Back From Our Trip

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

The boys and I got back from our annual trip to Bradenton for Spring Training.  We flew in Friday, ordered pizza and got some food for the rental house at Publix.

Saturday morning, we went to one of our staples, Popi's, for breakfast.  From there, we drove straight to the Pirates game.  Evan wanted to be there when the gates opened.  We were second in line.  When we got in, Evan went out to left field to shag balls during batting practice.  He got a few.  Our seats were just to the right of the dugout.  A player popped out of the dugout and threw a piece of unwrapped gum at Evan.  Evan chewed that gum for more than 4 hours and saved the wrapper.  The player also threw gum to Noah.  Several players flipped balls to Evan as they came off the field.  By the end of the game, Evan and Noah had collected 8 balls.  They actually had 9 but gave one to a girl.  We went to a seafood restaurant for dinner and then to the movies to see A Wrinkle in Time.

Sunday we went to miniature golf.  We played two rounds and then drove up to Dunedin, FL to see the Pirates play the Blue Jays.  The boys didn't get any baseballs, but Evan was able to get a few autographs.  For dinner, we went to the Shake Pit.  After we ate, we got ice cream there.

On Monday, we met the Allinsons at the game.  Bryan Allinson was a coach for Evan's team in coach pitch and then he's the one that started the Marauders.  They are Pirates fans.  They had moved to Orlando and so they came down to meet us.  Evan and Jake ran around the stadium the whole time collecting more balls and getting autographs.  We went with them after the game to get ice cream.

Our flight on Tuesday was later, so we were able to do some things. We went to Quarter Cup Cafe for brunch, then we played a round of miniature golf at the the same golf place, but in a different location.  Then we went to Pirate City and watched 3 innings of a minor league game.  From there, we went to Mixon's Fruit Farms and the boys got orange ice cream.  Then we drove back to the airport in Tampa and came home.

Today, the boys stayed home.  I dropped Rachel off downtown to do some South by Southwest stuff and I went into the office.  I picked her up (although it was tough due to road closures) on the way home.

After I finished working, I picked Cooper up at his house and took the boys to Oak Hill for Home Run Derby.

Following Home Run Derby, we met Rachel and Noah at HEB and got ground beef, corn and shrimp to make for dinner tonight.  Cooper is staying over tonight.

The boys are upstairs messing around.

Until next time...

Back from Florida

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

The boys, Zayde and I are back from Florida.  We got back last night.  We had a very good time.  We were able to see three baseball games, we went ice skating, we went to the movies to see McFarland, USA, we went to Mixon's Farm and took a tour, we went miniature golfing and we went to Pirate City.   It was a full trip.

The Pirates won two of the three games we saw.  The last game we saw was a night game and it was the largest crowd in McKechnie Field history.  It was really nice.  They just recently put in lights at the field so it was the first time we saw the Pirates play at night there.

At the fields, they had a speed pitch area.  Evan and Noah did it before each game.  Each time Evan did very well.  The third time Evan did it, he was throwing as fast as the adults in front of him.  Not only that but of the three pitches he threw, 2 were perfect strikes.  That won us a t-shirt.  Then Noah came up and his first pitch was a perfect strike and that won us a second t-shirt.

Today is Noah's birthday.  He turns 7 today.  He chose to go to Top Golf.  He recorded his personal best.  Evan was on fire and crushed all of us.  I came in last.

After Top Golf, we went to Rita's Water Ice for free water ice for the first day of spring.

We came home and relaxed.  Noah put together the Lego set that Zayde got for him.

For dinner we went to Logan's.  Noah got steak.  Then we went to TCBY for dessert.  All Noah's choice.

The boys are getting ready for bed now.

Until next time...

Back from Florida

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

We are back from Florida. It was a good trip for three generations of Belkin men.

Some highlights:

• We went to a fair at Mixon's which is a fruit farm as well as took a tour. On the tour, Evan was the first volunteer to have a snake put around him. Everyone cheered for him after it was over. He got to pet a baby alligator as well.


• We saw two baseball games. We had good seats to both games. Evan also got to eat popcorn and cotton candy. And he hugged and high-fived the Pirates Parrot. And of course, he got some Pirates gear while we were there.


• We got to play two rounds of miniature golf. Evan was very good and he really enjoyed it. One of the rounds, there was absolutely no one on the course so Evan played each hole at least twice. He also insisted that the two of us hit our ball at the same time which added an interesting handicap to me.


• We got to go to Pirate City which is a training area for the team. Some of the minor leaguers walked by us and said hi to Evan.


• We ate dinner on the Manatee river where the restaurant had a DVD player for Evan to watch while we ate. He got to pick out a movie and he chose the Clone Wars

All in all it was quite and eventful trip and Evan was incredibly well behaved. He enjoyed seeing Zayde and I know Zayde enjoyed seeing him.

Evan was excited to see Noah when we got back and the two boys hugged each other. Then we went to Evan's sports class where he played more golf. Honestly, I don't know how Evan had energy.

When we got back to the house, I saw how much Rachel had cleaned. She went through the toys in the toy box and cleaned up the game room and Noah's room.

The boys are now in bed. Evan really needed to get to sleep. Hopefully he doesn't come out of his room.

Until next time...