Play ball...

It is that time of year... spring. The time of year that my allergies kick in, so I am living in a semi-foggy state. All the same, one of my favorite times of the year. It is time to get out of the house and play some ball. And this year, we are not only fully-engrossed in t-ball with Bailey, we are playing three-year old kick start soccer with Jake. Talk about hectic... We are now parents of children involved in three sports... soccer, t-ball, and swimming. And, to beat it all, Brad is assistant coach in t-ball and head coach for soccer. Yes, you read that right, head coach for three-year old soccer. Yes, he has a wish to have a stroke before he's thirty. He'd have to, right? He and our friend Paul are managing (or attempting to manage) ten three-year olds while they teach them soccer skills. Funny that neither of them has ever played soccer. :)

Anyway... our schedule is filling up with all these things. And, we love it. Saturday morning, we were at the soccer field at a bright and early 9:45 for Jake's soccer practice (they don't really play games, just learn skills at this point). I was dreading to see how he was going to do. I had to miss the first practice the week before to take Bailey to her t-ball game that was at the same time. Apparently, Jake was horrible at his first practice. Brad had to run after him a couple of times, after he attempted to run to the parking lot. Yes... we have THAT child. :) Yet, this week was much different. He still came off the field a few times and had to be physically moved to line up a couple of times, but he did spend most of the time on the field, actually kicking his soccer ball. He and his friend, Joseph, are on the same team and also enjoyed a few moments of tackling each other and wrestling on the ground, while the rest of the team played freeze tag with the coaches (Jake and Joseph's dads). :) Funny how that works out sometimes!

Bailey is also enjoying t-ball this year. I was a little concerned at the beginning of the season that we were going to have to play her in the in-field because our team is pretty young, but after putting her in the second base position and allowing her to get hit by a ball because she was busy digging in the dirt, I think the coaches (and everyone else) realized it was a good idea for her to play outfield again. lol. She gets bored with the outfield, but understands that until she's really ready to watch the ball the ENTIRE game, she is going to have to stay out there. She asked me why she didn't get to play in the in-field and I explained to her that she had to work really hard to watch the ball and throw it to first if it came to her. She responded with, "Well... maybe I'll just stay in the outfield a little while longer." That's my girl. lol. She is hitting really well and has increased her speed this year, which is good. And, she knows how to run the bases, which helps. So, maybe a softball future is in the cards... we'll see. :) As long as she's having fun, right? And, she is. The whole team is. They have these chants that they yell in the dugout. I think I could hear them in my sleep because they really are that loud. But, that's what they love... being loud (and obnoxious). :)