Easter 2019

We went to the early church service for Easter. The sound mix/bass at our church has really bothered Carrie, but she was up for service after surviving a show on the ship. 

We ended up in the lobby to listen, but I was happy to have her at my side.

The weather was beautiful when we got back.

All the kids were out save Rah!

We easily could have stayed outside and played for longer, but what's Easter without an egg hunt? We discovered all of our gear was already packed away (or tossed), so I had searched for egg hunts online. There was one at a local UMC church we decided to try.

Shane wasn't into the arts and crafts beforehand.

But he's been real big on bunny ears!

We ran into a family that Carrie knows. The family has triplets who had wanted to see a horse and she invited them all out to visit Nibs for free. They picked something else up from us when we were donating items to clear out the house and now they're acquaintances. Funny how that happens.

The kids all piled out for the egg hunt at 10:30 AM after an Easter story. The eggs were empty to represent the empty tomb (and probably to save on work and prevent squabbles!).

Shane was bummed about the lack of candy, but ready to go. I think he had high hopes based off of last year at Nana's and this year wasn't up to his expectations.

The kids were off in a flash when the signal was given. It can take hours to clean up a simple mess, but kids will pick a playground full of eggs clean in under five minutes.

Shane's basket spilled under the slide and some of the other kids descended like vultures upon him. He wasn't too happy about it!

I let him climb in a tree while Carrie and the family talked. Shane worried an older woman who asked him to get down. He looked at me and I nodded. "Not our turf and some little kids are mimicking you." Carrie was a little worried, too, but I commented, "He could fall head first and not crack anything from that height," to (not) reassure her.

Shane tried to get his climb on elsewhere, but it wasn't the same.

We got smoothies and went to Lowe's afterward.

The outside fun continued when we got home. The weather was too good to take time to change.

Shane's been on a baseball kick.....which is ironic since he asked me not to sign him up for it!

I pitched some whiffle balls for him before we went inside. It was a low-key Easter, but the day still felt special to me.

Spring Sports Wrap-up Saturday

We were set for another rainy weekend and I was not about to let Shane sit inside all day. 

Therefore, Taekwando.

Master Kang worked on Shane's form with him before the official start. Saturday practices are a little longer (which I like!).

Shane tried on his own for a little bit, but shifted to his own exercises instead.

He loves the mirrors.

Shane had a good practice. He wasn't an angel, but he was trying to stay focused and do his thing. I was surprised when he earned his forms stripe.

I was less surprised and slightly cynical when I heard that the stripe made him eligible to test next week. Tests come with test fees. If I didn't believe Master Kang was a true believer about his school, I'd have been suspicious the test was less about merit and more about moving Shane along the business model. 

It's been half a year since Shane got his current belt, though. He does well most of the time, so I don't think it was a handout or cash grab. Shane was excited and got a big congratulations. We'll have to practice some at home to prepare.

Shane's final baseball game was scheduled for 1:30 PM. Based on the forecast, I never expected it to happen. We would have gone to visit Grandma and Grandpa, but the Volvo had a windshield issue. Then, I took Shane to the library waiting for the game to be cancelled. 

It didn't. I was prepared and had Shane's gear in the car, just in case. I don't think I was the only person to doubt the game would go on, either. Both teams looked small to start.

The kids got to play on the big field for the final game. They called up batters by name over the loudspeaker. The concession stand was by our dugout, so the other parents and I had to sit way back in the outfield.

Thunder started in the distance. You could tell the league wanted to wrap things up quick. They pushed everyone through the batting order on each side and called it quits. All the parents were hoping the rain held off with them. No one I talked to wanted a make-up next week.

Shane picked grass in the outfield, but was thrilled when he hit the first pitch. We nearly shut the other team out! Our third baseman, Jordan, managed to get two outs at the same base when the batter ran to third and met the runner coming from second base!

The kids all got called up for medals at the end.

Then they lined up for the final handshake.

It would have been nice to get another inning in, but rain seemed imminent (Or not....it went hours with thunder and not a drop after).

The coaches herded up the kids for a final debrief.

I made sure Shane walked up and thanked the coaches and the team mom afterward.

That wraps up spring sports for us.

Last Weekday Game

Shane asked Carrie if she was coming to his game tonight. She was working and said something like, "No, but I love you! Do your best!" 

Which was wasn't that bad of a call. I'd love to sit and talk with Carrie at a game, but it was super hot, super humid, and she'd be super aggravated if Shane started to play in the dirt when he was supposed to be paying attention. And if he didn't respond when a coach redirected him? It wouldn't have been pretty. I thought Shane would have trouble focusing in the heat and humidity himself (He's got a track record of it when the weather is nice!).

Shane had a phenomenal game. He hit. He made good fielding attempts. He listened. He focused on the game far more this time than others.

Not that there wasn't time to have fun.

And I'm okay with that. He was on base and ran when he was supposed to run. Nothing wrong with a little personality!

It helped Shane got to be the catcher for the second inning.

That gave him a job every pitch.

And he got to armor up.

There wasn't a lot of catching, but there was a lot of trying. Awesome job, Shane!

I take it all back: Carrie should have come to this game. She would have been proud. I made sure to tell her about it when we got home.

But is this the last game? There's rain on the forecast the rest of the week. We're supposed to wrap up Saturday......at 1:30 PM. That leaves plenty of time for the rain and cuts into the chance of other weekend plans. We're supposed to visit Carrie's parents. I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens! It's been a good season.

A Hole in the Clouds

After days of rain, the sun came out! Shane helped Carrie curtail bamboo growth before church.

It was another, "entertain yourself" morning. Shane dumped out all my cards and played his own version of 5-Minute Dungeon.

We went to the later church service and then hit up Costco for groceries.

Shane got into a discussion with a woman about the tomato plants she was buying. You could tell she had children by how patient she was with him telling her everything she already knew!

We bumped into one of my wrestlers, Jin. He introduced Shane to his grandma as, "the kid who hangs on to my leg!"

Guess what Shane did? He latched on to Jin's leg. Neither Jin or Shane could get enough of it, but I didn't want them bumping anyone. It happened again a couple of times as we bumped into them shopping.

I had to excuse us to shop faster at one point, because Shane really wanted to poop.

Baseball practice was at four.

The coach was solo, but their weren't many kids.

I had an "Oh, duh!" moment. I finally realized that the Jordan from baseball was the same Jordan at TKD. I've recognized him and known his name was Jordan whenever I saw him at TKD, but somehow never put two and two together. I blame the work burnout.

Shane burned out on paying attention himself. Maybe it was the heat. He did a crap job of doing what the coach was asking.

Practice ended early (4 PM), but Ezra stayed to play. Shane and Ezra climbed and talked until 4:30 PM.

Soccer ended with a whimper yesterday, so baseball is our only seasonal activity left. Only three games left. Summer is edging closer and closer.

Look to the Skies

"Are you sure the game is still on?" Carrie asked.

"No one's said it's cancelled."

And it wasn't. We showed up and there were players. Game on!

The other team only had five players show. We were up at bat first.

The skies had their own plans. Darkness pulled closer with each batter.

The wind picked up and it got darker still as we took the field. Dust swirled and Shane hollared at the clouds above.

Orange's first batter never took a swing. The game was called. There was time to grab a snack and head out as rain drops stuttered and started. We got home right before the downpour began.

They called the game at the right time. No make-up required. I wish the other team had a chance to bat once, but I'm sure everyone was happy not to get soaked.