Ahhh......baseball season is here again. Oh how I have a love/hate relationship with it! Hate because of the many hours I spend at practices....between 3 kids it totals about 9-10 hours a week. That's NOT including actual game time. Then there are the fundraisers, additional helmets, socks, belts, etc that have to be purchased. Also the grass and dirt stains that I have to deal with after the games. SERIOUSLY... who decided that white pants were a good idea for 7-8 year old boys??? Love...because come on...it's the All American sport (even though we are Canadian!) Those Saturday afternoons, cheering on the kids, stuffing your face with concession food, gossiping about the other moms (no Sharks, Hurricanes, Red, Bulls or Muckdog...moms, of course!!!)
Dallas seriously started playing last year. Got on a great new team with fabulous coaches and improved so much. At the end of the regular season, he was chosen to play on the All-Star team and even though he practiced 12-15 hours a week plus an hour of private batting lessons...it was soooo worth it in the end when we went to Chattanooga, Tennessee and the team placed 7th out of 52 teams in the World Series.
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| World Series |
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| Pinellas Park Sharks #10 |
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| Hurricanes #10...2011 |
This last photo was taken at a Rays game at Tropicana Field. Dallas' batting coach Bob Wilson...has a son who plays for the Angels...hence, we were able to see him for a photo op. Dallas was in awe!
Sister Brooklyn has also been playing her fair share the last few years. She started off as a Pink Lady....pigtails, without a care in the world if she caught the ball or not in outfield , skipping with her helmet on..bat in hand to home plate, then swinging with all her might. My heart skipped a few beats that year since it was her first time playing and man...did all those other girls look sooo much bigger and sooo much better!!
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| Pink Lady up at bat! |
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| More concerned with her hot dog than playing! |
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| Bulls Softball #10...2011 |
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| Their first game of the season...their first win! |
NOW...we have to add little Mad Man to the list of ball players in the house! Week one wasn't so great!! It was also opening day at the field and he took one look at all the bounce houses set up and off came the helmet and he headed straight for the bounce house. One track mind! This past weekend was much better. He actually made it into the dugout and put his helmet on and waited in line to bat. I considered that an accomplishment and had he wanted to leave then I would have! Baby steps. Next week we would try again and hope to actually make it onto the field. BUT....as luck would have it, he was in a baseball kinda mood and he swaggered up to the plate, took a couple swings, hit the ball off the tee and ran his little heart out around the bases. Bottom of the first and he was playing 1st base...which was a great thing. He was thrown the ball after each play so he was constantly on the move. Bottom of the 2nd...he played 3rd base and didn't get the ball once. This is what happens when a 3 year old doesn't get the ball at all....
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Time to sit and play in the dirt!
DON"T FORGET TO SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN
AND TURN OFF THE MUSIC BEFORE CLICKING PLAY!
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Yesterday Papa was nice enough to buy us tickets to a Spring training game. Toronto Blue Jays vs. Tampa Bay Rays. Being the multi-cultural Canadian/American family that we are....we were so confused as to who to cheer for!! So we just clapped and cheered for every play and every out!
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Mmmmmm.....peanuts!!
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Shaw's nickname is the Mayor of Pinellas Park...because seriously folks there isn't a soul he doesn't know around here. We cannot go out to eat, go shopping, stop at a store without bumping into someone he knows and saying hi. Same went for yesterdays baseball game. And guess who he knew? The pitcher for the Blue Jays. Him and Dallas ran down to the fence and hollered out to Jesse Litsch #51, former Boys and Girls Club member when Shaw worked there years and years and years ago! He was nice enough to sign a ball for Dallas!
So as annoying as 10pm bedtimes are on school nights due to 7:30pm game start time, as aggravating as those grass and mud stains are on white ball pants and the obscene amount of money we spend on concession food.....I wouldn't change it for all the peanuts and crackerjacks in the stadium!
Love the photo of the little boys up against the fence, so cute!
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