Spring = Baseball

Yes, that's right folks. It's time for baseball again! This season we are cheering for the Rays! Yesterday was their first scrimmage with games starting next weekend. Brantley used his new bat in the scrimmage. He needed a heavier bat and the one I found for him is a composite bat as opposed to an aluminum bat. Composite bats are supposed to be broken in before really hitting with them. We went through 2 buckets of balls with it, but didn't get to soft toss Friday evening because I wasn't feeling well. Brantley decided to use the bat even though it wasn't fully broken in. He sent the ball sailing almost out of the park on his first at bat. It was weird because the composite bats don't make the same sound as the aluminum bats do. So, when he hit it there wasn't the crack that let you know it was an awesome hit. He got a triple out of that one. He had 2 more at bats. One should have been a double or a triple but the coach at first base told him to stay. The other was a single. One of our dads came over to me and said another coach was scouting my boy. How funny! Another funny from the game was the other team had "Mario and Luigi" playing for them. I didn't put that together until I heard our boys saying it. I guess Mario isn't a completely uncommon name, but Luigi has to be a rare name around here. Anyway, the Rays won the scrimmage 14 to 4.

Congrats to Brantley!

Brantley's school participated in World Maths Day this year. Students play at home and at school against other students around the world in live games of mental arithmetic. Each game lasts for 60 seconds and students can play up to 500 games, earning points for each correct answer. Brantley had the top score in his ENTIRE school! I asked him if he got anything special like lunch with the principal or an ice cream party. He said he got a pencil that says I love math, or something like that, and Smarties (the candy). We went out to dinner to celebrate to our favorite Mexican place. Yum!

Moving on to Baseball

Well, the basketball season is over with an 18 to 14 loss to Tennessee in the first round of the tournament. Brantley scored 10 of those 14 points. I told him he can't be a one man team and to not be too hard on himself. He played hard. The coach was pretty hard on him the whole game so I'm really happy that he handled the game so well. A crucial mistake happened when they were down by 3 with about a minute and a half left, Andrew got the ball back on a Tennessee inbound and went the wrong way on the court. Oh well....baseball anyone?

Replacing the CR-V

We've had our CR-V for almost 11 years. We bought it brand new and it now has 210k miles on it. It needs some heavy work done to it now, so we decided it was time to get something else. We drove a new CR-V and a new Pilot. The CR-V was fine. A little better than our old one but really nothing special. The Pilot was really nice but out of our price range. I also went to drive a Rav4 but decided it was too small, and the Highlander was too expensive. I also went to drive a Ford Edge. I really like the Edge, but again decided it was more money that we wanted to spend so Lawson didn't go look at any of those. Today, we went to look at a used CR-V, but we got in it and it smelled really bad. We didn't even drive it. We looked at a couple others and the X3 caught my eye. I've wanted a BMW since I was a teenager. So, we drove it. It was so pretty, a gold color on the outside with gorgeous dark brown leather. Brantley didn't like the color of the leather but I loved it. I drove it and of course loved it. But, after really looking it over and sitting in the back seat, we decided it really isn't a family car. I'm sure Lawson had the front seat pushed all the way back, but Brantley really didn't have a whole lot of leg room in it. He's only getting bigger so, alas, no BMW for me. Ten years from now when Brantley goes off to college, I'll be getting my BMW. So, we decided on a pre-owned Honda Pilot. We opted to spend a little less money and get a larger vehicle. I think we made the right decision.

Weird Winter Weather

We've had more snow this winter than I can remember in probably twenty years. It's been frigid here. I'm ready for Spring! Brantley got to go sledding for the very first time a few days ago (I'm a little behind in posting). We had snow followed by ice the last weekend in January which led to all Basketball games being canceled that weekend. (The Tarheels won this past weekend. Brantley scored 10 points!) We don't even own a sled so we tried to make a make-shift one with cardboard and a garbage bag. Brantley was embarrassed to use that. Then, I thought about out skim board from the beach. It worked perfectly, especially since the ground was actually frozen. We didn't even make footprints walking on it!

Ice Basketball

The first ball he put in got stuck in the net because it's frozen. I didn't have my camera out so I didn't get that shot. Every time the ball got away it just kept going because of the ice. He slipped several times but kept playing anyways. The driveway is so frozen that for the most part our feet didn't even break through. We need some ice skates!

Conversations with Brantley

This conversation occurred at bedtime as I was laying down with him for a few minutes.

B: Mom, I'm either going to go to college at Florida, Vandy, or Memphis.

Me: Memphis? (I'm sure it's because he's completely into basketball right now.)

B: Actually, I probably wouldn't go to Florida. It's a hard decision. Which one has the best education?

HA! That came out of no where. Who's been talking to this kid?

After I finished laughing I said, well, then it would have to be Vandy.

B: Okay, I'm going to play basketball at Vandy.

Basketball Update

The Tarheels won last week. Brantley scored 8 points, 2 of which came from free throws after he was triple teamed. Today, we had the 8am game. Brantley is not a morning person. He didn't wake up until the 3rd period, but he scored 9 points in the 3rd. He says he scored 4 more in the 4th, but I'm not sure. Either I just quit counting at 9, or he didn't make any in the 4th. I remember he put up some shots, but can't remember if he made a couple of them. Either way, that is the most points he has scored in a game thus far. Even with that though, they lost today, 26 to 21. They were down 14 to 3 after the first period so they tried to come back. I did get a clip of Brantley making a shot in warm ups. It's actually a pretty nice shot. :)

3rd Grade Music Program

3rd Grade Program Clips

Brantley's first library card

I'm really not sure why we hadn't already done this, but tonight we went to the public library and got Brantley a library card. He asked me yesterday about going to the library and I decided I needed to encourage the interest. I've never really been an avid reader. My mother says that I started reading when I was three, but I don't remember ever really enjoying reading. I have to have absolute quiet to read. Any distraction just makes me mad and I can't comprehend what I'm reading. I'm more of a numbers person. Give me a book of numbers and I'd probably be able to recite it to you backwards and forwards. Brantley was really excited to get his own card. We spent about a hour picking out his books and he checked them out. He got (and is reading first) Vampire Brat, Ghosthunters and the Muddy Monster of Doom, and Z-Rex The Hunter Book 1. He gets to keep them for 3 weeks. They are actually all big books so I'll be impressed if he finishes them in 3 weeks.

Tarheels lose

It was a disappointing loss for the Tarheels today, but Brantley needed a good loss. They lost 21 to 10. Brantley put up lots of shots, but only two went in. The whole team put up lots of shots, but nothing was going in. Not to mention the other team had all of the tall kids on it. Brantley said after the game it was his fault they lost. I told him he just needed to practice and do better. Hopefully we will get some practice in this week, but the weather is not looking great for driveway practice.

New Year's Day

We didn't get home until about 2 in the morning on New Year's Day. We spent NY's Eve at Ginger's house. We always have a great time, hence not getting home until 2 in the morning. Thanks to Santa, we had a treat on New Year's Day. We got to go see the Harlem Globetrotters. It was pretty cool. My favorite part is when they get in the circle and do all kinds of crazy moves. I think Brantley liked the show. At the end they announced that everyone could get an autograph of their favorite Globetrotter. They had a rope going around the court and people were supposed to stay off the court. Mass chaos ensued. People did stay off the court, but there were not any real defined lines to get autographs so it was just a mass of people trying to get autographs. We bought Brantley a program and we got in a line to get an autograph. As we stood there not moving, a couple of teenagers started to get in the line in front of me. I pointed out to them that we were all standing and line and showed them the end. They of course ignored me and went ahead. They moved on up and they, and another teenager went practically all the way up to the Globetrotter. I wouldn't have been so mad except that their shirts were covered in autographs and Brantley didn't even have one yet so I had to say something to them. The nice lady in front of me pulled Brantley up and put him in front of the teenagers so he could get Airport's autograph. There was only about two minutes left for autographs and it didn't appear that we would get any more, but Brantley somehow managed to sneak in and get Handles autograph. We learned from the program that one of them, Spark, went to Tennessee Tech. He's the one with the 'fro in the pictures.



I also took a few clips. SHHHH! I wasn't supposed to do that.

Harlem Globetrotters - vids

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! Brantley thought this Christmas was the best ever! I think he has said that every year. Santa was very good to Brantley. He brought him a freestyle bike, Rock Band for the Wii, Lego Rock Bank, tickets to see the Harlem Globetrotters, and several other things. I'd list everything he got from everyone, but I don't know that I could remember everything.

No more cross bite

Brantley had his checkup at the dentist yesterday. He saw my dentist for the first time instead of the pediatric dentist we had been going to. They made me mad the last time he had a checkup so I decided to move him. I didn't force him. I gave him the choice and he wanted to change. He never liked going to the dentist. I had told my dentist that Brantley hated going to the dentist and that he gagged really easily. The hygienist made the visit really fun for him and they used a little trick to keep him from gagging while doing his x-rays. She put a little bit of salt on the tip of his tongue and on the the x-ray things that they put in your mouth. He didn't gag even once. I don't know if there is something scientific about it or if it's all mental, but it worked. He felt like he was eating french fries. The hygienist was so fun and Brantley was having a great time. He even liked the dentist when he came to take a look at his teeth. When Brantley was about 4 his dentist told me he had a cross bite and would need to have braces if his permanent teeth didn't come in better. The other dentist hasn't mentioned it since. So, I asked my dentist about it and he said Brantley's permanent teeth have come in very well and his cross bite has corrected itself. He does have a lot of crowding, but nothing too serious. He will eventually need braces, but probably not for a couple more years at least. As we left Brantley said, "Mom, I want to come back here!" He had a big smile on his face when he said it.

2009 Christmas Photo

Here is the making of our Christmas photo this year.

Quotable Quotes

Brantley: "Mom, come here."

Me: "What?"

B: "Mom, just come here. Look. That present is coming open. I promise I didn't do it."
--It looked like some tape had come loose and the flap on the end had flipped open slightly.

Me: " Well, reach under there and press it closed."

B: "But, I don't want to see what it is!"
--He couldn't see what it was and he did press the flap back down.

Basketball time!

Today was the Tarheels first game, since last Saturday was a bye. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the team played together. I was cracking up at Hunter telling some of the others where they were supposed to be. They only have 3 plays, but a couple of the players can't remember what they are supposed to do. Brantley was the starting point guard. He put up several shots that didn't go in but he didn't let it get to him. He was visibly disappointed with the missed shots, but it just made him more determined. He ended up with 8 points and Hunter had 4. Final score was Tarheels 19, Gators 12.

Seriously...This is just not right.

Brantley's new shoes came today. When I pulled them out of the box, I thought there is no way he can wear these. They have to be too big, which is fine because he could grow into them. I was able to fully insert my foot into said shoe. Granted, they were snug, but I could walk around the house in them. Brantley does have growing room in them, but c'mon. Why can't my waistline be as freakishly small as my feet?

What is Christmas all about?

Today in Brantley's folder was a letter about the holiday plans for not just his class, but all of the third grade classes. Instead of exchanging gifts they are collecting items to donate to two local charities. One is a ministry that has a "store" of sorts where families who qualify can go and get things for Christmas. The other is a non-profit nursing home. So tonight while we were out we bought some items to donate. Brantley helped pick out what we got. A couple in the store overheard what we were talking about. They had recently held a food drive for the ministry and thought what the kids were doing to help out was just wonderful.

Tomorrow is our annual holiday shopping day at my company. This is one of this things that I love about my company. Instead of spending money on a stuffy holiday party they give us each an "angel" to shop for then they bus us all over to Wal-mart to shop. Last year I had the privilege of shopping for two children in need and I believe the company spent about $140,000 on gifts for about 800 children. It's a tradition they started years ago and a wonderful way to give back. I've got my Santa hat ready! Let's do some shopping!

Quotable Quotes

Been a while since I've had one of these...

"Mom! I think I grew today!"

And another...

(from a conversation about his Santa list)
"It's not like you have to pay for them."

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, I'm pretty sure I've gained about 5 pounds. That, in addition to the 10 I had already gained back means it's back to the diet on Monday. Thursday we headed up to Cookeville to celebrate (I mean EAT) with my family. We took Coco with us so she could run around in the country. Bandit was in his pen and barked like crazy at Coco. I wasn't sure if he wanted to play or attack so he got to stay in his pen for the day. Coco had a blast running around and she passed out in the car on the way home. She remained passed out the rest of the evening. I didn't get any pictures, but we did take some pictures at our house on Saturday. I think I might have cooked my best turkey ever. And, I found a new recipe for cornbread stuffing that I think was awesome. Not sure if anyone else liked it. I also made a green bean salad, ginger maple glazed carrots and pumpkin bread pudding. Dibby made spinach and artichoke dip, cheese dip (just for Brantley), squash casserole and cranberry salad. Melissa brought spinach dip, her famous potato casserole, and chocolate cake for the kiddos. I think I gained another pound just talking about all the food.

I love LA

I was in LA for a whole day! Yippee. Actually, had I known that the music awards were going on. I might have planned differently so I could go star hunting. Yeah right. Anyway, here is a picture from the rooftop pool of the hotel where I stayed. I'm pretty sure the pool was used in the new movie that Brantley has been watching on Nick. The other picture is from the 29th floor of the building where my meeting was.

How do you (or would you for those without kids) punish?

I'm taking a poll. What is your, I don't want to say favorite so let's just say most effective, punishment? I rarely ever spank Brantley, because to be honest he just laughs at me when I do. I am not against spanking, but it's just not effective for me. Taking things away has always been the most effective thing for me. The problem is that you have to be careful with what you take away and you have to make sure that you follow up. Generally, it's TV privileges. But, taking away TV also means that I have to be the entertainer a lot more than usual. This is probably where a sibling would come in handy. Anyway, last night was a bad night at our house. Brantley wasn't listening and was misbehaving. So, I made a bad decision on what to take away. I put him to bed and he wanted me to lay down with him. I told him that he didn't get the things he wanted when he misbehaved the way he did. In hindsight, it was a bad choice on my part but it seemed like a good idea at the time. Thus ensued the 'tantrum' of a life time. Since I already said I wouldn't lay down with him I couldn't go back on it. All he wanted was for me to lay down for a minute, but if I gave in that would compromise my authority (have to follow through with what you say). He got up multiple times after that, each time with a struggle back to bed. Tonight was a much better night, but he gets to watch no TV until Friday and the TV is gone from his room. I'm not sure when that will go back. And, in the absence of TV I taught Brantley to multiple 2 and 3 digit numbers. They are just now working on the tables in class, but it seemed like a good time to teach him. He was receptive and even thought it was cool, especially when I showed him some long division and the relationship between the two.

It's official!

Well, there are 3 things that are official tonight. Since the rain out makeup game that was scheduled for last Saturday was rained out, it was rescheduled for tonight. It was freezing out there but fall baseball is officially over tonight (first official thing!). The Bees won tonight, 13 to 4. So, official thing number 2 is the Bees went undefeated! And, official thing number 3 is Brantley is a switch hitter! He finally decided to try to bat left again tonight. He hasn't tried to hit left since the last practice before games started when he couldn't hit anything, right or left. Tonight, he struck out his first at bat, then had the bad luck of a foul ball caught by the catcher with his second at bat. His fourth at bat went to deep left field. It even bounced up and hit a metal sign on the fence with a nice little bang. For some reason, his last at bat he decided to try hitting left. I'm not sure what got into him, but I'm so glad he tried. He had a great base hit! Another dad commented that his swing is better left than it is right. It's a nice level swing which we always try to tell him to do. To end the season, the team went to have pizza together. I wish we could have this team back together for the Spring, but that won't happen. Not sure what lies ahead for Spring, but I have a feeling Brantley will finally have to get used to losing in the Spring.

Happy Halloween!

A formidable opponent

Tonight's game had to be the most exciting game in the season. The Bees played the River Cats and both teams came to win. Both teams were hitting and fielding tonight. The Bees ended up running away with it in the end with a 6 run rally in the 4th inning. Final (unofficial) score was Bees 16, River Cats 10. Brantley had 4 singles and a double. Only one game left in the season!!

Finally a Game!

Saturday's game was cold again, but the Bee's were there to play. This time, they were actually playing a team that could play. Brantley was a defensive demon on the field. I lost count of his fielded outs. The other team still managed to put 9 on the board. The Bees went into the bottom of the fifth up by one. All they needed was 3 up 3 down. The first kid up struck out. The second kid was out at first with a throw from Brantley to first base. And then the third kid hit a high pop fly out to our short stop who was ready for it and made an amazing catch to end the game. It was really exciting. Brantley ended up with 3 singles. He hit a deep pop fly to center field which was caught. None of the other teams we've played would have made that catch. Brantley didn't even think it was caught as he stood on first base. He handled it well though. I have to say he has done much better with handling getting out.

A Beautiful Night for Baseball

The rain is coming again, but it was beautiful tonight. The weather could not have been better. It was another thrashing by the bees - 19 to 1. Brantley was disappointed with his offense tonight. He had 4 at bats for 4 singles. Real disappointing! (sarcasm) The play of the game was when Brantley was playing first. The hit was maybe 10 feet in front of the plate. The catcher came up and grabbed it and threw it hard in to Brantley. He caught it for an awesome out. Next game is Saturday if the fields aren't flooded!

Happy Halloween!

It's almost time for Halloween. This time last year I was having surgery and recovering so I didn't carve any pumpkins last year. Brantley helped (a little) with the gutting part. It was a big pumpkin so I carved 2 patterns on it. If I can find pictures of past pumpkins, I'll put them in a slide show. This one turned out okay, but maybe I'll get one more and try again.

45 degrees never felt so cold!

It was a cold day for baseball. It was in the 40s, but the wind made it feel like we were freezing. I had to make Brantley wear a long sleeve shirt under his jersey and he didn't want his jacket. When we got to the game, he wore his jacket the whole game! I didn't keep an official unofficial score, but I'm pretty sure the Bees won. According to the boys, I think it was 9 to 6. Brantley had 4 singles and a double.

Classroom Fun

No, it's not Easter, but those are baby chicks you see. One of the exciting things they get to do in third grade is to take care of chicken eggs until they hatch. Brantley was so excited about this project. There were 12 eggs, but only 5 hatched. I sent my older camera with Brantley so he could take pictures. Most of them are pretty blurry because he doesn't realize he's moving the camera when he pushes the button. They named the yellow chick Tweetie Bird. The black one is Ian Jr. He was the first to hatch and it was on Ian's birthday. The black one with the white stripe is Moe. The black and yellow one is Ice Cream. And, there is a fifth one somewhere that's just Junior. Brantley is very sad they the baby chicks went home to the farm today.

Baseball Photos

Baseball update

I'm not sure who our opponent was on Saturday. Since they are using minor league teams, we don't recognize a lot of the logos. The bees won the game, but I was chit chatting so I'm not sure if they won by 1 or 4. They definitely won the game though, despite some terrible fielding. The game started out pretty normal with Brantley at second throwing an out to Carson at first. They did that once in the first inning and again in the second. In the fifth inning, Carson was at pitcher at threw an out to Brantley at first. He had some awesome hitting and came so close to hitting the scoreboard. He had 4 at bats for a triple, 2 doubles and a single. He also got 2 RBIs.

Bees Vs. Thunder

Tonight's game was a bit boring. It's pretty bad when the assistant coach of the other team tells the coach of the other team that he's doing a great job pitching a no hitter. They got one kid on base all night, and that was only because of an error of the kid playing pitcher. Brantley had a great game, despite choking on the chance for a grand slam. He actually had 2 chances for a grand slam. The first one he had what looked like an awesome hit but it didn't stay fair. If it had, it would have been a grand slam. That of course broke his rhythm and he struck out. The second chance, he had a great hit and got 2 RBIs but only got to first base because the kid on first wasn't running. He should have at least gotten to second. He ended the game with 3 hits for 5 bases (a triple and 2 base hits). He also got 3 RBIs and fielded 3 outs.

Gum....Hair....you see where I'm going here?

A couple weeks ago Brantley wanted some gum at bed time. I told him no. My exact words were,"If you go to bed chewing gum, you will either choke on it or wake up with it in your hair."

Fast forward to the past few days.....Picture day is this Wednesday. I had noticed that Brantley's hair was looking pretty shabby in the front. Not unusual because he's hair can be quite unruly. I knew he needed to get a haircut before picture day. So, today after I picked him up we went to Sport Clips, Brantley's hair salon of choice. We usually get the same girl to cut his hair except for the time that Lawson took him. He ended up with a bad haircut that time, but I digress.

The girl was cutting away at his hair and she got to the front and looked perplexed. She asked, "Has he cut his hair?" Hmmm....I got up and looked. It was the section that I had noticed was looking real shabby, but when she pulled up the top it looked pretty obvious that it had been cut. I asked him several times if he cut it and he kept saying no. I even asked if any of the little girls at school had been trying to give him a haircut which embarrassed him and he said very loudly NO! That made both the stylists laugh. She continued on and said she would try to blend it in.

Then, she started combing the back and said what is this. I looked and we decided it was a little bit of gum. I asked Brantley again, this time very specifically, "Did you get gum in your hair and cut it out?" He finally admitted to it and we all started laughing. He was embarrassed and thought I was going to be mad. The stylist told him, next time to let me know. Peanut butter really does get gum out of hair! I'm guessing there won't be a next time though. I asked if he remembered what I had told him and he said he did. Mom was right, huh?

Music

Just so you all know, Lawson says that I have ruined Brantley's taste in music. Can I help it if he knows what he likes? Anyway, can anyone guess which one of the songs on the player is his favorite?

Enjoy the music!

I added a playlist to the side. Hopefully it works for everyone. I just picked a couple of his current favorites to put on it. It's funny when we are in the car and I start flipping stations. Brantley is always asking me to go back because he likes a song.

School Progress Reports

Brantley's progress report came home today. So far, he has all As and one B. Surprisingly, even to Brantley, the B is in Math. He grabbed the report from my hand and said, "What?!?!? I'm good in Math!" Then he threw himself on the couch. So dramatic. I think he's probably a lot like me when it comes to school work. I was bad to make careless mistakes. When things are easy, you tend to just speed through them and not double check anything. He still has time to get that B up to an A. Go Brantley! Let's get straight As on your first real report card!

Bees Vs. Bats

It would be hard for Brantley to have a repeat game like Thursday, be he still had a great game. Unofficially, they won 16 to 6. Brantley had 5 at bats - 1 triple and 4 base hits. He fielded 3 outs playing first base. He lost his confidence to bat left at the last practice before the season started. He couldn't hit anything off the coach, including batting right. We tried to get him to bat left his last at bat but during this game, but he wouldn't do it. Maybe we'll get him to try at some point this season. We're still practicing both when we do soft toss in the driveway and he does just fine. Today, he decided to get out the wooden bat and use it for practice. He actually did a good job swinging it. I'm not sure how heavy it is in comparison to his little league bat, but I'm sure it's a lot heavier.

It's time for Fall Baseball!

This season Brantley's team is the Burlington Bees. This is the first Fall season where they have actually had team names instead of just team numbers. I like the uniforms. They have yellow (gold) shirts with very dark blue numbers. The hats are dark blue with yellow bills and bees on them. I'll take a picture Saturday to post.

Tonight was the first game of the season and Brantley started it off right. I was a little worried because he seemed to be struggling with batting in practice. It must be the pitching because another dad pitched tonight and he did just fine. We practiced for about an hour last night and his fielding was impressive. Another dad was there last night and he pitched to Brantley and his batting still seemed a little off last night.

Brantley was second in the batting order, after Carson. In the first inning, Brantley hit a nice ground ball between 1st and 2nd base getting him to first base. He played 2nd base in the bottom of the first. Brantley connected with Carson for the 4-3 out.

The batting order didn't come back around for Brantley to bat in the second inning. He played 2nd base again and again connected with Carson for the 4-3 out.

Top of the third, Brantley hit another base hit, this time with an RBI. Bottom of the third and fourth innings he played in the pitcher position. Once in both innings, he connected with Alex for the 1-3 out. He did get to bat in the fourth, but hit a fly out to the Short Stop.

Top of the fifth, another base hit with an RBI. He played 3rd base and got a ground out at third.

I'm starting to sound like a broken record. Top of the sixth, base hit with an RBI. He played first base and got a ground out. The other 2 outs for the inning were strike outs.

The unofficial score was Bees 18, Muckdogs 3. Brantley had 4 at bats, 3 hits, 3 bases, 3 RBIs, and 6 fielded outs. What a game! Oh, and he got the first game ball of the season. Very deserving I think!

Sox Weekend

I guess Labor Day weekend marks the end of summer. I'm actually kinda ready for it to be Fall. Brantley celebrated the end of summer by going to Chicago with Lawson to take in not one, but two baseball games. They went to see the Red Sox at the White Sox. The weekend was actually Adrian's parents idea. They are big Red Sox fans. Since Brantley's baseball team was the Red Sox a while back, he actually had a Red Sox hat to wear, however I think that looks like a new White Sox jersey he's wearing. Hmmm. (Sorry about the picture quality. Lawson sent these to me with his phone.)

Don't worry about me though. I actually did plenty of fun stuff this weekend. Of course, had it not been for my good friend Roger, I'd probably just sat on the couch all weekend watching movies and eating popcorn. I went to see the movie Inglorious Basterds (not sure of the significance of spelling it with an e instead of an a). It was surprisingly good and I'd recommend seeing it. Definitely not a kid friendly movie though. I also got to go see Wicked at TPAC. Also very good and recommendable. And of course, I had to get some shopping in. Today, I'm trying to get the house cleaned up a little. I've made some progress, but it's really hard to get motivated.

School is back in session.

Brantley was so happy when I picked him up today. I asked how his first day went and he said "AWESOME!" He started rattling off all of the things that they are going to be doing this year like hatching chickens and keeping an aquarium of fish. He was also extremely glad that he will have no homework until next week. It made him even happier that the only homework was mine: all of the beginning of school year paperwork!

Introducing Camo!

A few months ago our crab Hermie died. I think we finally decided that we got him in 2003. While on our vacation to the Alabama coast, we went to Calypso Joe's, the place were we got Hermie. They still do the crab races for the kids, but they don't sell the crabs anymore. Bummer. So, we ended up going to souvenir city to get our new crab. Brantley picked one that looks just like Hermie, except I think this one is a little bigger. Brantley always said that Hermie's shell looked like camouflage, hence the new crabs name. Camo! So far, he doesn't seem to be very social.

Caricature

This past week was the annual summer party at my work. The past couple of years they have blocked off the drive in front of the building and had sort of a carnival. It was really hot and humid this time. The lines were long, and Brantley didn't really have a good time. We did wait in line to get a caricature drawn. And, he sat at my desk and pretended to work. He told me my desk was messy. I like my mess...Wow! Is my mouth really that big? Don't answer that!

Summertime slacking

Okay, I know I've been slacking. It seems I do that in the summertime. So let's get updated.

A couple weekends ago we went up to Cookeville to celebrate birthdays. July is a big birthday month for us. We have Brantley, my dad, my niece, and then me close behind in August. This year we decided just to celebrate them all together. The weather here has been unseasonably cold and it was freezing that weekend. It was too cold to get in the pool, although Brantley and his cousins did anyway.

Earlier this year, our dog Salty died. My sister thought it would be a good idea to get my dad a pup for his birthday. He had mentioned he wanted a Blue Heeler. He didn't want a dog that was real big, and he wanted one with short hair. He also wanted one that would bark at the deer and the raccoons to scare them away. They like to eat the strawberries, corn, etc. My sister managed to find a Red Heeler, Blue Heeler mix. We all made suggestions on the name but my dad settled on Bandit. He's very rambunctious. He's now about 10 weeks old. Here is a video (and a picture of the horses) of him barking as some horses in the field behind my parent's house this past weekend.I would think he would be afraid of the horses because they are so big. But he isn't....


Brantley also got his first fishing pole so we went down to the pond to practice casting. We can only practice because there are no fish in the pond. We wanted to go to Aunt Artie's, but they were not home. When we moved (almost 30 years ago) to where my parent's live, the pond was much bigger. The years of drought have shrunk it down to nothing. I believe it has even gone dry a couple of years. Can't have fish in a pond that goes dry. It's been wet enough this year though that the pond has quite a bit of water in it. Enough that we could practice casting. Brantley did pretty good, except that he cast it into some brush on one side of the pond and got his hook stuck. We had to tug on it until the line broke. Brantley was upset about loosing his bobber so we got a really long stick and tried to get it. Brantley ended up slipping in the mud into the pond. I wish I had my camera with me for that. It was all fun and we got the bobber back.

4 Year Blog Anniversary

Wow! I was just looking back and in just a couple weeks, I will have had this blog for 4 years. I can't believe I have kept up with it that long. I still wish I had started this when Brantley was a baby. I might have to get out his baby book and do some memory posts.

I've had this same layout for the entire time, I believe. I think it's time for a change. The pictures at the header are when Brantley was much younger. I know I need to upgrade my blog to take advantage of some of the newer features, but I'm afraid to click that upgrade button. I don't want to lose any of it.

Well, I will get brave in the next couple weeks. My goal is to have a new look before my 4 year anniversary!!

Grand Slam Birthday Bash

This year we had Brantley's party at the Sounds game. It turned out to be the best birthday party we've had. Brantley had a great time. We had 12 crazy boys hanging out at the game together. They got to eat hot dogs and birthday cake before the game. Brantley (and 5 other birthday people) got to throw out the ceremonial first pitch of the game. He also got to stand on the dugout during the third inning and the whole crowd sang happy birthday. Since it was a Friday night game, there were fireworks after the game and then all the kids got to run the bases.
And, I even arranged for something special for the dads. (Just kidding!) While we were all sitting there watching the game, a bunch of girls showed up to sit in the row in front of us. I say it was something special for the dads because these girls were good looking and dressed up! They were all wearing very high heels and dresses or skirts. The funniest thing was one of them was actually painting her nails during the game!! Not sure what their deal was, but they definitely looked out of place.

Here are a few pictures of the crazy boys! Posts with videos below.

Brant looked a little annoyed at Ozzie...

Most of the present opening was just that, present opening. Paper flying everywhere, toys all over the place. But, this one was cracking me up. (It was midnight so we were all tired!)

Funny present opening, part 2

Happy Birthday Brantley!

We decided to go ahead and let Brantley open his birthday present this evening. Even though we've had about 4 slip ups, he was still oblivious and had no clue what he was getting. Either that, or he's a pretty good actor.

Happy Fourth of July!

We decided to spend the Fourth in Chicago this year. We had a great weekend, and great weather. We came home and we had had an inch and a half of rain here!

Friday, we took the train to downtown so we could experience the Taste of Chicago. I had spinach stuffed pizza, grilled corn on the cob, and Italian Ice. I also had a small bite of a meatball, a couple bites of Lawson's Italian Sausage, a couple bites of a hamburger, and some of Brantley's ice cream. You would think we would all have a stomach ache after all that! It was all yummy!

Friday night we went to see the Schaumburg Flyers play the Kansas City T-Bones. The T-Bones won. They had a guy that hit 3 out of the park home runs. It was a fun game to watch, even if it's not even considered minor league. They also had a nice fireworks display after the game.

Matt and Rosemarie took Brantley to see the parade on Saturday morning. It was a bit drizzly, but not enough to dampen the parade. We also went to see the fireworks display that night. We were so close to the fireworks and they were so loud. They were being shot practically right overhead and we had to look almost straight up to see them.

I didn't take very many pictures, but here's what I took. Enjoy!

Birthday Time!

It's birthday time. This will probably be the last year we do a big party for Brantley. (I think I probably said that last year!) I've finished sending out all the invitations and now it's time for the waiting. Brantley will ask me no less than 10 times tonight, "Have you heard from anyone else?" I gave him several choices for the party and he decided on a Sounds game. I also let him put together his guest list, so he's all about keeping track of who is coming. I never know what to expect since his birthday is around a holiday and a lot of people are travelling. It should be a great time so make sure you get back to me if you haven't already!

Hygiene

What is it with boys and hygiene? Is it a boy thing, or just a kid thing in general. I have a hard time thinking that there are little girls like this out there, but maybe there are. Brantley doesn't care if he's dirty. His fingernails can be absolutely nasty and it doesn't bother him. What should I expect from a boy who used to eat the mulch on the preschool playground? It's not really hard to get him in the shower, but getting him to actually clean himself is a chore. "Oh, you mean you wanted me to wash my hair?" Brushing teeth is absolutely the worst part of Brantley's day. Why does he hate it so much? For a long time he gagged really easily and would gag every time he brushed his teeth. That doesn't seem to happen as easily now, but he still hates brushing his teeth. I keep telling him he has to take care of his permanent teeth because those are the only one's he's going to get. Do you think it helps? NO! I used to brush his teeth for him every morning but that was torture for both of us. Now, I feel like I have to at least one a week or so or his teeth are going to rot out. I have a feeling this doesn't get better.

2009 Mariners Pics

I really didn't take any pictures this season, but the coach had an awesome camera that he brought a couple of times and had people take pictures. There were some really good shots. Here are the ones of Brantley.

Baseball Conclusion

Well, baseball is officially over for the summer. The Mariners just didn't have it in them to win the championship. Even though they put together another triple play, they lost the first game by 3 so they had to go to a second game which was ended early by the 10 run rule. The Cardinals were an excellent team. They hit well and they fielded well. They also had some kids that really knew where the play was. Brantley got hurt in the second game. He was running to second base and slid in only to be hit by the ball being thrown in. The ball hit him in the face. I don't think it was a direct hit. I think it deflected off of something, but it was a hard hit. We ran onto the field, along with all the coaches. His mouth was all bloody inside. We cleaned him up and had him rinse out his mouth. He seemed okay, and said he could stay out there. When he ran home, I had him put ice on his mouth while in the dug out and another mom had some Motrin that I gave him. We weren't sure if he could come out to finish the inning, but while we were sorting out the rules, he decided he could do it. He finished the game. I was really proud of him sticking with it. They were all so upset about the loss, but they handled it like good sportsmen should. And, it didn't hurt that they got to go to a pool party at the assistant coach's house and got 2 trophies. One trophy was for being the league season champs and the second was for being a finalist in the tournament. They are really cool trophies. You can kinda see the injury in this picture. It looks worse today(I took this picture yesterday), but he says it doesn't hurt. He just says it feels weird which is probably from the swelling. I'm still not sure if he chipped a tooth or not. If he did, it's not bad and not real noticeable.
I hope that Brantley will read these one day and have fond memories. These are the things that I will remember from this season:

All the boys loading up in the back of John's truck to ride together from the practice field to the game. They looked tough all showing up together and jumping out of the truck.

I will remember the looks on Troyce and Thomas' faces when they got their first hits.

I will remember the excitement of Adrian when he told the coach he really wanted to play catcher. And, I'll remember when that throw from third to first came out of nowhere.

I'll remember the bear hug that Jackson gave Brantley after his unassisted triple play and the whole team celebrating together.

I'll remember the look on Chapman's face when that pop fly was coming right to him, and the look on his face after he caught it.

I'll remember seeing all of Brantley's worried teammates on their knee at the dugout waiting to see if he was okay after being hit.

I'll remember those face first, arms out, chest slides from Eli. And, I'll remember Eli chasing down the runner for the out.

I'll remember how tiny little Jack would hit that ball so hard, and run so fast.

Thank you Mariners for a great season. Good luck to those moving up, and we'll see the rest next season!

Championship bound!

The Mariners logged another win tonight. They will be playing in the championship game on Saturday against one of the red teams (Cardinals or the Reds..they play tomorrow night). Since the Mariners have no losses in the tournament, they get 2 chances to win. If they lose, it will be a double header for the championship.

Tonight's game was against the Cardinals, and they barely pulled it out. They came out screaming in the first inning and scored 6 runs. The middle of the game got a little dicey with the Cardinals taking the lead by 2 after the 5th. The Mariners came out swinging in the sixth and scored 6 runs with no outs!! Brantley got that inning started by the way! Then, they held the other team to 2 runs to win the game. Brantley had 2 singles and he caught an awesome fly ball on the run. It was so cool!

On another note, our coach got ejected from the game. There were some horrible calls, that went mostly in favor of the other team. David tried to call them on it and got mad. Apparently, as he walked off the field he said that the officiating of the game was the worst he had seen. He walked off the field so he wouldn't say something stupid to the umps. Then, a dad from the other team who was backing up the catcher told the ump to eject him and the ump turned around and said hey coach, you're out. It really was some of the worst officiating I've seen. But, our coach could have handled it a bit better. He may not get to be there for the championship game because of the ejection. Brantley is pretty upset about that because it is the championship game, but I explained to him that part of the game is learning to be respectful. The umps will make bad calls and you can't do things like that. I told Brantley that if coach doesn't get to be there, they need to win it for him and show what good sportsmen they are!!


Almost forgot....Brantley actually slid into second base tonight. It was good thing because he probably would have gotten out if he hadn't slid. I believe that was his first time actually sliding.

Another correction...he got a double and 2 singles. The double was in the first inning.

Payback is a .....

Remember I told you that Brantley hit a pop fly that was caught for a triple play. Well, he didn't forget it. Today against the Astros (I guess it's not really payback since it's a different team), Brantley was playing short stop. He made a diving catch and ran to tag second and tagged the runner from first for the triple play. It was awesome. We all went crazy. Jackson gave Brantley a big bear hug and lifted him off the ground. I was so excited for him, especially since he had struck out on his first at bat. I was afraid he had lost his mojo. But, that play got him back in the game and he came back and smacked the ball after that. The Mariners ended the game in the bottom of the fourth, 16 to 6. Now, they get to play the fourth ranked Reds on Monday night. Thank goodness it's not a 7:30 game because they play awful at those late games. If the Mariners win and the White Sox win, they will meet up Thursday night with the winner going on the play the winner of the loser bracket. I know it sounds bad calling it that, but that is what it is. It's double elimination and they have lost a game in that part of the bracket.

Mariners are still #1!

It was a disappointing loss Saturday against the Athletics. The game got off to a bad start. Bottom of the first, runners on first and second, Brantley hit a pop fly to center field. It was a great hit and the base coaches thought there was no way it would be caught and sent the runners. The Athletics caught it, our runners didn't know what to do and the the inning ended with a triple play. The Athletics really wanted the win. They caught pretty much everything that the Mariners sent to outfield. Not only that, they had a couple of double plays. The Mariners lost 5 to 12. They finished the season 12 and 2. We were afraid they would be tied with the White Sox, but the White Sox also lost on Saturday so the Mariners are #1. The White Sox still have one game to make up. If they win, there will be a 3-way tie for 2nd place, but the White Sox should be in 2nd place based on the tie breaker.

School's Out for Summer!

This past Thursday was the last day of school. It was a half day, so I took the day off and took Brantley and one of his friends to the zoo. They had a great time. We ended up spending 3 hours there and could have stayed longer. The highlight of the trip was the baby tiger exhibit. They were so cute and playful.

Baseball

It amazes me how some coaches just don't know how to be good sportsmen. The past 2 teams the Mariners have played have been this way. Tonight, the other coach actually tried to accuse Adrian of using a non-regulation bat. GIVE ME A BREAK! Our coach handled it well though. He took the bat over and told him to check it. We even heard that coach yelling at his team. One of the umps was saying that coach is like that every game. I know that our coach can get a bit overzealous sometimes, but all in all, he's a decent coach. The Mariners won 17 to 10 to end the game early. Brantley hit 5 singles tonight. He also got hit by the ball in the neck while playing pitcher. He got hit but still made the throw to first base although the kid was safe. He came out for a couple of minutes and there was no respect at all from the other team. He was a trooper, though, and went back out to the outfield that inning. Way to stay with it Brantley! He came out in the next inning at first base and did a great job.

Future First Baseman?

Brantley played first base during one inning tonight and he did an awesome job. Jackson fired the ball to him a couple of times and Brantley didn't miss a beat. They were all on target tonight, but I think Jackson and Brantley both had a break out game. The Mariners won 16 to 5. Brantley had 2 doubles, a triple and 6 RBIs. He is #1 with his batting average and #3 with his slugging percentage, but he has almost caught up to Jackson!

They can co-exist!

I think Pudge is finally getting used to the family addition.

Too close for comfort!

Tonight's game was intense. I think that is the best team the Mariners have played this season. They somehow pulled it out in the end, though, and won 15 to 13. I lost count of how many times they over-threw first base. I don't know what was going on with them. They needed a close one though. It gave them a reality check. It was an exciting game. Jackson did hit an in the park grand slam. Well, it really should have been a triple, but he came home on an error. Brantley didn't disappoint. He hit 2 singles and a double. Even though they kept over-throwing first base, there were some awesome catches in the field.

Last night's game was against the Angels. The Mariners won 14 to 2. Brantley hit 3 doubles and a single in that game. The batting and slugging averages of the team are ridiculous! (but I'm not complaining!)

Happy Mother's Day!

To all the moms out there, Happy Mother's Day! Lawson and Brantley went out today and bought me gifts. Brantley picked out a necklace with a mom pendant, and Lawson actually kept a pottery barn page I gave him a long time ago and got the item. The fact that he went to pottery barn is impressive. He got me a charging station. It holds all the chargers for my phone, camera, life drive, and whatever else needs charging.

Tonight, Lawson actually grilled some salmon!

Coco supervised...

And the pretty table. Actually, I bought the flowers for tomorrow's Mother's Day/Birthday dinner for Grandma. Notice there is no place for Brantley. He had already had his gourmet Chef Boyardee meal. :)

And the food was more than edible, it was really good.

Pepper Honey Cedar Planked Salmon. MMMMmmmmm..sweet with a kick.

Literary Tea

Tonight was the second grade Literary Tea. Each child got to present their "original" fairy tale. They had a microphone, but the kids didn't get to practice with it so none of them really talked into it. We could barely hear most of them. Most of them were modeled after Cinderella or the Three Little Pigs. Brantley's story was The Big Bad Pig and the Three Little Wolves. He typed a post about it recently, but I didn't publish it so I will now. Not sure if it was completely finished. It was a very nice evening. (Edit - I posted Brantley's post and it kept the original day. It was on April 25th and it wasn't finished. Scroll down to read it.)

#1

Mariners are officially #1!!! WTG team!

Mariners win!

I'm starting to sound like a broken record. As of Sunday, the Mariners were tied for first place. In my mind they are actually in first place because they beat the team they are tied with.

Tonight's game was against the Pirates. It got a little ugly tonight, although Brantley did have some solid hits. The other team only had 9 players there. There is a rule that you have to have 10 players or you are penalized. The rule is in place so that coaches don't 'coerce' the worst players on the team to not show up. Pretty sad if you ask me that we have to have rules like this in place to keep people in line. So, if you only have 9 players, the 10th missing batter is an out. An out is recorded each time it's the 10th batter. If they only had 8, the 9th and 10th would be recorded as outs and if there are only 7 players the game is forfeited.

Since I've been recording the games I had printed out the rules. Was it bad of me to point out the rule? I pointed out to the ump that they only had 9 and he said to let him know when it was time for the 10th batter. I believe he did know the rule, but the umps are kids themselves and I don't think they like challenging the coaches. The coach for the other team acted like he didn't know the rule. Since I had the rules printed out, we flipped through them and found it to give to our coach. It was too late to record the out in the second inning (the second inning should have started with an out), but their coach agreed once he was shown the printed rules.

Did it make a difference in the game? I don't think so, but you never know. I'm guessing that the kids that were not there were actually their better players. At any rate, the game ended early and the Mariners won 15 to 8. Go Mariners!!

Another win for the Mariners!

Tonight's game was supposed to be easy, but it turned into a nail-biter. We had purchased a new bat for Brantley last fall and decided it was too big, so we bought one that was 2 inches shorter. He's been hitting with the shorter one until tonight. He wanted so bad to hit with the bigger bat so I told him he could take it and practice with it, but if coach said it was too big for him he'd have to use the smaller one. Coach thought he was swinging well with it in the cage, so he used it for the game. He then proceeded to prove me wrong about the bat. His first hit went just right of second base and landed out in the grass. I'm not sure how far from the fence it was when it landed, but it rolled out to the fence. He got a double out of it and a RBI since the first batter also hit a double and was waiting on second base. His second at bat sailed out between 2nd and 3rd to land in the grass and roll to the fence. Brantley got up to bat in the third inning with the bases loaded and he did not disappoint. I can't remember where that ball went, but he hit a triple for 3 RBIs. The 4th and 5th innings were not good at all. They started the 6th inning with the top of the batting order. I think his arms were getting tired at that point, but he still hit a base hit. There were so many good hits tonight. Jackson hit one that bounced out of the fence. Since it bounced out, he only got to go to second base. Still a great hit. Their fielding was not up to par tonight an they allowed 14 runs. But, the final score was 15 to 14. Way to go Mariners!

Brantley's Fairy Tale

Once opon a time there were three little wolves and the big bad pig.One day the mother said its time to seek your fortunes.The first little wolf met a guy with grass the little wolf said'' can I have these grass for my big fort"the man said" yes you can have the grass for your big fort and so the little wolf went on and made his big fort.The other little wolf met a guy with sticks and the little wolf said'' can I have these sticks for my big fort the man said'' yes you can have these sticks for your big fort and so the little wolf went on and made his big fort.The other pig met a guy with bricks and the little wolf said" can I have these bricks for my big fort''the man said" yes you can have the bricks for your bigfort and so the little wolf went on and made his big fort.Later the big bad pig came into town and the big bad pig knocked on the grass door and said" little wolf let me in not by the hair of my chinny chin chin then all hofe and pof and blow your fort down and he did blow the fort down then the little wolf ran to the stick fort and the big bad pig came to.The big bad pig knocked on the stick door

5 and 1!

And down go the undefeated Giants. Granted, there was a bad call but I don't really think it made a difference in the outcome since the Mariners didn't even have to play the bottom of the 6th. Brantley caught another fly ball at third base, and threw the ball to first base for the out that ended the game. They won 11 to 8. From left to right, front to back: Jack, Logan, Thomas, Chapman, Brantley, Samuel, Michael, Troyce, Jackson, Adrian, Eli, and John, Coach John, Coach David, and the other Coach John.

Go Mariners!

Tonight the 3 and 1 Mariners took on the 4 and 1 Dodgers and won! They really put together a whole game, defense and offense. There were some amazing plays in the field, including a pop fly caught by the 3rd baseman Brantley. Little Jack (I say little because he really is tiny!) made a catch that no one thought was catchable. Eli made a diving catch in the first baseline. It was just a really good game. They won 13 to 1. On to tomorrow's game against the undefeated Giants. Let's hope the Mariners put a kink the Giants' perfect season.

Easter (spoiler alert...pre read before small children read!)

I know. I'm very late with this posting. Pop pointed out that I've been slacking lately. I like to think I've just been choosier about what I post about. Okay, I guess you can call it laziness.

We decided to take a long weekend and go to Chicago for Easter weekend. Normally we drive over to Cookeville and Brantley gets to do an Easter Egg Hunt with his cousins. But, since it was the only weekend until June without a baseball game, we decided to go to Chicago. Lawson, Brantley, and Matt got to take in the Brewers home opener against the Cubs. It sounded like they had a good time. We spent the night up in Lake Geneva which was really nice. It's so pretty and tranquil up there. I'm jealous that Matt and Rosemarie have a place like that where they can just go whenever they want.

Rosemarie and I went to Popeye's while we waited for the boys to get back. They have absolutely, hands down, the best brocolli cheese soup I have ever had. Every time we go to Lake Geneva, we have to go there and get the soup. This time I got to go into the gift shop since the boys were not with us and I got a pretty necklace. I'm starting to make it a habit of getting necklaces when we go up North. Last time we were in Chicago, Lawson bought me a pretty one at the farmer's market in Wheaton. It is from a lady that makes jewerly, and I think I remember that everything was made out of copper. I could be wrong about that, but my necklace is copper.

On Saturday we decorated eggs. We had lots of decorations to choose from but I think the glitter eggs were the prettiest. Rosemarie posted some pictures on her blog.

After the official egg hunt, we decided to make egg salad from the hard boiled eggs. We all managed to survive, despite some of the dye somehow getting through the shells. Egg salad sandwiches were really all that was needed after a huge Easter brunch. Rosemarie's family inlcuded us in their Easter celebration. We all went to Venuti's for Easter Brunch. It was a HUGE buffet with pretty much everything you could think of for a brunch. Definitely not diet friendly. I have to say the highlight was the Easter Bunny, or how Brantley felt about the Easter Bunny. Brantley said the Easter Bunny was just a guy dressed in a suit. So, Lawson and Matt told him to go pull his tail and find out how real he was, to which Brantey replied that it was illegal to assault a mascot. The rest of the year should be interesting.



Click here if you have trouble with the slide show.

Joke Time

Brantley apparently read a joke book during library time, so he told us a couple last night.

What do you call a big lizard between 2 buildings?

An 'Alley'gator!

Game 1: Mariners Vs. Cardinals

Tonight was our first game of the season. The real first game was rained out. It was cold out there tonight! Next game is tomorrow at noon and it should be much warmer. Anyway, for some reason I volunteered to keep the score book this season. It's taking me some time to figure it out. I know a lot of the rules but I'm still learning. It didn't help that the girl running the scoreboard was apparently clueless. Either that, or she was with the other team and was trying to slip in some extra runs. She did it every inning, but only for the other team. Go figure. Don't worry though. I don't think any of the parents would let it go unnoticed. Brantley only had 2 at bats. His first at bat landed him at first base only. The next batter got out at first, but Brantley made it to second base. Then, with the next batter Brantley ran to third. He heard someone, he thought it was the ump, say he was out so he stepped off base to walk to the dug out and the kid tagged him. Apparently he was actually safe and the play hadn't ended. So, we told Brantley next time to not step off the base until the ump comes and tells him he is out. Oh well. Luck didn't turn around for his second at bat. Brantley popped a foul ball back which was caught by the catcher. When does that ever happen!!! Needless to say, Brantley was a little upset during the game. The coach noticed and really tried to concentrate on what he was doing right and I think that helped him. It was a good game, but the Mariners lost 13 to 6.

Brantley is #1

Of course, we all knew that, but the baseball league made it official. Brantley's spring jersey number is #1. Go Mariners! Tomorrow is supposed to be their first game, but I would not be surprised if it is cancelled due to the rain.....to be continued.

Mornings with Moms

Has it really been month since I have blogged? I meant to post this a couple weeks ago. Actually, I guess it was just a week and a half ago. The school had mornings with moms on Thursday and Friday. I was supposed to go on Thursday but it was a bad morning at the Freeman house, so I forgot. Friday morning I told Brantley I would go and he didn't want to go with me. I said he was going. He said they are just having dooghnuts. I said we were going anyway. He said who wants doughnuts for breakfast anyway. And then the kicker, "Aren't you on a diet?"

I almost forgot!!

I forgot that a couple practices ago I met Renee. Turns out her older brother is on Brantley's basketball team. She's a very cute little girl. Anyway, we were sitting up at the top of the bleachers tonight when they came in. They sat down lower because it was a little crowded. I looked down and saw her looking up waiting for Brantley to look at her. He finally looked and she did the cute little wave that girls do when you are trying to get attention but also trying to play shy. It was so cute. Brantley just looked away really quick. He is too funny! The other day he told me that someone at school says he's a math genius. When I asked who, he whispered in my ear - Anna. Isn't that sweet?

Basketball Concludes (thank goodness!)

Tonight was the first round of the county tournament. The team got there early to watch the first game. The first two teams didn't seem to be any better than any of the Oak View teams and I really thought the boys had a chance. Unfortunately, the team they had to play was totally stacked. I heard from a friend that most of the boys on that team have played together since they were 3. It wasn't that there defense or foot work was any better than our boys. It was the fact that EVERY shot they put up went in the basket. It was unbelievable. I am not exaggerating when I say I think they only missed 2 shots the whole game. The Huskers had it within 4 points with about 3 minutes left and one of their guys scored a three, nothing but net. They played a hard game, but lost 34 to 26. A very respectable score considering the competition. We just had way too many missed shots. I'm actually relieved it's over. I don't think I could take any more of this. Now, it's time for baseball!!

Introducing the Oak View 2/3 Basketball Champs!

Tennessee Falls!

It will be Nebraska vs. Florida in the championship game Saturday. I took Brantley to watch the game tonight. Zack scored 8 points in the first period for Tennessee. He sat out the second period and Florida was ahead at the half. Then, Zack came back in for the third period and Florida took him out. I say that because he hurt his knee and sat on the bench with an ice pack the remainder of the game. I learned afterwards, though, that he hurt himself fouling the player he was guarding and fouled out of the game. I had seen him earlier in the game showing some attitude to the ref. He even spiked the ball right in front of the ref. I guess he learned it from the coach because the coach was yelling and arguing with the ref in the fourth period. Florida won 26 to 14. I hate that Tennessee's perfect season had to end like that, but I hope the coach learned that he has to coach a team, not the star player. We could have had that exact situation on Brantley's team with Jeremiah, but our coach made a point of making Jeremiah pass the ball and play as a team. He has built a great team. Everyone has contributed to their winning season. Saturday should be a great game!

HUSKERS WIN!

After an INTENSE game versus the #3 seed North Carolina, the Huskers pulled out a win. Brantley scored a free throw to tie the game at 13 with a minute left in the game. Then, Jeremiah passed the ball to 'Big Country' for an easy 2 points. Jeremiah then scored a free throw to seal the game at 16 to 13. The crowd (and I do mean crowd - the bleachers were packed!) was loud and the game exciting! Now, on to the Championship versus Tennessee/Florida (TBD tomorrow). I was taking video clips the first part of the game but then gave up. I was afraid I would end up throwing my camera!

Basketball Tournament Introductions

They messed up with Brantley's number, but this is so cute.

Basketball Update

Today was the first round of the playoff. Brantley's team is the #2 seed. They played the win-less UCLA team today, and barely squeaked out a win. They all seemed tired or something. It just was not the team we have become accustomed to seeing; and the UCLA team looked like they had been practicing a lot. They are going to have a tough time against North Carolina tomorrow if they don't play better than they did today. I have left my camera at home the whole season until today. I took a few pics and video clips but didn't get anything real exciting.

Basketball Update

Brantley normally makes this shot, but he wasn't playing his best today. I just found out that he's friends with the boy who was guarding him. Maybe that was the problem?

Huskers WIN!

It was an exciting basketball game today! Brantley practiced at home this morning and was excited and ready for the game. But, as soon as we got to the gym his nerves kicked in. I was worried he wasn't going to have a good game, especially after the biggest kid on the other team stole the ball from him and knocked him down. They actually did call the foul on the kid since he wasn't even guarding Brantley. Brantley sat out for a little while but came back in for the fourth period on fire. He must have been mad or something because he stole the ball twice, once taking it all the way back down the court for the score. They won 21 to 11 so they will still be in second place.

Valentines Day

Brantley wanted to get his valentine cards ready today so we sat down today to do them. He was going through the class list and putting names on the cards and I taped a cherry lifesaver in each one. Then, he gets to one of the girls names and say 'Renee'. Now, since I can type this with the enunciation, picture the copy machine guy from SNL saying, 'Renee'. That's how he said it. So, I started teasing him and asked him if 'Renee' (saying it like he did) was new. She is new and I think Brantley might have a little crush. Isn't that cute!

Basketball Update

I'm ready for baseball. Basketball just has too much action for me. Brantley's team is in second place and they played the first place, undefeated team on Saturday. It was an exciting game with Brantley scoring the first basket of of the game. The Huskers stayed ahead for most of the game, but the Vols came back to tie it at the end of the fourth period to take it to OT. The Huskers couldn't hold on and lost 21 to 17. They were at a disadvantage though. They were short one player, so all of our guys had to play the entire game without a rest. They do switch Conner in for defense for 2 periods so one player gets to rest a little while we are on defense. (In case I didn't mention it, Conner has cerebral palsy.) But, it was a tough game and Brantley even collided with another player and hurt his knee. He went back in though and finished the game. It was disappointing, but as coach told them, he was not disappointed in their performance because they played hard and played as a team. One player for the other team scored 16 of their points. Everyone contributed on the Husker team and the coach was very happy with them. And, if they win the next 2 games, this may well have been a preview of the championship game. They had the game won up until the very end. Would being able to rest a period have made a difference? Maybe.

Coach talked to Brantley after the game and told him how he did a great job. He also told him that he didn't want any more of Brantley telling him he won't play point guard. He said from now on, he's just going to tell Brantley to play point guard. I think the loss was good for him. It took off some of the pressure. He was in very good spirits after the game so we will see how practice goes this week.