(Weekly schedule starting the end of March through the first week of June)
Monday:
- Clark's play rehearsal after school until 4:00
- Homework, Dinner, FHE, Bed
- Clark's play rehearsal after school until 4:25
- Katelyn's Activity Days from 4:30 to 5:30 on the 2nd and 4th weeks
- Clark's baseball practice from 5:15 to 7:00
- Katelyn's Soccer practice from 6:00 to 7:30
- Homework, Dinner, Bed
- Pack the car and kids and pick up Taylor (carpool) at 4:00
- Pick Clark up from play rehearsal at 4:25 (he changes clothes in the car)
- Clark is dropped off at the baseball fields at 4:35
- Taylor and Katelyn dropped off at Hollywood Kids at 4:50 (20 minutes late)
- Jake's soccer practice from 5:00 to 6:00 (wait until Joe could get there)
- Leave soccer fields, grab dinner (if I didn't pack a picnic), back to baseball fields
- Clark's baseball game from 5:15 to 7:15
- Joe would come to baseball game, eat dinner, and head to YM/Scouts at 6:30
- Katelyn would get dropped off at baseball fields at 6:20 (thanks, Jen!!!)
- Game over at 7:15-7:30
- Homework, Bed
- Clark's play rehearsal until 4:25
- Clark's scouts from 5:00 to 6:00
- Dinner, Homework, Bed
- Clark's baseball practice OR game from 5:15 to 7:00
- Dinner, Family Movie Night, Bed
- Jake's soccer game
- Katelyn's soccer game
- Clark's baseball game
Any family out there with kids involved in multiple activities knows exactly what this schedule is like, so my sympathy and understanding is with you since you have probably been doing the exact same thing this spring! Now it's time to slow things down a bit through the summer BUT we will probably do it all over again in the fall!
GOOOOOAL!
Throwing down the line
Cutest goalie EVER!
Cheerleaders: Carlee, Katelyn, Mia, Sarah, Jonathan
Jake and Coach Dad
Go Purple Dragons!
The goal is that way, Coach Jones!
Katelyn played soccer for the Ghosts the very first time ever. She has wanted to try playing soccer for a couple of years now but because of dance, she hasn't had the opportunity. Being the girly girl that she is, she HAD to have pink socks with black and pink soccer cleats to match her shorts and t-shirt. Although she isn't very aggressive after the ball, she could outrun anybody on her team, even the boys. She has got some quick feet and definitely got better soccer skills over the season. She had a great time, met some new friends, and even gave some girl advice to a boy named Caleb on her team. Her team was undefeated the entire season. Way to go! We're proud of you, Kate, for trying something new.
Clark played little league Triple A baseball this year for the Bats. Little did I know what I was getting into with this sport...
Joe was in Haiti when the tryouts happened so I packed up the kids and we headed down to the park for Clark's tryouts around 5:00. We had to sign in on one of the coldest and windiest evenings in late February. After checking in, we were waiting for them to call his age division. I started talking to a lady that was sitting next to us. She explained how the tryouts and season worked and that we would probably be there until 10:00 p.m. waiting for the boys to catch grounders, pop-flys, throw some balls, and bat. She also informed me that during the season there would be practices 2-3 times a week and there were games twice a week. I know that my eyes were probably popping out of my head while she was telling me this. How on earth was I going to do this while Joe was supposed to be gone for 4 months??? So I decided that if we were going to make a cold evening of it, I better load up on some food and entertainment. I left Clark with one of his school buddies that was also trying out and we jumped in the car to run home for drinks, chips, sandwiches, blankets, and games before returning to the ball field about 20 minutes later.
We returned just in time to see Clark catch the pop-flys and grounders shot from a pitching machine! Obviously, this was a little more intense and high-tech than the air force base's baseball league that he had played on two years prior. When he was done, he quickly ate a sandwich and huddled with us under the blankets to wait for the batting tryouts. The wind was picking up and it was getting really cold so they decided to postpone the tryouts for a week.
The following week my sister and her family were in town so they stayed with the kids while I took Clark to batting tryouts on an overcast, cold, and drizzly Saturday morning. When we arrived, we looked at the boys trying out and all of them were decked out with hats, cleats, pants, tees, and baseball bags. I was clueless and feeling like a very incompetent "baseball mom". Luckily I had bought some cleats but I didn't even think about the proper clothing attire. Clark was a sweetheart telling me not to worry about it and that we could just get some stuff later in the week but I felt so terrible that my son was not dressed to baseball standards. He was wearing some ADIDAS track pants and an old T-shirt. Dads and other male role models were out there throwing balls to their boys and giving them pointers to catching and throwing while Clark and I were just sitting there huddled and talking in the cold before it was his turn to bat. I then decided to go get my brother-in-law, Jay, from my house. We only live about 6 minutes from the field so I knew that he would be a lot more help to Clark than I would be. He is a HUGE sports nut but baseball is definitely his favorite. (Go Cardinals!) I left Clark at the field again to rush home and grab Jay. Right when I pulled into our driveway, the rain came pouring down. We drove back to the field and because the rain was coming down in torrents, everyone was racing for their cars. The tryouts had been re-scheduled to Friday night.
Needless to say, I shopped all of the sporting goods stores in the area the next day to properly outfit my son and when Friday rolled around, he was smokin' in his baseball duds! And to top it all off, my husband returned home from Haiti just before the season started at the end of March. Not only was he outfitted properly now for practice, but he had his dad there to give him the pointers he needed to play properly too. Whew!
It was a great season. The Bats were on a winning streak for most of the season but lost the last 5 games during the last 2 weeks. Playoffs were a single elimination and when they started, the Bats were on a roll again. They ended up losing the last game before the championship, thus taking 3rd place overall. Clark played the right field and did well always hitting the first baseman or shortstop with the ball to get the out. He played hard with a lot of heart and though he got hit 4 times during the season by the pitch, he really enjoyed it. He looks forward to playing again next year.
Coach Johnny and Coach Garrett giving the pep talk
Getting ready to hit
"Bats on Me, Bats on Three, 1, 2, 3, Bats!"
Joe was in Haiti when the tryouts happened so I packed up the kids and we headed down to the park for Clark's tryouts around 5:00. We had to sign in on one of the coldest and windiest evenings in late February. After checking in, we were waiting for them to call his age division. I started talking to a lady that was sitting next to us. She explained how the tryouts and season worked and that we would probably be there until 10:00 p.m. waiting for the boys to catch grounders, pop-flys, throw some balls, and bat. She also informed me that during the season there would be practices 2-3 times a week and there were games twice a week. I know that my eyes were probably popping out of my head while she was telling me this. How on earth was I going to do this while Joe was supposed to be gone for 4 months??? So I decided that if we were going to make a cold evening of it, I better load up on some food and entertainment. I left Clark with one of his school buddies that was also trying out and we jumped in the car to run home for drinks, chips, sandwiches, blankets, and games before returning to the ball field about 20 minutes later.
We returned just in time to see Clark catch the pop-flys and grounders shot from a pitching machine! Obviously, this was a little more intense and high-tech than the air force base's baseball league that he had played on two years prior. When he was done, he quickly ate a sandwich and huddled with us under the blankets to wait for the batting tryouts. The wind was picking up and it was getting really cold so they decided to postpone the tryouts for a week.
The following week my sister and her family were in town so they stayed with the kids while I took Clark to batting tryouts on an overcast, cold, and drizzly Saturday morning. When we arrived, we looked at the boys trying out and all of them were decked out with hats, cleats, pants, tees, and baseball bags. I was clueless and feeling like a very incompetent "baseball mom". Luckily I had bought some cleats but I didn't even think about the proper clothing attire. Clark was a sweetheart telling me not to worry about it and that we could just get some stuff later in the week but I felt so terrible that my son was not dressed to baseball standards. He was wearing some ADIDAS track pants and an old T-shirt. Dads and other male role models were out there throwing balls to their boys and giving them pointers to catching and throwing while Clark and I were just sitting there huddled and talking in the cold before it was his turn to bat. I then decided to go get my brother-in-law, Jay, from my house. We only live about 6 minutes from the field so I knew that he would be a lot more help to Clark than I would be. He is a HUGE sports nut but baseball is definitely his favorite. (Go Cardinals!) I left Clark at the field again to rush home and grab Jay. Right when I pulled into our driveway, the rain came pouring down. We drove back to the field and because the rain was coming down in torrents, everyone was racing for their cars. The tryouts had been re-scheduled to Friday night.
Needless to say, I shopped all of the sporting goods stores in the area the next day to properly outfit my son and when Friday rolled around, he was smokin' in his baseball duds! And to top it all off, my husband returned home from Haiti just before the season started at the end of March. Not only was he outfitted properly now for practice, but he had his dad there to give him the pointers he needed to play properly too. Whew!
It was a great season. The Bats were on a winning streak for most of the season but lost the last 5 games during the last 2 weeks. Playoffs were a single elimination and when they started, the Bats were on a roll again. They ended up losing the last game before the championship, thus taking 3rd place overall. Clark played the right field and did well always hitting the first baseman or shortstop with the ball to get the out. He played hard with a lot of heart and though he got hit 4 times during the season by the pitch, he really enjoyed it. He looks forward to playing again next year.
Coach Johnny and Coach Garrett giving the pep talk
Getting ready to hit
"Bats on Me, Bats on Three, 1, 2, 3, Bats!"
