Monday, June 29, 2009

Learning to slide



So Megan's softball claim to fame is her speed. She is a really fast runner, and has become a great baserunner. She steals second and third with ease, and just let the catcher allow a ball to get away from her, and she'll steal home as well.


But she doesn't slide.


Or at least not well. Or very often.


She has gotten burned a few times, getting thrown out when she likely could have been safe. But to this point, her speed has saved her and she can (mostly) get away with not sliding.


But eventually, she will have to slide. So we got out the Slip 'n Slide. Nicholas was all for this.










Practicing her sliding form:


Get that leg out there!



Don't sit down!










Better!












Now you're getting it!!!










Of course, head first is always the most fun!












One thing she doesn't need practice in, bossing!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Kitchen renovation

We are finally having our kitchen countertops installed after mulling over design, material, and cost for, well, a long time. We officially started the kitchen renovation back in January, with the stripping of the wallpaper. Due to delays regarding some additional cabinets (don't get me started on QuakerMaid cabinets) as well as having to make decisions regarding granite, sink, cooktop, vent, and faucet it has taken us 6 months to get to this point. Naturally, David, being an accountant, was only interested in delaying the payments, so he had NO incentive to move things along. I, of course, am paralyzed by indecision. We still haven't chosen a tile for the backsplash or the paint for the walls yet. :-P

Here are the BEFORE pictures:

This is the old border and wallpaper. I didn't mind the wallpaper so much, but I haven't loved the border since we moved in. BTW, taking down wallpaper is no fun.








This is the sink side showing the old countertops. (Cabinets are not changing).












Oven side, before picture. The orangey marble in the middle was another decision point: do we leave it (which was the original decision because we liked it and to help reduce cost)? Do we replace it? We ended up replacing it because the granite that we chose, Baltic Brown, had enough movement in it to be a little clashy with the marble. If we had gone with a plainer countertop, I think we would have left it.







The old countertops on the island. The cabinets shown are actually new, and built from scratch by a local contractor. He did a fantastic job and came in nearly $1000 under the estimate from the original cabinet company. And, more importantly, finished the cabinets in about 1/3 of the time it was going to take the big company.






Our old built in table. This was actually our biggest hurdle from the time we started talking about new countertops, probably several years ago now. Do we replace it with the same granite? Go with something different like butcher block? Tear it out altogether and just put a regular table there? I use this space a lot as counter surface, so I didn't want to remove it completely. In the end, we decided to go with the granite, and I think we will be happy we did.






Our old sink. I hate this sink. It gets scuff marks and stains at the drop of a hat. The only way to clean it well is to scrub it with steel wool and bleach the fire out of it. My mother usually does it for me (she can't stand the stains!) Unfortunately, as soon as you use it again, it looks just as bad almost immediately. We are going with stainless steel.



There is a cabinet and microwave missing from this picture. The cabinet is a large one which sits directly on the countertop. There is already discussion (from EXTENDED family) about changing this so as not to cover up the beautiful new granite. While I tend to agree with this logic, I am not emotionally prepared to deal with another derailing of this project! Fortunately, I think this is something that we can address at a later date without too much added expense and effort.








Last breakfast at the old table!












Here is the old pedestal from the table.

And the hole in the floor it left behind.









And this is the lovely new pedestal built by hand by our contractor, Bret.











This is what our kitchen looks like WITHOUT countertops--weird, eh?











And this is our living room full of all the kitchen drawers. They never show this on the home makeover shows!





Our countertops traveled from Chattanooga on this truck bed.








They cut the opening for the cooktop on site.








And here is the finished product! We are very happy with them.

















All in all, we are thrilled with the new kitchen. We still need to paint and put in a tile backsplash, and then, hopefully, sand and refinish the floor. I really don't like living through home improvement projects, although the results are usually worth the trouble. I can't imagine a major project, like an addition, though. That would be brutal!



Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Second place finish in Coca-Cola Classic Softball Tournament in Cleveland, TN

We have had some perfectly beautiful softball weather to this point, but this weekend's tournament proved that summer has arrived. We did actually luck out on Sunday with an overcast sky, but the heat and humidity were still abundantly evident.


Our girls played some tough competition in this contest, with a total of 13 teams including teams from Knoxville, Madisonville, and Chattanooga in Tennessee, as well as some Georgia teams. We battled back in extra innings in one game and came from behind in the last inning of another to make it to the championship game. We faced the only other Knoxville team for the championship, and unfortunately came up a little short. But it was a great effort by the entire team and we had a good time as well.





Megan showed her speed both on the basepaths and in centerfield, where she had several nice catches and fielded a ball backhanded on the short hop to prevent it from rolling to the fence (and kept runs from scoring in the process).
Here she is scoring--she's so fast, she almost ran out of the frame! You can see the umpire calling her safe.










The girls really are a team, supporting each other with chants and carrying water and neck coolers to the pitchers and catcher between innings. They were hot and tired by the end of Sunday, but they never gave up and were even able to smile in the dugout.

















We have a fantastic group of parents, here they are late in the day on Sunday. We feel nearly as hot and tired as the girls! We may not have to run and throw, but cheering and supporting are tiring too.











The "little brothers' club." We have SEVERAL players who have little brothers in the 4-9 year old age range. They get along great and provide entertainment for each other during the long days at the ball park. It is not unusual for Nicholas to be happily entertained for the entire weekend, checking in only for food and drink (and maybe a bathroom trip!)












Although I have been known to bemoan my lost weekends on occasion, the truth is we all really enjoy it. And when the girls play as well as they have been this summer, well that's just the icing on the cake! (And who needs clean clothes, dusted furniture, and vacuumed floors anyway?)









Saturday, June 13, 2009

Softball Tournament #756

...ok it just feels that way :)

But this tournament is a *little* different.

How do you go from this:











to this?








By winning your first bracket game, staying in the WINNERS' bracket, and spending your evening swimming and dining instead of battling back up through the losers' bracket, playing umpteen games in the 85º heat.


I think this winning thing may grow on us!




Now this is the way to hold a coaches' meeting!












Winning also allows for father-son bonding time. Our "little brothers club" are troopers at these all day tournaments, but getting to relax by the pool is a nice reward!










These crazy girls do know how to have fun =)