Softball, Swimming, and Summer Games

 This was Daisy's second year of coach pitch, and she did so much better!  Her coach was so patient and really dedicated, scheduling a lot of practices in between games to work with the girls and teach them some fundamentals. 

 Her season began the second week of May and just got over.

 I'm not sure what we'll be doing now that we won't be at the ball field every night!

 Daisy's coach was good to rotate the girls into all the different positions so they could learn more.

 I have loved the Utah Summer Games ever since they began when I was a little girl.  I was hoping to run the 10K this year, but the pregnancy threw a kink in my plans, so instead, we went down to cheer on Uncle Rian as he wrested.

 Grandpa worked to keep Isaac entertained (without the iPad) in between matches.  Rian is hoping to do better next year, and I was super happy to get Pizza Factory out of the whole deal! 

 What is summer without swimming?  Our pool is under construction, so we haven't been swimming as much as we would like, but we did find a day to go up with Grandma and the cousins.

 It's a good thing Ashlyn takes good care of Isaac, and Grandma is such a good sport!

 Best pals.

 Taking a break.

Isaac has started flexing for pictures recently.  Where does this kid come up with these things?
All we know is summer is in full swing and we are soaking it up!

Father's Day Surprise

 My parents flew in from visiting my sister and her husband in Korea just a few days before Father's Day.  We were so excited to see them after their trip that we surprised them by driving down for a visit on Father's Day weekend.  They were at the mountain (of course) so we drove straight there.  Isaac was thrilled when Grandma helped him find this caterpillar.

 He was fascinated with the way it moved.  He tried and tried to keep it on this small piece of wood, but when it kept crawling off, he decided he needed a bigger stick to put it on.  He took the caterpillar over to the pile of firewood and attempted to transfer it to a huge log, at which point the crawling caterpillar became a green smear.  He came over hauling his log complaining that the caterpillar was no longer crawling.

 Grandpa took the kids on a little walk...

 ...and then Isaac and Grandpa kept the fire going while we made dinner.

 The kids were so excited to play with baby Jade, who got a little sun on her cheeks at the mountain.

 Daisy conducted a self-portrait photo session while we were waiting for dinner.

When we got home from the mountain, Grandma and Grandpa spoiled us all with gifts from Korea.  Daisy got tons of fun socks, and we loved the spun-honey and sesame candy.

We feel so blessed to have our family live close enough that we can visit for all sorts of occasions, and for no reason at all.

12/12/12

12/12/12 is a a little optimistic since our fourth child is due on 12/05/12, but wouldn't 12/12/12 be the coolest birthdate of the century?  We are getting excited to welcome a new little one into our Dansie Family Circus.  Daisy is voting for a girl, Levi is voting for a boy.  Isaac is confused.  Jeff and I are hoping for a healthy baby.  I have felt great physically, like each of my previous pregnancies.  I have a massive subchorionic hemorrhage that started bleeding out heavily at 10 weeks, so emotionally I have been a wreck.  Now, however, our risk of miscarriage has dropped significantly, so I am finally letting myself believe that it's for real.  The hemorrhage is shrinking and the baby is growing and we are enjoying the journey.

Camp + Camp

 Although I've never served in the Young Women, I was privileged to be invited to Girls Camp with our stake.  I got to teach the gospel, which is something I'm passionate about, so of course, I had a good time.  What I didn't expect was to have a fabulous time, especially since camping isn't my forte.  I also didn't expect to learn as much as I did, and be so touched by the sacrifice of so many people.  Laurel Christensen, whom I adore, came and spoke at our camp, so I got to visit with her for a minute.  She will be presenting at Time Out for Women in Richfield this year and I can't wait to see her again.

 While I was away at camp for a whole week, Jeff took the kids camping in Salina.  When I got home from Girls Camp, I headed down to join them.  We were so lucky that Jeff's cousin and his wife and children were up Salina canyon too!  The kids had a ball playing with their cousins that they only get to see once a year or so.

 Isaac took the horseshoe pitching pretty seriously, but it became hazardous for everything in a 20 foot radius...

 ...so we moved on to softball with Grandma as the star pitcher.

 Isaac couldn't decide which soda he wanted, so he just went for both...at the same time.

 We rode down to Salina to get some toilet paper and the kids all crashed.  Camping is rough!

 Levi was determined to catch some tadpoles.  He and Daisy were stopping at nothing.

 But when tadpoles were scarce, the mud became the object of their obsession.

How's that for camping?

Spring Ride

 We've planned a few family horse rides this year and keep running into hiccups that keep us from actually going, but finally on Memorial Day weekend we got in the saddle.  Isaac was riding buddy saddle behind me.  He is quite the little cowboy.

 Daisy and Levi were anxious to get going.  Daisy is trying a new mare and she is excited to see what she can do.

 It is always more fun when our cousins are riding with us.

 Isaac and I started out leading the way, but then we ended up bringing up the rear.

 The mountain was beautiful (it hasn't dried out quite yet.)

 We always have to let our saddle bums rest and have a little snack on the trail.

It has been so much fun to be able to have our whole family saddle up and ride this year.  It is so nice that Isaac is old enough to ride for several hours now so we don't have to arrange for babysitters and our whole family can be together.  We're looking forward to lots more rides this summer.

T-baller

 It was a sad day when t ball season finally came to an end.  Levi loved playing again this year, and only wished he could hit off a pitch instead of a T since that's how we practice at home.

 Levi's league had a lot of games this year, so he got to know some of the kids on his team pretty well.

 As soon as t-ball was over he was asking, "When does soccer start?"

 Next year: coach pitch.