Finally, spring

This has been the strangest April we've had since we moved to Seattle....multiple instances of snow, hail, downpours, freezing temperatures; you name it, we've had it. Except nice, spring days. Until....yesterday. It cleared up yesterday, and we had a nice calm, sunny day. Today was even better, as temps warmed up into the mid-60's. Andrew's game was really pleasant to watch, and it was the first time we didn't haul the umbrellas, blankets, etc. along to the baseball field. Andrew had several nice hits and a couple of great plays in the infield. Brett came along with us, and he and Sam played on the side almost the entire time. Brett's sister Elizabeth is having her girly-girl slumber birthday party tonight, so Brett came to hang out with the boys.

In other BIG family news, you can now call Alan....Dr. Spicciati! He passed his defense on Thursday and sent his dissertation off today for the final inspection.

And, on Friday, we got to have lunch with Pam, our sister-in-law/aunt to be (Art's fiance). She came through Sea-Tac on the way from Anchorage to Washington D.C., and we met at the airport. It was really fun to meet and get to know her a little bit. We can't wait for the wedding!

Weekend Update

In baseball this past weekend we had snow, hail, and nothing resembling nice spring weather. However, we still had our league Jamboree on Saturday morning, and Andrew's game in the afternoon (Sam's game was called due to hail).

I'm happy to report that my recital went well, and relieved that it's over! Andrew and Sam were really well behaved, and did a great job at bringing up the flowers at the end (I had gotten flowers for Amy, and they surprised me with flowers too!). This was the first time that Sam had attended a grown-up concert and stayed awake the entire time. When we've taken him to a kid's symphony concert in the past, he's fallen asleep soon after the lights have gone down. After the recital we went to the Ram restaurant in Tacoma ($1 kids' meals on Sunday - bonus!). There was a strolling magician who came to our table and did a bunch of tricks for Andrew and Sam. They giggled and loved every minute of it. He was actually really accomplished.

I thought you might like to see Andrew in the first suit he's ever owned. We'll take the price tag off before First Communion.

Andrew's essay

Andrew wrote this essay as part of the requirements to enter his Lego ship in the Mars Mission Building Contest. Besides asking me or Alan how to spell a few words, this is completely his own.

Name Destroyer of Doom 2000

The Spaceman on top is the lookout and the spaceman on bottom is the driver.
This ship has 8 weapons. The two blades on the bottom are powered by the
treasures behind them, and when they attack they light up and start to glow then they
Hit the enemy with a powerful attack. There is a hidden gun under the blade next
to the lookout it is the strongest gun in the hole ship. The gun on the blade next to the lookout is a laser gun it is the main gun it can fire two lasers in one second. This ship can go all the way through space in one day. This ship can go 250 miles 15 feet in 5 seconds. The lookout powers most of the guns because he has radar and can see aliens. To power up the light green gun and the blue gun on top the two treasures beside them, before they blast they take 30 seconds to fire. The long black gun on top is a missile gun it can fire 2 missiles in one shot and one second. The alien technology is on the sides and back it powers the ships speed, movement, fire power and it’s radar the fire power it does is the aliens guns they are the green guns. Best of all this ship has great Attack, Speed and handling. What an awesome ship this is!

Week in review

It's been another busy week in the Spicciati household! Andrew and I finished our First Communion classes on Monday this week. Overall they were well done, and I think we both learned a lot, but it will be nice to have Monday evenings free. On Tuesday, the boys had their spring violin recital. They both played really well; Andrew played "Waltz" by Brahms, and Sam played 2 of his Twinkle variations. Sam had a huge smile on his face when he finished, and everyone was charmed by that.

Yesterday, Sam and I went on his class field trip to the library. The kids enjoyed story time and a library tour, but the real highlight of the day was riding the school bus! They couldn't stop talking about it. Then, last night the boys both had baseball practice at 5:30, at 2 different locations. Since Alan had a dinner meeting, this ended up being a lot of running around, but it worked out. We ran into our friends the Rays at Sam's practice; their daughter Emma had a game on an adjacent field. Emma has a pink glove, pink batting helmet, and she's pictured above holding her pink bat that says "Girls Rule!" She and Sam play each other in a couple of weeks, as do Andrew and Ben.

The adults around here have been busy getting ready for their big events - recital on Sunday for me, and dissertation defense for Alan on the 24th.

Opening Day for T-Ball

Sam finally got to play his first game this afternoon, after several rain-outs. He had 3 big hits, including one that made it into right-center field before about 4 Mariner players converged on it. In the 3rd and final inning, he got to play his favorite position, first base.

Happy Opening (Birth)Day!

We celebrated the Mariners' opener (and my birthday) yesterday with 46,000+ other excited fans at Safeco field. The roof was closed, we ate all of our ballpark favorites, and we got pretty cold near the end, but the M's pulled out a win. The boys loved it. Andrew did a crazy dance (drawing amused looks from the people around us) at the end when J.J. Putz came in to pitch the 9th inning.