Little League day at the college ball park.

We had the opportunity to take in a college baseball game last weekend: Arizona State vs. University of Arizona. While we don't have a vested interest in either team, none of us had been to a college baseball game so when we got a flyer from Little League about ASU vs. UofA day, we thought we'd check it out.

ASU's Sun Devils moved from their old stadium on campus to an off-campus stadium this year. They are now occupying Phoenix Municipal Stadium, which is where the Oakland A's did their Spring Training from 1984-2014.

Matt, Cassidy, and Lincoln watching batting practice before the game. 

Along with other Little Leaguers, we got to do a short tour of the facility before the game. 

Father and son on the field. 

The dugout.

Cassidy in front of the Packard Stadium information.
Packard is the old Sun Devils stadium. 

Little sis and big bro.

Waiting for the game to start. 

Matt, Linc, and Cass. 

Much to Lincoln's dismay, ASU won the game 13-7. For some reason, Lincoln was rooting (against the rest of the crowd) for UofA.  I guess he's grown accustomed to rooting for the visiting team since we moved away from Detroit.

Happy Easter 2015.

We had a quiet Easter with just the 4 of us this year. We enjoyed lovely weather with temps in the mid-80s and had a traditional ham dinner. Delish!

Cassidy dying eggs. She was working to get one that was the same color as her shirt.

Lincoln dying eggs.
If we'd let him, he'd eat every hard boiled egg in the house.

The finished products! 

All spiffied up for church.

Cassie modeling her dress. 

Dad and the kids.

Mom and the kiddos. 

Right after church, we all broke into the delicious chocolate bunnies that the Easter Bunny left...there's nothing better than biting the ears off of a chocolate bunny!  Happy Easter!

Little League Opening Day - Spring 2015.

Chandler National Little League held their opening ceremonies on March 21st. There are 1,000 players in the league ranging in age from 5-16. During the ceremonies, all teams were introduced, including last year's All-Star teams. They even had a fly over with biplanes.

The blue skies here always provide a most excellent backdrop for pictures. 

Lincoln and Cassidy in the dugout before the first game of the season.

Lincoln warming up. 

It has been unseasonably warm here this spring so we took advantage of the shade as much as possible as we watched Linc's game. Opening day temps reached 90 (normal highs are 78).
Pictured are my mom and dad with Matt and Cassidy in the background. 

Lincoln on 3rd base ready to go!

Lincoln is now a few games into the season and he had his first opportunity to pitch. Kids in this age group tend to throw more balls than strikes, but it's great practice for them.

He sure looks cute on the mound.

In action.

Go Braves! 

backyard birds.

Check out the cool birds we've seen in our backyard this spring.

This crane walked back and forth on the walls of our backyard for quite some time. 

I finally captured a picture of a roadrunner -- meep meep!
While roadrunners obviously fly, they do also run. We watched this one run along the tops of the walls in our backyard. 

Roadrunner on the roof.

Sedona, AZ.

We spent two days visiting Sedona, AZ this week. Sedona is famous for its red rocks -- and rightly so. It is gorgeous. The area is a dream for hikers and photographers and is rich in Native American history. It is also very new-agey with palm readers, psychics, and crystal shops galore. Apparently, there are several vortexes (or hot spots) of spiritual energy in Sedona where people experience a unique and peaceful flow of energy. 

I have to say that I was traveling with two kids and I was all about feeling that peaceful energy but it just didn't happen for me (two kids in tow does not equal peaceful anything). Perhaps hiking to a vortex on my own or with another adult would be a worthwhile experience in the future! 

We did two scenic trolley tours, which provided lots of interesting information about the history, geology, climate, and wildlife in the area. 

We saw tons of pink Jeeps, which do a variety of off-road tours right on the red rocks.
If we make it back to Sedona, we will most definitely be taking in a Pink Jeep Tour. 

Big bro and little sis at one of the trolley stops. 

This is a rock formation known as the Madonna and Child.

This was my favorite rock formation -- Snoopy Rock!
You can see Snoopy lying on his dog house with his head on the left and his feet on the right.
Apparently there is another formation near Snoopy that looks like Lucy, but I didn't see it. 

To go along with Snoopy and Lucy rocks, we have Cassidy posing as Snoopy and Lincoln posing as Lucy. 

 

Cutie Cassie posing on the red rocks.

Lincoln, Yia Yia, Papou, and Cassidy.

The kiddos and I.

 

We stayed in a condo for one night. This is a view of the grounds, which backed up to Oak Creek.
Such a pretty environment, surrounded by sycamore trees.

View of Oak Creek. 

 

The kids enjoying the swing overlooking the creek.

 

Cassie at Airport Overlook.

Lincoln taking in the view at Airport Overlook. 

 

The kids and I walking a short trail. 

Sometimes they really do like each other!
That's a prickly pear cactus to the right of the kids. These cacti actually bear fruit, which is made into a number of products including jelly, wine, fudge, margaritas, and pie. One of the tour guides even mentioned cactus fries. 

Chapel of the Holy Cross.

This chapel was built into the buttes of Sedona in 1956. Prayer services are actually offered here Monday evenings. 

This place was swarming with people. I'd love to visit it when fewer people were around. It was really pretty and I can see it being incredibly peaceful. 

Coins tossed for luck next to the chapel.  

One of the views from the chapel. 

My cuties and me.
Matt did not join us for this two-day trip as he was busy with work.
He had the opportunity to see Sedona briefly when he went there for a work trip last summer.

The drive into Sedona after exiting I-17 is simply stunning. We were surprised by how busy it was with tourists everywhere...from everywhere.