Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Waves Bamily Vacation (Ripken Experience)

over mother's day weekend, roman's travel team, the waves, headed to myrtle beach for a tournament and some fun at the ripken experience.  in true travel ball style, we loaded up the 4Runner with more baseball equipment than you can imagine, plus all of our overnight bags and of course, all of us.  i joked with the team that this is what our car looked like.

in reality, it was more like this...back loaded so you can't see out the rear window and other items stashed in between the kids and at their feet.  and, of course, a pre-weekend fun nap. 

this little cutie is always ready to ride.  she's got snacks and entertainment...let's go!

we arrived in time to do some boardwalk exploring.  and of course, momma had her boy repping some maryland (and ripken) pride!

a little fun on a few rides...

and back to the pool to meet up with some other players who were arriving.  also, a duck decided to take a swim in the pool.  😲

that evening, we gathered in the dining area to hand out some trophies that the team has earned throughout the fall and spring seasons.  we have 11 players and we only had 10 trophies, so one of the boys didn't get one.  but, as a surprise to him, his "trophy" was that he was getting to throw out the first pitch at the pelicans game we would all be attending the next evening.  i felt bad for him though, because he thought he got left out and was a little upset until coach toby finally gave him the big news!

one of our fabulous moms had special cookies made for the boys, a baseball with their name and number on it.  and the coaches got some too.  very cool!

and sherri, our resident photographer and graphic designer, had a wonderful idea to make the boys their own baseball cards.  she chose 5 pictures of each player and they got a set of 20 cards to trade and keep.  she even ordered these awesome cases for them to keep them in. AMAZING!  they loved trading them and reading all the "stats" on each card.  




can you see that gianna got her own cards too?  how sweet!




saturday morning came early and we headed to the ripken experience fields, which were only a short drive from our hotel. 

the complex was amazing, with a nice clubhouse with food and merchandise.

and the fields were immaculate, all turf. 

prior to this tournament, coach toby had let the players and parents know that he expected the boys to come and have fun.  they had a 16-4 record for the spring season and have already proven that they are winners.  so, really, this was just for fun. 

the parents got to have a little fun too.  one of the moms made us waves bingo cards with sayings that the coaches and players regularly yell out or say during games.  so, we got to listen for our favorites and play along. 

i love watching roman play any position, but i particularly love watching him in the outfield.  i think it is so cool to watch him sprint across the field to make a catch.  so cool!

even though it was no pressure, the boys won both of their games and we got to head back to the hotel pool to cool off.

later that evening, we had a team party at the pelicans game.  they are a local minor league team and it was so close that we all walked there. 



somebody else was all in too, but mostly for the snacks 😁

who am i kidding?  i'm there for the snacks too!  cotton candy and dippin' dots...yum!




after bradley threw out the first pitch, all of the other players got to participate in some fun games on the field too.  this was a biscuit eating contest where a blindfolded player was fed by another player who was behind his back...too funny!


sunday morning, we were back out on the field, bright and early.  miss casey and gianna twinning in their sunglasses. 

roman got a hold of this ball...

and sent it flying!

and he made a couple of nice plays in the infield too. 

normally, i post videos of a big hit, but this time roman got walked.  and then as another player came home, he tried to make it to second, but got himself in a pickle.  luckily, he was able to get himself out of it! 

this little chickie was a trooper all weekend.  we were trying to cool off with a snocone and some shade. 

on the mound for a few innings too.  see, he's all over the field!😍

in the end, the boys made it to the championship game.  they showed incredible heart and grit, but ran out of gas.  i know they could have beaten this team, but after already playing 2 games in a row before this one, they were spent.  i am so proud they made it that far! 

and this cutie made it too!  with a little fun and fake breeze, we keep cheering our boys on!

way to go, waves!



each one of the boys got a ring, but lucky for us, ripken's number was 8 and so is roman's!  so, it feels like his ring is customized just for him. 

i couldn't be more proud of these two boys.  😍


nowhere better to spend mother's day than with my kiddos!

after we got something to eat in the comfort of an air conditioned restaurant, we all headed out to have some fun, including a jet boat ride.  yes, gianna and i are the only girls...what?

and a little putt putt fun to end the evening.


the next morning, we got up late and got some grub. 

and one more round in the pool before heading home. 

 it was such a wonderful weekend spent with our waves bamily! 


Monday, May 21, 2018

Fancy

look at how fancy they are! 

Friday, May 18, 2018

Hard Work Pays Off

i can't tell you how many nights roman is putting in hard work, long after i would have given up, or other kids are probably playing video games.  he is swinging the bat, pitching, working out, etc...
he wants to be the best he can be.  he wants to be a leader for his team.  and his hard work is paying off.  he has had some awesome hits, he runs the bases like a pro and he has hit 3 home runs (over the fence) this spring season.  

and this face right here makes it so fun for me as a mom. he is having a blast! 

his teammates are so pumped for him and i love that they have his back!

this is an example of his hard work.  this was him working out AFTER he played in a rec game.  and it was all his idea.  nobody told him he had to do it.  



Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Ice Cream Date

on a rare evening when homework had been completed, dinner was over and we didn't have a baseball game to attend...the kids and i hopped on the golf cart and headed downtown for an ice cream date.

sitting on the church lawn, watching the boats drift by...

doing a little exploring by the dock, brother is always helping sister...

see, they can be sweet to each other!