Father's Day. Really, Baseball.

As we've done over the last two years (2015, 2014), we spent Father's Day weekend at an All Star tournament!  This year was a little different because Brian was the manager of the team.  He and the other Raptors coaches coached the team in the All Star tournament.  Most of the boys on the Raptors have played All Stars together over the last few years.

Because the boys moved up to a new division, our "work up tournaments" were at different fields than we've played in the past.  We started this season in Suffolk over the weekend!  The boys had 4 games over two days, and because it was about an hour from home, there was a lot of waiting.

Fortunately they all like each other!  Ha!  We're resting those arms on a long break right now, and I know that they are all itching to play ball again...and to see each other.  Ha!

One thing that I LOVE about this team is that we have the greatest group of parents and siblings.  My three younger kids are always excited to go to the games because they have friends there, and one of the boys has an older sister who is terrific with the little ones.  She keeps them busy and they love it!  She is a gem!

The boys went 1 and 3 that weekend.  And Wyatt's struggle at the plate was real.

He loves to be behind the plate.  Although he probably gets annoyed at me for constantly shouting, "Be a wall!"

We had a break between games, so the boys had lunch in the dugout.  Which is not to be confused with the day that Wyatt walked out onto the field with pizza in his hand.  There were words with his father after that....for real.

After the games Brian took the day off and came home with us!  We had pizza at Mimi and Baba's and then came home for early bed times.  These kids were wiped!

All Star Weekend Two

Another weekend of baseball followed Wyatt's first All Star weekend.  I said before that I was worried that he was going to be "baseballed-out," but he wasn't even close.  He wants to play baseball constantly, and practices were really just an extra workout for him everyday.  Ha!

We spent the weekend driving back and forth to Suffolk.   The drive wasn't bad at all during non-rush hour, but it seemed like all of his game times were during rush hour, so we were leaving the house two hours before games.  And late games with this kid?  They can be hard.  Because he is up before the sun every. single. day!  Fortunately he napped on the drive over most of the time.

The boys played really well during the tournament.  They were hitting the ball, making big plays, and they were really well coached.  It made for a lot of fun baseball watching.

A local photographer was taking action shots during the games and sold these prints.  We were able to look at the pictures, choose the ones we wanted, and then they printed them at the complex.  Since it was Father's Day weekend, I let Brian choose his gift!  Ha!

The final game was a big one.  We were so excited that they made it to the end, but the team that they played is good.  Really good.  Wyatt has played them before with his Select team (and during last year's All Star tournament), and he was pretty nervous.  In the end, his team came in second, but they were still really proud of themselves!

They got three whole days off before the next tournament was scheduled.  Wyatt thought that made him a "real" baseball player!

All Star Weekend One

Brian and I spent lots of time debating whether Wyatt would play All Stars this year.  He had a blast last year, but he had just finished playing rec ball and soccer, and he still had some Select games and practices left. We were worried about how it would fit with his schedule, about whether he would get burned out on baseball, if it was just too much.  Brian leaned towards not playing, I was more of a yes, and Wyatt was pretty undecided.  

On the last long Saturday of the spring season, with two baseball games in the morning, a soccer game at 3:45, and an incredibly hot day coming to an end...Wyatt decided he wanted to try out.  We were literally leaving soccer and worried that he was burnt out from the day, tryouts had already started, and he said, "Yeah, I want to do it."  And his mind was made up.  It was a little stressful for us, but he went to tryouts and hit the crud out of the ball (is that something that only we say when someone hits well?  I don't know.  I think most people say "crap," but we say "crud."  Weird.  Anywho...).  I watched from the parking lot (the other kids fell asleep on the way there), and I was shocked at how well he hit the ball.  And he made the team!

The team spent about two weeks practicing, and they were ready to play in their first tournament.

Wyatt played third base almost every inning (he also played third a lot for his Select team).  I missed the first day because I was in Washington seeing Newsies, but I was able to make their Sunday game!

I've got say, this was a fun game to watch.  Not because they won (they did!), but because Wyatt was SO happy the entire game.  He usually gets a little swept up in the bad and the good, but this was just fun!

It's entertaining to watch them on the fence cheering for their teammates!

See that smile!  I told him that he was feeling the joy that day!  Ha!

....And he hit a triple!

It was a great game (please ignore the fact that my legs are the same color as my shorts!).

They ended up losing the following day, and I think that meant a fourth place finish.  But they were ready to play again the next weekend!

The End of All Stars

In other "I'm so behind on chronicling the lives of my children" news: Wyatt's All Star team party.

His coach invited both teams over for what can only be described as "A 7 year old's dream party."

There were rides in an army truck.  Which was probably the most popular thing ever.

They ran over things, they went up on hills, Wyatt described it as "amazing and awesome."

There was food, so this girl didn't have any complaints.

Trophies.

Fireworks.

Reese's expression pretty much sums up that part of the evening.

And there was a GIANT bonfire.  Firefighters may have pulled in just as we were leaving.

Wyatt had a lot of fun playing with the All Star team - and he's VERY excited for two baseball camps that he's going to in the next two weeks!

All Star Season

Because I am so way behind on the times, I neglected to post anything about Wyatt's All Star season.

It ended two weeks ago, which is just unbelievable.  This summer is flying by!  He had several practices in the weeks leading up to the tournament, two "build up" tournaments, and then a big tournament at our field complex.

My father in law was awesome enough to take Wyatt to his practices so that I didn't have to drag the kids along, and they all did a pretty good job staying entertained during games thanks to, you know, fruit snacks and Gatorade.

This first tournament was a little bit crazy to me.  There's no other word for it other than MORE in comparison to the regular season.  More competitive, more pressure, more yelling (from the sidelines).  Just more.  Definitely fun and he was able to play a lot of baseball, but really interesting.  I was able to get used to it as the tournament went on, but the first tournament definitely left me a little shocked.

When it comes to baseball, you would be hard pressed to find a seven year old who knows as much about the game as this kid.

I'm honestly surprised that Brian hasn't started asking his advice on who to draft for his fantasy team.

When it comes to running, well, let's just say that this kid is probably going to get signed up for a speed and agility camp.  Pronto.  It took me awhile to figure out why he was moving so slowly.  Then I realized that he was actually running with arms up like he does when he's ice skating.  I guess that's one problem with not making him choose one sport.

The really great thing about the team is that Wyatt made lots of new friends and became better friends with the guys he already knew.  I got a kick out of taking him to places like Target or the Y and seeing him walk up to his friends (who I was not completely able to recognize without a hat. Ha!)

These boys wrapped up their time in the tournament, but there were still volunteer hours that we needed to perform (it was part of the All Star team commitment).  Wyatt had a blast going to the games and keeping score with Brian - because he got to announce the players over the loud speaker.  

We are super proud of what a great job Wyatt and his team did in the tournament!