Greenville Baseball Tournament

What a week of baseball this was. We played Wednesday night, Thursday night, Friday night and Saturday. The boys placed 2nd in the tournament. Their first game and the final game were played against a team I'm certain was cheating with players out of their age bracket. Our boys lost 4-5 and considering the size different between the two teams, our boys won. They played harder than I have ever seen them play. It was really sad to see them receive their trohpies. Our boys were so proud of themselves - they wore smiles, tears, exhaustion and dirt. It was a long day of ball but a game that will be remembered always.
Now take a moment and study these next two pictures.... I was told by the League Reps that these boys are supposed to be 11-12 years old. I am not lying when I say this very kid was as tall as their coaches, as big as their coaches and had a goatee. No lie. And most of the team was around this size; they had maybe 3-4 boys the same size as our boys. So you can imagine the competition and how hard our team worked for that 4-5 loss.

And what do two sweet, mischievious children do at the ball fields for hours at a time? Why they dig in red dirt of course! Look at Colton's white feet compared to his legs. These two had so much fun and were such troopers this weekend.

With all this said, Seminoles won 2nd place and advance to the next round. We play again July 8th. There are five total teams and the top two advance. Cheer for us!!

And because I want to remember Cam's stats for this tournament because they truly are incredible:
.714 batting average
.857 On Base %
5 hits, 7 BB's, 3 RBI's, 6 runs scored, 6 SB's, and 1K in 14 plate appearences.
"He also played great defensively and pitched well." -Coach Bill

Summer Fun - Week 3

This week was quite the adventure - Cameron had baseball camp, Courtnie had dance camp, and we had a baseball tournament that started Wednesday evening in Greenville (almost an hour away). We stayed busy every second, of every single day this week. Sleep came too easy for all of us while morning came too quickly.

Cameron had a great week at baseball camp. He met the High School coaches and even some kids at his new school. In addition, he spent 3 extra hours a day doing exactly what he loves! This is what I learned about Cameron this week - he wears a random sock on his right foot for good luck. Weird good luck charm, but okay. (The blue thing is an ankle brace.)
Courtnie went to dance camp with a few of the girls from her dance team. The camp was sponsored by All-American Dance and Drill so the routines and technique exercises were a bit more challenging. I must say she and her teammates stepped up to the challenge. I was shocked to see the routines they had learned. These girls were dancing and keeping up with high school dancers. They did awesome! And again, the smile of pure joy and fun on your child's face is so incredible. This baby girl LOVES to dance! Courtnie was also nominated for All-American. She did not make it but we are so proud of her for trying and having fun with the dance. Great job sweet girl!
We also went back to the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science, did a bit of Father's Day swimming, took a trip to the local Splash Park, some bowling, and the kids saw two movies this week - Alice in Wonderland and Toy Story 3. These are some very spoiled children!!

Swim Lessons for Colton

Colton completed his third season of swim lessons. Each year my children are timid with water, but after just a day or two with Ms. Harriett, they are swimming like fish. They definitely do not get this from me as I cannot stand water past my shoulders. The 3 Gautreaux children could LIVE in water!

Colton did so great this summer once again. I just cannot believe the transformation these kiddos make in just a few days. After Day 9 of swim lessons, they have their show-offs. Colton did a cannon ball off the diving board alone and a front flip and a dive with some help. So proud of him!

Here are my candid "mom" pictures:

And some pictures provided from the Ms. Harriett:

Summer Fun - Week 2

Oh the things a mommy will do to keep her children happy and from bickering with their siblings. Let's see.... this week, we did some swimming, visited Pump It Up for non-stop bouncing, some bowling, some more swimming, lost some energy at ASI for open gym, went to see The Last Song, and just a bit more swimming. It is my daily goal to wear these children out and to keep them away from the TV. As I sit here and write this though, we are all in front of the TV and barely moving from exhaustion. It appears I achieved my goal. The problem is, I've worn myself out as well.

Goodbye Rowlett

Our house has sold and we are out of Rowlett. Yay! Now that we can say this with confirmation and not this huge weight on our shoulders, I can share the news with my friends. We've bought our house and are in the beginning stages of the building process. But to commemorate our last days in our home, here are some pictures to share. It was quite heart-breaking to be in the house while it was so empty but it gave the five of us to reflect and dig up those old, funny memories. Our last dinners were shared on the living room floor in a circle, the kids slept in the living room together, we all shared the same bathroom and every single thing we owned was in a box packed or in a box being lived out of in the house still. It made things quite interesting but over time, they became funny and I'm certain they will be extremely humorous in years to come.

A bathroom for five:

Our nightstand (my box was purple):

The kids' room (aka one end of the living room):

The pantry:

Mommy and Me

Our photographer was running a "Mommy and Me" special which my sister quickly jumped on. My sister with MY kids quickly made that into an "Aunt and Me" special! I do love that she adores my babies so much. I went with them just for crowd control and ended up in the pictures myself. I wasn't matching them or anything but I think they turned out pretty well. Thanks Taylor!

Summer Fun - Week 1

The first week of summer proved to us all we were about to have a fun summer yet! Cameron spent the week in Galveston with the youth group on a mission trip. (This will explain his absence in the pictures and stories.) They left Sunday morning and returned on Thursday night. While down there, they painted a church building and a rec center. The group came to love the pastor they were working for. He asked them to call him "papa" and cried everyday because of his gratitude toward the youth. His building was ruined during Hurricane Katrina so this transformation had been a long time coming for him.

The younger two kids and I spent the week swimming, bowling, visited the Museum of Nature and Science, swimming, bowling, swimming. We plan to swim quite a bit this summer! And bowl! Our new neighborhood has a neighborhood pool so we've already spent many a hours up there. Love it! And since my children are all part fish, there isn't a better way to spend these hot days. And bowling... we'll be spending a lot of time there as well. The kids have free passes, as well as Jason and I, and since it's indoors and free, you can find us there quite a bit as well.





So funny bowling story... the second time we went bowling last week Colton has his eye on this cute little teenager. He watched her and he walked to the lane, watched her as he drew his arm back, threw the ball and watched to make sure she was watching him. every.single.time. It was hilarious! In between his turns he did some break dancing for her, made silly faces, laughed hysterically at absolutely nothing. It was cute. Now we just need to make sure he bowls more serious next time (those dern girls).

Haircut Fun

And what does every dancer do after the year-end recital? We cut our hair of course! Courtnie played hookie from school the next day and went to Sweet and Sassy with her Aunt B to get her hair chopped off! And cut it was! I gasped when she walked in the door but I do love it.

Dance Recital

Courtnie had her dance recital at the first of this month. The girls had some interesting recitals this year so to make up for them we did a finale.... with moms! We all had just a few hours to learn, pracitce and master the routine. I must say everyone did a great job - little girls, big girls and moms included! I cannot even begin to explain the level of anxiety this caused me but it was a ton of fun!! I can appreciate and understand my daughter's love for dancing on stage now! Those bright lights shine right in your face and you can't see a thing in the audience, which totally makes you want to dance your heart out even more. So much fun!

I'm having trouble uploading the video but I'll keep trying!

PreK Graduation

As you may know already, Colton DOES NOT like to be center of attention (unless of course it is his idea). He started talking about the program a few days before and was adamant then that he wasn't going to participate. And he never backed off that notion, even on the day of. So what does a great "teacher turned mommy" do? She sits on the stage with him of course! He buried his sweet face into my shoulder and clung to me while the rest of the class put on their program. That's okay though. I know one of these days he won't "need" me anymore, and a sad day it will be. Until then, he can crawl in my lap anytime!

Colton, my last baby, graduated from PreK a couple weeks ago. Working there, I have seen many children come through the program and leave us after they've graduated from PreK. It was sad to see my first two leave the program but it's something different when your last baby accomplishes this. Colton was literally BORN into Academy Kids. I found out I was pregnant when I worked there, my co-workers stood by my side while I spent 4 months in the hospital, and started at 5 days old. He just might be the only child to have been there that long!

Here we are talking about fun the program will be and how excited we are to hear him sing...
Mommy on stage with him while we listen to the class sing....
Our whole gang after the program. See how happy he is now that it's all done with!