Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

Tonight we spent a fabulous summer evening, watching one of our favorite baseball players take the field!  Ava, if you can't tell, was excited from the minute we arrived and set up her little chair!

We met all of my cousins, my uncle and my cousins' kids to cheer on Ryan in his final baseball game of the year.  

The weather was amazing, the fields were beautiful, and our seats were up close and personal :) 

So with great anticipation...

...We held our breath while he stood at bat and watched him get a base hit all three times!  

We also cheered wildly (can't you sense Ava's excitement here???)...

...while he scored each time!!  

Although she is stoic looking in all of these pictures, trust me when I tell you that she had a WONDERFUL time with all of her cousins, marching around that ball field like she owned the place!  She loved sitting in her little chair, and then climbing out and back in at least a dozen times, and it didn't take her long to get the hang of clapping and cheering for anyone who was up to bat.  

And most of the time when she wasn't being held, her juice cup, her baby and her blankie were tightly clutched in her sweaty little arms.  In fact, Travis started calling her Linus, because I'm pretty sure she drug that blankie through most of the dirt she encountered :) 

Ryan did a great job and made us all proud!  He had the largest cheering section by far, including 1 Grandpa, 10 adults, 12 kids, 1 toddler and 1 dog.  I'd say that's a pretty good ratio of fans for a 9 year old!!  He was so fun to watch and he hammed up his performance for all us in the crowd :) 

Afterwards we celebrated at my cousin Jenny and Chris' house with some appetizers and ice-cream and the kind of fun that a big family brings!  What a sweet blessing for us, and now for Ava, to have our big extended family so close.  I love that she is growing up with so many people, big and little, who love her and pass her around like she's just one of them.  She eats up all the attention and one day soon, Carter will too.  It was a beautiful summer night and we were thankful to spend it with people we love.  On Sunday we'll leave with 5 of my cousins kids for camp all week!  2 are going as counselors and 3 as campers.  It's so sweet to know that no matter where we are, Ava usually has a cousin (or 2, or 5, or 13) to run to!  We are blessed to be in Minnesota for many reasons, but our family is one of the biggest blessings of all.  The Lord was good to us when he called us here!!