More Flamethrowers Softball

Paige played her 4th game as a Flamethrower last night and we won 3-2!  Their overall record for the season is now 3-1, which is pretty good for a team their age.  Stephen was able to coach again last night and Paige definitely enjoys that.

The team got lots of warm up time before the game

Paige went 1 for 3 tonight batting, but the time that she hit and got on base her hit started a several hits streak that scored us 3 runs very quickly! She was the first run to score and as soon as she crosses the plate the grin on her face could not be any larger!

I always like watching the teams shaking hands after each game.  We are thankful to be part of a team this year that is valuing sportsmanship and encouragement.  One more game this week for The Little Flamethrowers on Friday!

Hutch-1 Ryan-0

If you’re keeping score, Ryan is down 2-0 in his battles against furniture. Last night I was running bath water for myself so I could unwind for about 30 minutes before Army Wives came on.  I had closed the bedroom door and told Paige not to bother me (she loves to just sit and hover around me while I’m taking a bath).  I hadn’t even gotten in the bathtub yet before she had busted into the room and was talking so fast I couldn’t understand any of what she was saying.  First, I got onto her for disobeying me (btw, Stephen was home this entire time…I didn’t leave both my kids unattended while I snuck away for a bath!) and then she started the “But, Mom…” I was about to get very upset with her because she had disobeyed me and now she was back talking me when I was correcting her behavior. 

Then, I caught part of what she was saying and realized Ryan had hurt himself and there was “blood everywhere”, as she stated.  I ran into the living room completely unclothed and saw Stephen sitting on the couch holding Ryan and putting the Boo-Boo Bunny on his forehead.  I could tell his forehead wasn’t bleeding much so once I saw the bruise, bump, and cut on his forehead I was concerned about where the blood was coming from.  We quickly determined it was from 2 cuts inside his mouth-one on the bottom lip and one on the top lip.  I stopped that bleeding as best I could and we focused on his forehead.  He hated the ice on his head but he let us keep it on there longer than his incident with the rocking chair at church. 

I gave him some ibuprofen and Ryan seemed ready to go along and continue playing.  Apparently Paige and Ryan were playing and chasing one another around the living room area and Ryan didn’t make the right turn at the hutch but instead kept going straight and met the corner of the hutch.  Ouch.

This is the boo boo this morning-still bruised and the cut is obviously still visible, but thankfully there wasn’t much of a knot.  He is trucking along today and as normal as can be!

Buggy Overflow

This is what my WalMart buggy looked like today after Ryan, Paige, and I had been there for 2 hours.  Thankfully this isn’t a weekly occurrence! I had not been to do a large grocery trip in over a month and the pantry and the refrigerator were looking pretty pitiful.  I think Ryan’s expression says it all… “I’m all done!” So was I. 

Little Flamethrowers

We made the decision this year to move Paige up from tee-ball to coach pitch softball.  Technically, she could have continued in tee ball this year because she isn’t in Kindergarten yet but Stephen didn’t want her to rely on the tee to hit the ball well and we wanted her fundamental skills to improve.  We didn’t think she learned very much about the true game of softball last year when all 9 players on the field ran to the same spot when the ball was hit! We’re developing her skills as a first baseman this year and hope to continue to build on her abilities in that area in the future.  We felt like exposing her to better competition would ultimately make her a better player in the long run!

Paige’s first game of the season was a rough one.  We got beat something like 15-1 by a much more experienced team.  But in the 2nd game we played SO much better and we won 2-0! Paige was one of the runs that scored and we were pumped up that she did so well.  Her hitting improved greatly over the first game and her defensive skills were much improved.

Her third game was tonight and it was the first time Stephen got to coach a game this year.  His High School softball games have kept him from being at the first 2 games.  During this game, Paige was moved up in the batting line up from 2nd batter to 1st batter.  As the wife of a softball coach, I knew the pressure that was on her to get on base.  Thankfully, Paige doesn’t know about the importance of a correct batting order just yet!  Paige went 2 for 3 during the third game and her hits were major in the world of coach pitch softball.  I was prouder than proud of her!  The second time she got on base the game was tied 3-3.  The batter after Paige got a small hit and advanced Paige to 2nd base.  Thankfully another one of our big hitters was up to bat next and she hit it far enough for Paige to run to 3rd base and score the game winning run! Stephen was coaching her on 3rd and his arm was winding so fast I’m surprised it didn’t fly off! It was so exciting to see the grin on her face when she knew they had won.

The grin still hasn’t left her face!

I know I’m biased…very much so in fact.  But I love seeing Paige succeed and enjoying herself in softball.  My proudest moment during the game tonight came when Paige was in the dugout waiting for her next turn to bat.  All of her teammates were standing on the bench in the dugout so they could see the game better and out of nowhere Paige starts the chant “Let’s Go Karma!” (Karma is a girl on her team) and the rest of the girls joined in.  They continued this chant for every batter on their team the rest of the game.  Stephen and I can teach her to bat and about fundamentals but the caring for her teammates isn’t something we can just teach her.  She has to pick up on loving and encouraging others on her own (after of course we’ve tried to model those things for her).  Wins are awesome and we want and like to win a lot, but character and being a good sport is the name of the game!

Vacation Countdown!

Tonight we finally booked our condo in Orange Beach, AL for a week in June! Paige was only 3 years old the last time we went and of course, Ryan’s never been!  I’m not a huge fan of travel, but once we hit the beach it’ll be nothing but relaxation for a week…Come on June!!

Turkey Twins

My Dad and his brother, Bo, both killed turkeys today!  They went hunting together and apparently had seen these 2 particular turkeys together before.  When they got home after the hunt, the birds were the exact same weight, they had the exact same spur size, and their beards were exactly the same length.  Dad said they were brothers and that it’s not abnormal for siblings to have the exact same measurements.  Hmm..learn something new everyday!

Easter 2012

Ryan

Paige

We gathered at my Aunt Jan’s house after church for Easter lunch, egg hunting, and the traditional family pictures. We had tons of food as always and enjoyed the afternoon with family.

Gracie and Paige being silly before the egg hunting officially began.  It’s harder every year to distract them before they run looking for eggs.

Unfortunately, this was the best cousins picture we could get!  Ryan simply wasn’t into sitting still long enough to happily smile at the camera one time. 

Finally, the time came and the egg hunting began.  Paige was a pro, of course and Ryan had a really good time finding eggs this year.  He wasn’t even walking at Easter last year so he had to make up for lost time!

Yay for a descent family picture!

Fun times with my sister, Leslie.

Leslie and I with our Mom

…and with our Gran

Leslie, Zach, Mom, Dad, Stephen, myself, Paige, and Ryan