The Seven of Us

Caleb played on 3 different baseball teams this summer: his normal border league team, a legion team, and a border league all-star team.  His all-star team did really well; they were just the 3rd team in over 10 years to win the Colorado Ste Tournament and progress to the Babe Ruth Midwestern Plains Regional Tournament.  Below are some pictures of them at their first tournament, which was the weekend of July 20.  The boys were really excited to win the championship.  This was Caleb's dream for years.  He had tears in his eyes when they won. (Notice he's holding the plaque.) The team was made up of kids from Haxtun, Holyoke, Sedgewick, and Chappell.  Some of Caleb'sbest friends on the team are Gunnar Kroeger and  Cole McKinley.  Coaches were Scotty Heath and Kyle Pocock.  Caleb was especially excited to have Scotty coach since he's had him as an ump for years and has a lot of respect for the work he does behind the plate...

So...I thought it'd be good if I finished telling about Jimmer's wedding. "Part I" was about the temple portion of the wedding.  This section will cover the reception.  Part III will cover the end of our trip.    (There were no cameras allowed at the reception, so  I only have the two photos I bought from the professional photographer. At $10 per photo, they were expensive, but you'll see why I bought them later. And I still haven't scanned them. That's on the agenda, but I'm posting this anyway.  I'll add the photos when I post part III.) Jimmer and Whitney had their reception at the Cherry Hills Country Club.  I'm not sure if Whitney's family has a membership there or if they rented it.  It's well-known in Denver.  It's also very expensive: memberships run from $40-95,0000 per year. (I went online to find out their rules...as in, "Can my crazy kids come to this event?" And while online, I read about memberships....

This is kind of a random photo to post on our blog.  I've been copying lots of photos from facebook and starting to scan some, too, so that I can start my family history blog soon.  Thought I'd share this one.  This is my mom, Bonita Fredette (2nd from left) with four of her six siblings.  One brother, Gary, died in 1943 when he was only a month old. Another brother, Craig, died at age 42 in 1982.  Remaining siblings, from left to right, are Al, Bonnie, Claire, Dennis, and Brad.  This photo was taken in 2005 when everyone went to visit Brad. I think he wasn't doing real well.  He died later that year.  I think the last time everyone got together prior to this was in 1992 for my grandparents' 50th wedding celebration in Phoenix. And before that, it may have been for Craig's funeral in 1982. As I look at this photo I'm struck by how different these siblings are from one another, and also by their similarities.  For exampl...

My cousin Jimmer (James Taft Fredette) was married to Whitney Jean Wonnacott on Friday, June 1 in the Denver LDS temple.  This is a big deal for a couple of reasons:  although I have fourteen Fredette cousins and nine of them are LDS, only four of them have been married in the temple.  So adding another was pretty cool.  Plus, having the sealing be in Denver rather than in Salt Lake,  Jordan River, Frankfurt, or Washington, DC (where my other cousins were married) was pretty awesome.  First of all, our entire family was able to make the trip to Denver together---not a small feat since Jared doesn't take summer vacations.  (He had to work the Saturday before the wedding in order to go.)  We stayed at our favorite Denver hotel, the Drury Inn.  On Friday we drove to the temple, stopping on the way to eat at IHOP (Taylor's request).  Once at the temple we found my parents, who had driven up from Tuba City, where they're s...

Jared and I were on our way home from the temple yesterday when Caleb called.  He told us that Isaac had been hit with a baseball bat and needed stitches.  A couple hours later Isaac and I were in the ER getting his poor face taken care of.  I'm grateful he was okay; the damage could've been much worse. Still, seeing her child like this just makes a mom feel bad.

Taylor hit a milestone last month:  Her Magic Day arrived.  The Magic Day was her passport to freedom, aka Dating and Driving.  For a girl who's felt sixteen since she was half that age, this was a big deal! Her friend Quincy purchased tickets to a rodeo months in advance. She planned her whole day around going to the rodeo with several kids from Fort Morgn. First, she showered and was off to take her driver's test in Holyoke.  I was a little worried things weren't going well when it took longer than expected, but she passed her test. She came home long enough for me to call our insurance company and then left for Sterling, where her friends picked her up and whisked her off to Greeley.  I next saw her the following day (Jared went to get her--and our vehicle--late that night).  She still looked and felt like my kid, but I knew she felt different inside.  The Magic Day will do that to a girl.   I think the flowers were her fav...

I remember pitching to Caleb when he was four and thinking, "Wow. He can really hit."  He had a good swing.  And he loved to play.  He'd beg me to pitch to him just an hour after we'd finished playing, and many days included multiple rounds of baseball.  He just couldn't get enough.  He didn't play with many toys, but from an early age, he loved balls:  big, bouncy ones; little ones, and, later, white balls with red laces.  That was ten years ago, and nothing has changed except the fact that I'm no longer Caleb's best playing partner. I'm just not tough enough. I don't throw far enough. And I certainly don't pitch well enough to challenge him. Whenever I ask Caleb what he'd like to be he replies, "A pro baseball player."  So I've started saying, "What about after that?"  and he says, "A manager."  I  suggested he'd be a good baseball statistician,  lawyer, engineer, or sports broadcaster.  Nope...