

Can you hear the tune? Jill Maenner and I conduct a 90 minute presentation tomorrow and we had a lot of help from some of our younger friends. We needed to try out all of our stations in the Writer's Workshop model we're presenting, so...we had a BIG playdate and took advantage of how nice our kids' friends are...see for yourself!

Click on the words, "Writer's Workshop and Six Traits" to see the video.

Thanks C, L, C, C, J, E, and K!!

Writer's Workshop and Six Traits

Good news....and not so good news....

Which would you like first?

The good news?

Great!

Last weekend, The U12 Urbana Hawks team clinched the U12 46-60 District Title...they lost in the first game to Emmittsburg 5-0...it was a tough loss, but they came back fighting. In the second game the Hawks beat FBA 9-0...Connor threw a complete game shut out with seven strike outs. This qualified them to skip the semi finals and go straight to the championship game as the #1 seed. They once again found them selves facing Emmittsburg and they came out CHAMPIONS!! They won 4-3. Their story was in the Frederick News Post...it was a big deal for their head coach :-) and for the whole team!!!

OK...so for the not-so-good news?

Connor's team's run for the State title ended today...and needless to say, I've got some broken hearts in my house tonight. Connor's team won three games Friday and Saturday to qualify for the semi-finals today...and although that mohawk was INCREDIBLY intimidating...it met it's match today on the field against CCYL. Our Hawks lost 10-5...it's not how any of us wanted to see the season end, but the boys really should be holding their heads high. This team came a long way, and we're all so very proud of them.

I'm sure this will surprise all three of you who read this, but...

we'll be back on the ball field next weekend!

Jake's State Tourney is in Southern, Maryland...

so 'til then...

THIRTEEN YEARS OLD!?!?! Where does time go?

Seems like only yesterday...

that Connor Edward was celebrating the 100th day in kindergarten...

...or playing cowboy...

...or mugging for the camera with those baby blues...

...or pretending to be Luke Skywalker...

Happy 13th Birthday, Connor Edward...
you are so loved.

It is my absolute honor being your Mom and watching you grow up.

Crazy Week for Hair in the Wills House...

Now you see it....

Now you don't!

Kate and I donated our hair today. She donated TWELVE inches to Locks of Love and I donated NINE to Pantene Beautiful Lengths (they take less than 10 inches!)...she is very pleased with her new hairdo...mine is a bit too short, but that's the nice thing about hair...it always grows back!

And then...

there's Connor...

he decided he wanted do something that would intimidate the other teams during the

District Tournament and the States Tournament...

and you know what?

HE'S SCARY...

Don't bother scrolling down any further looking for Jake's pictures...

he likes his hair, just the way it is!

GO URBANA!!

We are the Champions, my friend....

Can you hear the tune? Sing it for me, will ya?

What an amazing weekend my children had...where to begin?

Let's start with Connor Edward...

The Harry O. Tournament was held in Frederick this weekend. Connor's team went 1-1, which put them into the championship...where they became the "runner's up"...not the result Connor wanted, but some GREAT baseball was played. Connor was 4 for 9 with 4 RBI's, he pitched four innings and only gave up one earned run. He had a phenomenal weekend!

Now to Jake Carey...

The School's Out Tournament was held in Germantown. His team went 3-0, which put them into the championship game, too! And guess what? Jake's team WON! His team played the best ball we've seen from these kids yet! Jake struck out the last batter in the first game with the bases loaded for the win, and he was 3 for 3 with 3 RBI's in the championship game! He, too, had a phenomenal weekend on the field.

And then there was Kate...

Spring Ridge Dance Center's Spring Recital was Saturday...and Kate was in three numbers! Her dance team performed a jazz number to Fireflies, a tap number to Come Follow the Band, and her competition solo routine to Shake Your Tail Feathers. Kate was fantastic! She truly was born to be on stage (wonder where she gets that?) She received so many compliments from people she's never met before!

So, as we head into summer...baseball continues into mid-July, Kate is already participating in morning practices for swim team, and the boys have golf camp next week...we stay busy, but we're definitely more relaxed these days...

Hope this post finds you more relaxed, too...'til next time...

Last week of school....

So...the last week of school was CHOCK FULL of COOLNESS...is that a word?

Last Friday, Connor participated in Urbana Baseball's U12 Skills Fest and placed first in the "Home Run Derby" contest...GO CONNOR!

On Tuesday, Jake Wills participated in the U9 Urbana Baseball Skills Fest...he left with 2nd place overall in base running...GO JAKE!

The very next night...Connor attended Urbana Middle School's Celebration of Academic Excellence and was recognized for having straight A's all year. We are very proud of him for this accomplishment!

On Thursday...Kate had a "BEACH BASH" in kindergarten...

...and Jake played in the UES Band Concert...

Overall...it was a GREAT last week of school...WELCOME SUMMER!!

Its been awhile...and guess what we've been up to?!

...you got it...baseball.

Honestly...the games lately have been so good, I forget to take pictures...here is a very quick update. Both boys had baseball tournaments over the Memorial Day weekend...Connor's team played three games and went 1 and 2...the losses on Saturday were tough, but the win on Sunday was a great one...and the bats stayed hot Tuesday night against another Urbana team that had beaten Connor's team twice in the past two weeks...our boys defeated them in the first round of playoffs 15 to 2! It was a huge win...and they move to the next part of the bracket Thursday night...I didn't get to see this great win, because, alas...

I was watching the other boy we call Jake!

He, too, had a tourney over Memorial Day weekend and his team went 2 and 1, which qualified them for the semi finals on Monday morning at 8:30 am.....where they got CRUSHED. Overall, it was a great tournament even though the last loss was a hard one to swallow. This past Tuesday night, Jake played in the playoffs and pitched an incredible game. His team beat a rival team 7-5 and are now headed to the next bracket, also on Thursday night!

I do have one good baseball picture from this past week...its a war wound...Connor Wills was up to bat against his good friend, Logan...and if you know baseball, usually when a player is struck by a pitch, he gets to advance to first base...but no, not Connor...as he was getting hit by the ball, he put his bat in the ball's way and so it was a strike out...not a fun way to "take one for the team!"

Oh, yeah...and I forgot to write about a little friend in our house named...

POISON IVY.

Poor Jake...while playing at our friend's house he climbed a tree that had "these fuzzy vines, Mom" all over it...he hasn't been the same since....we're still waiting for the stuff to run its course...but he's less itchy now, thank goodness.

Take a look at this...

We have a crazy couple of weeks coming up...including the end of another school year, (or the end of your FIRST school year if you're the cute, Kate Wills)...as well as her Spring Dance Recital, and of course...much more baseball.

Stay tuned for more pix coming soon...

-til then.