Summer!

July

Where is time going?

It seems just yesterday Brooke kept asking, "How much longer until vacation," but I kept telling her, "Don't rush it, it will be here soon enough and once it is here and over then it will be time for school to start." She didn't care for that statement to much.

It seems like it went that fast anyway.

We are having a normal (busy) summer. Work, softball, work, softball... That's pretty much what it consist of. But, one of them is coming to an end, nope, it's not work, darn! But if you guessed softball you are right. The girls have their tournaments this week. Yipeee!

Other than that, we are car shopping, senior picture preparing, gardening, and I am busy trying to get my homemade items made for the Montana nieces. Thank goodness there are only 5 of them. Although, I am truly enjoying my time at the sewing machine but can't wait for.......

VACATION

We will leave for vacation July 23rd and return August 2nd.

Phone call...

Division I Football

Do you know what Division I means?

We didn't and had to look it up.

Let me help you out, Division I is the top of all colleges.

Big 12, Big Ten, Big Sky just to name a few.

The reason for this description is because Dylan received a phone call from a recruiter for Division I football inviting him to a camp in July.

What a confidence booster. He was getting frustrated because he hadn't been contacted by anyone and then only to find out when he was, it is by the best. WOW!

Taking one more step on his road to success.

Summer life!

Summer is in full swing at the Wines household.

Dylan is working construction in and around the Topeka area and dearly loves it.

He has said to his Dad numerous times, "I could do this forever."

I hope that doesn't stick because I want him to get an education so when he is older and not able to do the laboring work he will have his education to fall back on.

Other than that is he trying to figure out his work schedule so he can squeeze in weight lifting. The boss initially told him they would work from 6:00am to noon everyday. This would allow him time to lift weights in the afternoon. Let's just say, once the boss figured out how much of a hard worker he was he has been working from 8:00am to 5:00pm. We will see how much longer that will last because our temperature are starting to hit the 100 degree mark. Other than that, he is busy mowing lawns and trying to fit time in with his girlfriend.

Cassidy and Brooke are busy with softball. Cassidy plays on Tuesdays and Fridays and Brooke, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Both the girls love softball and enjoy playing. Pictures coming soon. Cassidy plays shortstop and 2nd base, although last night she played outfield on game one...all of her games are double headers. Just like Tim and I have mentioned in other blogs, Cassidy's continues to give us her beautiful smile the whole game.

So far, Brooke has only gotten in one game do to all the rain. In fact, she is to have a game tonight but rain is to start around 3:00...murrr. The down side to having rainouts is making the games up and in order to do that we will be playing three nights a week. In my opinion, that is way to many games in one week, but my only other option is to forfeit and I don't want to do that. Brooke is one of the older girls on her team, therefore she gets to play the important spots. Her favorite is pitcher and 1st. She could really play any spot on the field and do a good job BUT when your mom is the coach and has such a competitive side, she will play the important spots to benefit the team. Brooke has begged me to play catcher but at this age all they do is get the pitch if the batter misses, which is often, and throw it back to the coach - maybe it's because they get to handle the ball often.

Cassidy also has a summer job - washing dishes. She works at the Lake Wabaunsee Steak house. Washing dishes has evolved to helping out where ever needed. Like her mother she does not like to sit still very long. She was only to work on Saturday evenings but has been called to work on Wednesdays and Fridays as well. We are constantly getting compliments on how much of a hard worker she is from the owners. In fact, I received a phone call on Sunday from the owner, he wanted to let Tim and I know how much of a hard worker Cassidy is and they really appreciate everything she does for them. I guess they were really busy on Saturday evening and Cassidy stepped up again. I think the only two things she has not done is cook and serve alcohol. Thank goodness for laws! She has even worked on a night where they had Karaoke. Boy did we hear stories that evening. And the best part is we don't have to take her or go get her. The owners daughter works the same nights so she has a shuttle.

All in all she loves her job.

Tim and I, well, we are going day by day. Still trying to accept the fact that next year we will have a senior and freshman. It does seem weird but I have a feeling it will be an exciting year.

The thrill of victory ends with the agony of defeat.

Cassidy has done very well in her field events.
She has grown to love the triple jump and the long jump.
She has seen 1st place in both events at the same meet.

At the beginning of the season, she struggled with which
foot to start with and which foot to jump from.
Jokingly the coach told her to write a "S" on one foot and a "J" on the other.
It worked!

It's always a joy to want her do anything with her classic Cassidy smile.

Another event she tried this year was the mile.
Some meets went well and others, not so much.

As you can tell by his face expression, he puts everything he
has into throwing the shot.

Regional track meet with the top four participants going to state.
Dylan made it to the finals round of the top eight throwers.
His best throw was only one foot shy of his personal record.
Unfortunately, it was also one foot shy of 4th place.
His throw was 43'6".
We are very proud of all your hard work and determination.

At League track meet, Dylan got 1st place, beating 2nd place by
nearly 30 feet, with a throw of 140' 6". We had very high hopes of this
being his path to state. Once again, he made it to the finals.
There were seven throwers (#8 doing long jump).
Dylan's best throw was 128' 9" and he was setting in 4th place.
This meant state bound!
When the 8th thrower showed up, coach said,
"Don't worry this kid only throws 114'."
I would give anything to forget the look on Dylan's face when the
kids first throw went 129'. Dylan was crushed! Needless to say,
it was a long quiet drive home. He worked so hard and went so far....
We are thankful he still has one more year to work at it and were also
glad that he has been able to work through the pain of his bum shoulder.
Next year Dylan, next year!!!

8th Grade Promotion

Can you believe our daughter is going to be a high schooler already?
We will have a senior and a freshman next year.
Not sure what to expect other than
T R O U B L E !

Thanks to her Dad, she is last in alphabetical order in her class.
As you can see she is parading in by herself because of the odd number
in her class. Personally I liked it this way, we didn't have to worry
about the other person in the picture.

Officially a FRESHMAN!
As her Dad likes to say, she had been hit with the 'stupid stick'.
He says this happens to every 8th grade graduate. It takes one year to wear off.

Look at how tall they are all getting.
Before too long Brooke will be passing her mother up as well.

These are the pictures Cassidy choose for the slide show.

Cassidy and her best friend Morgan Wayman.

Promotion party packed with pasta in the park.

Cassidy loves anything Italian, so we had her very favorite alfredo, spaghetti with hugh meatballs, two kinds of lasagna and we started it all off with a wonderful Italian salad.

2011 PROM

What a handsome young man!

He was so excited about his first prom.
He borrowed his cousins (Brandon Tyler) hot rod truck.
He enjoyed being able to drive around and rev the engine, just to turn heads.

His date Mandy.
She is really growing on him....

You got to admit, they do look good together.
Mandy is good people and we are very proud of his choice.

Brooke's 9th Birthday

Can you believe our baby is "9" years old?
Brooke is absolutely her own person. Her personality continues to amaze us. She has a very sharp sense of humor but does not use against people.
You know when you can joke with her, but she will let you know when you can't.
She has a very kind soul and does not like to see anyone being bullied or made fun of.

She and her inseparable friends. Grace, Gracie and Hope. A little ornery action from her Aunt Christy in the background.

Anxious for summer, though the weather wasn't quite cooperating they went to the park and found a puddle of water to play in anyway.
Oh brrrr!

Trying out her new birthday bike.
This girl would probably ride it to school if we would let her.
She really loves bike riding.

The last second butterfly cake that she waited until 3 hours before
the party to request. Thank goodness Aunt Christy showed up in
time to help me decorate it.
Thanks Aunt Christy!

Everyone enjoying Brooke's "No dishes meal".
She has requested this for the last several years.

Cassidy sent Brooke on a treasure hunt. The first present had a note which sent her hunting through the house for another note which then in turn led her to several more notes. The 'goose chase' ended with her in her bedroom and the last note said just press play. That's when she discovered the Taylor Swift CD she has been wanting that Cassidy gave her. She had a great time with this adventure.
Way to go Sis!

Thank you to everyone who showed up to help Brooke celebrate her 9th Birthday.