It's FINALLY summer!

After a very WEIRD spring, I guess summer finally settled in around here! We were worried there for a while! But now that it's here, we are enjoying all things summer!! Baseball, yard work (well, maybe not "enjoying" that one!), bike rides, golf and pool days!



This is Boston and his good friend, Sophie, who lives across the street. They were so excited when Brian brought home a truck load full of dirt! They quickly "volunteered" themselves to help unload it... they did a great job- even though more dirt got on their clothes than in the wheelbarrows! AHHH! Thank goodness for "Tide with bleach", right???!!




Too bad the "volunteering" didn't last long... I think it is fair to say NO ONE likes to do yard work or wash cars... too bad Brian has a "fetish" about BOTH of these things! That stinks for Pade and Grif!!




Oh... and I guess it stinks for me too! URGH! I have to say I really HATE weeding... but let it be known, I do, occasionally, get involved in a little yard work! But with 3 boys and a husband... I'm lucky it is only "occasionally"!!! ;)
















We've DEFINITELY been busy with baseball... Grif plays on an 11 yr. old competitive team called "HitStreak". We have played in MANY tournaments already... some local, some NOT so local! We've been to Phoenix, Ft. Collins, Pueblo, Woodland Park, Longmont, Aurora and Colorado Springs. The rest have been around here though. He is doing AWESOME and has a good little team! It has been so fun to watch this team grow and get better each year. They are learning so much and improving every game. We have played over 30 games already (with all the tourneys and the league play) and we're still not done yet! We play until the middle of July. It's a good thing we like the other players and their families! We've spent A LOT of time with this group this spring and summer and have loved it! Grif plays pitcher, outfield and a little bit of 2nd base. He has hit the ball well this year- three triples, many doubles and singles and is still hoping for that homerun before the end of the season! Boston has been the "bat boy" many times and loves to hang out in the dugout with the big boys! Hopefully, some of the baseball "mojo" will rub off on him!






With as much baseball as Grif has played this season, there were bound to be a couple of injuries! He has had a few collisions while running the bases, had a sore arm from pitching and has already been hit in the head 3 times by wild pitches. See the red circle on his cheek below his cute brown freckle in the above photo? That mark was from the helmet- thank goodness he was wearing one! It is the protective circle piece around the ear- you can totally see where it hit! There have been a few "battle wounds" including the imprint of the baseball strings on both arms and legs from getting hit! Ouch! Go Grif, way to take one for the team!!





For Mother's Day this year, my family got me a new bike! I was really excited and it's been fun to switch up my exercise plan a little bit! Boston learned last summer to ride his bike without training wheels so he goes on rides with me sometimes. We have a great time!





With Brian being an avid golfer and us having three boys, you can be sure the "Rhees Foursome" has hit the links more than once this summer! All four of them love to golf and I, personally, would rather lay by the pool with a good book and a diet coke! It works out perfectly!!!






A little "backyard fun".... with the weather finally getting warmer, the boys spend lots of time outside on the tramp and playing any kind of game involving a ball! They have enjoyed having time off together and so far, they aren't tired of each other yet!! YAY!!!





We were VERY excited that Paden lettered in Academics this year. He works really hard and juggles a very busy schedule so this was a great accomplishment for him. He is hoping to add a golf letter to this over the course of his high school years. That would be great but we recognize the importance of good grades and are very proud of him for lettering his freshmen year.





















Last, but certainly not least (according to Paden anyway...) Paden got his "driver's permit" last month. Oh my hellen keller!!! Kill me now! It is completely freaking me out and I am seriously dying! He passed his written test and can now drive with a licensed adult until he turns 16. Fortunately, he doesn't need his own insurance until he has his license so I have a little while longer until I'm footin' the bill for that one! He needs to log 50 hours of driving with an adult- Brian and I take turns being in the "hot seat"! He's learning more each time he drives... I don't know if I'll EVER be comfortable with him behind the wheel though! EEEK!!!

Rhees family "owies" and spring hailstorms!

So the past few weeks, our family has had some little "accidents".... one involving Boston (imagine that!!) and the other involving Brian. First, Boston and his cousin Cole were playing in the backyard and chasing each other with buckets of water. Boston had filled a 5 gallon bucket with some water and was trying to get Cole wet when he tripped and his face landed right on the rim of the bucket! It went right across the bridge of his nose and his cheekbone. I thought for sure he'd broken his nose but he didn't... just a good bruise and small cut- right after he did it he said to Cole, "Hey Cole... tomorrow at school, don't tell anyone what really happened. If anyone asks, tell them I got in a fight!" Seriously??? Oh well. He is really tough and hardly even cried- he is definitely my most "accident-prone" kid!









About a week later, our family was out doing some yard work- the boys mowing the lawn (it's soooo nice they are old enough to do that by themselves now!!), I was weeding, and Brian was using the blower to clear off the mowed grass from the driveway and sidewalk. All of the sudden, I hear him yelp and drop the blower. I ran over to him, the blower was still on and doing circles in the middle of the driveway! I knew something bad had happened. He grabbed his finger and ran to the garage. I turned off the blower and ran after him. He said he didn't dare look at it and I grabbed a wet towel and headed for the car. I figured he would follow me but when I looked around for him, he was back out on the driveway looking around.... I said "what are you looking for?" Then it hit me... he was looking for the top part of his finger!!! AHHH!!! So I insisted he take the towel off so we could see it... this is what it looked like:





Sick, huh? Well, we headed to the doctor who informed us it was one of those "Oh S*@#!" type of accidents... meaning there isn't a lot you can do about it! It pretty much ground up the tip of his finger like hamburger- no stitches required, just a shot of numbing medicine, some good "scrubbing" down in there and a clean bandage. I wondered if it would be like that forever but the doctor said it should regenerate itself and be fine. Pretty amazing! He has had to keep it clean and moist so it won't scab over and we'll wait to see if it grows back. URGH! It wasn't pretty! I was proud of how I stayed conscious through the whole thing since last time Bos got stitches, I was the one who passed out at the ER!! Man! I thought I was tough when it comes to things like that but I guess when it is your kid's head they are stitching up, it kinda grosses me out!

Well.... let's hope we are done with the "owies" for a while! On a different note, we have had quite a wet spring... we even had some good sized hail one afternoon! Here is what it looked like on our patio one day:





It's kinda hard to tell but the hail was actually the size of a gumball- it was crazy! All this moisture has sure greened everything up around here though. It is really pretty this time of year and we are so grateful to get the rain! We're way above average for this time of year- yay!!

"3 J's" invade Boston~

For Christmas, Brian gave me a flight to Boston to go visit my parents. It was so exciting and as much as I would've LOVED to have Bri and the boys come with me, I have to admit, this was a great opportunity spend quality time with my parents and my sisters, Jill and Jessi.

Jill flew from Salt Lake to Denver, Jessi flew from Albuquerque to Denver and then we all got on a flight to Boston together. To say we were excited was an UNDERSTATEMENT! I don't know if we were more excited to see Mom and Dad or be away from our kids! :) But we definitely needed a break and we had a fabulous time!


The first day, we walked around the city of Boston- we saw the Holocaust Monument downtown, rode the subway and had some great seafood for dinner! Boston is such an awesome city with so much to see. It's a very different feel back east than it is here in Colorado! I really loved it!












Here we are getting a little "tutorial" from my dad about the subway system.... ya... WAY CONFUSING! Thank goodness my parents are now pro's at that underground system! I was reminded more than once that if I ever got separated from them, just be sure to ride the "T" line.... AHHH!! Oh my gosh... trust me, I kept up with the group! I would've had NO CHANCE finding my way around by myself!













The next day, we went to the "Basketball Hall of Fame". This was probably one of my favorite stops on the trip! I don't know, maybe because basketball runs through my veins!!! It was so fun to share that experience with my dad~ many of you know he coached high school basketball for 30 years so he had a great time showing us around and telling us how the sport has evolved over the years. Strange how an old peach basket and a creative football coach can come up with a new sport that has turned into one of the most watched games of all time! Wow!











On the far left below, you can see the first "basket"... it really was an old peach basket! The high school football coach was trying to figure out how to keep his team busy during the "off-season" so he put a peach basket up in the air on a pole and the sport of "basket"-ball was born! Crazy huh? It took them some time to figure out they needed to cut a hole in the bottom of the basket though... until they did that, someone would have to climb a ladder to retrieve the ball every time it went in! Minor detail, right??











There were some great displays of old uniforms, letterman jackets and trophies that were interesting too. To say the sport has come a long way is highly understated! It was cool to see that old stuff! The first "uniforms" were actually "onesies" that really did snap between the players' legs! Over the top of the onesie, they'd wear shorts but keeping the uni tucked in was VERY important!




It was great to see the "inductees" into the "Hall of Fame" over the years. There were MANY! I recognized a few but not until way down the line to the more recent inductions! There were coaches, players, announcers and others. There were both women and men and it was fun to see how each of these people left their mark on the game. I kept looking for my Dad's picture hanging up there among "the greats" but I remembered: He was inducted (2 years ago) into the HIGH SCHOOL basketball Hall of Fame! (Wow, what an honor!) But in Springfield, Mass., at the college and professional level, there were a few faces I recognized from many years of watching basketball on TV~ Here is a group of some of my faves, including Pat Summit (University of Tennessee, Magic Johnson (LA Lakers), Coach "K" (Duke University), Isaiah Thomas (Detroit Pistons) and Lude Olson (University of Arizona).








We tested our "wing span" & our "vertical leap".... Mom came the closest to Kevin McHale's spread! GO MOM!!







Then, of course, we had to show the place how to "Slam the ball"! Look out boys.... the Excell's are "in 'da house"!!! Phi-Slamma-Jamma, baby!!!










We couldn't leave there without paying tribute to THE all-time greatest player of the game... Michael Jordan! I played a little one on one with him... no big whoop! Look at that defensive stance.... Go Jen!!!











I couldn't pass by the picture of Dick Vitale and not have a little "moment of silence".... He and I go WAAAAYY back! Here's the story: When I was a senior in high school, I was invited to cheer at the NCAA All-star basketball game in Seattle during the "Final Four" tournament. We had to do a mall appearance and we helped Dick Vitale promote his new autobiography that had just come out. He asked if anyone wanted to play a little "one-on-one" with him and I volunteered... don't ask me why! But, when he picked me to be his opponent, (funny how he picked a girl instead of a guy... ya, he TOTALLY thought he could beat a girl and not damage his image!) I gladly obliged! I really just wanted an autographed book for my dad but hey! Bring it on, Dickey-Vee! So, long story short, he missed a lay-up and I scored on him! Game over!!! BOOOOO-YAW!!!! Like I said, I have a little history with the guy so I had to pay tribute! (hee hee!!)










The next day, we went to the Food Pantry with my Mom and Dad. As part of their assignment, they go each Friday and help the local food pantry hand out food to those in need. It was so humbling to see these sweet people who so desperately depend on this place to feed their families. Most of the staff there are volunteers. Without them, there would be no help for these people. It was so neat to see how even little things like volunteering 3 hours a week can change someone's life. I can see the difference even one person can make and it was so neat to be a part of it. The people at the pantry LOVE my parents..,. imagine that! It was fun to see them serving the people of Boston. They are such great examples to me and my kids.


















After the Food Pantry, we went to the Boston temple. It was absolutely beautiful and located in such a serene spot on top of a little hill. We then toured around some of the Revolutionary War sites- Walden Pond, Louissa May Alcott's home & school, the bridge where the first shot that started the war was fired. My Dad LOVES history and this mission has been so fun for he and my Mom to travel around seeing so many of the great historical places. We visited a museum centered around Paul Revere and learned about how the war began.




















It was really interesting.... AND a little dangerous! Jessi flew into action swatting Paul Revere's horse on the hind quarters and I got caught on the battelfield and was "run-through" by a soldier on a horse! YEOWCH!!! (Seriously??? We are SOOOO dumb!)























We went to a REALLY old cemetery where many famous people were buried... among them are Louissa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau. Up on "Author's Ridge", people still pay tribute to these famous historical icons by leaving flowers and coins at their gravesites. It was kinda eerie but really cool!























We went to Henry David Thoreau's cabin on Walden Pond where he went for two years to "find himself". He wanted to completely break away from society and become one with nature and have a spiritual experience. It was a beautiful setting and I can see why he chose that spot to have his little hiatus!











On Saturday, my parents had to do a workshop so Jessi, Jill and I ventured out on our own! We went to Harvard University (AMAZING!) and also a huge bookstore located just off campus. It was so cool to see the architecture of those old buildings and walk around that beautiful campus.








Next up was Fenway Park... home of the Boston Red Sox! It was "Opening Day" for them and the NY Yankees were in town... we couldn't get tickets to the game but just being around the stadium was CRAZY!! All the streets around the complex were closed down and there were parties EVERYWHERE! Those Bostonians LOVE their Red Sox! It was really fun!











As much fun as the days were, the nights didn't disappoint either! In my parents' "humble abode", we found ourselves having "chair races" on the 100 year old floors... they were so slanted that all you needed to do was sit in a wheeled-chair and lift your legs up and presto! You have "chair racing"!! Hillarious! Jill was getting her hair colored, hence the crazy "do" on her... she's gonna KILL me for including this pic! ;)











Anyway, we played cards, games, laughed and talked late into the night. I don't think we went to bed before 3 am any of the nights we were there!








On Sunday, we went to church with "Elder and Sister Excell" (I LOVE saying that!), came back and had a yummy dinner together then headed off, reluctantly, to the airport. We were sad to have to go but realized it won't be much longer until they get to come home! Their release date is August 1 so it'll be here in no time!


Thanks Mom and Dad for the best trip ever! You were amazing hosts and tour guides. We are so proud of what you are doing and can't wait to see you come home soon! Loves!!!