Josh had a baseball game tonight. And for the 5th game in a row he played catcher. When he was dressing for the game he mentioned that he would like to have a day off just like big league catchers. But when his team took the field for their warm up drills, he was wearing the mask and behind the plate.
His skills get better every game he plays. He has learned more about which way to turn his glove to catch the ball. But even skilled catchers take a beating behind the plate. Each game Josh has taken a ball to some part of his body. In yesterday's game he got hit in the gut and it knocked the wind out of him. Tonight he made in through the entire game without being checked on. And then it it happened. And I am not even really sure how it happened. All I know is that somehow Josh got hit in the arm with a baseball hard enough that he had to come out of the game. He has a nice baseball sized bruise complete with the marking of the seams on the inside of his left elbow. After one batter in the dugout getting a thorough once over by the coaches, he put on his mask and went back to the field.
The coaches were so impressed with his resolve that they awarded him the game ball. They told the team that it took great courage to go back out there and get behind the plate after being hurt. They said "Josh was tough as nails."
We have another game tomorrow night. I'll be interested to see if Josh puts on the mask again tomorrow or if he asks for a day off in the outfield. I'll also be interest to see how his arm looks in the morning. Stay tuned...
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Tigers Bounce...so do we!
Yesterday we did it...we went to the store and bought a trampoline for Abby with the money she had received for her birthday. She's been asking everyday if "this is the day we are going to buy my trampoline?" We also bought the safety enclosure that goes with it, too. Since we got home very late and had no idea how long it would take to put the thing together we decided to wait until today to build it.
We opened the trampoline box first and read the instructions. It mentioned that if using with the enclosure that you should follow the instructions in its box. We built the trampoline rather quickly. And then when we opened the enclosure box we realized we were going to have to undo our quick work. The bottom of the enclosure had little button holes in it through which the metal attachments of the jumping surface had to slide through. Instead of taking the whole thing down we decided to unhook them in section and attach the enclosure.
The biggest bummer was that because we had to redo much of our work, the kids did not get much jumping time today because Josh had a ballgame this evening. We told them not to worry - they have all summer to bounce! I have a feeling they are going to be bouncing a lot.
We opened the trampoline box first and read the instructions. It mentioned that if using with the enclosure that you should follow the instructions in its box. We built the trampoline rather quickly. And then when we opened the enclosure box we realized we were going to have to undo our quick work. The bottom of the enclosure had little button holes in it through which the metal attachments of the jumping surface had to slide through. Instead of taking the whole thing down we decided to unhook them in section and attach the enclosure.
The biggest bummer was that because we had to redo much of our work, the kids did not get much jumping time today because Josh had a ballgame this evening. We told them not to worry - they have all summer to bounce! I have a feeling they are going to be bouncing a lot.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Catch This!
Josh started at catcher again today. This is the fourth game in a row that he has played that position. He has really improved his skills. Instead of trapping the ball, he is actually catching it now. And he is beginning to understand how to field the position once the ball is in play. Today someone overthrew the pitcher and Josh fielded the ball and was alert enough to know that he had to get back to plate to try to tag out a runner coming home. He didn't make it in time, but it was a good effort.
He had a better game offensively, too. He's been in a bit of a slump, but today he went 1 for 2 with a double. He made good contact with the ball and drove it back up the middle instead of up the first base line as he has been doing.
We lost the game today. Final score was 15 to 9. We'll have another chance tomorrow night. Wish us luck!
Friday, May 29, 2009
A world of Fun
Tonight was Abby's party with her friends. She choose a Hannah Montana theme and wanted to have her party at Valley Worlds of Fun. For those of you not familiar with Valley Worlds of Fun, its like a cross between Chuck E. Cheese and a small amusement park. We always struggle a bit with when to have Abby's party for her friends because her birthday is so close to Memorial Day and people are focused on other things. Add in sports schedules, and its even more challenging. We tried something different this time - a Friday night party. And based on our attendance, Abby is either incredibly popular at school or Friday nights are a great time for a party. We had 16 kids!
We went all out with the Hannah Montana theme. Abby's cake, pictured above was actually made of 24 cupcakes. It turned out GREAT and was very easy to serve. I think we'll be doing cupcake cakes from now on. Abby dressed up in her best Hannah Montana outfit, complete with her HM boots. (Thank goodness it was a cool night because they are her snow boots) And she also had me use the pink and purple hair paint into her hair. Add in her cool HM sunglasses and she was a secret superstar!
Everyone had a great time. And because it was Friday night, there were not as many parties you typically see on Saturday. Our kids largely had the run of the place. It was wonderful. Abby came away with quite a haul. For which she was very happy. And everyone had a great time. Thus ends our week long celebration of Abby's 6th birthday. Happy birthday, Abby! We love you and are so proud of you. You certainly are our little superstar!!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Adventures in Backpacking (and Driving)
Ron finally made it home this morning around 10am. It was a long journey. By all accounts it was a fantastic trip. He had the opportunity to visit some really beautiful places along the way. Most of the sights were in Utah. They started in Arches National Park after driving for two days straight. I am sure it was wonderful to get out an stretch their legs on hikes, especially given the breath taking beauty of the place. From Arches they traveled to Capitol Reef, then to the Grand Staircase at Escalante, to Bryce Canyon and ended their stay in Utah at Zion National Park. He and many of the people on the trip opted to sleep out in the open each night. The views were amazing. Of course, without any light pollution, he said you could see everything - including the bands of the Milky Way. They saw countless shooting stars, too. Wonder what he wished for?
The trip ended up with them visiting the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and an Indian Reservation. Then it started all over again...the marathon drive home. They hit the road at 5am local time on Tuesday, May 26. Ron was insistent that he was going to make it home for some part (even if it was a small one) of Abby's birthday. But as the hours rolled by and the states came slowly it became clear that it was not to be. Text message home chronicle the pace. 5/26 "In New Mexico - FINALLY. Traveling I-40 home". 5/27 - "Garmin says 22 more hours. See you soon." 5/28 @ 12:45am - In Louisville. Back on the road in a minute. Good night." 5/28 @ 4:21am " You're right about the accidents. We just got into WV and sat on I-64 for 90 minutes. Two vehicles collided and rolled." 5/28 @ 6:20am - "Flatwoods." Phone call at 7:30am - "I'm at GoMart in town, we still have to unpack the vans. I'll see you soon."
The kids were very disappointed that they didn't get to see Daddy before they headed off to school. It's been a long 10 days for them. I am sure that he'll get the biggest hugs ever when he greets them off the school bus this afternoon. We are all glad to have him home safe and sound.
The trip ended up with them visiting the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and an Indian Reservation. Then it started all over again...the marathon drive home. They hit the road at 5am local time on Tuesday, May 26. Ron was insistent that he was going to make it home for some part (even if it was a small one) of Abby's birthday. But as the hours rolled by and the states came slowly it became clear that it was not to be. Text message home chronicle the pace. 5/26 "In New Mexico - FINALLY. Traveling I-40 home". 5/27 - "Garmin says 22 more hours. See you soon." 5/28 @ 12:45am - In Louisville. Back on the road in a minute. Good night." 5/28 @ 4:21am " You're right about the accidents. We just got into WV and sat on I-64 for 90 minutes. Two vehicles collided and rolled." 5/28 @ 6:20am - "Flatwoods." Phone call at 7:30am - "I'm at GoMart in town, we still have to unpack the vans. I'll see you soon."
The kids were very disappointed that they didn't get to see Daddy before they headed off to school. It's been a long 10 days for them. I am sure that he'll get the biggest hugs ever when he greets them off the school bus this afternoon. We are all glad to have him home safe and sound.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Myspace No More
Since everyone is now on Facebook, I am almost never on Myspace. And I get the impression that you guys aren't on there so much either. I have been using blogspot for a blog that I write for work and thought maybe it would be easier for me to use this format to blog about happenings with the family.
Today has been a good and bad day. It's Abby's 6th birthday. Except for a minor conflict over wardrobe this morning (I put shorts on under her dress as required by her school and she didn't appreciate it) we've had a wonderful day. By luck of the draw, we had snack duty today at school, so she even got to pick her favorite snack - goldfish and cheese sticks - to share with her friends at school. The celebration continued as she opened more birthday gifts. And we spent some time at McDonalds today, too.
The bad part is that Ron is not going to make it home today. I have suspected this would be the case since I first saw the travel schedule for the trip, but he's held out hope that he would somehow get back. He told me today that he was really depressed that he had to tell Abby happy birthday by phone.
We will continue the celebration on Friday night when we have her party at Valley Worlds of Fun with her friends. She is very excited about the party. And is also excited to get her trampoline this weekend. It must be nice to have your birthday be observed as a birth week!
Today has been a good and bad day. It's Abby's 6th birthday. Except for a minor conflict over wardrobe this morning (I put shorts on under her dress as required by her school and she didn't appreciate it) we've had a wonderful day. By luck of the draw, we had snack duty today at school, so she even got to pick her favorite snack - goldfish and cheese sticks - to share with her friends at school. The celebration continued as she opened more birthday gifts. And we spent some time at McDonalds today, too.
The bad part is that Ron is not going to make it home today. I have suspected this would be the case since I first saw the travel schedule for the trip, but he's held out hope that he would somehow get back. He told me today that he was really depressed that he had to tell Abby happy birthday by phone.
We will continue the celebration on Friday night when we have her party at Valley Worlds of Fun with her friends. She is very excited about the party. And is also excited to get her trampoline this weekend. It must be nice to have your birthday be observed as a birth week!
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