Las Vegas Softball Tourney & an unexpected detour to Cali

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We spent last weekend in Las Vegas at Madi’s softball tournament.  Normally, this time of year would mean gorgeous, warm weather for Las Vegas.  I was sooo looking forward to wearing shorts and sitting in the warm sunshine watching softball games.  Well, Mother Nature had other plans apparently!  A cold front moved up through Nevada and Utah, and it was freezing in Vegas!  All weekend!  Ugh!  It was snowing in Utah, so it could have been worse for us!  At least it was sunny for the most part, but the temps were only in the upper 50’s along with a very chilly wind!  We had a great time though, and Madi’s team did really well.  They were knocked out just before the semi-finals in a game that lasted over 2.5 hours and went in to extra innings twice!  It was crazy!  This is a new team for Madi and her first real tournament with them.  She and her good friend Lexi have played on the same team since they were 7!  This is the first year they have been on different teams.  It has been an adjustment for sure! 

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Madi’s team had a lucky draw during ‘pool play’ which meant they were through early on Saturday (2:20pm), so we had the rest of the day ahead of us with no real plans.  Hmmmmm…..what to do?  Well, we were only 3 hours away from Tyson, and he had a football game at 7:00 on Saturday night.  Should we drive to Redlands and see Tyson?  Madi hadn’t seen Tyson since he left for school 2 months ago, and Tyson hadn’t met Chloe yet…..easy decision! We headed to Redlands!!!  It was awesome!  We arrived right at kickoff!  We got to spend about 30-45 minutes with Tyson after the game and it was so good to see him.  His face lit up when he saw Madi and I think she was pretty darn excited to see him too!  After T changed out of his uniform, we met him at his dorm so Madi could see where he lived, and so Tyson could show Chloe around to all the girls!  At one time we had about 8 girls crammed into Tyson’s dorm room cooing over Chloe!  We had to get back on the road though, as Madi had and early game schedule in Vegas for the next morning. It was a really fun trip, and even more exciting that we could take a slight detour to see Tyson!

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Ali

All About Madi

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A quick catch up post for Madi and all that has been going on for her!  I’ve had photos that I wanted to post for weeks now, but I haven’t gotten them uploaded until today.  So….sorry for the delay!

I posted a while ago that Madi had made the volleyball team at school this year, after having never even played before.  Well, she has been loving it!  And she is doing awesome!  Madi is so athletic that I think she would pick up any sport easily!  Here are a few photos from the past few weeks:

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Madi also went to the Homecoming Dance a few weeks ago.  All the boys in her group of friends decided they were going ‘stag’ this year and didn’t ask anyone to the dance.  What is up with that?  It was fine with Madi though, and she ended up having the best time ever just going with a whole group of friends.  She said she had a much better time going ‘stag’, than she had the last two dances when she had a date.  Go figure!  Here are a few photos of Madi and her friends Tessa and Carly before going to dinner:

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This weekend we are heading to Las Vegas for a softball tournament.  Madi is on another new team this fall.  Hopefully, it is the last change she will make!  I’ll have more photos to share when we get back. 

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!

Ali

{Chloe}

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Let me introduce you to the newest member of the Moll Family:

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Her name is Chloe, and she is a Shih Tzu Maltese mix and we are absolutely smitten with her.  We got her last Thursday night, and she turned 8 weeks yesterday.  She is the sweetest, cutest little bug ever!  She is crazy hyper when it’s “play time”, but crashes when she’s tired.  She loves to be held and cuddled, and have her tummy rubbed.  She settles right down when you pick her up to hold her.  What a cutie!

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Ali

Much needed blog update!

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I can’t believe how long it’s been since I have updated!  I have so much to blog about too, but the time has just gotten away from me!  I’ve got loads of photos and stuff to say about Madi’s volleyball season, our puppy Chloe (we get her on Saturday), and a fun girls trip I had in Oregon last weekend!  But, I first need to blog about our trip to Redlands to see Tyson and attend the first football game of the season!  Madi had other, more exciting plans for the weekend (an over the top sweet sixteen bday party of a friend), so she didn’t go with us, but my brother Kevin went with Carl and I.  We left on Thursday night and drove to Vegas where we got a smokin’ deal on a room at The Rio.  From there it was a quick 3 hour drive to Redlands the next day.  By the time we got to the campus and browsed the bookstore, Tyson was done with his classes for the day.  We got to spend a little time with him (raise his dorm bed, and move the fridge, and do his laundry for him), before heading off to Ontario to check in to our hotel.  While Tyson had ‘walk throughs’ with the football team we spent some time at the mall picking up some items Tyson needed (more socks and boxers!).  We were able drop by the campus again later than night to drop off the items.  It was soooo good to see him!  He already looks older and more grown up to me!  And tan!  He looked very tan to me as well!  All those days in the California sunshine I guess!  We spent the next day hanging out at Huntington Beach which was a lot of fun.  It was a bit overcast and cloudy, but still fun to walk in the water and watch the local surfers!  After a few hours the sun was shining and it was beautiful!  We headed back to Redlands for the big tailgate party and football game!  With Tyson only being a freshman, we knew his chances of playing in the game were pretty slim, but it was just great to see him out there in uniform!  He was so excited!  The game was great and the team is awesome!  They manhandled their opponent easily!  Which turned out to be a great thing!  Late in the 4th quarter Tyson got in the game!  Sooooo cool and I’m so glad we were there so see it!  He had 3 carries, the first one being for a gain of 7 yards!  He looked great out there!  After the game he was beaming with excitement!  So great to see!

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Last weekend, they beat another big opponent and Tyson got in the game at the end again!  Sadly, we weren’t there to see it, but that’s okay!  We are going back down for the Homecoming game on October 25th.  Madi’s 16th birthday is the 23rd, so it will be a fun birthday trip for her!  GO BULLDOGS!

Ali

All Moved In!

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Well, Tyson is all moved into the dorms at the University of Redlands.  I can’t believe it!  We left on Monday afternoon around 3:30 pm.  We drove to Vegas and spent the night at the Las Vegas Hilton.  We got a smokin’ deal through Hotwire.  Have you ever used them?  We always get great rooms and very good prices!  Highly recommend them!  Anyway, we left for Redlands the next morning, and arrived on campus at around 2:30.  Tyson didn’t have to report to football camp until Wednesday morning, so this gave us some time to explore Redlands, and meet with the baseball coach before things got too hectic with football.  The baseball coach was a great guy and seemed very excited to have Tyson in the spring.  We had just enough time to check into the hotel and head to The Village in Claremont to meet some of my favorite friends Karyn and Shanna for dinner.  The next morning, Tyson checked in, received his dorm keys and started to move in.  Of course, trying to move into the dorm in between football meetings and practice was CRAZY, but we got it all done!  I flew home on Thursday night…..with many tears shed!  AW!  What a hard thing to do….leave your child at college!  I’m super excited for the experience he will have, but we sure miss him at home!  Here are some photos:  (Some things to note:  Tyson’s bed/closet, etc. is on the left (brown comforter) his roommate Rob, is on the right)

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Ali

First Day of School

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Already!  I can't believe it! Didn't school just end a few minutes ago?  LOL!  Madi was up at the crack of dawn (5:30 am) to get ready for her first day.  Judge Memorial went to a bit different uniform policy this year (no more skirts 🙁 – bummer), so the choice of what to wear to school was pretty easy!  Madi catches a ride to school with her friend Teresa.  I was able to grab a quick photo this morning.  CUTE GIRLS!

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In other news…..Tyson and I leave for the University of Redlands in about 1 hour!  YIKES!  I can't believe it is time for him to go off to college!  Pure craziness!  The weekend was full of get together's and good-bye parties.  He said it was a hard weekend!  We had a family dinner at the SkyBox Sports Grille last night and then spent a few hours at my brother's house, so everyone could spend some time with Tyson.  Here are a few photos from the weekend:

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Next time I post, I'm sure I'll have a lot to post about!  We are driving to Vegas to stay tonight….then we'll head to Redlands in the morning.  We'll spent tomorrow picking up some odds and ends, and getting the 'lay of the land'.  We are meeting some of my favorite people for dinner on Tuesday night (Yea!), and then Wednesday will be spent checking into the dorms and reporting for football camp!  I'll stay through Thursday afternoon and then fly home!  Have a great week!

Ali

Random

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Just some randomness from the past week!

* Tyson made it home from Tennessee on Monday afternoon and had an amazing time

* Madi tried out and MADE the volleyball team at Judge Memorial (Pretty cool!)

* We are getting a new puppy in about 4-5 weeks (So CUTE!)  We've been to visit twice already this week!

* I have been staying up WAY TOO LATE watching THIS and reading THIS every night!  I can't get enough of either! Ü

* Tyson is leaving for college 3 days!  I can't believe it!  I find myself hyperventilating frequently!

* School begins on Monday for Madi.  Where has the summer gone, and why is school starting so early????

* Carl and I are headed HERE tonight for my work party/golf tournament.  We are staying at the Montego Bay and playing golf in the morning. 

* I don't think I have enough time this weekend to get Tyson ready for college and Madi ready for 10th grade! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!

 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Ali

<- <- <- Detour -> -> ->

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Tyson and Matt made a little detour and had a change in plans yesterday afternoon!  Since they got a bit of a late start yesterday morning (afternoon?), and were a little later than planned leaving the St. Louis Arch, the decided NOT to go to Cincinnati.  It was at least a 5 hour drive, and by the time they got to their hotel, checked in, etc…..they wouldn't get to the Cincinnati Reds game until around the 5th inning.  So…..since they were only 5 hours away from Matt's home in Murfreesboro, TN , they decided to just go that way!  I think they had gotten a bit tired of all the driving! LOL!  They made it to Murfreesboro around 8:00 or so last night.  Matt's mom had dinner waiting for them as they walked in the door!  Tyson will spend the next few days hanging out in Tennessee and getting to know Matt's friends, I'm sure.  He met quite a few of them last night, and one of his comments to me was:  "They all have those really cool southern accents".  Haha!  I love it!  He'll fly home Monday, and arrive in SLC sometime in the afternoon.  Then it's only one week home before leaving for college at the University of Redlands!!!!  I can't believe he will be off to college!  Yikes!  Happy TGIF, and have a great weekend!

Ali

St. Louis to Cincinnati

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I just got a text from Tyson telling me he is here:

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they are on their way to the top!  Hopefully, he is taking pictures!  They had a great time at the Cardinals game last night.  Manny Ramirez who was just traded to the Dodgers, hit a home run to start off the night!  And then Albert Puljos hit a huge grand slam!  Right into the stands where they boys were sitting!  Of course, they had just gotten up to grab some food!  Haha!

After visiting the arch…..they will hit the road for Cincinnati!

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Tonight they'll take in the Cincinnati Reds vs. Houston Astros.  They are having a great time!  And I am jealous! LOL!

Ali

Kansas City, MO to St. Louis, MO

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Tyson and Matt had a great time last night at the Kansas City Royals game, even though they lost to the Boston Red Sox .  Tyson said there were some great plays and it was a fun game.  Not a long drive today!  Just a quick 3 hour drive from Kansas City to St. Louis.  Tonight they are going to watch the St. Louis Cardinals play the L.A. Dodgers .  I'm kind of jealous!  What a fun trip! 

 

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Ali