Tate's Summer Trip to Iowa

Tate took his traditional trip to Iowa this summer with my parents to watch his cousins play baseball. Amazingly, this trip is always a highlight of his summer. Wonder if that says something about any of our other family trips? :>) I think his Nannie and PawPaw start taking a little "calming medicine" weeks prior to loading up. The kid just gets so excited he doesn't sleep for weeks prior and talks all the way from Texas to Iowa and back.

Thank you Nannie and PawPaw for spending this quality time with him. He loves it and I know lifelong memories are developing.

Now, guess who gets to road trip next year? That's right....SISTER'S bags will be packed come June of 2011. Let's start praying for Nannie and PawPaw now.

Congrats Kody and Jared on your successes at each tournament! Here's a couple of pics to remember the moment.

First Day of Preschool

Here's another "catch up" post. Peyton started at her preschool in March of this year. Here's her picture with the program director from that day.

The Storm - 8U Flower Mound City Champs

What an exciting baseball season this has been for Tate – ok, and his family as well. His team, the Storm, not only finished the regular season undefeated but won the 8U city tournament. They played the #2 team in the division, the Cardinals, in the final game and won 16 - 12. Go Storm!

This has been one of my favorite seasons so far not only due to the wins (yes - I admit it - I'm extremely competitive.) but also because I didn't realize that 8 year olds could play great baseball. Hang on ...I know what you are saying...You are a mom of one of those 8 year olds what else would you say. That is a very true statement, but as our coach indicated at the beginning of this season - 8U baseball is great because the kids have gotten the hang of the rules, understand the game somewhat and have begun to show the skills of real players. (Oh, and did I mention, 8U is still coach pitch which helps.) No more "pickin daisy" moments for these boys! Ok, that was a mom statement because we did have some "blooper" worthy moments where we had to remind ourselves that they are still 8 years old.

It was great though to see the hours the boys and their coaches dedicated to this team pay off. We have a great group of dedicated dads that are awesome (and love to win too!) - thanks Coach Steve and crew! Here's another amazing fact, a lot of these kids have been playing together since they were 4 years old. Nice lesson for the boys to begin learning...hard work and dedication does pay off.

Congrats to the Storm players and parents! Parents...we made it through another successful season. I don't know about you but my blood pressure needs a break and my hair dresser has some work before her to get rid of many, newly acquired gray hairs.

I now understand why my parents always told me it was more nerve racking to watch your kids activities then to actually participate yourself. Mom, I only wish baseball parks had rafter seating. You’d be proud though, I have mastered the skill of pacing. :>)

Quick note: Thanks to Wendy Kall for the photos I "borrowed" from her blog.

Keiser Family Vacation

I know...I know... The blog hasn't been updated in a long time! But, who am I kidding - no one but me really cares - right? :>) So here comes the list of my excuses... Nah, I'm not going to bore you with that mess, I'm just going to get straight to the most recent updates.

In March, the Keisers (all of us) decided to take a family vacation. I can laugh now as I imagine what everyone was thinking when I suggested that we really should get the kids together for a vacation and especially now since the boys Spring Breaks aligned this year. Here were my thoughts…. Mom and Dad, although eager at any opportunity for us all to be in one place weren't going to be able to get away from us. Ha! We would be able to hold them hostage and they couldn't return to their (quiet) house after spending just one evening away. And Steve, the one who loves his family but often seeks solace in "needing to get back to work" wasn't going to be able to escape being all together in one condo. And then there was Tammy... well, I think she was praying all during the planning phase that maybe, just maybe, the trip would get diverted to the beach. No such luck! The boys and the "princess" …they were just all excited to be together. So, that left Erik and I who quite frankly (mentally) had our bags packed from the time that the idea hit my head. We love Utah and, of course, spending time with the family!

And, yes, you read that correctly. We ALL stayed in one condo - a three bedroom condo - together in Park Cities, Utah! That's 6 adults and 4 very loud kids. I told you...no escaping for anyone. Let me just say - bless the invention of wine!!!

We (hmmm...wonder if I'm only speaking for myself) had the best time. Tate, Erik, Steve and I were the only ones that had previous ski experience so as you can imagine the Keiser attitudes, frustrations, and "I don't need help from anyone else" personalities were running high. Tammy, although upon arrival was still hoping the plane would land on a tropical island, was a trooper and skiing in no time. We even had the three year old - Princess P - up on skis and heading down the mountain like a champ. Have I told you yet how much fun "we" had?!?! How about the fact that I love skiing in Utah. I now realize it gets even better when you bring your family along.

I'm not going to bore you with any of the stories from the trip but let me just add this one last piece of information. Along with the skiing and snow related activities, we visited the site of the 2002 Winter Olympics - Salt Lake City Olympic Park (pictures in a separate blog post) and shopped a little - ok, Mom, Dad and Tammy. We even had a moose sighting while we were there – a vacation thrill especially for Erik. Have I said this yet? What a beautiful area!

Enjoy the photos … I know they make me smile every time and look forward to the next family trip. Guess we owe Tammy a trip to someplace warm. Maybe we'll board a big ship.....stay tuned!

Daddy Daughter Dance

There are no words to express how these pictures make me feel other than they make my heart happy.

More twirling and practice dancing was going on in our house prior to Peyton and Erik's departure than I have ever seen. Her signature dance moves are the robot and "shake your booty". Don't ask.... just remember that she is all Berry!

This little girl has already stolen many hearts! Watch out boys though...her daddy reports that she was the most high maintenance date he's ever had!

A glimpse into the dance before we left them on their date. ========>

MAJOR Snow Day in Texas

Last week we experienced record breaking (literally!) amounts of snow in one day. It was so beautiful and we all got out and enjoyed the experience. What a nice "test run" for our upcoming trip to Utah with the Keiser family.

Enjoy a few pics from the day!

Peyton couldn't decide whether she wanted to throw or eat the snowballs she made. Most of the time she opted for eating them. Yummy!

I was amazed.... Although it was very cold and at times their faces were bright red, they never complained or wanted to come inside. And, no, I couldn't get Tate in a heavier coat. He opted for a sweatshirt that just soaked in the water. Argh - boys!

When Erik got home they went back outside and built a snowman and "Texas-size" snowball. Check it out!

Here's a shot of the outside of our house. I am not quite sure when/if we'll ever see snow like this again. I do think it looks beautiful but am glad it melted away as quickly as it came. Yes, I'm a Texas girl who likes the warmer weather although I do have to admit it's nice to see some of the other seasons every now and then.

Second Annual Pig Roast - Berry Style!

Please don't anyone turn us in to our homeowner's association but Erik and Paul have started another annual event. Any excuse for those boys to host a party.... So, Super Bowl Sunday came along AGAIN without the Cowboys participating (we're getting closer!) but don't think that caused any delay in the pig pit making another appearance in our back yard (shhhhh!). And let me tell you the weather wasn't the finest to be hosting this event either. In fact, after the rain stopped we had up to 8 inches of snow dumped into our area (those pictures are to be posted shortly) so let's just say that the pig pit is still in our backyard. Enough about that though.... :>)

This year the guys brought in an expert helper - the cutest little blonde girl all decked out in her pajamas, rain boots and big pink fluffy coat (as she calls it) showed up to partake in the festivities. Yes, the best part for me (other than the pig meat - of course) was watching Peyton attach herself to her daddy and Uncle Paul and assist in the roasting of "her pig". I'm just a little concerned that she's turning into a party lover herself and may be requesting her own annual events in the near future.

The food was fabulous and a great evening was had with old and new friends. I have to say I would personally have liked the Colts to win but the game was good and the Saints played their hearts out. And...another photo for the picture books was born - Drew Brees and his son. Loved that photo on SI and all over the tv!

So, here's to another great Berry Pig Roast. And, come on Cowboys, we need a Pig Roast where we can all root on America's Team!

Ring in the New Year with Swim Lessons

So the time has come to get blondie (a.k.a. - Peyton) swimming... I'm not sure whether she was more excited about getting in the pool and swimming or the new outfit which not only consisted of a bathing suit (with a skirt she could twirl) and cover up but her favorite, the goggles. She's a mess but is "cautiously" working her way through the lessons on a weekly basis.

<=== Wow...does anyone else just see "hair" in this picture?

Hmmm....think we may be wasting our money with the lessons.? How is being carried around and floating on a raft teaching one to swim? Let's all say it together.... PRINCESS!

Trying to Make a Difference

For Christmas this year, our church (FMUMC) headed out to the Rocky Pointe community here in Flower Mound to cook and deliver a fajita dinner. I know...not a traditional Christmas meal but by this time isn't everyone tired of ham, turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, the ole family fruit cake, blah, blah, blah? I'm not a big fan in the first place so a fajita dinner would hit the spot!

We love doing things like this as a family and I hope that our kids understand and never forget how blessed they truly are.

So, here are a few pictures of the kids spreading a little bit of, what we hope is, Christmas joy!

And...I just noticed. I did get a picture of the Texas White Christmas of 2009. Look real close ...it's in background but it's there!