With the beautiful spring weather finally upon us, Kaitlynn and her neighborhood friends were taking full advantage of the outdoors. With bike rides, trampolines, swimming pools, trips to nearby parks and stores, and visits from food trucks, there is never a shortage of fun in the 'hood. We are so thankful for our awesome neighbors and the amazing friendships with the kids on our street.
Connor's first season of high school baseball began in February while I was still traveling for work. I tried to arrange my work schedule to see as many games as I could, but I still managed to miss quite a few. Nothing made me happier than to be back home on the weekends to see my boy take the field.
For the first few weeks of the season, Connor played left field and had an occasional stint as relief pitcher. He wasn't having the greatest luck behind the plate with his at-bats, but he did manage to get on base a lot on walks or an occasional error. In his after-school practices, he was learning so much about base-running and his progress was evident on the field with many stolen bases. It was fun to watch our #16 in action!
Once the season was in full swing, Jeff and I were enjoying the camaraderie with all the parents in the bleachers. We were gradually getting to know the families and their players on the team. We noticed right away that there were a lot of boys not getting much play time, and most of the parents were telling us that their players weren't playing in their usual positions. We were all learning the ins and outs of playing for the school - SO different than what we were used to in the select leagues. We could tell that the competition was tough, and we soaked in every opportunity to see our #16 on the field.
One of the things I enjoyed the most was to see the team camaraderie develop throughout the season. I also loved to see how the players and coaches opened each game with a team prayer. Such a special tradition!
A few weeks into the season, Connor began to see less playing time on the field. It started with an occasional game riding the bench, but towards the middle of the season he was no longer seeing much action at all. It was super disappointing for him at times, but we continued encouraging him to keep working off the field and be ready for any opportunity that came his way. Thank goodness for our personal trainer and coach (Jeff), because even with my heavy travel for work, he was always there to help Connor work on his skills from the cages to the practice field. Those two put in more hours of work during the baseball season than Connor likely has gotten from any of his regular team practices. Before games, after school, and all weekend long, they kept grinding and working hard in hopes of any shot to show Connor's coaches what he could do. Only time would tell if he would get additional opportunities on the field.
Kaitlynn chose theater as her very first elective for junior high, and she was excited to learn about any opportunities for stage performances. Despite the Covid protocols in place, the theater teachers worked extra hard to give their students a great experience and enable them to participate in a play for their families and friends. After months of practices, a delay by the Texas winter storm, and a last-minute schedule shuffle, the cast and crew of Wingin' It did a fantastic job!
