It's baseball season!

Well it's been baseball season. But Steve's doing a local Legion team this year instead of his travel team. The nice thing about this team is that they're all local games but I actually make it to less games because I just can't spend every night of the week at the ball field like I could if we were at a tournament for the weekend.



I did make a point to go to the Legion home opener because they did a ceremony and the whole shebang. They even had the Post's only WWII Vet come to the ceremony.

Mine's the short one ;)



They ended up losing this one, but they played a pretty decent game. I didn't stay for the whole thing because they played until 10 and that meant I'd be home by 11:30 or so after picking up Buddy from my parents which wouldn't work for me when 5am rolled around. That and it was hot as crap outside even after the sun went down hahaha.

As much as baseball takes up a lot of Steve's time it is always a joy to watch him out there on the field doing what he loves most. And to see how the kids respond to him is even better.

Georgia. The baseball edition.

So I'm breaking up this Georgia trip we took in to 2 parts - baseball and the other stuff we did. This is the baseball part.

This one is all about the baseball games (and #2 off my list). We got to Georgia Monday evening, and games started Tuesday morning. Bright and freaking early. Did I mention that Steve thought it would be an AWESOME idea to rent a house. It was, I'll give him that. It would have been an even better idea to rent a house less than an HOUR away (or more, sometimes more) from every.single.game. But it was really nice to be in a house and be able to do laundry (hello smelly baseball clothes!) and the other 2 coaches stayed with us so it wasn't like we got a big ass house (it was huge) for just the two of us.

But anyway, back to the baseball. Tuesday's game started at like 9. And we had to be there at like 7. Which meant we left at 6. Not so fun when you don't go to bed until super late the night before because you're retarded. The game was ok. We didn't win, but we didn't let up all that many runs which was good so at least we weren't clobbered. And we thought we were going to get killed, so it was better than we thought even though we lost. I didn't get to actually watch the entire game because I had to go get one of the other coaches from the airport. And the nice thing about this tournament? Only one game a day. So we were free to do lots of other things...but that's in another post.


Wednesday's game was another loss. It was the theme of the weekend I'll just put that out there right now. This game was not as good as the first. We let up a lot of runs and didn't score nearly enough. Pretty sure this one was called on time. They were definitely strict about their 2 hour time limits that is for sure.

I've got to admit. I love my new camera and I'm SO glad I went out and spent all that money. I haven't bought any more lenses than it came with originally, but I will eventually. I am quite fond of the long lens and it was especially useful at this game. See, down by the field there was like NO shade. We'll, some artificially provided by a tent, but it was still hot. The field was down a hill a little bit and on the first base line there was this nice view that I could see the entire field AND be under the cover of lots of trees. It was awesome. I spent about 1/2 the game up there and, with my long lens, was able to get some cool pictures of the guys in the dugout. Well, I think they're cool.

Thursdays game was at the East Cobb facility. And it is a nice facility. It was also hot as crap. But it was Georgia. In July. So it was hot as crap every day. This was our first mid-afternoon game which made it even hotter. Before we were just faced with 90's...by 9. Yuck. They boys played ok, but definitely had been worn out by the loss' and the heat.

I didn't make it to Friday's game because I was ill the night before and even though I was feeling better that morning I didn't feel the need to be out in the heat again. Plus, I needed to get some work done. Which I had been doing thanks to the broadband card and my "office" set up in the back of my Hyundai. I'm really glad we brought my car, though all of our crap for a 12 day vacation + baseball gear would in no way fit in Steve's car.

I didn't make it to Saturday's game either because of a pre-planned date with some friends. I was bummed to be missing 2 games in a row, but I had been planning this lunch for a while and I was not coming all this way and not meeting up with my girls!

Sunday was our last game. And the furthest. Like an hour and a half. And I'm pretty sure in the opposite direction of home, though we weren't going straight home because we were stopping in downtown ATL one last time. Another hot as hell day. And this field had no shade. Half-way through the game I had to go sit in the car with the AC pumpin' because I just couldn't sit outside in the blazing hot sun anymore.

At the end of the week I think the kids were beat. We'd had fun despite our miserable record. The whole trip was a lot of fun and we really enjoyed hanging out with the kids and parents. We had some great parents this year and I was sad our 12 days of fun was coming to an end. Especially because I knew I wouldn't be at the next 2 tournaments. I'm hoping we get invited back next year because I have totally fallen in love with the state of Georgia and want to go back already.

It's definitely summer.

How do I know that? Not cause of Memorial Day. No that's my enjoy the hell out of one free weekend before the summer actually starts. Baseball. That's how we know it's summer in this house. It literally is our summer thing. And I'm not talking Major League. I'm talking travel ball. High School age. How many kids do we have? 20. Of our own? None. But my husband loves it and I love him. Plus, it's a new place every weekend with a bunch of really fun kids and parents. We always have a blast. This always brings back #2. Go to at least 3 Mustangs game in a Season. Which really is one of my favorite things to do. I love watching Steve coach. The boys really respond to him and one of the mom's even said that she really believes that Steve helped save her son's life. He loves this. LOVES. And he's good at it. It makes me proud.

This weekend I'm missing their first game. It's a bummer, but it couldn't be helped. Steve also coaches a GLBR team. Well, really he's really only a weekday hitting instructor/coach because he's gone every weekend, but he still coaches them. They had a game in Winchester Saturday so I went to that one. I missed the first game of the double header (DH) but I got there just in time to see the start of the second game. And they won. They won both games actually. We even got Sonic afterwards!! I love Sonic. And I think it's going to be somewhat bad for my health to be moving to Winchester where they have 2 Sonics. And one of them is across the street from my house. I'm excited though because Cherry Limeaid is the BEST drink. Ever.

This weekend wasn't quite a Mustangs game, but it was a game. And even with the sprinkle shower we had (which actually felt really good on such a hot day) it was fun.

Summer of Baseball

It’s definitely been a summer of baseball. Lots and lots of baseball. I’ve definitely fulfilled my #2 – Go to at least 3 Mustangs games a month in season this summer.

July 16 - 19 the Mustangs traveled to Virginia Beach for a tournament. We got to spend 4 days in Virginia Beach and we had an awesome time. We stayed in Norfolk near downtown (I guess) and we were super close to the harbor which was awesome. Walking distance and there were restaurants and a really fun placed called Jillians (think Dave and Busters).

We went down Thursday night and met Melanie and Margot because we had to give them some stuff to give to Chris. We were looking for something to do and we asked at the front desk and they led us to Jillians. Awesome recommendation. We had a good time sitting around the bar and playing games. So fun! Friday they had a game at Christopher Newport University and it was HOT. Hotter than hot because it was at like noon. Fun, sweaty, times. Friday after the game we were waiting to see if we played again, we did not. Steve, Chris, and I went to lunch/dinner at Chilis and it was really good. Afterwards we went with the team to Jillians and had an awesome time. I rocked out some skee ball which totally took be back to my childhood. The kids had a great time. Afterwards we went back to the hotel and hung out. Saturday, more baseball. This time at William and Mary. FAR from the hotel, but at least both games were there. We won one and lost one on Saturday which took us out of the tournament. Some of the families went home, and some of us stayed. After Saturday’s game we had a group dinner at Outback and it was yummy. We didn’t do a whole lot Saturday night. Sunday we got up kind of early, headed to Chesapeake to see Mel and Chris’ new house, had breakfast and then headed home. Overall it was a fun weekend.

Steven also coached in the South East Regional Babe Ruth Tournament from July 23 - 28. Since we hosted the team we got a host team and Steve coached that. He was even in the paper and had a few online interviews. It was awesome. They placed 4th in the tournament overall and that was better than anyone expected the host team to do. We, of course, thought we were going all the way. Well, who wouldn’t right? The kids played really well together and the team did really well. It was a really busy week though because the tournament was all the way out in Purcellville so Steve was out there a lot. I managed to make it to a couple of games, but some of them were scheduled while I was at work. How rude right? I thought so. Before the tournament started we got to go to this open house type thing and we met a couple Negro League players. They spoke about when they played “way back when” and it was really cool to hear them speak. We even met the Mayor of Purcellville. No real claim to fame there, but still it was cool.

The last tournament of the summer was at Wake Forrest University July 31 – August 2. It was a showcase tournament which is really cool. There were scouts there from different colleges and one of the other coaches was a scout for the NY Mets. That was really neat. We were right down the street from the field which was really nice, because when we’re far I have to go with Steve 1 hour before the game starts and sit and bake in the hot ass sun for 3 hours to watch 1 game. I don’t do heat well, but this was nice cause I could get there a little closer to game time and not have to endure the heat so much. We ended up not playing on Sunday because of the weather which ended up being nice because that meant we could make the 6 hour treck home much sooner than planned.

I’m glad the season is over, although I will miss hanging out with the parents, kids, and other coaches. I am so excited to have my weekends back though. I can’t wait to see where we’re headed next summer. I’m hoping some cool places (and by cool I mean temperature cool because this summer was freaking hot!).

#2 - Mustangs Baseball

The weekend of June 19 - 21st The Mustangs were in Richmond for a tournament. Friday night they played at the Richmond Braves Minor League Stadium and they also got to play at the University of Richmond. By far, the coolest was playing at the Braves stadium! Steve was SO excited. They actually got to play 3 games there. And one of our kids hit a home run! That was awesome.

We had a tough loss in our 2nd game on Sunday, but overall they took 4th in the tournament which was great! We had so much fun that weekend. Playing Friday night, only 1 game on Saturday afternoon, spending the afternoon in the pool and then bowling, and then 2 awesome games at the Braves stadium on Sunday. The kids had a blast and it is so awesome to see Steve share his incredible love of this game with the kids.

Here are some photos from the weekend.

I think this is the celebration of their big win!

The view from the upper deck. It was really cool to watch them play here.

I was very excited for them!!

The 3 incredible Mustangs coaches!
Steve, Adam, Greg (L - R)

Coaching at a Minor League Stadium = AWESOME!

The team.

#2 - Go to at least 3 Mustangs Games a month (in season)

Well, it is the season and so far I'm starting off well! Steven coaches a travel baseball league for high school kids and the weekend of June 5 - 7 we all took a trip to Boone, NC for the Impact Tournament at Appalachian State University. Steve was so very excited about coaching on a college field and the fact that all of the hard work that he's put in for the last year was coming together to play their first tournament. I couldn't and wouldn't have missed this for the world. It was a terribly long drive, but I left work early on the 5th and we got on the road about 4 because he had to do a few things before we left and we ended up at the hotel around 10:30 so not that bad, but I was definitely ready to get out of the car!

Saturday the Mustangs played 2 games - their first at Appalachian State on a beautiful field. Unfortunately for the Mustangs they lost that game. It was their first game they've ever played together because we had a LOT of rain that week and both their games got rained out so for never playing together they did really well but the team was really that good. The pitcher threw 91 miles per hour. Seriously, it was fast.

Their 2nd game on Saturday was at the local high school - not as nice of a field, but it was pretty good. The view from the field though was AMAZING. The view from this whole place was amazing because we were way up in the mountains. They also lost their 2nd game - boo. But by the end of it you were starting to see them become a team instead of kids that walked out on the field for the first time together that day.

The beautiful field at Appalachian State (all turf)

After the games on Saturday we went back to the hotel to relax for a bit and then we all headed to Golden Corral for dinner. I love that place because its all you can eat! We had a fun dinner with the kids and the coaches did some talking about the games/weekend and it was really nice. After that we were pretty much beat so we headed back to the hotel and really didn't do much of anything.

Sunday, we had 2 more games but these were at a poorly kept field about 40 minutes away from the hotel but closer to home (so nice for having to leave right from the field!). They won their first game on Sunday and that was very exciting for them!

Steve playing coach :)

We had about 2 hours in between games so we grabbed lunch from Ruby Tuesday's and it was just so nice to be inside in the AC! It was SO incredibly hot outside that even though I put on SPF 30 SEVERAL times (and I mean that I felt warm so I put on more no joke) I still got a little burnt. It was nuts. I do have a cute tan line on my feet though :P

After lunch we had another game but this time we lost. It was kind of a bummer to lose 3 out of 4 games this weekend, but it was really awesome for the kids because this was the weekend they became a team :)

Our gorgeous view for most of the ride home :)