Peter's First Concert: Meat Loaf

Back in January (I believe) my family and I became aware of the fact that Meat Loaf was scheduled to come to Eagle, Idaho on July 2, 2012. Meat Loaf is no ordinary performer in my family. We have been raised to listen to and love Meat Loaf from an early age. My grandma Barbara has always been a fan of Meat Loaf, and thus raised her family on his music. As a result, most of the members of my family can sing, word for word, many of Meat Loaf's songs. This is quite a feat if you know anything about Meat Loaf because his songs are not short! The family favorite is "Paradise by the Dashboard Lights." It is the first song to be selected when singing karaoke and is a must at a family wedding. It is actually quite entertaining because the entire family will gather on the dance floor, steal the microphone from the DJ, and sing the entire song. As you can tell, we have quite a long history with Meat Loaf which all began with my 80 year old grandmother. When my family heard that Meat Loaf was actually going to perform in a nearby town, emails were sent, phone calls were made, and tickets were purchased. At the time, I was pregnant with Joseph and did not know if I would be interested in attending the concert with a newborn at home; however, I did not want to miss out on the opportunity given the off chance that I felt like going, and I bought a ticket.

Fast forward to July 2, 2012 (the day of the concert). Joseph has been born, but I am basically a wimp and do not want to leave him (I know, I know, he would have been fine). So, I let my family know this morning that my ticket is available if they know someone who is interested in attending the concert. In the meantime, two more tickets become available as well. As I am discussing the concert with Toby this afternoon, Matthew and Peter ask why they can't go. I am ashamed to admit that the thought had never crossed my mind that they would want to attend the concert, but it sounds like an excellent idea. I decide to call my Aunt Bev to see if any of the tickets are still available and whether she and Uncle Dick will consider taking Matthew and Peter to the concert. Dick and Bev are more than happy to take the boys, but by the time we think of the idea this afternoon there is only one ticket remaining. Matthew and Peter both want to attend the concert, so we flip a coin and Peter wins! Within a few hours of thinking of the idea, we drop Peter off with Dick and Bev and he is off to his first concert with 11 other family members.

Ron, Lori, Jacob, Jonah, Karen, Jordan, Vickie, Greg, Peter, Bev, Dick, and Darrell
Photo by Vickie

As I was dropping Peter off, it brought back fond memories of some of the concerts I have attended. My grandma Barbara has always been a fan of excellent music. As a result, when my cousins and I were young my grandma would buy an extra ticket when she was purchasing tickets to a concert and one of us would get to be grandma's "date" for the concert. I had the opportunity to see Rod Stewart in concert with grandma, and it is a concert I will never forget. After Peter was off to the concert, I thought about how lucky we are to have been exposed to such a diverse collection of artists by my grandma. We listened to many artists at a young age such as Elton John, Rod Stewart, Bruce Springsteen, The Eagles, and Meat Loaf just to name a few.

The entire night, I was anxious to talk to Peter about the concert and hear what he thought of Meat Loaf. I also periodically checked Facebook to get updates from various family members about the concert and look at pictures from the evening (such as the two I have in this post taken by Vickie). From what I could see, it looked like everyone had an amazing time. As you can see from the picture below, they also had spectacular seats!

Photo by Vickie

The best part of the evening for me was the ride home after picking Peter up from Dick and Bev. Below are a few of my favorite quotes from the trip:

Me: So, tell me about the concert.

Peter: Wow, for an old guy, Meat Loaf can really sing!

Me: What was your favorite part of the concert?

Peter: That is a tough one.

Me: Why?

Peter: Because it was all so good!

Me: Are you glad you went?

Peter: Yes! I never win the coin tosses, but I am so glad that I won this time!

Despite the fact that I would have had a wonderful time at the concert tonight with my family, I am so glad that Peter went instead. The memories that he made tonight will stay with him forever, and hopefully he will look back someday and be as grateful as I am that grandma Barbara has such great taste in music!

Potty Training

William will be two years old next month (I know, I can't believe it!) and he has recently become interested in potty training. When I say interested, I actually mean obsessed! William wants to be like his older brothers so badly that if either Matthew or Peter use the bathroom William wants to try using the bathroom also. Having successfully potty trained two boys before, I have learned that boys are easiest to potty train during the summer months because there is nothing more exciting for a boy than peeing outside! I don't think that boys/men ever outgrow the desire to pee outside - at least not in my house! To make things easier and more exciting, we encourage William to try to pee outside frequently. He has not mastered the art yet, but it is not from a lack of trying. He will stand outside and strain with all of his might to try to pee like his older brothers when actually if he would just relax he would probably have better luck. We are, however, making progress and William is having more success all of the time.

Last week, while William was outside trying to relieve himself, Pacco came over to investigate. Obviously, when a horse is nearby going potty is no longer the priority. As you can see, William became very interested in petting the horse and forgot about his original mission.

I am sure that it won't be long before we have another "big boy" who is potty trained in our house!

Batter Up!

It is that time of year again and half of May and all of June have been consumed by baseball games. Matthew is in his second year of Minors and Peter is in his second year of Coach Pitch. As a result, we have been traveling to baseball games four nights of the week. Although the crazy schedule can be exhausting, baseball has quickly become a favorite sport in our household! This week was the final week of the season, and we are sad to see it end.

Matthew's season began with a game on May 15th and ended on June 28th. He played 13 games, and they were all exciting! His team showed a tremendous amount of growth during the season which has resulted in a winning record of 10-3. Matthew expressed a desire to try a new position this year; he wanted to try playing catcher. I wasn't sure if Matthew would enjoy playing catcher because it is a very difficult position both physically and mentally. However, he did an amazing job stopping balls, protecting home plate, and attempting to throw runners out when they stole bases. When not playing catcher, Matthew primarily played first base and pitcher. He has a very strong arm and improved his accuracy with every game he pitched. Matthew is also a very good hitter and even hit a home run in each of the last two games. He had a very successful season!

Coaches - Todd Gregory, Craig Evins, Mike Ready
Brayden Sheppard, Dallin Eddy, Mason Recla, Matthew McBride, Dakota Sheppard
Clay Ready, Scott Hall, Skylar Evins, Braden Gregory, Wyatt Norton, Lenny Barton
Photo by Red Barn Photography

Peter began playing games on June 4th and had his final game on June 27th. His season consisted of eight games. Coach Pitch league is more relaxed than Minors. The teams do not keep score; instead, there is an emphasis on everyone learning the rules of the game and being involved. As a result, Peter played numerous positions throughout the season. He did very well mostly due to his energetic and positive attitude. Peter is a very strong hitter and had many hits that have resulted in triples or home runs. Peter had an excellent year, and is anxious to begin Minors next year and use his skills to play in a more competitive league!

Coach - Ginny Hager
Sydney Hager, Peter McBride, Kade Kurata, Ali Aldred, Adam Ramirez
Willy Tolman, Kase, Garrett Smith, Eli Aldred
Photo by Red Barn Photography

Baseball season has become a family affair, and once Joseph was born the entire family began traveling to the baseball games. William loved watching Matthew and Peter play baseball and cheered for his brothers by yelling "run, run, run"! Joseph also attended many baseball games during his first month, and is such a good baby that he usually slept through the games.

Although we are going to enjoy having our evenings back, we are already looking forward to next baseball season!

Joseph Stephen - One Month Old

My step-sister Jodi McCauley has two adorable little girls and for the first year of their lives she takes monthly photographs of her daughters and writes them a letter. I think this is such a wonderful way to document milestones and provide a keepsake for children to read in the future. I plan to use Jodi's idea and write letters to Joseph each month. I only wish I came across this idea earlier so I could have written letters to each of the boys!

Dear Joseph,

It is difficult to believe that one month has already gone by since you came into our lives. Time flies by too quickly and I wish it would slow down! During the past month, we have settled into a new "normal" at our house. The transition to having a newborn again has been easy because you are such a good baby. We have been blessed with good babies, and you are no exception. You rarely cry; instead, you constantly look around and take in your surroundings. I am amazed at how alert you are. It seems as if you are always trying to look at someone or something - lights and ceiling fans always catch your eye. Speaking of eyes, you have the most beautiful, dark blue eyes. I could just stare into them all day! You are also very strong and will raise your head and push yourself up with your arms when being held on my shoulder to look at your brothers. 

During the past month, you have settled into regular sleeping and eating patterns. It is common for you to sleep for two or three hours at at time. Usually in the evening you begin sleeping in the bassinet. When you wake up in the night to eat, you and I move to the recliner and usually we both fall asleep until morning. Although it is not the most comfortable place to sleep, I love the time you and I have together during the night. When you were born, you would eat about two ounces of formula every two or three hours. You have gradually worked up to eating three to five ounces at each feeding. As a result, you have grown to a whopping 10 pounds 4 ounces and 21.5 inches tall!

Even though you share many similarities with your brothers, you are constantly showing your individuality. For example, you are our first baby to use a pacifier. From the day you were born, you were sucking on your hands. Although you do not use it all of the time, your pacifier soothes you and makes you happy. Even though you are growing quickly, you are also our first baby that has been able to fit into newborn diapers and clothes! You have been able to wear many clothes that were brand new simply because your brothers could not fit into them. Currently, you are still wearing some newborn clothes but I have recently started to dress you in some three month outfits.

You are not only adored by your Daddy and I; your brothers think you are very special also. Matthew and Peter are constantly checking on you. They are also amazed by your alertness and spend much of the day talking to you. Matthew and Peter have also commented on how when you cry it does not even sound like a baby. Instead, they think that your cry resembles that of a baby lamb! 

William has also adjusted well to becoming a big brother. When you were about 10 days old he had a very rough day with numerous meltdowns. I believe that he finally realized that you were actually staying and were part of the family! Since that day, William has been a wonderful big brother (he almost helps too much)! When you cry, he runs to the bassinet and tries to give you the pacifier. William has to be watched closely because he will even try to give you the pacifier when you are sound asleep! If he is not trying to shove a pacifier in your mouth when you cry, William will try to soothe you by saying "I know bebe, I know." It is so adorable.

We are so happy that you finally arrived Joseph! You have made our family complete and bring so much joy to our lives each day. You are truly a blessing!

Love, 

Mommy and Daddy

School's Out for Summer!!!

School is out! Summertime here we come!

Although Matthew and Peter had amazing teachers and very memorable school years, they were anxious for summer to begin. The last day of school was May 24th, and Matthew and Peter were ready for summer freedom without strict bedtimes and homework.

Our summer began with an unexpected but exciting event the day after school was out - Joseph was born! Matthew and Peter will also be very busy this summer with sports camps, church camp, baseball, fair, and more!

Below are pictures of the boys throughout the school year. It is amazing to see them grow up so quickly. In a few short months, we will have a fifth grader and a third grader in our household!