Batter Up - Part II

Tuesdays seem to be rainy so far this summer, and Chloe's first practice and now first game have been rained out.  Finally we had a sunny (and hot!) Tuesday afternoon this week and her T-ball game when on as scheduled.

Because this was supposed to be the fourth practice of the year (Chloe's age group does a 30 minute practice immediately followed by a game) it shouldn't have matter that this week's practice time was turned into picture day.  Chloe and all her fellow Purple Panthers huddled up and took their individual photos before posing for their group/team shot.

 The photographers were roasting in the 90* afternoon sun, but they managed to keep their composure as they herded 10 four year olds into formation and snapped a quick shot.

The team gathered at the field to size up the opposition, where we learned that the Panthers were first up to bat.  And who is at the top of the batting order?  Chloe jumps up front with her bright pink bat in hand, ready to take a whack at the tee and hopefully make contact with the ball.

At the plate, coach got her positioned in her lefty stance and she whacked the tee over a time or two.  In our world, we call that a "foul ball."

Eventually bat and ball did make contact, and she ran off to first base, practically skipping with excitement.



Exactly two batters later, she was rounding to third base, where she performed her 'I got on base' jig out of pure joy.

Charging towards 3rd

Oh Yeah!

I made it!!

After all the Panthers took their turn at bat, they switched up and took the field for the bottom of the inning.

Lining up in the infield

Soon the team separated into two distinct groups:  1) Kids who charge like crazy to get the ball, fight with each other to be the one who surfaces with the ball, and cry when they don't come up with the ball and 2) Kids who watch the other kids run, fight and cry.

Chloe fell into Group # 2.

"Hey... you guys got that one?  OK, cool..."

But she had a ball, got another hit and turn around the bases in the second inning.  Best of all, juice boxes and chips were provided as the after game snack. 

Want to know how well Chloe did in her first t-ball experience?  Just ask her... she'll tell you all about it, especially her two runs she scored.

Batter Up - Part I

Claire and Chloe really love their gymnastics, but I really wanted them to try out some other things before they drift toward a single activity.  We are giving soccer another shot this fall, but I saw there was a summer baseball league through the Y that both girls could play for.  Claire's 6-7 year old age group is called "Super Tee Ball" where the kids get three strikes at the plate from their coach's pitch and then they get to hit off a tee.  My kids have never touched a baseball or a bat, but they were excited about all the accessories that come with playing baseball.  After a trip to the store, we were heading home with balls, a bat, a tee, shoes, pants and gloves.

We did manage a few short sessions in the yard practicing with our new gear before the drama set in.  A few times even attracted several other neighborhood friends - and we had a good game of Under 7 baseball going for a bit.

Game day arrived after a couple practices, and Claire was nervous the entire week leading up to that Saturday.  Her biggest fear was the three strikes and being left to hit off the tee.  Hindsight now says that the fear for every kid on the team should have been fielding ground balls.  I'm just sayin'.

Claire's team, the black and yellow Pirates, took the outfield first at the start of the game.  Kid after kid on the other team blew through their three strikes and had to move to the tee.  Hopefully that relaxed Claire some.  Most of the hits went right through the holes in their gloves, and one kid even tried to tag out a runner kickball style - throwing the baseball at the runner.  Mental note: need to have a discussion on that one later.

Playing Third Base

Daddy, "Coach"

Finally the inning changed, and Claire was second up to bat.  Strike 1..2..3 and the tee was out.  She whacked it off the tee right up the first base line where a kid picked it up and stomped on first base.  She was out, but didn't look too crushed.  A pleasant change from some of the tears in our neighborhood games.

In the 2nd inning, Claire again hit it off the tee but this time dashed to first base in plenty of time.  She was pretty pumped to advance bases and score a run for her team.

Running hard to 3rd

Safe!

The high light came during the third and final inning when she came up to bat.  As I was getting the video camera in place the pitch came in and she drilled in towards 2nd base.  Away she went to first base with a huge grin on her face.




She scored a run a few batters later and the game ended.

Ten minutes after we arrived home and she changed clothes, she had her bat, balls and tee set up in the back yard - ready for some more practice.  I think she's hooked.

How to Harvest Carrots

Step 1: Have carrots growing in your garden already.

Step 2: Wait until the daily temperatures are nearly 90* each day, and the soil is getting nice and warm.  At this point the carrots will start splitting and getting woody, so it's time to get them all out.

Step 3: Extract all carrots from the ground giving a firm tug to the green stems, being careful not to snap the stem off, leaving the carrot buried in the dirt.  Toss the carrots into a pile on the ground.

Step 4: Take each carrot and snap off the top stem right at the top of the carrot.  Toss the carrot into a bucket.

Step 5: Rinse and swish the carrots in a water bath to loosen the dirt.  Drain the water.

Step 6: Transfer carrots into a colander for further rinsing.

Step 7: Rinse carrots and drain.

 
Step 8: Trim tops and root end from carrots and store in plastic bags.

Step 9: Eat carrots twice per day for the next 10 days so your home grown carrots don't go bad.