Kaitlynn's Summer Activities

As Connor kept himself busy with summer baseball, Kaitlynn had a full schedule of all kinds of fun activities. Since we had a lot of downtime during the summer, it was the perfect time for Kaitlynn and I to kick off our volunteering for National Charity League. We are required to record a certain number of hours each year, and with all of our scheduling conflicts throughout the school year, summertime was the best season to explore the various volunteer opportunities available. On a few occasions, we worked together to assemble snack bags for underprivileged teens for a local summer camp. We also volunteered at a nearby outdoor festival benefitting numerous Katy-area charities. But the majority of our summer volunteer hours came from working at Katy Christian Ministries in their resale shop by sorting through donations received. It was a lot of work and wasn't always fun, but we definitely learned some great lessons about helping the less fortunate families in our area.

Another popular summer activity for Kaitlynn was, of course, tumbling and cheer. With the new season of competition cheer starting in July, Kaitlynn began attending the tryout classes twice per week in June. She had jumped up 2 skill levels from where she competed last season, and she was hoping to make a youth Level 3 team for the upcoming season. She also continued attending twice weekly tumbling classes and was working so hard to improve her skills little by little. She has definitely reached a level and age where the progress feels slow, and there are days where she leaves class feeling frustrated and super bummed that her performance doesn't reach her goals. Those car rides home can sometimes be so tough.

As hard as Kaitlynn works on her activities, it's always nice to see her enjoy some downtime with friends in between. With her diverse groups of friends in all of her sports as well as her awesome group of neighborhood friends, Kaitlynn also had no shortage of fun with hangouts and play dates throughout the summer.

Summer Baseball with the Jays

Summer baseball was by far the highlight of Connor's summer. Late in the spring, he joined a local select team called the One Percent Academy (OPA) Jays and committed to playing with them throughout the summer. It took him a few tournaments to get to know the team and establish rapport, but by mid-June Connor was really finding his groove with the Jays and enjoying some great action on the field.

The Jays had 2 different uniforms for the summer, and Connor thought the pinstripe version was pretty neat. Well, except for the knickers - those type of baseball pants drive him nuts. He sure looked the part though! 

One of the cool ways that the Jays coaches would motivate and encourage the players was to hand out a special WWW-style belt to an outstanding player of a tournament. It was a coveted reward for the boys, giving them a chance to enjoy some well-earned recognition along with some bragging rights. Connor was the recipient of the belt for a few weeks during the summer and definitely enjoyed his temporary accessory.

One of my favorite summer tournaments was one held in Brenham. I snapped a couple photos of Connor and then Jeff and I enjoyed a nice walk in the local park on a beautiful summer morning while Connor's team warmed up for their game. This was only one of MANY baseball games we attended  throughout the summer, and it was so fun to watch the boys find their groove as a team.

One of the coolest things about Connor playing with the Jays team is that the coaches are dedicated to creating opportunities for the boys to get noticed for their contributions. They choose tournaments where local scout teams record outstanding plays and capture player statistics and profiles on their social media accounts. Connor had his name and photo requested a few times before we figured out that he had been featured on Twitter on multiple occasions as a Player of the Game (POG) and Notable Player for his great pitching and hitting performances. His first POG shout-out came from a tournament at University of Houston where he pitched 6 strikeouts and earned 2 RBIs... awesome! I saved some of the Twitter screenshots featuring Connor because it was so neat to see him recognized for his hard work!

It was a great summer of baseball so far with the end of the summer season drawing near. Next stop for the Jays? Florida!

4th of July

By our normal standards, summer was moving at a relatively slow pace and we weren't complaining about it! When the 4th of July rolled around, we had a casual but relaxed day at home. Our neighborhood hosted the annual parade and the kids were happy to participate while the rest of us cheered them on. It was nice to see the patriotism with all of the American flags, but most of all, it was great to be reminded that awesome neighbors are such a blessing that we'll never take for granted!