O's pain

Tonight we went to our 3rd Orioles game this season (O's for you Baltimoreans). Every game we have seen, they loose. I think we must be bad luck or they stink (probably, they stink!). Tonight they actually won (but only after we left!). The game was painfully long. And I mean "longer than a normal baseball is sooooooo slow," sort of pain. I was looking at the clock in the 2nd inning, thinking "Will this game never end?!". In their defense the game did start 40 minutes late since it was raining when we arrived for the game, but that part was actually quite entertaining because the intermittent rain meant that the field kept on getting covered and uncovered, covered and uncovered. It sure is fun to watch those guys run and cover the field.

The most entertaining part of the game though, has to be Christopher trying to get onto the audience camera. He hasn't gotten on yet, but I keep telling him to have patience and wait, he's not making a big enough idiot of himself. When he does the job properly, then he'll get on the big screen! Hmm, I think he took it as a challenge.

Busy, Busy, Busy Bees

Friday was a busy busy day for us. We had a doctor appointment, a Girl Scout Lunch Party, a Girl Scout Water Park Party and tickets to see the Orioles play (If you could call what they did "playing"). Everyone but me got to take a nap as we drove in rush hour traffic from DC to Baltimore. Ughhhhhhhhh. 2 hours to take a 1 hour trip. I hate the beltway!

The kids had a great time all day except for Christopher getting stung by a bee at the water park. We had a lot of fun at the baseball game singing along to all the songs, watching the video clips and watching the game. A foul ball landed just 6 people away from us! Then there was a firework show at the end of the game. It was a great show. A very busy, very wonderful day. Glad to get home and get some rest.

Before the game.

During the game.

Another busy Saturday

               Some days I wonder why I just don't drive a real bus for a living.  Drop off here and there and try to watch five minutes of a game before running off to the next one.  Today was like that, a busy Saturday, but enjoyable.  I love seeing the kids having fun and spending time with their friends.  I love watching them succeed in sports.    It makes them happy and brings them joy.

             Today, Rolo played catcher in T-ball and by the end of the inning he was really getting the hang of it.  He had learned to go to home plate and wait for a throw.  Of course when he was trying to get up with all the gear on, he didn't see  the pitcher throw "him" the ball.  So, he got to home plate and waited for a throw while the ball sat in the grass about 5 feet behind him.  It got quite a good-natured chuckle from the parents, myself included.

      

Keener had her own adventures while Rolo played.  She was constantly trying to escape (as Usual).  As I have captured here ===>>>  Doesn't she look all sweet and innocent?

  That's just an act to lure you into thinking that she won't climb the fence, run in the street, run onto the ball field, etc.  Sneaky little devil.....

She also enjoyed the caterpillar that I found.  No, she did not kill it, but once we put "her" caterpillar back in the woods, she was insistent that all other caterpillars were hers and that the other boys and girls needed to give them to her.   Can we say "Diva!!"

            Christopher finally got to play goalie today in Lacrosse.  He was so excited.  He played goalie in 3 of the quarters.  He made a save and didn't allow any points.  Pretty good for a first time at goalie.  I didn't get to see him play because the game was at the far side of the next county (Stafford, VA).  He instead got to ride with his coach.  The coach's son J and Christopher get along great.  They are like two peas in a pod.  So it was a real treat for him to get to spend so much time with J.  

   Christopher also had a baseball game this afternoon.  He managed to get three singles.  They were good solid hits.  It is good to see him doing well in baseball too, but I don't think he will be playing both much longer.  His love is lacrosse. The two sports this spring would be a lot easier to manage if Honey was here, but I had decided last spring to let Christopher play both sports. I thought we'd give it a try, but I think that we have just gotten lucky that the sports have not conflicted more, I don't think we would be that lucky again.

    Elizabeth also had a lacrosse game.  I did not get to see that much of hers since I was with Rolo at his game.  Her team won again.  They are undefeated.  I am amazed at the talent of not only the players but the coaches as well.  This Annandale Lacrosse program is so well run.  I am really lucky that we got referred to this program by Honey's "Bad Backs" lacrosse team friend.

   The only downside of the day was that the last baseball field had ticks. YUCK!!!!

 I found three on Keener.  I have to tell myself that God made them to feed other creatures.  I am enough of a country girl to know how to get rid of them quickly and not scream, but I still don't like them.

    In between all this running around, I had a 40 minute lull with nothing to do, so I went to the camera shop and replaced the camera lens that I broke the other day when I dropped the camera.  It annoys me that it is cheaper to buy a new one than to have the old one repaired.  I would much rather be less wasteful and have it repaired, but it wasn't an option that I had.  So here's a picture of the new lens.  I hope you like it Honey.  I can not wait to have my small camera again.  Obviously I am a little klutzy with the big camera.

Orioles and dreams

Tickets and Group Photo

 

Today we went on a field trip to Camden Yards to see the Orioles play.  Nana and Granfer have season tickets and treated the kids and I to a game.  The kids had a great time.  Keener loved dancing whenever music was played. 

 Rolo, Elizabeth, and Christopher enjoyed everything from the food to the music  and occasionally watched the game.

  

    

          Yes, this is a picture of Christopher with the big Oriole.  He's a nut!  The funniest part of the game was when a foul ball came very close to us and he offered the man who caught the ball all of his money for the ball.  He probably had $5 in quarters in his pockets!  The man said no, but it was funny nonetheless.

          Unfortunately the Orioles lost, but it was a great time anyway.  It also happened to be field trip day at the stadium, so at least my kids were not the only kids there for the afternoon game.  It made the cheering a lot higher in pitch, but at least the atmosphere was energetic.

          Elizabeth wanted to know why a school would have a field trip to a baseball game. I don't think she quite realized how funny it was that she was asking, since she was on a school field trip.  I replied that even though we were watching people play a game, we were watching professionals.  They represent hard work, determination, skill and perseverance of a dream.  Not many people can play a professional sport, but all can learn how to dream and persevere.  Sometimes school lessons are not about facts and figures, but about how we can live a better life for ourselves and about fulfilling our own dreams.  It reminds me of one of my favorite poems.  Here it is.

Dreams

     - by Langston Hughes

Hold fast to dreams

For if dreams die

Life is a broken-winged bird

That cannot fly

Hold fast to dreams 

For when dreams go

Life is a barren field

Frozen with snow.

Busy Busy Day

          From 9:15 this morning to 10:15 tonight, I was not at home for longer than 1 hour.  This was my first weekend with two baseball games and a lacrosse game, not to mention picture day for lacrosse for Christopher, and a birthday party to attend for Elizabeth.  There was also something for CCD that we never made it to.  It was a crazy day and I'm exhausted, but at least the kids had fun with their sports and at least it made the time pass more quickly.  I would much rather have a busy schedule while we wait for Honey to come home.   There is nothing worse than waiting for time to pass.  It is better to be busy.

          Keener loves playing at the ball fields because there is always something to explore and she can climb and get dirty.  She finds happiness in simple things like dandelions, gravel and of course... mud.   Today it was all three.  At Christopher's baseball game she scared the other parents by climbing up and down the bleachers (they are not that high-maybe 6 feet). I guess I am so used to her climbing high, that it hardly phases me anymore.  Seriously, when you recognize the staff at the ER, you know you've been there a lot!  It's also hard to be worried when you start to think: "I know how to sew, I have a needle and some thread, I have neosporin, why should I waste 4 hours and a couple hundred $$$'s?"