Active Wednesday

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

The boys decided to set their alarms today to wake up.  They wanted to get up earlier to play on the computer.  I told them I was not getting up any earlier to wake them up so they had to do it themselves.

Then we walked to school.  Noah fell on the trail walking into school and scraped his leg.  Rachel had to go get band aids from the nurse's office.

When we walked home, Rachel went and took a short walk with Lizzy.

I had a meeting at lunch time.  I stopped at Smoothie King on the way home.

I walked to get the boys.  They were good on the way home.

The boys and I had an early dinner because Evan had a game tonight.

Evan's game didn't go to well.  Evan led off the top of the first inning with a single that I saw bounce away from the outfielder, so I sent him.  It turns out that it must not have bounced that far away because the throw came in fast and Evan was out at second.  I apparently didn't learn my lesson because the same thing happened later in the inning.  Evan came up in the third and hit a shot down the left field line that went to the fence.  Evan ended up with his seventh home run of the season.  The rest of the boys just weren't hitting though and Evan's team lost.

We came home the boys are now in bed.

Until next time...

On This Tuesday...

This morning we drove the kids to school.

I took Lizzy for a walk.

Around lunchtime Deborah came over and brought lunch and I helped her with some blogging stuff.

Morry and I walked to get the boys from school.

Evan had baseball practice.

When Morry and Evan got home we had leftover pizza for dinner.

In a few minutes we'll start getting the boys ready for bed.

No Baseball = TCBY

This morning we walked to school.

I went to Sams Club and Petco.

Morry also walked to picked up the boys from school. I was out tutoring.

When we got home we made pizza for dinner.

It was nice not having any baseball practice or games today.  We decided to get Sweet Caroline's.  We drove over there, but they were closing up for the night.  It turns out they close at 7pm during the week.  We went to TCBY instead.

Morry and the boys are outside playing baseball. In a few minutes we'll get them ready for bed.

Saturday + Sunday = More Baseball

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Yesterday morning, Evan had a baseball game.  His team lost but he played well.  He hit the ball to all three fields and hustled well.  The other team kept moving their players back when he came up to bat.

After the game, Evan and Darius had a catch for a while and Daniel and I watched the next game.  Noah was playing with some sticks he found.

We took it easy all afternoon.  The boys watched a movie.

In the late afternoon, we went to the Round Rock Express game.  It was Oak Hill night and the kids got to have a "parade" around the field in front of the fans.  Evan decided to run around the whole thing and in fact was racing his teammates (and winning).  You can see a picture below.  The Rockies and Nationals sat with each other which was nice.  Noah had fun with his friends and Evan had fun with his friends.  The kids were up on the Jumbotron a couple times.  The team put up a Jumbotron message that if you tweeted a picture at a certain hashtag they might show it later in the game.  Rachel took a picture of Evan with his team and that was the one they chose to show on the Jumbotron.

This morning we slept in.  Then Noah had baseball practice at 1pm.  I did a game with the kids towards the end.  The winner would get a Gatorade at the next practice.  The kid who won was so excited, he ran and jumped into my arms and wouldn't let go.  It was very cute.

Evan had a game in the late afternoon.  He had his worst day hitting this season.  Still he had a double (he was out trying to stretch it into a triple) and he lined a ball super hard at the third baseman who was able to (barely) knock it down for a single.  He also had a sac fly.

We came home had dinner, gave the boys showers and they are in bed and sleeping now.

Until next time...

More Baseball

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Again the boys were good on the way to school.  We've had easy mornings for quite a while now.

Around 10am, AT&T came to the house.  We got rid of DirecTV and our traditional home phone and replaced it all with AT&T Uverse.  It just made sense financially actually.  DirecTV has gotten very expensive.

After that, Rachel and I went to lunch at Wholy Bagel.

We walked to get the boys from school.  Jack came over for a little while.

Then Noah and I went to his baseball game.  There was a mix-up with the fields.  This game was a make-up of a rained out game.  Apparently, the coach pitch commissioner and the tee ball commissioner scheduled a game at the same field for two different games at the same time.  There was a softball field opened up so I volunteered that we move our game over there.

The game went well and we won again.  Noah didn't hit a home run today, but he played well defensively.  I had him play catcher one inning and I had him cover home on a bases loaded play and the pitcher threw home to him.  Unfortunately, he couldn't quite grab it but he made a good heads up play.

After Noah's game Evan and I walked over to another field.  Evan's coach from last year had moved to Singapore but he was in town for the week for business.  He was coming to the fields and Evan really wanted to see him.  It turns out that he wasn't coming until about 8:15/8:30.  So Evan and I went home for dinner.  Rachel picked up Torchy's after Noah's game and had it ready for us.

After dinner, Evan and I drove back to the fields and he was able to spend some time with Derek.  He was so excited.  He told him about a couple plays he's made this year.  Derek seemed to be genuinely flattered that Evan cared so much about seeing him and wanting to tell him stories.  He spent a bunch of time with Evan.  It was very nice.

It was late by the time we got home.   Noah was already asleep.  Evan went right to sleep.

Until next time...

Noah Hit A Home Run

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

It was warm again this morning.  The boys like going into school in the morning when it's warm.

Rachel did some work for MBSquared today.  We've gotten her some work which is good.

In the afternoon, we walked to pick up the boys.  It was hot, near 90.  We had hoped the ice cream truck would be there but unfortunately, it wasn't.

Both boys had baseball games.  Noah's game was first.  All the boys were hitting well today.  Many of them put the ball into the outfield.  But in the 4th inning, Noah came to bat.  There was a boy on base.  He hit the ball hard past the second baseman and all the way to the fence.  Noah raced to third, he stopped and I told him to come home.  The throw was late and Noah was safe with his first home run.  He didn't act that happy at first.  He tried to walk by me but I made him stop and give me a hug.  I was very proud of him.  I knew he'd do it.

At Evan's game, Noah told many of the parents of Evan's teammates that he hit a home run.  I'm glad he was able to do that.  Everyone was very excited for him.  Many of those parents have known Noah for several years and everyone was very happy for him.

In Evan's game, he led off the bottom of the first with a drive that hit the dead center field fence on one hop.  He wound up with a triple.  In the 2nd inning, he hit a ball even harder by it was a line drive.   The right center fielder fielded it cleanly holding Evan to a single.  In the 4th, Evan hit a ball, that I thought may have hit the dirt first and hit it into left field for another single.

So it was a good baseball night.

The boys are now asleep.

Until next time...

Late Baseball Practice

This morning we drove the boys to school.

Morry walked to pick them up while I was out tutoring.

Soon after I got home Morry and Evan left for baseball practice.  It was scheduled for 5:30 - 7:30.

Noah and I ate dinner at home.

Morry and Evan should be home soon and then we'll get the boys ready for bed.

Another Game, Another Win

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning we took the boys to school.  It was warm out but I needed to get back so we drove.  The boys were in good moods.

Rachel walked on the treadmill and then went for her weekly shopping trip to HEB.

We walked to pick the boys up from school.  It was 87 degrees so the boys were complaining about the heat on the way home.

Noah had a game this evening.  His team is starting to play very well.  He had a great hit in the second inning.  He didn't get any chances in the field today, but he seemed to enjoy himself.  His team won another game.  The tie breaker for the tee ball games is outs recorded.  So the score was tied at the end but we recorded two outs and they recorded one out.

Rachel stopped at Target on the way home.

The boys and I went over to the other field because I needed to get checks from and meet some of the new players on the Marauders.  The Marauders roster is set and we have our first tournament in a month.

We came home and had dinner.

The boys are now in their rooms.

Until next time...

Playing with the Neighbors

This morning Grandmom came with us to take the boys to school. Then, Morry took her to the airport.

Morry picked up the boys while I was tutoring.  After my first student, I brought Audrey back to our house for tutoring.  While we were waiting for her mom to pick her up Audrey, Evan, Noah, and I played outside. 

After she left Christian and Conner from across the street were outside and the boys ended up playing with them until dinner time.

We finished dinner a little while ago and now the boys are going to get ready for bed.

Relaxing Sunday

We stayed at home most of the day today.

For dinner we made reservations at Gumbos.  

When we got home the boys took showers and now they are getting ready for bed.

Here are a few pictures from today.

No Baseball Saturday

There's no baseball this weekend since it's Easter weekend.

We took it easy most of the day.

Gradmom took the boys to the Lego store and Chick Fil-A.   While they were out Morry and I went to AT&T to work out a deal for phone, internet, and cable tv.

Around 4pm Matt and Rachael and their family came over.  We spent most the time outside.  We ordered food from Yaghi's and had it delivered.

They just left and now the boys are getting ready for bed.

Wet Day/Game

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

It threatened all day to rain.  It sprinkled at various times during the day.  So we drove rather than walk to school this morning.

Rachel did a bunch of cleaning today.

When we picked the boys up from school, we stopped at the Circle C Community Center to donate some stuff.  They were taking donations for Safe Place.

Rachel had to go tutor.  I gave the kids and early dinner since Evan had a baseball game.

It was raining the entire game.  It was very much like Seattle where it wasn't coming down hard enough to stop any action but the field was very messy, the ball was wet, the grass was wet.  Evan's team just seemed to be moving super slowly.  Evan led off the top of the 1st with a home run on some good base running.  The play actually shouldn't have been close but the infield was very muddy and really slowed Evan down.  But it was all down hill from there.  After taking a 1-0 lead the team didn't score another run the rest of the game.  I know that Evan was getting very frustrated - especially with some teammates.  But he never actually showed it to any of them.  But I know his body language.  I don't think it was obvious to anyone else.  He'll completely forget about it tomorrow and he'll be glad to get back to the team.

Noah had a good time at the game.  The older brother of a boy on Noah's team was on the team that Evan's team was playing.  So Noah spent the entire game with the boy from his team.  They seemed to have a good time.

The boys are now sleeping.

Until next time...

Busy Day for Evan

This morning we drove the boys to school.

Later in the afternoon I tutored.  Morry picked up Noah from school and Evan went home with his friend Wade. 

I swung by the house at 4:30 to pick up Noah and brought him with me to my second tutoring. 

Morry picked up Evan at Wade's house at 5pm.  They picked up Brayden and then went to an indoor baseball training place.  They met Darius and his dad there. 

Noah and I got home around 5:45.  Morry and Evan got home around 7pm.

We ate dinner Morry had picked up from Rudy's earlier in the day.

The boys are in bed now.

Two Baseball Events at One Time

This morning we drove the boys to school.  It was in the upper 30s.

Morry had a meeting, so I picked the boys up from school.  We walked.  At that time it was in the 60s and very nice out.

Noah had a game at 5:30 and Evan had practice from 5:30 - 7:30.  One of the parents from Evan's team gave him a ride to and from practice.  Noah had a good game.

We just finished eating dinner and now the boys are getting ready for bed.

Here are a few pictures from Noah's game.

Hail

This morning we drove the boys to school since it looked like it was about to rain. 

It started raining hard and hailing around 10am.  We had a lot of pea sized hail, and luckily, no damage.  Though we did get enough rain to cancel Noah's game later in the day.

Morry picked up the kids from school while I was out tutoring.

For dinner we had pancakes.

The boys are getting ready for bed now.

Summary of Yesterday and Today

Yesterday we had a busy day.  The boys were invited to Christian and Connor's birthday party (across the street).  The party started at 11am and they had a game truck at that party too.  The party ended around 1:30. 

Later in the afternoon Morry took the boys baseball bat shopping.

Then, we went with with Gabriela, Bernardo, Sebastian, and Santiago to a 6pm showing of the new Muppet Movie.  The boys seemed to like it.  After the movie we all got dessert at TCBY.

Today, we went to HEB in the morning.  On the way home we took some bluebonnets pictures.   Morry and Evan ate lunch at home and then headed out to the baseball field.  I packed a lunch for Noah and me and then we went to Evan's game.  Evan had a good game and got a homerun with his new bat.

For dinner we had steak, salmon, and corn on the cob.  We ate outside on the porch.

The boys are taking a shower now and then we'll get them to bed.

Here are some pictures from today.

Food Trailer Night

This morning we walked the boys to school.

I had a dentist appointment and then met Morry for lunch at Wholy Bagel.

We walked to get the boys from school and then Jack came over for a little bit.  They played with Nathan in the cul-de-sac and when Jack went home Nathan came over to our house.

Morry and Noah went to baseball practice.

When practice was over we all went to the Food Trailer night.  We just got home and now the boys are getting ready for bed.

Noah Plays Catch

Hello everyone this is Morry.

Rachel and the boys walked to school.  I had an early meeting and couldn't go.

I met with the other coach of the Marauders today to plan out the summer season.  It was a good productive meeting.

The last few Thursdays there has been an ice cream truck near the school.  Today, we assumed it would be there so I didn't bring popsicles for the boys like I normally do.  Unfortunately, the week I choose not to do bring popsicles the ice cream truck is not there.

Rachel left around 3:45 to tutor.

At 5, the boys and I left for Evan's practice.  Evan had a good practice as he usually does. He's got a bit of a cold but didn't let that stop him.  But Evan's old coach, and current father of one of the boys on the team, asked Noah if he'd like to have a catch.  Noah and Ryan had a catch almost the entire time.  Ryan really worked with him on holding his glove right.  Noah made great progress and had fun doing it at the same time.

We came home and had Yaghi's for dinner. Rachel picked it up on the way home because we all were going to get home around 8.

The boys are in bed now.

Until next time...

Tutoring to Baseball

We drove the boys to school this morning.  Evan had a cough this morning, maybe from allergies.

Morry picked up the kids and I left to tutor.

Noah had a 5:30 game, so I met them at the field when I was done tutoring. 

When we got home we had pasta for dinner.  The kids are cleaning up their toys downstairs and then we'll get them ready for bed.

Not One, But Two

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning went well.  The boys were in good moods.  We drove to school.  I had some things to do so I didn't have time to walk.

I had a meeting later in the day with Rachel's cousin, Aaron so for the first time in a long time, I didn't pick the boys up from school.  Rachel went alone.

When I got home, I made Evan dinner.  He and I needed to get to warm ups for his baseball game.  Noah stayed at home with Rachel.  They came later to the game.

Evan's game went well.  His team didn't play well initially but they came on strong at the end.  Evan was 3-for-3 with a single and not one but two HRs.  In the first inning he hit a ball wall that went between short and third for a single.  In the third, he hit the ball very well to right center that went all the way to the fence.  Evan raced around the bases for an inside-the-park HR.  He came up again in the 4th and this time he hit a long ball that landed about 10 feet from the left center field fence.  He came around again for a home run.  He made some other plays including almost turning a double play.  He fielded the ball at shortstop, stepped on second base, but the second baseman got in his way slowing him down enough so the throw was late to first.  He also played third and made a nice tag, though the umpire (incorrectly) called the runner safe.  The umpire made the right call given his positioning but the problem was that he was not positioned well.

We came home and the boys are now in bed.

Until next time...

Practice then Rain

This morning we drove the boys to school.

Morry picked them out while I was tutoring.

Morry took both boys to Noah's baseball practice.  Right after they got home it started raining hard, with lightening and thunder.

For dinner we had hamburgers and rice.

In a few minutes we'll get the kids ready for bed.

Rainy Day Movie

This morning we took it easy at home.  Around noon we found out Evan's game later in the day was canceled.  Morry took the kids to see Captain America soon after.  They seemed to enjoy it, though Morry said the movie was long.

For dinner we had corned beef and corn on the cob.

The boys are taking showers now and soon we'll get them to bed. 

Evan is 8!!

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Today is Evan's 8th birthday.  It's hard to believe we met him for the first time eight years ago.  When I got up, he was playing MLB Power Pros on the Wii.  He wanted to open his gifts.  He was excited to get a Penguins Jersey from Zayde.

We had a 10:30 baseball game for Noah.  Evan came with me.  Rachel came later.  Unfortunately, we lost but the kids played really well despite the loss.  Noah hit the ball very well and of course was a smart baserunner as he usually is.  Really the kids did very well.

After the game, one of the boys from Noah's team invited him over so he went home with them.

When I got home I had a missed call and an email.  Apparently the team that Evan was supposed to play later in the afternoon didn't have enough kids and had to forfeit the game.  Evan was disappointed. We arranged to have a practice during that time at the fields.

Around 3pm, Evan and I went over to the fields and we practiced.  There were 6 of the 11 kids there but it was fun.  The kids were all doing well and Evan had an absolute blast.  The kids that came were the kids that Evan is close with.

From there, we drove to pick up Evan's friend Wade.  We planned to take them to the Round Rock Express game.  We bought lawn seats in the outfield.  We got Wade and then jumped in the car and drove to Round Rock for the game.  An inning after we got there someone hit a home run.  It went just over Evan's head.  In fact, I don't think he completely saw it until it hit the grass and bounced back towards a kid.  Evan literally dove onto the ground with the boy that the ball bounced towards and another boy and almost had the ball.  Evan seemed to have a really good time with Wade and he was into the baseball game.  In the top of the 8th, another home run came and that was a big pile.  Evan jumped into that one as well.  That one made me a bit nervous because it was a bigger pile.  Evan was a bit disappointed that he didn't come away with the ball.

We came home, dropped Wade off and now the boys are in bed.

Until next time...

Donuts at School

This morning we drove the boys to school.  At lunchtime we met Evan and brought donuts for his class.  Evan seemed really happy to see us and the donuts.

After that, Morry and I got our usual lunch at Wholy Bagel.

After school we walked home and then Jack came over.  The boys went in the cul-de-sac to play with Nathan and then ended up in his house.

For dinner we had China Dynasty delivered.

In a few minutes we'll get the boys ready for bed.

Just a practice today

This morning Morry took the boys to school. 

During the day I did some cleaning around the house and laundry.

Morry and I walked to get the boys from school.

I left to tutor and Morry took both boys to Noah's practice.  He said Evan was having a great time playing with one of the brothers and didn't want to leave.

We had pizza for dinner and ate outside.

Now the boys are ready for bed.

Two Games

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning we walked to school.  It was fairly warm.  Evan and Noah were very good walking to school.

Rachel met a friend for breakfast and then went to HEB.

I met Rachel's cousin, Aaron, for lunch and talk about some work stuff.  We went to Home Slice.

In the afternoon, Rachel and I started to walk to pick the boys up but we felt some rain drops.  We went home and got the car and drove to pick them up.

Evan played a bit with Nathan who had invited their friend Wade over at Nathan's house.

At 4:30, the boys and I left for the field.  Noah had a game followed by Evan's game.  Noah's team won based on the outs tie-breaker.  I started Noah at shortstop.  He made some good plays to field the ball and not let it by him.   He hit the ball well and ran very well too.  I think I'll be playing him more at shortstop.

In the night-cap, Evan's team was playing one of the better teams in the league.  Evan led off the game with a hard-hit single.  He ended up scoring.  In the third inning, Evan was playing left-center field.  There was a boy on second.  A kid hit a hard ball.  It was sinking in front of Evan.  He caught it as he was falling forward, fell to the ground, rolled and popped up.  By that time the boy on second based had tagged up.  Evan threw a perfect strike to the third baseman for what should have been a double play but unfortunately, the third baseman dropped it.  In the bottom of the fourth, Evan's team was down by two runs with two men on.  Evan doubled down the right field line.  Just as he got to second base, someone accidentally turned the lights out.  The lights needed to be off for 15 minutes and then they take close to 15 minutes to turn back on.  So we had a delay.  I was teasing the other coach that he made that happen on purpose to kill our rally.  When the lights came back on, the next batter popped out.  In the top of the fifth, the other team scored three runs.  We came back and scored three runs and the game ended in a tie.

We got home very late with the delay in the game.  The boys are now asleep.

Until next time...

Late Dinner

This morning we drove the boys to school.  It was warm, but Morry had a lot of work to do.

I had a lunchtime meeting.

We walked to get the boys at school. 

Then, around 4:30 Evan and Morry left for Evan's practice.  They got home around 7:30 and we ate dinner at 8, outside.

The boys are getting ready for bed now.