All Stars!

Look what I bought at the All Star tournament!

Top left: Perfect catching form
Top right: Throwing someone out at second
Bottom left: Catching a ball thrown home
Bottom right: Intense look running to first

All Stars, Here We Come!

The long awaited All Star Tournament starts tonight. We are scheduled to play at 6 PM. My son will be the starting catcher and I can hardly wait. I told him the other night that when I was tucking him in for bed that watching him play baseball was my favorite thing to do. He just looked up at me and grinned. We play again in the morning at 11:30. Then the third game is tomorrow afternoon and if we win we keep playing and if we lose we go home.

Rain, Rain Go Away!

But just when we have ball practice and ball games. We have been in a drought and really need the rain. I just wish it would rain while the kids are in school and not when we are trying to practice for All Stars. We only have a few days before the tournament and these boys haven't played together much.

Tonight the rain stayed until after practice.

And, we were all very happy.

All Stars!

I got my computer back from the shop with it's new hardrive and with the same problems I put it in the shop for. The new hardrive didn't fix the problems. I think I see a new computer in my future. (Smile)

Anyway, we officially finished Nathan's first ever baseball season last night. They had their last game Thursday and beat the Ray's. They finished 10-6. Not bad in my opinion. Our league has three minor B teams and each coach was able to pick 4 players to take to an All Star tournament. My son was one of the players chosen as an All Star from our team. I am as proud as I can be and he is as excited as he can be. Monday begins practice and he will be trying for the catching position. Last night we had a pizza party for the team and handed out individual trophies. Nathan is pictured above with Coach Steve presenting him with his trophy.

Todd was assistant coach of the team and had a great time and learned a lot of patience. Before the night was over one of the parents, who took pictures of every game presented Todd with a framed 8x10 of him and Nathan.

He was instantly moved to tears. In the picture, Todd is coaching third base and Nathan is running home. It is a memento he will forever treasure.

We are looking forward to the All Star tournament that will be held the first weekend in June and possibly to fall and winter ball.

Back Soon!

My computer is in the shop getting a new hardrive....therefore, I will return when it gets out.

Sandhill Cranes

In the past couple of years I have developed a fascination for these big birds. They can be seen all over. I don't claim to be an expert on them, but, the thing I like about them is that they are always found in pairs. My brother told me that they mate for life and when the young are born, both mom and dad take care of them. We have a lot of pasture land and they frequently fly over squawking. They have a very distinctive call. But, mostly they are graceful.

The other morning I was driving to work and needed to get on the interstate. As I was getting on the on ramp I spotted a pair with two fuzzy twins. I took a chance, pulled over, and snapped this picture. The very next week, they were in the same place. As I go to work in the morning, I will be looking for them.

Chassahowitzka.

That is where we went for Spring Break. My cousin Brenda and her family, from Georgia, came down and met us there. Brenda's mom and dad went with us, too. Hailey and Layna were in Tallahassee for the first part of the week but their Nana and Grandaddy brought them down on Wednesday, the day we got there.

Reese, Mason, Hailey, Denise and Nathan.

We went fishing, crabbing and the kids went swimming. The river is spring fed and most of the time is crystal clear. There are a lot of underwater caves for the brave of heart to swim through. To fish, we go out into the gulf and trout fish. To crab, we stay up in the river. Blue crabs are fairly abundant and we like to go crabbing at night when the big ones come out.

We have a 16 foot Jon boat. We have been there many times before, but this is the first time Nathan was big enough to grasp what all goes on. His daddy taught him how to drive the boat.
He already knew how to cast a rod and reel but this time he took over my rod and my spot at the front of the boat. And...
caught a fish. Unfortunately, it was a catfish which we don't bother with, but the point was that he caught a fish and I didn't. He also enjoyed catching pin fish with shrimp. His daddy taught him how to cut his bait and put it on the hook. One less thing Todd had to worry with.

For years I have read the "no wake" signs. This area is home to a lot of manatees but, I have never seen a manatee. This trip however, we saw a manatee feeding up in the spring. It was so slow moving and seemed like it would be very gentle. If you look closely you can see the marks of a boat propeller.
It was Nathan's first time seeing a manatee. He thought it was awesome, except for the "scratches" on its back. He thought they were kind of sad.

We love camping at the river and we call it Chaz for short.