CUB Summer Baseball

In a typical year of baseball, the season would conclude sometime in late June and then reconvene sometime in September. This year, most of the spring baseball activities were cancelled. When the lockdown restrictions in TX began lifting in May, Connor's CUB baseball team resumed playing and began what became a full summer of baseball fun. Even as hot as it has been this summer, I'm not sure I've ever been more thankful for baseball in my entire life. Despite the sunburns and sweat-soaked clothes, our summer season of baseball was able to give us something to focus on amidst the Covid insanity of 2020. 

In previous baseball seasons, Connor's primary position has been catcher. Due to his significant growth spurt over the past year, we had to rush to find Connor some new catcher's gear for the start of this season. As it turns out, we had to custom order a set for him because he needed such tall leg coverings that aren't a typical size for a catcher, especially for one as young as Connor. Over the season, he began struggling at the catcher position due to the toll it was taking on his joints. He still subs as catcher but he seems to be growing himself out of that role these days.

Outside of catcher, Connor plays all positions for his team but has been getting more and more reps at pitcher throughout the season. He started as a sub when the team needed a fill-in, but he began getting more and more playing time at pitcher as he continued having success at that role. He also began working on his various pitches during his off time, and he's now quite proud of his curve ball and side arm pitches. Even his fast ball is improving quite a bit. It has been fun to watch his growth, and even Jeff is now getting to the point of being more watchful when he's working with him due to the heat that Connor is putting on the ball these days.

Even though Connor joined his current CUB baseball team last fall, this summer is the first time he joined them for meaningful playing time. He wasn't able to play last fall due to his broken wrist, and he missed the first tournament in March due to spring break plans. And then the spring season was cancelled, so he and his teammates began the summer as a new team of sorts, and it took them several tournaments to begin developing team chemistry. Slowly over time, they got to know each other pretty well and began having some success on the field here and there. 

One of Connor's favorite things about his team is being able to play with his friend Brandon. They met each other at school last year and have become close friends over the course of the year. They hang out as much as they can, on and off the field. It's always neat to see them interact and have fun while they work on their craft.

Another fun perk of our summer baseball this year has been the friends that we've enjoyed it with. One of Connor's friends (and our next-door neighbor), Alli, was able to join us for several of Connor's games and hang out with us during the day. It was sweet to see her support Connor and Kaitlynn enjoyed the company as well.

But my absolute favorite part of summer baseball this year has been to see the bond grow between Connor and Jeff. Let's face it, fathers and sons have their moments where they rub each other the wrong way and can't seem to have a conversation without raised voices and bad attitudes. But there's just something about sports that helps them to see past their disagreements and come together over the love of the game. As luck would have it, Connor's CUB team was short an assistant coach for most of the season. Without hesitation, Jeff stepped up and became a self-appointed assistant and resumed his all-time favorite role of 1st base coach for Connor's team. I'm not sure he enjoys anything more?? He always offers great encouragement and support to the kids throughout the game, and the entire team loved having him on the field. But Connor may have said it best when he called Jeff "the greatest walk-on coach of all time." Those have got to be some of the most fulfilling words of praise for a Dad! :-)

4th of July Fun

Compared to our previous busy summers, this year's summer has progressed at an incredibly slow pace with lots of down time at home. It's definitely not the way we pictured it, but we tried to soak in the family time with a few play dates with friends peppered in here and there. One of the things we have been thankful for along the way has been our active community in our new neighborhood. From weekly Food Truck summer socials to holiday parades, there always seems to be something fun going on. 

For the 4th of July, the kids were happy to join our neighbors next door to decorate their utility vehicle with lots of patriotic decor for the neighborhood holiday parade. They spent a couple of hours decorating, followed by a quick 10 minutes of the actual parade, and then a split second to strip off and throw away the decorations, ha! After the parade, we enjoyed a down day at home with a few drinks by the pool. But the best part was enjoying the great view of the fireworks across the horizon from our own backyard. It was quite the show!

 

Morgan Family / Cousins Weekend 2020 (part 2)

As the Cousins Weekend came to a close and everyone was preparing to leave, Connor was feeling upset over missing so much quality time with them due to his baseball tournament during the same weekend. We proposed the idea of extending the weekend festivities for a few days, and after moving a few things around, we were so happy that the cousins would be able to stick around for 2-3 more days into the following week. It was an impromptu idea that turned into some amazing cousin memories for the group. 

The cousins had BIG plans for the first night of their extended visit. It was the "Up All Night" experiment, where they all intended to stay up until 6 a.m. the following morning, and they even had hour-by-hour activities planned all throughout the night. I think it was a challenge to see who might be able to make it through the night without passing out. Their schedule of overnight activities included a midnight swim, making brownies at 2 a.m., and waving "hello" to me when I woke up the following morning around 4:00. Everyone was motivated to stay up without falling asleep, because the plan also included painting makeup on the first person to pass out, ha!

With all of the chaos and FUN throughout the night, I admit that I didn't get my full night's sleep. When I got up around 4, I said hello to the kids that were downstairs and I happened to notice that Ryah appeared asleep on the couch. The makeup-painting was then commenced!!

A short while later, we noticed it was getting light outside. Sure enough, the target hour of 6 a.m. had arrived! The last and only ones still standing? Makenna, Renee, and Connor! They took a selfie outside to prove their accomplishment, and then they went right back inside and straight to bed! It was a super quiet and productive morning for me after that, ha!

Later that day, the cousins finally emerged from their daytime slumber. They mostly hung around the house but managed to make quite a dent in the leftover Lupe Tortilla and other cousin snacks. We ordered an abundance of pizza on another occasion, and then one of the other favorite activities during the extended stay was a quick trip to HEB with a $5 budget each to purchase additional snack faves. Of course, they couldn't leave the house without an organized makeup lesson from the older cousins. This was the evening when we all got to meet Ryah's additional alter-ego, Christina. She's quite the photogenic character!

Our extended Morgan Family / Cousins Weekend was just what the doctor ordered for this insane summer of Covid. Being together again gave us the comfort and familiarity we needed amidst so much uncertainty, and I've never been more thankful for our awesome family and the great relationship of the Morgan cousins. Here's hoping that our next visit will be closer to the end of the madness that has consumed 2020!

Morgan Family / Cousins Weekend 2020 (part 1)

Per our Morgan Family summer tradition, we had all been SO looking forward to our annual trip together with my parents, siblings, and cousins. This year's summer vacation was even more special than usual, because my parents had booked an extended stay in Lake Tahoe as a fun and new venue for us to explore together. Unfortunately, Covid-19 had other plans.

As we approached the end of June, it became clear that we wouldn't be able to enjoy our Morgan Family summer trip as we had in years past. But we couldn't let the summer go by without reuniting in some way. That's when we activated the Backup Plan - a long weekend at our house in Katy. It wouldn't be the same at all, but we were just so thankful that we had an opportunity to see everyone for an extended weekend. Jeff and I (and the kids) couldn't wait to get the fun started!

MeMe and Grandaddy arrived on a Thursday in late June, and the fun was underway. That meant late night games with Grandaddy as well as a hot day on the golf course, while MeMe and I shopped for grocery essentials for the upcoming weekend. We were ready!

The next day, it was time for the Morgan aunts, uncles, and cousins to arrive. Connor and Kaitlynn were beside themselves with excitement. Of course, we knew that things would feel very different on this visit due to the precautions everyone was taking to protect themselves from Corona. To be honest, we weren't sure what to expect, and we were all trying to be respectful of each other's feelings about said precautions. 

Somewhere along the way before anyone arrived, Connor and Kaitlynn came up with an idea to try to trick their cousins into thinking that we were being extremely strict about our virus prevention rules in the Courtright household. Kaitlynn made a sign for the door saying "Masks Required!" and we gathered all of our face masks to cover our faces. When Uncle Jeb, Aunt Alli, and their 3 girls arrived at our house and ready for long-awaited reunion hugs, they pulled up to find Connor in the driveway wearing his mask and holding out his arms to request social distance and prevent the usual family hugs and greetings. 

Uncle Jeb and Aunt Alli seemed a little caught off guard and definitely had some surprised looks on their faces. But, ever the respectful family members, they calmly turned around and walked back to their vehicle to find their masks and put them on before approaching the house. I would've loved to have been a fly on the wall to hear the comments they must've been making about the thought of spending their weekend with us in masks and PPE inside our house! We didn't make them suffer for long, though. As soon as they walked in, we couldn't contain our laughter and we let them in on the prank. What incredible sports they were! We laughed and laughed!

We had so much fun pulling off the prank with Jeb's family that we decided to try it again when Michelle and her girls arrived a couple hours later. This time, we ALL got into it. We had the sign on the front door, Connor wearing his mask in the driveway, and all of us were inside maintaining social distance waiting to greet Michelle, Renee, and Ryah. 

When Michelle and the girls arrived, they were indeed caught off guard when they were greeted by Connor in a mask, asking them politely to grab their masks and keep their distance instead of the usual welcome hugs. Renee and Ryah seemed to go with the flow, while my sister Michelle promptly replied, "Wait, what?! I didn't drive all the way from Dallas to wear a mask inside the house!!" 

Oh my word, she was NOT happy and she proceed to get more and more frustrated as she walked inside the house and saw how "serious" we all were with our social distancing. We carried the prank much farther this time, it was GREAT!! Finally, we let her in on the joke, much to her relief. It took her a minute to realize she had been PUNKED, and we all got the biggest kick out her reaction! 

To mark the occasion of this very strange and surreal Morgan Family / Cousins weekend, we had our neighbor take some photos of our new "normal." Masks and social distancing were the name of the game in summer 2020. 

All jokes aside, the cousins quickly fell right into step and began enjoying the long-awaited time together. Swimming, game-playing, Tik-Toking, and planning/choreographing for the annual Morgan Family talent show were at the top of the list of cousin activities for the weekend. It was so refreshing to have everyone together again, even if under less-than-ideal circumstances.

It seems like every summer that we reunite, there is always one of the cousins who has experienced a growth spurt which has caught everyone off guard. This year, it was no contest - Connor had achieved the biggest growth by far. Most of us are looking up to him now, and he even challenged Renee in the height category. Of course, anytime the height discussion comes up, we have to do a quick check to see how the Father vs. Son situation is progressing. Not quite there, but SO close!!

One of the highlights of every Morgan Family summer vacation is the long-awaited talent show, years ago dubbed the Morgan Freeman Talent Show. Kaitlynn and Marissa worked for hours and hours to choreograph several dance numbers, and this year they even added coordinating outfits to the mix. Of course, we later learned that the true winner of the "long game" was Ryah, who had been perfecting a suite of characters for months to introduce to us. Among the favorites were Jason and Christina, and to this day I can hardly keep a straight face when remembering them! Despite her best efforts, however, no one can ever seem to beat Kaitlynn and Marissa in the talent show. Their cuteness wins every time!

Side note: we take our talent show very seriously. Injuries may occur!

Besides the talent show, the other popular activities included pool time and food time. We had all the favorites on hand, including the long-time family Mexican staple, Lupe Tortilla. One of their gigantic party packs was just the perfect amount to feed our hungry crew and enjoy yummy leftovers for days on end.

As the weekend drew to a close, no one was quite ready to say goodbye. Connor, in particular, had missed out on some quality time with everyone due to previous baseball commitments. Due to the last minute tournament schedule, we ended up spending much of the weekend at the baseball fields, and Connor was super bummed to be missing out on that time with his cousins. We felt so bad about it, and we began wondering if we could find a way to extend the family fun.