Marauders Tournament #2: Day 1

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

The Marauders were in their second tournament of the spring/summer season today.  Our first game was not until 1pm followed by a 2:15 game.  We had to be at the fields by noon.  So we did nothing in the morning.  I put a movie on for the boys.  I just wanted them to relax.  Noah actually slept in until after 9am.

The tournament was at the Oak Hill fields where Evan plays during the regular season.  Because of that, when we pulled in, we saw quite a few people we knew.

In the first game, the Marauders came out very slow - especially hitting.  Well everyone not named Evan.  Evan batted second in the game and crushed a line drive to right.  It wound up a single as the outfielder kept it from going to the fence.  The second time Evan came up he had another hard hit line drive to the outfield for another single.  That kicked off a major rally and the team scored 7 runs to take the lead.  In the bottom half of the inning, the Marauders had to get three outs without giving up a run and were able to do it so the Marauders won their first game.

In the second game, again, the bats came out slowly.  The team that we played was better and they scored more runs in their half of the inning than the previous team.  In Evan's first at-bat, he hit a line drive down the third base line by foul.  The third baseman reached out as far as he could and somehow barely made the catch which was the only time Evan got out all day.  The next time Evan came up he doubled on a ball that rolled to the fence and wound up scoring.  Unfortunately, it was a little too late.  In the field, in the bottom of the last inning, Evan was playing second based.  He  moved to his right to back hand a ground ball.  It a little rock and shot up and hit Evan in the mouth - the same place he got hit 3 weeks ago at practice.  It wasn't as bad but his mouth was bleeding and he came out of the game.  He seems good now.

On the way home, we stopped and got Smoothie King.

When we got home, I put on the movie Independence Day for the kids.  They seemed to like it.

We got Chinese food from China Dynasty delivered for dinner and then we got dessert at Sweet Caroline's.

The boys are in bed now.  We have a game tomorrow at 8am.

Until next time...

Last Friday of the School Year

This morning we walked to school.

Morry and I met Evan at school for lunch and then went to Wholy Bagel.

I had a haircut/highlight appointment, so Morry picked the kids up from school.

For dinner we met some friends at Docs Backyard.  Evan and Noah had fun running around the playground with the other kids.

We just got home and now we'll put the boys to bed.

Taking It Easy

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Evan was awake and dressed when I got up this morning.  He was ready for the day.  I had to wake Noah up.

Going to school was uneventful.

In the morning, Rachel went to Sam's Club to get some things.

In the afternoon, Rachel went to tutor, while I picked the boys up.  They were in good moods when I got them.

After I finished up work, the boys and I played baseball in the front yard.

For dinner, I grilled a flank steak.  I used the new smoker box that Rachel got me for our anniversary to add a bit of flavor.

The boys are now in their rooms.

Until next time...

Lunch with Noah

We were able to walk the boys to school this morning.

We had lunch today with Noah in the cafeteria.  He seemed excited to have us there.

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

Shortly after I got home Morry and Evan left for baseball practice. 

Noah and I made a garden bed in the backyard with some extra stones and bricks.

Morry and Evan are still out at practice and will probably get home around 9pm.

More Rain

We got even more rain last night and it was still lightening and thundering this morning.  We drove the boys to the front of the school this morning.

While the boys were at school I went to HEB.

We drove to pick up the boys too.  It was misting a little at the time.

For dinner we had rotisserie chicken and couscous.

The boys are playing video games now and in a little bit we'll get them ready for bed.

Uncle Marvin and Aunt Sandy + Sunday Recap

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Yesterday, Evan had his second day of the kid pitch tournament.  We had to be at the fields at 7:30 so we had to leave at 6:30am.  I got up at 5:45 to get things ready.

In the first game, Evan's team did great.  They went into the bottom of the last inning up by one but ended up losing.  In the first inning, Evan doubled with a shot down the right field line.  The team remembered that and put someone on the line the second time Evan came up and Evan did it again except it went right to the first baseman.  In the second game, the team didn't pitch as well and ended up losing.  In the first inning, the other team used a pitcher that was a flamethrower.  As I watched him warm up, I was amazed at how hard he threw.  Darius batted first and struck out swinging.  Darius never strikes out.  Then Evan came up.  Evan rarely even swings and misses at a pitch.  The first pitch was a called strike on the outside corner.  I don't think Evan agreed with the call because he turned back toward the umpire with a look on his face like "Are you serious?"  The second pitch was a ball.  The third pitch Evan checked his swing but the umpire called strike.  Then the third pitch Evan swung and missed.  He was pretty upset about striking out but you know, he's not going to go through life never striking out.  All in all, Evan ended his first kid pitch tournament 3 for 7 with two singles and a double.  Considering we were playing teams that had been pitching for at least a year, I am impressed with what he was able to do.

When we got home, we watched Men in Black.  Then Blanca came over and Rachel and I went to a place called Mai Thai for dinner our anniversary dinner downtown.  We had frozen yogurt for dinner.

This morning, Rachel and I slept in.  It was raining all morning long and well into the afternoon.  We decided we'd do nothing today.  It had been such a busy weekend.

In the late afternoon, Uncle Marvin and Aunt Sandy came over.  They finally sold their house in Wyoming after 7 years of being on the market.  They are looking for a house here in Austin to move to.  We went to Carino's for dinner.

Now the boys are about to get ready for bed.

Until next time...

Kid Pitch

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Today, Evan and the Marauders were in their first kid pitch tournament.  For Pony league baseball, when the boys are 5 and 6, they are in tee ball.  For ages 7 and 8, they do coach pitch.  At age 9, they do kid pitch.  The Marauders are an 8U (8 and under) team and therefore are a coach pitch team.  Starting in the fall though, they will have to move up to 9U and do kid pitch.  We decided to enter into a 9U tournament and do kid pitch for the first time.  The tournament was at fields southeast of San Marcos which is south of Austin.

Evan and I left the house at 8:15.  As is our ritual when we have early weekend games, we stopped at Donut Taco Palace and got donuts.  We got to the fields a little after 9am.  The first game was at 10:45.  The warm ups went well.

We were the "home" team to start out so we had to pitch first.  The first pitcher did pretty well.  There were quite a few walks and since we hadn't worked on holding runners on, there were quite a few steals.  That said, the kids played incredible for just having started working on pitching 10 days ago.  In the bottom of the first, Darius led off with a single.  Evan came up next.  He swung and missed at a pitch that was at his eyes.  Then he took two balls.  He fouled off the next one before hitting a slow roller to shortstop.  He beat it out and then the throw sailed past the first baseman and Evan took second.  He stole third and scored on a wild pitch.  The coach of the other team talked to the umpire briefly after that.  We got two more runs and an out before the other coach protested.  Apparently the pitching order was given to them instead of the batting order which meant we technically had batted out of order.  Since the protest originally was raised after Evan, his run counted as did Darius' run but the next three batters were ruled out and the inning was over.  In the bottom of the second because Evan was down in the lineup of the pitching order, Evan came up to bat again.  He fouled off some more before swinging out in front of a pitch where it hit the end of his bat and rolled down the third baseline for a swinging bunt single.  He scored when another batter tripled.  Unfortunately, we had two many walks and ended up losing the game but our defense was great and we played really well.

We had lunch at the fields and then threw to get our arms loose and had another game at 2:15 (though it was delayed due to a passing rain storm).

This game didn't go as well.  Darius led off the bottom of the first and grounded out to short.  Then Evan checked his swing at the first pitch but it hit the bat and rolled right to the first baseman for the second out.  We had a walk followed by a strikeout.   In the top of the second, one of our boys pitched.  He walked a bunch but also got two outs before he hit the pitch limit we had for him.  We brought in another boy but he was really wild.  I felt badly for him.  That's when they called on Evan.  Evan came in and got two strikes on the batter but walked him.  The next batter, Evan got 0-2 with two swinging strikes.  Then the batter just crushed one of his pitches, pulling it just foul.  But after that Evan got him to swing and barely hit the ball.  I mean it went about 5 feet.  The catcher got it and tried to get the runner going home but just missed him.  So Evan was back at it.  He immediately got that batter down 0-2 before the batter popped up to second for the third out.  So Evan threw 12 pitches, got 7 strikes and 5 balls.  I was really proud of him.  He did really well.

On the way home, we stopped at Yaghi's and got pizza.  The boys ate well.  They are now in their rooms.

Until next time...

Busy Day for the Boys

We walked the boys to school this morning.

Morry and I went to Wholy Bagel for lunch.

We walked to pick up the boys from school. 

After school Noah went to a friends house and a little while later Evan went to a birthday party.  On my way home from dropping off Evan at the laser tag party I picked up Noah from Cole's house.  Then,  Morry,  Noah, and I walked to the food trailer night at the community center.  We ate, walked home, and then Morry went to get Evan at the party.

Soon, we'll get the boys ready for bed.

Short Trip to Dallas

I drove back home today from Dallas and got in around lunch time.  I ate lunch and then Morry and I walked to pick up the boys from school.

We went to the school's Book Fair and the boys picked out a book each.

I was home for a little bit and then I left to tutor.

I stopped at HEB on the way home.

We had hamburgers for dinner at ate outside.

The boys are in their rooms ready for bed.

Getting Ready

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning we walked to school.  Temperature-wise it was nice but it was fairly humid.

I ran out around lunch and met Aaron at his office for a bit and then stopped at Smoothie King on the way home.

I walked to pick up the boys.  Evan wanted to show he was strong and tough and carried both his and Noah's backpacks home.

Rachel came home from tutoring and we heated up leftovers for dinner.  She needs to pack and get ready to go to Dallas tomorrow.

Evan and I went to HEB after dinner.  We needed to get ready for the end-of-season party we're having for his baseball team at our house tomorrow night.  We bought sodas, hot dogs, and ground beef.

The boys are now in their rooms.

Until next time...

Movies in the Morning

This morning Morry took the boys to the movies to see Spiderman.  While they were gone I did some cleaning up around the house and went to HEB.

Around 5:00 Noah and I took Calvin to meet the woman who will be taking care of him while we are out of town this summer.  She has a kitten and we wanted to make sure they got along.  Calvin hissed a few times, but mostly just ignored the kitten.  So, basically, it worked out.

Morry and Evan are at baseball practice now.  They should get home around 8pm. 

Season is Over

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning, Rachel and I slept in a bit.  Evan came into our room a bit after 9 and wanted me to cut up some apples for him.

We decided to take it easy today.  It seemed like a hectic week and Evan had at least one if not two baseball games.  Rachel and Noah were going to go to San Antonio for Tegan's birthday so they were going to have a long day later in the day so we decided to do nothing.

I put on the movie National Treasure for Evan.  Noah eventually came down to watch it.  I think Evan really enjoyed it.

We had apple cinnamon pancakes for lunch.

Around 2:30, Rachel and Noah left for San Antonio.  Evan and I went to Smoothie King and then on to the fields.

In the first game, the team played really well and led for most of the game until the end.  Evan played very well.  He backhanded a ball moving to his right while he was shortstop and as he fell towards third, threw a perfect strike to second base for the force.  He also played a bunch of first base and made some nice stops.  Unfortunately because we lost, we had to play a second game 10 minutes after the first game.

Again, Evan played a good game and again the team led early only to lose steam at the end.  Evan fielded a ball behind second base, stepped on second and threw on to first for the double play.  When he was at first base, he fielded a ball to his right and turned and threw a perfect ball to second for another force.  He made a really big stretch as a first baseman.  In fact I didn't know he could stretch like that.  When the game was over and we lost Evan was really crying.  He absolutely hates to lose.

We went to Rudy's after the game because that's what Evan wanted.  Rachel said she had picked me up a surprise for dinner on the way home.  Ironically, she picked up Cooper's Barbeque which is my favorite on the way home.  So we have a lot of barbeque at home.  I really enjoyed the Cooper's.

The boys are in their rooms now.

Until next time...

More Playoffs

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning, we walked to school.  The weather has started to get warmer again so it was nice, in the low 60s with no humidity and no clouds in the sky.

Rachel had a doctor's appointment at 9:45.

When she was done we met at Wholy Bagel for lunch.  It was our first time going there together in the last few weeks.  The last few Fridays we've had something going on so one of us went and picked it up and we ate at home.

So Evan had his first playoff game this evening.  Going into the playoffs, the way I guessed based on how each team was playing was that Noah's team would go far and Evan's team would lose right away.  As you know, Noah's team lost and was on Wednesday.  For Evan's playoffs, the first round is single elimination.  If you win you enter into a double-elimination bracket.  Evan's team was the 5th seed in an 8 team league so they played the fourth seed.  We've played that team twice in the last 10 days and lost both games.  Well tonight ended up differently.  I pitched tonight.  The normal pitcher is out of town.  Evan led off with a single and came around and scored.  The kids managed to put enough hits together to get 5 runs.  The Phillies - the other team - scored 5 to tie it.  Unfortunately, we didn't get any runs in the top of the 2nd.   Evan grounded out to end the inning.  But Evan made a couple good plays at first base including a catch a pop up and the other team didn't score either.  We entered the fifth inning which was the inning where the run limit increases to 10 up 12-8.  If we could some how score 7 runs we would win the game.  We scored two to go up 14-8.  Evan came up with two men on and tripled to make the score 16-8.  He scored on a ground out to make it 17-8.  We got out with the next batter but we went into the bottom of the 5th (the last half inning) up 17-8.  They managed to get 5 runs and had bases loaded when we got the last out.  It was very exciting.  The next game is at 4:30 tomorrow.  If we win, we play on Sunday, if we lost we play tomorrow at 6pm.

After the game Evan and Noah first played with some of Evan's teammates and they hung around and played with some players on the other team.  They had a good time.

The boys are now in bed.

Until next time...

Our Day

This morning I drove the boys to school.  Evan had to finish his homework and it was taking a long time. 

During the day I cleaned the house.

Morry and I walked to get the boys after school.

A little while later I left to tutor.

When I got home we had hamburgers, couscous, and fruit for dinner.  We ate outside.  The weather was really nice today.

The boys are ready for bed, but not asleep yet.

One Season Over

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

It was cold this morning - at least for Austin.  It was about 50 degrees.  So we decided to drive to school.

Rachel took Lizzy for a walk in the morning and then went to Target and HEB.

Rachel tutored so I walked to pick Noah up.  Evan was going home with Wade today.

Noah had his playoff game today.  He and I left early to get to the fields.  The day turned out very nice.  It was in the low 70s with no humidity and not a cloud in the sky.  It was a very tough game.  Each team got 5 runs in the first inning and did not record an out.  In the top of the second, the first ball of the inning got hit to Noah playing pitcher.  He fielded it cleanly and made a great throw over to first and the first baseman caught it for an out.  In the bottom of the 2nd, we scored 4 runs and then we one of our players hit into an out as we scored the fifth run.  So after two the score was tied.  We got another out on the opposing team in the top of the third and then scored 5 runs in the bottom of the third without an out.  In the fourth (and final inning), we didn't get any outs on them.  We came into the bottom of the fourth.  If we scored all five runs without getting an out we would win.  If we ran into one out, the entire game would come down to a coin flip.  Our first batter got on. The second batter hit to the shortstop and the runner from first was forced at second.  That was one out.  At that point I just wanted to get the five runs and give us a chance for a coin flip.  We got 4 runs and had runners on 2nd and 3rd.  The batter hit the ball to shortstop who booted it around a bit but managed to get over and tag the base before our runner could get there.  So the game was over.  Our boys played well and they had fun.  So that was good.

Afterwards, Noah and I walked over to another field were Evan was having practice.  Noah went to the concession stand and bought a hot dog to eat.

We came home and the boys went to bed.

Until next time...

Rain Out

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Last night we had a huge thunderstorm.  It rained all night.  Evan said it woke him up.  Some people recorded over 2.5 inches of rain over night.

Because of the rain, both baseball games tonight were canceled.  Each boy had a playoff game tonight.  Noah's game will be made up tomorrow.  Evan's game will be made up on Friday (most likely).

It was also cooler today.  It only got up to 60.  It's been in the high 80s here consistently.

We did walk to pick the boys up from school.  It was nice walking when it wasn't so hot.

For dinner we went to Genghis Grill.  It's a mongolian barbeque type restaurant.  Tuesdays are kids eat free.

The boys are now in their room for bed.

Until next time...

No Baseball Monday

This morning we walked the kids to school.  It was very humid and threatening to rain.  We got there and back without getting wet.

I took Lizzy for a short walk before it started raining.

Morry picked up the boys while I was out tutoring.

When I got home we made soup from one of the jar mixes Morry made for me.  It was good.  We finished eating a little while ago. 

It is nice having an evening without anything planned.  There was no baseball today.

Soon we'll get the boys to bed.

Mother's Day at Top Golf

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

The boys and I tried to be quiet this morning so Rachel could sleep in.  The boys were very good about that.  When Rachel got up she said she wanted to go to Top Golf for Mother's Day.  Top Golf is essentially a fancy driving range where each bay has a table where they serve a full meal.  But instead of just hitting the ball as far as you can go, there are various targets around that award you points the closer that you get the ball to the center of the various targets.  There are sensors in the ball so all the scoring is electronic.

It was an hour wait at Top Golf but they had a pool table that was free.  The boys played that during the wait.  We ordered an appetizer and sat at a small table until our main bay/table was ready.

Rachel started out hitting the ball well, but then Evan started crushing the ball.  He figured out his swing (though he was stepping into the ball like baseball) and he was hitting the ball perfectly straight.  He hit one 134 yards.  The final score was: Evan - 75, Morry - 45, Rachel - 41, Noah 18.  It was funny watching how competitive Evan was.  He was determined to win the game.

We came home and took it easy for a bit.

Then at 5pm, Evan had Marauders practice.  He played very well today.  His fielding, recently, hasn't been as good but today he stepped it up.  He fielded well and threw the ball well.

On the way home, we met Rachel and Noah at TCBY.  The Pirates game was on there and Evan was excited to watch it.

We came home and put the boys to bed.

Until next time...

Tough Day at the Ball Fields

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Baseball didn't start today until around noon so we took it fairly easy in the morning.  I had to run out to pick up the jerseys for the Marauders.  Evan played hockey in the cul-de-sac with Nathan, but Rachel and Noah stayed here.

Around noon, Noah and I drove to the fields for the last game of the regular season.  The team has been playing really well.  So I was ready for a good game.  The top of the first didn't disappoint.  We got three out after only giving up two runs.  The leadoff batter hit a ball that rolled to the fence for a triple.  The next batter got on as did the third batter.  The fourth batter is where we had trouble.  He hit a line drive to the pitcher who managed to catch it in the air (the first time that has happened this season).  The runner on second did not get back in time and suddenly we had a man on first with two outs.  Keep in mind in the last 6 or 7 games we've only run into about 4 or 5 outs.  The next batter was our slowest batter.  Even though I pointed him away from the pitcher, he still managed to ground to the pitcher who threw to first for three outs.  So the score of the tee ball game after one was 2-1.  The other team got three outs in every inning including another double play that was almost exactly like the first one.  This time, though, Noah was the runner on first and he never heard us yelling to get back.  We got a ton of outs in the game but unfortunately, the lack of runs really hurt us and we lost.

After the game, we went to Austin Pizza Garden with several families from Noah's team.  It was a nice time.

From there we went back to the fields for Evan's game.  Evan's team seems to be playing worse and worse.  Evan wound up with two doubles and a single but many of the other kids just weren't hitting.  The other team was also fairly strong defensively.

We came home and the boys ate, showered and are upstairs in their rooms.

Until next time...

Got some rain

This morning we walked to school.  The boys were good.

While the boys were in school Morry had a lot of work to do.  Instead of going to Wholy Bagel, I ran out and picked up lunch for us and we just ate it at home.

We were going to walk to get the boys, but we were afraid it might rain on us.  We ended up driving, but it just sprinkled a little.

Later in the afternoon we had a hard rain.

We ate dinner at home and then Morry took the boys to the mall.  Morry needed to go to the Apple Store so he took the boys with him.

They just got home and now we'll get the boys ready for bed.

Track and Field Day

This morning we drove the boys to school since Morry had a lot of things to do today.

Later in the morning I stopped by the school and saw the boys do some of their Track and Field activities.

Morry picked the boys up while I was tutoring.

Shortly after I got home Morry and Noah left for baseball practice.  When they got home we made dinner - hamburgers.

Soon we'll get the boys ready for bed.

Here are some pictures.

Desmond

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning we drove to school.  Noah was acting very tired.  We had to bring Noah to his classroom rather than drop him off in the cafeteria.  The school was having Kindergarten Round-up where the incoming Kindergarten kids get to see the school and register.  We're done with that.

Rachel folded laundry as well as went to a Pink Ribbon Cowgirls lunch and then went to CVS.

After school, Noah had a friend come home with us - Desmond.  He's been wanting to play with Desmond for a while and we finally were able to arrange it.  Desmond walked home with us.  Noah and Desmond seemed to have a great time together.  It was nice seeing Noah have a friend come over.

After that, Evan and I went to his practice.  He had a good practice and had fun with his buddies.  He seemed to be over any lingering stomach issues.

We come home and gave the boys dinner.

Now, Rachel and I are about to eat dinner and the boys are in their rooms.

Until next time...

Night Play

Evan was up a lot of the night last night with an upset stomach.  He said he wanted to go to school today though.  He was feeling a little better, but still not 100%. 

We drove the kids to school.

After school Morry drove to pick them up while I was out tutoring.  They went to Noah's game and I met them there after tutoring.  Noah's team played well.

We came home and had steak and salmon.  We ate outside.

The boys were playing outside while we were cleaning up and they were talking to Sebastian and Santiago though the fence.  We invited them to come over a play for a little bit in the backyard before the boys got ready for bed.  They all seemed to have a good time.  They took turns hitting balls off the hitting machine.  They played until about 8:30.

The boys are ready for bed now and in their rooms.

HEB and Baseball

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

This morning, Rachel and I slept in.  I'm not sure when the boys got up.

When Rachel came downstairs, we went to HEB.  We needed to get some food for the week and we wanted the boys to help pick out food they wanted for their lunches this week.

We had lunch when we got home and then I had a call for some work stuff and I had to do some work stuff.

Around 4, the boys and I left for Evan's baseball game.  Evan's team lost.  Evan had his worst game of the season, at least defensively.  He seemed to be moving to the ball slowly and bobbled to balls where he should have gotten the boy out.  It was noticeable to other people as I had someone come up and ask me if Evan was ok.  Nevertheless, his bad game included a triple, two doubles and a single.  He was thrown out at home on a misunderstanding.  After he tripled, he rounded third base and was ready to run home.  The coaches on the other team were yelling "Go home, go home!" because they wanted the boy who got the ball to throw it home.  Evan thought that was Daniel yelling at him to go home.  The ball and the catcher beat Evan to the plate, but to be honest, Evan actually slid under the tag.  At this age kids always tag high.

After the game, Noah helped rake the field.

Later, we came home and had corned beef for dinner.  The boys are now in their room.

Until next time...

First Swim and First Sweet Carolines of the Year

For lunch we had leftover pizza from last night and then I took the boys over to the pool.

They had fun.  It was hot out, but the pool water was pretty cold. 

When we got back home Morry and Evan went to Marauders baseball practice.

On their way home they picked up dinner from Saps.

After dinner we went to Sweet Caroline's for shaved ice.

Now the boys are getting ready for bed.

Here are a few pictures.