Clara’s softball season is over. We played in the final regular season tournament at Liberty Park. We lost our first game to Pell City which we weren’t expecting to lose. We played another game Friday night and won. Then Saturday we started a long day of games. We were in the middle of a rematch with the Wild Things and the weather went crazy. It rained so much that they decided to postpone until the next day. We honestly had an advantage that day because the Wild Thangs pitcher was tired because they had to be at the park the night before until 12:00 and at Liberty Park for an eight o’clock game. So when we came back on Sunday, we lost. The pitcher was very rested. We fell into the losers bracket and lost to Hueytown. We walked a bunch of folks and we realized this team was instructed to not swing unless there were 2 strikes. In fact a parent bragged about it to us later. They knew it was the only way they could win. Kind of sad way to go, so because of this we did not qualify for the state tournament. We were planning to go to the Best of the Rest at the beach and then they cancelled it. Some of us decided to go anyway. We are driving back as I type.
Clara was so sad about her season ending so this trip was a fun distraction. We stayed at the Phoenix which wasn’t as nice as some of the places we have stayed at but it had all we needed. The first night we went to the Hangout and the girls were in heaven. The boys had a blast too. They had this huge sand pile that was about 12 feet high with spotlights on it. We looked up and all the girls were leading the other kids at the place in the cha slide etc. When we were driving home Lewis told me his throat hurt, gave him some motrin and hoped he was just thirsty from all the dancing.
The next morn it was a "widdle"sore and when we got out to the car I got our flashlight out for crabbing and looked in there. It was red and white. I knew we would need to make a visit to American Family Care. They were very nice there and after a throat swab and having blood drawn we found out he had strep. They had to test him for that junk I had a few weeks ago. We got two balloons which are going back to Birmingham with us. Went to Tacky Jacks that night and Rob was walking around without me and a table of ladies stopped him and asked if his Momma was Meg. They were some folks from Canton, one had seen Rob when he was 4 or so but the others just knew he looked just like me. All our friends couldn’t believe that happened but y’all know it is just a Mississippi thing.
We went back and sat by the pool visiting until late. Our friend Alan had done an awesome video of the season and we loved seeing that. Somehow we got out of going to Waterville the next day and enjoyed the whole day at the pool. Clara and some girls went to the beach, but the beach was kind of sad to me. It didn’t look bad at all or smell but from above you could see the oil and all the people who were trying to keep it as bay. Also our condo walkway was about 150 yards from the water in thick sand. The people who worked at Phoenix were so glad we were there and every restaurant we went to made a point of saying thanks for coming down.
We had an intense volleyball game (intense for our most competitive girls) and then went to Adventure Island. They all rode go carts, which was so funny because of their competitive streaks. Then you add in the Dads who most of them get their competitiveness from and you have a lot of spin outs. One Dad purposely spun out our pitcher. Lewis and Brian got stuck with a pink car, but he and the head coach (in a purple one) ran a tight race.
Then we did laser tag and there was some poor bully boy in there with our crew. He kept hitting them and grabbing their guns. So they all ganged up on him and got him in a corner and kept shooting him. He probably learned a valuable lesson that night…… My kids loved finding the Deal or No Deal game (our new obsession on GSN). Lewis came away with a rubber shark and a rubber cockroach. He keeps the roach in the shark’s mouth, he was a happy boy. We ran into a team from Gardendale and starting thinking they looked familiar. Then we saw mohawk boy and knew they were 10U ball players but we knew Gardendale didn’t make the state. Mohawk boy is this kid who hit our players in the stomach during the “good game” thing after our first game. Brian spoke to the coach about mohawk boy and mohawk boy was infamous after that. He would try to poke our banner with a stick at later tourney and Brian would yell “get outta here” to him. So we asked the Gardendale folks what they were doing there. They said they did have a best of the rest but only for 2 teams. We didn’t know anything about it. Our coach was told it was canceled due to lack of participation. We probably wouldn’t have wanted to do it with 2 teams anyway but still.
I am enjoying this summer so much. Looking forward to making many more fun memories.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Thunder's encounter with the Wild Thangs
This week I was sick, I had mycoplasm and I felt like I had mono for four days. I was one of the people in charge of Science at Bible School too. So after two painful shots and a bunch of prescriptions I told my buddies I wouldn't make it. I made it back on Wednesday, but no makeup and I look like death warmed over. Thank goodness we were watching a cool movie in the dark so no one could see me too well. Some of my preschoolers saw me and I swear they didn't recognized me.
We started Clara's softball tourney on Thursday night. We won our first game and the second one we lost. It was their first loss ( they won the tourney last week). We went on to win two more on Friday night. Saturday we had one at 9:00 and got to go home and rest until 3:00. We had a hard win at 3:00 and then we faced another team immediately afterwards for the semi finals. We played a team, I kid you not, named Wild Thangs. Their colors were pepto pink and black. They had their nicknames on their jerseys like Rix Bits, Rooster, Cookie, Tic Tac, and Lil Tay Tot. They didn't have their shirts tucked in and they had a nice variety of black pants. Spandex in the mix. Imagine a large daddy with the same sized shirt as the girls stomping around barking orders.
It was hot as snot out there, and I was just sitting in the stands. We have our own music system and mix masters, Rob and Ben. We have been exposing our kids to some awesome 80's tunes. We had a horrible umpire, but more about that later. This game Clara was catching. We have a very consistent pitcher and she is great. The umpire was crazy inconsistent, which is not really that common. Sometimes you don't agree with what the umpire chooses to like as far as pitches, but normally a pitcher can adjust. We had no clue what he liked. Except for he liked their pitcher. She is a 10 or 11 and I think taller than me (5'5). She had this annoying habit of literally slinging the ball in there even if the girls weren't ready. Our girls started holding up their hand to let the ump know they weren't ready, as soon as the girls started dropping their hands she would sling it in there. Everytime she was up to bat she would steal the signals from the coach giving them to the catcher. She just stared at the coach blatantly. We were ahead most of the game and had several lost opportunities to get further ahead. I am watching Clara bat and all of a sudden she is screaming on the ground. She had hit her in the leg. She had a hard time even walking off the field. This was probably around the 3rd or 4th inning, and Clara was the first player she hit. I was mad but thought it happens. Clara actually has been hit several times but never in her leg. Clara was crying because she was hurt, mad, dirty and frantic she would have to come out of the game. Clara limped out on the field to play catcher again. She did fine but her movement was definitely limited.
I was icing her up in the dugout when their pitcher hit our pitcher in the leg. Clara was livid and she hoped up to check on her friend. Clara created a new signal for our pitcher, hit the batter, thank goodness the pitcher told Clara that might not be a great idea. Then she proceeded to hit one of our best hitters, and our 3rd baseman. Needless to say the hot day got hotter. Then we settled down and Clara was moved to 2nd base because she could not run to get past balls.
The pitching coach changed all the signals, the pink pitcher stole them, and it was especially sweet when she struck out. Sometime after this the umpire turned around and yelled at us, "Would you shut up and sit down, you have been complaining the whole game!!" Are you kidding me? I have seen some heated interchanges between umps and fans but never this. Usually the ump would address the coach only and then he would proceed to warn the fans. Then someone yelled he was being unprofessional, he screamed again "You need to just shut up, and sit down." He was really young and showed it. We tied it up and then went into extra innings. We were visitors and batted first needless to say Clara struck out looking because she was traumatized by her last at bat.
We lost by one. It was sad. After the game I looked up in the stands and one of the older brothers had tears in his eyes. So precious. One time Clara made a great play, Rob yelled out "That's my sister!!" and his other friend yelled out "That's my sister's friend." One of my sweet friends actually chased down the umpire and he was extremely hostile. Her beef was not with his calls but the way he handled himself.
The pepto team went on to lose to a team we beat last week. I wasn't sad at all.
So that was a not so quick recap of our weekend. Brian's parents came to visit, it was nice for Clara to have some grandparents there. Rob leaves for his first church youth trip tomorrow. We will miss him and it is weird he is old enough to go. The curfew is 11:30. But I know he will have a blast and it will be a special experience. He will be back in time for most of Clara's games next weekend.
We started Clara's softball tourney on Thursday night. We won our first game and the second one we lost. It was their first loss ( they won the tourney last week). We went on to win two more on Friday night. Saturday we had one at 9:00 and got to go home and rest until 3:00. We had a hard win at 3:00 and then we faced another team immediately afterwards for the semi finals. We played a team, I kid you not, named Wild Thangs. Their colors were pepto pink and black. They had their nicknames on their jerseys like Rix Bits, Rooster, Cookie, Tic Tac, and Lil Tay Tot. They didn't have their shirts tucked in and they had a nice variety of black pants. Spandex in the mix. Imagine a large daddy with the same sized shirt as the girls stomping around barking orders.
It was hot as snot out there, and I was just sitting in the stands. We have our own music system and mix masters, Rob and Ben. We have been exposing our kids to some awesome 80's tunes. We had a horrible umpire, but more about that later. This game Clara was catching. We have a very consistent pitcher and she is great. The umpire was crazy inconsistent, which is not really that common. Sometimes you don't agree with what the umpire chooses to like as far as pitches, but normally a pitcher can adjust. We had no clue what he liked. Except for he liked their pitcher. She is a 10 or 11 and I think taller than me (5'5). She had this annoying habit of literally slinging the ball in there even if the girls weren't ready. Our girls started holding up their hand to let the ump know they weren't ready, as soon as the girls started dropping their hands she would sling it in there. Everytime she was up to bat she would steal the signals from the coach giving them to the catcher. She just stared at the coach blatantly. We were ahead most of the game and had several lost opportunities to get further ahead. I am watching Clara bat and all of a sudden she is screaming on the ground. She had hit her in the leg. She had a hard time even walking off the field. This was probably around the 3rd or 4th inning, and Clara was the first player she hit. I was mad but thought it happens. Clara actually has been hit several times but never in her leg. Clara was crying because she was hurt, mad, dirty and frantic she would have to come out of the game. Clara limped out on the field to play catcher again. She did fine but her movement was definitely limited.
I was icing her up in the dugout when their pitcher hit our pitcher in the leg. Clara was livid and she hoped up to check on her friend. Clara created a new signal for our pitcher, hit the batter, thank goodness the pitcher told Clara that might not be a great idea. Then she proceeded to hit one of our best hitters, and our 3rd baseman. Needless to say the hot day got hotter. Then we settled down and Clara was moved to 2nd base because she could not run to get past balls.
The pitching coach changed all the signals, the pink pitcher stole them, and it was especially sweet when she struck out. Sometime after this the umpire turned around and yelled at us, "Would you shut up and sit down, you have been complaining the whole game!!" Are you kidding me? I have seen some heated interchanges between umps and fans but never this. Usually the ump would address the coach only and then he would proceed to warn the fans. Then someone yelled he was being unprofessional, he screamed again "You need to just shut up, and sit down." He was really young and showed it. We tied it up and then went into extra innings. We were visitors and batted first needless to say Clara struck out looking because she was traumatized by her last at bat.
We lost by one. It was sad. After the game I looked up in the stands and one of the older brothers had tears in his eyes. So precious. One time Clara made a great play, Rob yelled out "That's my sister!!" and his other friend yelled out "That's my sister's friend." One of my sweet friends actually chased down the umpire and he was extremely hostile. Her beef was not with his calls but the way he handled himself.
The pepto team went on to lose to a team we beat last week. I wasn't sad at all.
So that was a not so quick recap of our weekend. Brian's parents came to visit, it was nice for Clara to have some grandparents there. Rob leaves for his first church youth trip tomorrow. We will miss him and it is weird he is old enough to go. The curfew is 11:30. But I know he will have a blast and it will be a special experience. He will be back in time for most of Clara's games next weekend.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Light up shoes and loud music
My baby wants some light up shoes. We were in the Stride Rite outlet and my 6 year old discovered light up shoes for the first time. He spotted some Buzz Lightyear light up shoes and he was in awe. I know a six year old is too old for light up shoes but when you are the third kid you discover some things way to early and others a little late. They didn't have any that fit him and I refused to pay more than 20 bucks for some light up shoes at the Stride Rite outlet. Of course now we have had trouble finding any in his size anywhere else. So I probably will end up going to Monkey Toes and getting some for way over 20 bucks.
We had a great weekend in Pell City and Clara's All Star team won the tournament. We have a Mom who bought a huge boom box for music in between innings. During the championship game Clay and Oak Mountain players, umps, and coaches were all doing YMCA. Softball is such a fun thing. We played another unnamed team (from an affluent Bham suburb) in the game before and their coaches just complained to the umps about our music, our photographer, our pitcher, his calls etc. We suspect one of the coaches even sent his mama to us to ask us to turn down our music.
I woke up this morning and felt like I had a hangover. I had no alcohol last night so I figured it was a Mamma yelling hangover. By noon I felt like crap, I worked on Bible School some and then went to the after hours clinic. When the nurse looked in my throat she made a horrible face. I have microplasm or walking pneumonia. So where the heck did that come from, after my research that it has a long incubation (15-25 days) so it could have come from the preschool where I work. So it has taken me about an hour to type this. I think I better hit the hay.
We had a great weekend in Pell City and Clara's All Star team won the tournament. We have a Mom who bought a huge boom box for music in between innings. During the championship game Clay and Oak Mountain players, umps, and coaches were all doing YMCA. Softball is such a fun thing. We played another unnamed team (from an affluent Bham suburb) in the game before and their coaches just complained to the umps about our music, our photographer, our pitcher, his calls etc. We suspect one of the coaches even sent his mama to us to ask us to turn down our music.
I woke up this morning and felt like I had a hangover. I had no alcohol last night so I figured it was a Mamma yelling hangover. By noon I felt like crap, I worked on Bible School some and then went to the after hours clinic. When the nurse looked in my throat she made a horrible face. I have microplasm or walking pneumonia. So where the heck did that come from, after my research that it has a long incubation (15-25 days) so it could have come from the preschool where I work. So it has taken me about an hour to type this. I think I better hit the hay.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Kiss my Grits
We are at the beach enjoying a leisurely life. We are staying at Turqoise with all my family. My parents, my three sisters, their husbands, and everyone's kids, totally 20 people. Needless to say we never go out to eat. We take turns cooking every night. Last night Brian and I cooked shrimp and grits. I cooked way too many grits, I mean way too many. I asked Brian if we could feed them to the seagulls. I always cook too much when I cook, I always feel it is better to have too much than not enough. Sometimes that personality trait in me drives Brian crazy.
Clara and Brian are going home tomorrow for all star practice. I am sad they are leaving, I will miss them. Brian is like blood pressure medication for me. We took our family pictures tonight, in all white of course, even though I tried to talk them into a change. It is easier every year. We have learned to appreciate the "bad pictures" and laugh when the little ones cry. We do look a little like a cult out there, all white and all. Honestly I am glad when they are over, they are pretty crazy. Waiting for the oil to come, we saw little men with white shirts and green pants. They worked for BP and were getting prepared for the oil invasion.
Clara and Brian are going home tomorrow for all star practice. I am sad they are leaving, I will miss them. Brian is like blood pressure medication for me. We took our family pictures tonight, in all white of course, even though I tried to talk them into a change. It is easier every year. We have learned to appreciate the "bad pictures" and laugh when the little ones cry. We do look a little like a cult out there, all white and all. Honestly I am glad when they are over, they are pretty crazy. Waiting for the oil to come, we saw little men with white shirts and green pants. They worked for BP and were getting prepared for the oil invasion.
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