Still playing catch up

I know that we are well into Fall and almost approaching Winter already, so I better finish posting our summer photos.  Hopefully this will be my last batch of photos, and then I can start blogging "in the present" instead of "in the past" :)

I've already posted all of the summer of 2021 baseball photos, and (to be honest), baseball comprised the majority of our summer, but there still were some other very special highlights....  

Here's the top 10:

1. Maria went to "girl's getaway camp" at Quinn's Hot Springs Resort with a few of her treasured friends
2. Dominic and Nathanael went to Catholic Camp at Legendary Lodge and had a blast growing closer to friends and to Jesus
3. Dominic turned 15!!!
4. Joseph's friend Garshon from Franciscan University came for a visit
5. 4th of July Family Reunion in Aberdeen, SD
6. Camping trip to Bozeman and rock climbing at Spire
7. Camping trip to Missoula and hiking to the big "M"
8. Getting 2 new outdoor kittens---"Oreo and Marshmallow"
9. Dominic running a half marathon
10. Taking Michael to college at NSU in Aberdeen, SD

Maria with a few of her best friends on a "Girls Getaway" weekend to Quinn's Hot Springs.  

It is fittingly located in Paradise, MT.

From left to right:  Melissa, Laura, Maria, and Beth

Soaking in the lovely Quinn's Hot Springs while having great conversation with great friends.

It doesn't get much better than this!

Nathanael ready for his first-time church camp at Legendary Lodge!

He had a LEGENDARY time! :)

Dominic getting dropped off for the High School church camp at Legendary Lodge.

He also had a fantastic time growing closer to Jesus and other great Catholic friends.

Dominic turns 15!!!

May God bless you abundantly this year as you start high school at a totally new school!

May he grant you great, holy friends and a fun Freshman year!

Joseph with his friend Garshon who he met at Franciscan University.

The two of them went backpacking in Glacier for a week and then came back to do some local hikes.

They even went to daily Mass while they were here and took our local priest out for pizza!

These young men are on-fire for their Catholic faith, which is SO inspiring!

 I am so happy that Joseph is at a college that has helped him find holy friends and grow so much in his faith!

It was such a gift to have Garshon at our house for a few days.  

He was a true gentleman and so awesome with our kids!

We hope he comes back every summer!!!

Joseph and Garshon playing spike ball with Michael and Dominic.

Isaiah, Dominic, and Nathanael playing mini golf at Wylie Park in Aberdeen.

Dominic, Nathanael, and Isaiah with their cousins from Oregon (Evan and Gwyneth) at Storybook Land in Aberdeen.  We all came home for a 4th of July family reunion.

Nathanael and Isaiah riding the rollercoaster at Storybook Land.

Starting the 4th of July fireworks at Uncle Mike's house.

Isaiah and Gwyneth still love sparklers!

Isaiah's crazy hair after a ride on the jet ski!

Our youngest three with Grandma Theresa and Grandpa Pat in Aberdeen for the 4th of July.

Nathanael rocking climbing at Spire in Bozeman, MT.

Isaiah getting braver and going higher every time we go rock climbing at Spire!

Camping in Bozeman, MT for a weekend baseball tournament.

So peaceful, so beautiful, and absolutely FREE because we found a spot of forest service land!

Isaiah showing off his muscles after winning a big round of Chuko! :)

Taking a snack break at the top of the big "M" in Missoula, MT.

This always reminds me of hiking to the big "M" with my mom when I was a little girl.

We camped and hiked in Missoula for a weekend baseball tournament.

Dominic with our new kitten named Marshmallow.

We named him that because his ears and his tail are reddish-brown just like a toasted marshmallow :)

Isaiah with our new kitten that we named Oreo (for obvious reasons) :)

The two kittens are brothers even though they don't look alike.

We got them from friends who own a ranch outside of town.

Dominic running in the Governor's Cup Half Marathon.

Dominic did amazing in the half marathon!

His final time was just under 2 hours...

not too shabby for a 13.1 mile run!!!

Taking Michael to NSU for his first year of college!

I am so grateful that he will be in the same town as my parents and my brother Mike's family.

I'm sure Michael will get to do lots of fishing with grandpa in-between his college studies :)

Maria with Nathanael and Isaiah taking a tour of the campus.

Leaving Michael with Grandpa and Grandma for his first year of college...

he will be in good hands :)

May St. Michael, as well as Jesus, Mary and Joseph watch over and protect him always!

Totus Tuus,

~Maria

More Baseball 2021: Joseph, Dominic, Nathanael, and Isaiah's seasons

Michael wasn't the only one who had an incredible 2021 baseball season...all of our boys did in one way or another...

JOSEPH had his first season playing baseball at the college level for Franciscan University!  He had an fabulous season playing for Franciscan as a pitcher---his favorite position!  We were blessed to be able to watch most of his home games live-streamed.  It brought me so much joy to see my son with his crazy curly hair walking out onto the mound on our computer screen :)  Grandma Theresa and Grandpa Pat (my parents) were his BIGGEST fans though!  They didn't miss a game and my mom even took notes about all the amazing things the announcers said about her very own grandson :)

This first photo below is the only picture I have of Joseph playing for Franciscan University.  The other ones are from his last year on the Senators when he was a senior.  His senior year was a very rough year with an untimely knee injury right before baseball season. Even after he healed, the coach did not give him as much playing time as he deserved (there's the mama bear coming on in me), but Joseph kept an amazing attitude through it all. We were so proud of him, and we told him this baseball season is just a short chapter in his life and God has better chapters ahead for him.  That sure turned out to be true; his time so far at Franciscan has been blessed beyond what he could've ever imagined---not only with playing baseball, but with finding holy friends, experiencing top-notch teachers, adventuring abroad in Austria for a semester, and even dating his first girlfriend! :)  Maybe someday I'll post some pictures of Joseph and Bailey once I get his permission :)  But for now,  here are a few of my baseball favorites of Joseph.

I love this photo!
It truly captures Joseph's humble personality.

I picture him walking away from his high school baseball career,

and moving on to bigger and better things in college and beyond.

DOMINIC has not played baseball since the 3rd grade (it just wasn't his thing), but this year he decided to try being an umpire!  I guess he figured that he's always at the baseball fields anyway for his brothers' games, so he might as well get paid while being there! :)  H did an amazing job as an umpire!  He is our most analytical son and loves rules (and making other people follow the rules), so this was the perfect job for him :)  We were super proud of him.  Umpiring can be a very stressful job, with parents and coaches complaining and heckling, but Dominic handled it with confidence and didn't let anyone stress him out.  This was so amazing to me because this is our son who used to experience legitimate anxiety attacks a few years ago (sometimes a few panic attacks per week!)---so this job was a true testament of the miraculous healing power of God and how the struggles in our lives can be used to make us stronger and shape us into who we were meant to be!  Here are a couple of photos of our brave umpire...

NATHANAEL had a super exciting baseball season!  He was one of the team's star pitchers, and pitched 1 or 2 innings in nearly every game of the season.  Their team had the best record going into the final tournament and ended up winning the whole tournament!!!  A few of the games were real "nail biters" too!  The best part of all, though, was how much fun his team had.  These kids all got along so well, loved every minute on the field or in the dugout, and had super-positive and caring coaches.  It will certainly be a season that he won't forget!

A rare and special blessing to be the trophy-holders at the end of the season!

I love how this photo captures Nathanael's "chillax" personality

and the fact that he was always munching on sunflower seeds during the games :)

And last, but not at all least, our little ISAIAH also had a season worth talking about.  This kid LOVES the game of baseball, and it was so awesome watching how intense he was at every second of every game.  This quiet and sweet kid was "all business" when it came to baseball.  Even though he is small, I think he hit the biggest "dingers" into the outfield, and he also loved playing every position on the field.  No matter where the ball was hit, he wanted to go get it, so it took some training to teach him to only go for balls in his general area :)  He was super excited to be able to play the catcher position in one of the games, so we will see if he gravitates towards that position in the future, or if he is going to take the path of his older brothers, which has always been pitching and infielding.  He was super happy that his team color this year was "green," which is his favorite color (probably because it reminds him of his favorite game:  Minecraft) :)  The other awesome part about his season was that his daddy got to be one of the assistant coaches, which made Isaiah super proud.  

I am SO PROUD of ALL my boys this season!  I never dreamed that I'd be a baseball mom (after all, all of my brothers were wrestlers and I didn't even know anyone who played baseball growing up!), but it has truly become my favorite sport, and I can't imagine our summers without it anymore.  I pray that the virtues and life-lessons that my boys have learned in baseball will serve them well their entire lives.

Totus Tuus,

~Maria

Baseball 2021: Michael's Most Memorable Moments

Here's my attempt to recap Michael's incredible baseball season without using too many words (that's hard for a recovering English major to do, but I'll try) :)  

I could truly write a mini novel (or an entertaining short story at least) about the sensational season the Senators had this year.  There were so many quality players on the team that the coach certainly had high hopes for winning State this year, but they still were very much the underdogs in the tournament, and they knew they would have to beat the virtually undefeated Billings Royals, who seriously obliterated the Senators in every game of the regular season.  The Senators finished the regular season with a record of 53 wins 21 losses and were ranked 3rd going into the State tournament.  The Billings Royals only had 1 loss and were ranked number 1.  The Senators sure had a great regular season, but they knew winning State would be a long shot...but in baseball, anything can happen, and with God, all things are possible! :)

The State tournament was an emotional rollercoaster of highs and lows.  The Senators won the first two games; they were on a roll and really started to believe they could win this thing.  However, game three was a nail-biting loss, along with a collision injury, which caused us to lose our team captain (Matt Burton) for all remaining games. The boys somehow turned that devastation into motivation and won every game after that---beating the top-ranked Billings team for the Championship AA Title!  The Helena Senators have not won State since 2003, so this was a REALLY BIG DEAL!  And to top it all off, Michael was awarded the "Batting Champion" of the tournament!  I think winning State was the happiest day of Michael's life so far...and one of the proudest moments in his parents' lives too.  At the end of the season, he was also awarded the "All State Utility Player"---a huge testament to his tenacity and ability to play EVERY infield position---which the coaches around the state noticed because they are the ones who voted for Michael to receive that award.  To God be the glory!  Our family will certainly never forget the 2021 baseball season. 

Lastly, I want to share what Coach Burnett said about Michael on Senior Night because I think it says a lot about who Michael is:

"Mike is tenacious and he likes to win.  He has worked hard this season and has seen a lot of success on the field.  A true utility player, he can play any position well and competes at everything he does.  My memories of Mike will be the dive and hustle plays that he makes on a routine basis.  He is one of those players that will go all out regardless of the impact it may have on his body.  He works his tail off on the field and we all appreciate the effort he has given to this program."

Now I'll try to let the photos do the rest of the talking...

Senators winning the Bozeman Tournament

Senators winning the Helena Keith Sell Tournament

Senators winning the Missoula Tournament...

Yes, that's right, they won the Bozeman, Helena, Missoula, AND State tournaments!

These boys were BEASTS!!!  :)

The Senators winning the State AA Tournament!!!

By the way, I forgot to mention that they went on to get 2nd place at the Regional Tournament in Wyoming!  And the team that won Regionals (the Idaho Falls Bandits) ended up winning the National World Series...our boys should certainly be proud!!!

Michael being named the "Batting Champion" at the State Tournament

Michael proudly holding his "Batting Champion" award.

He grew a mustache and a mullet for this tournament...they must have helped :)

Michael did not pitch very much this season, but when he did, he did great.

The Senators had many great pitchers this year, so the coach mostly played Michael in the infield.

Michael is a fearless vacuum in the infield!  So fun to watch!

The coach liked to call him "tenacious" and a "spider monkey" :)

He was awesome at bat this year too...always finding a way to get on base.

The comradery of these boys was beautiful beyond words.

Love this look of intensity.

Also love this look of confidence.

Bunting was definitely one of Michael's specialties,

and he was usually speedy enough to get safely to first base on a bunt.

Chillin' at 1st base.  On any baseball field is his favorite place to be.

Michael makes fielding hard-hit grounders look so easy.

Pure joy!

This picture makes my heart glad every time I see it.

This is one of my favorite pictures.

I love seeing my son so happy.

His glove is like a magnet!

A foiled pick-off attempt.

Another highlight of Michael's season was being the closing pitcher for an intense game against Yakima, Washington.  In a previous inning, one of the Yakima players got ejected for throwing a punch at our catcher, which certainly amped up the emotions (as you can clearly see). 

 I would say this photo captures Michael's "LET'S GO" personality to the tee. :)

Our family at our second home:  Kindrick Legion Field.

So many memories.

So proud of my baseball boys.

Totus Tuus,

~Maria