Thursday, June 30, 2011

Because Two Posts Cannot Fully Sum Up An Entire Baseball Season. . .

Here's what the rest of us were doing all season long. . .

HIM. . .
ME. . .

US. . .

and HER. . .

How long until next season????

Go Giants! Go Giants! Go Giants!

Kris couldn't have been more excited at the beginning of the season!
#1 - He got the same coach he had last year!
#2 - He was on the GIANTS!!!!


I did my team mom duty again this year. . .
And my favorite part happened at the beginning of the season.
One of the dads on our team came to me with a proposal.
He had said that his son played on a t-ball team with a little boy named Matthew. Matthew had since been diagnosed with cancer and had the bones replaced in his legs with metal tubes. He could no longer play baseball but had told his mom that he missed playing baseball.

That got the "ball" rolling and the next thing you knew, the league had donated a jersey and a hat and he was now an honorary member of the A Giants!!!!

After each game the coach and players would help him walk around the bases with the team!



Kris had a great season.
I was so worried about moving him up to A Minor team. He was the youngest on his team, but played his little heart out!




He was always watching the game.
Even when he wasn't in it!


I wonder where he gets that from?
Here's his older brother. . . basically his second coach!
But the highlight of Kris's season!
Being able to finally pitch!

He actually did pretty good. He needs to work on his speed but for the most part his accuracy is pretty good.
There was one game in the season where he pitched 4 straight strikes. So I turned on the video camera and what does he do? Hits the batter. Hard. Whoops. And then the next batter gets up and BANG - hits him too. Whoops. I turned the camera off thinking the coach might pull him, but he doesn't and what does Kris do? Throws another 3 straight strikes! I put the video camera away!

This girl made herself right at home among all those boys!

GO GIANTS!!!!

This kid hung pretty good with the BIG BOYS. . . but there was one moment at the beginning of the season that reminded me that although Kris seems a little older than he really is. . . he really was my little 6 year old ball player. . .

This year the boys had actual Umpires at their games, dressed in blue and everything.
After the first game I asked Kris what his favorite part about the game was and he said,
"That we have EMPIRES now!"

I love this KID!

What I missed while I was away. . .

I missed this kid's championship baseball game!
It just happened to fall on the same weekend of my "girl's getaway"!

AND HIS TEAM WON!
They are Roseville West's AAA Champions. . .
and they came back from being down 0-6 to winning by 2 in the last inning!!!

And I missed it. . .
(But I had an amazing husband who was giving me updates and taking great video and pictures)





Here's a few pictures to sum up an entire season!

These pre-game pep talks must have worked because the team went 17-1 before winning their semi-final game and then went on to become Champions!


Kale really got stronger at 2nd base this season!
His team nicknamed him "the vacuume"! It really was rare that anything got by him!



This red helmet was the teams "mo jo" helmet!
After each game the coach would award it to a player to wear at the next practices and game!

More and more games got played under the lights this season and Kale loved it!

This might be my favorite picture of the season!
Kristopher was his brother's biggest fan!

About half way through the season,
Kale's coach did a fundraiser for WEAVE (women escaping a violent environment)!
He's a local DJ for a radio station here in Sacramento and WEAVE contacted him to participate in the "walk a mile in her shoes" fun run where men wore ladies high heel shoes and walked a mile to earn money for the organization.
Kale's coach couldn't participate in the walk, because he had a little league game to coach so he came up with the idea that he would coach the game in heels and earn money that way!
It worked. He raised almost $3,000 and Roseville West Little League also donated all proceeds from the snack bar during our game as well!

I was impressed at his heels too!
Those aren't sissy heels! Those are the real deal!
(our 3rd base coach even got in on the action and wore a pair of bright red high heels - there's no place like "home" in baseball you know)

It was a great season!
Kale can't wait for Fall Ball!

A few things about this season!

One of my favorite memories about this season were Kale's pants.
About midway through the season Kale's pants got a big hole in the knee. Now if you know baseball pants they have two layers. So only the first layer had a hole. You couldn't see skin, but it was absolutely a noticeable hole in his knee.
I bought him a new pair of pants and tried to get him to wear them.
Every game and practice he told me he was fine.
(I thought it was because he didn't want to change the belt out - those baseball belts are pains)
But finally, one day I had had it.
I asked him to please wear his new pants.
He looked at me and said,
"Mom, these pants are my BEARD. I'm not gonna ruin our perfect season by wearing another pair of pants"
It was so cute.
He even made the radio with that one.
I told his coach about what he had said and the next morning his coach told the story on his radio show!

Another memory I had from the season. . .
although I'm not quite sure how I feel about this one. . .
I dropped Kale off at practice one day at the local middle school and the middle school cheerleaders are out on the grass not far from the baseball field practicing. Kale mentions as he gets out of the car that he's not going to be able to concentrate on baseball today. . .
I took it as a joke and went home.
Later I find out that he really was distracted. My boy who is so baseball focused nothing can tear him away from the game found a distraction!
One of the other dads said he couldn't stop laughing because Kale's team had to call his name several times during practice that day just to get his attention!

But my favorite thing about this season. . .
Was watching Kale really develop as a player, but more importantly as a leader on his team!

Here is Kale with his coaches this year at the end of the year party!


They gave Kale the Most Inspirational Player Award!
There couldn't have been a better award for him.
Kale's coach as he was giving him his trophy told about the championship game and how when the team was down 6-0 and they were all feeling defeated it was Kale who went around getting the boys pumped up and back in the game.
It was his single it that last game that started the rally to allow the team to come back and win!

He really is a leader and it sure is starting to come out on the ball field!

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

We Had "THE TIME OF OUR LIFE". . .

These fun gals from the graduating class of
1995. . .
(ok disclaimer our room really was 1996 but it was way too much of a coincidence that we were directly across the hall from 1995 so of course it was a picture moment)

Had the Absolute
"TIME OF OUR LIVES". . .
As we all met up for a little reunion in the
BIG CITY of SAN FRANCISCO for a few days!
The highlight being meeting up with Selina and
Rockin' out to. . .
MAMA MIA together!

Honestly by the end of the show everyone in the theatre was on their feet!!!
The weekend started out with a slumber party at my house!


Then it was off to the real vacation. . .
a fancy San Fran Hotel in Union Square!

Then we spent the day
Shopping on Pier 39. . .
Eating at Boudins. . .


Getting pampered. . .



Dressing up. . .

Taking a late night trolley ride. . .



Just so we could enjoy a San Francisco tradition!

Then we all drove back to Selina's house for another slumber party!

It was so fun.
I am so thankful for these amazing friends who got me through high school!
I will forever be grateful to them for welcoming me into their circle of friends when I moved to Boise!

Look at us now!!!!

When are we doing this again girls?