AshB really is a Star

Driving down the interstate Andy looked at me and said

This is never going to work. It will be a miracle if she gets one shot of all of us even remotely looking at her, let alone smiling.

Let me tell you people, miracles do happen.

Let's back up.

I was really itching to get family portraits done. I had called around at home before we left for spring training and well, some of the quoted prices were more than my first car.

Which if you saw the car, you would realize that it couldn't have been that much, but still, more than a car? Um, no thanks.

Once we got settled in Florida I checked out some photographers in the area, thinking maybe we would do something on the beach. Then I got nervous about my sand eaters babies and realized, that would not be a lovely portrait.

Then one fateful night we went for a walk, made it all the way to the next driveway and Lainey totally bit it. Poor thing scraped her face from forehead to chin, including her nose and upper lip.

Did I mention that she was showing the girls how fast she could run? She was.

Bless her heart.

And her coordination.

As I watched her little pink crocks go flying through the air, all photography dreams went soaring with them.

But as we neared the end of our stay, I realized that her nose wasn't looking too bad. And the upper lip was nearly healed. And if she tilted her head juuuuuust right, you would never even know about the face-plant incident.

So quickly, before anyone fell, or needed stitches, or ran smack into a doorway, I called our friend Ashley.

Ashley is a fellow baseball wife who has taken up photography as a hobby.

And she's stinkin' good at it.

We were together for several years in the Diamondbacks organization. We survived lived in places like El Paso, TX, Lancaster, CA and Tucson, AZ. The crazy thing is, the last time we were together was a baby shower, for both of us. Ashley was pregnant with Miss Ava, and I was carrying the Lainey Bug. Oh and one time she sat in Matt Damon's lap during a movie.

That last thing has nothing to do with my current story, I just thought you should know.

Seriously, Matt Damon.

On his lap.

Did I mention they frolicked on the beach? Because they did.

Sorry, got a little distracted.

Focus.

Photography skills. She's got 'em. And when I said

how do you feel about trying to capture mobile twins, a talkative three old, and two side-tracked parents?

She said

Bring it. No worries. I'd love to.

And so we did.

This gal totally captured my girls even as they ran wild free. She scaled playground equipment, squatted in the grass, and even sacrificed her body by lying in the street.

Twice.

And the results? Well, to say that we were pleased is putting it mildly.












A little taste of reality....



and yes, those are my new jeans.

I know you were wondering.

So if you're ever in the Tucson area, or Miami, or wherever baseball takes her, you should give her a call. She's amazing. And wonderful.

And she sat on Matt Damon's lap.

On the beach.

I'm just sayin'.

Big Ambitions

During spring training I had two goals. One was to make it through our entire time in Florida without encountering a snake. The second was to get my girls to the beach.

One for two ain't bad.

Let's not dwell on the whole snake thing, just know that I kept my cool and didn't run screaming like a little sissy. I was quite brave. But I would like to get a memo to the snakes of Florida, actually to snakes everywhere,

Could you do this mama a favor and stay away from Easter Egg hunts that involve small children and scary, man-sized bunnies?

Thank you.

Now you may be thinking, wow, you really know how to go all out. Getting your girls to the beach ONE time, when you were in Florida for six weeks.

Here's the thing. There was really no way for me to take all three little ladies to the beach by myself. Emily was walking, Anna had just started and Lainey was totally enamored with digging in the sand. Add to the fact that I had no idea how they would each react to the sand and/or ocean upon seeing it for the first time. That and all I could picture was my babies trying to eat all the sand their little fingers could grasp.

(For the record, Lainey had been to the beach two spring trainings ago, and she LOVED it. But seeing as she was still an itty-bitty-smooshie-wittle baby, she had no recollection.)

I may be crazy brave, but I haven't lost all my faculties.

Yet.

The big day arrived, and it happened to be Easter Sunday. And our last day in Florida.

Try not to cram too much in one day there, gal.

My mama was in town, getting geared up to help me make the trek back to the Bluegrass State. When you have three toddlers, one adult per child may still not be enough. But we're tough.

Let me tell you, the look on Lainey Bug's face when she took in the enormity of the crashing waves and the sheer volume of sand for her to dig in, totally worth the wait.


Emily was completely smitten. That or she was just happy to have the freedom to run amuck.




And Anna Grace, well, she needed some time to come to grips with one thing. Sand.







What do you think girls, maybe next year we'll go twice?