Baseball Season Top Ten

Clayton and Isaac played (for the first time) on the same little league baseball team. The Bees. It was quite the time investment but I'm glad they did it. Here's a list of the top ten most unforgettable (for better of for worse) things this season:

1 - I missed most of it. Lydia was supposed to be born the day after playoffs - which would have been perfect right? Instead I went into the hospital on the day after the first game. And was out for most of the season. Surprisingly, Clayton and Isaac still made it to every game and almost every practice - thanks to Nate (mostly) and my mom and a few neighbors.
2 - Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Isaac read the entire "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series over the shoulder of another teammate who brought the books to every practice and game. Whenever the two boys would turn up missing on the field, more often than not they were found hunched over a book in the dug-out, chuckling together, and no doubt learning all sorts of ways to misbehave.
3 - Isaac's home run. Isaac can hit the ball out of the park. It's just too bad it never happened during an actual game. He scored some awesome home runs during practices though.
4 - Clayton in the outfield. It turns out there's a lot of standing around time in little league. And Clayton used that time to think. When he wasn't batting, pitching, or catching, (which he did wholeheartedly by the way), he was contemplating the universe - completely oblivious to the occasional balls that would zing by (or roll right between his feet). And although I was worried that "one of these days" he'd get clocked by a stray ball (since he was hardly ever looking), I always loved his philosophical discourse or scientific analysis (about something completely unrelated to baseball) following every game.
5 - Clayton's thumb. Clayton smashed his thumb during the very first practice. It turned purple. The nail fell off. And it took approximately three months to grow back. His piano teacher was beside herself.
6 - Brigham. Brigham was definitely the most valuable non-player. He didn't really pay attention to the games - they weren't fast paced enough. So instead he hunted for bugs and found tons (especially ants). He climbed in and out and all around the bleachers - through people's legs, hiding in the smallest nooks and crannies, and jumping off the back. He made friends with everyone - telling them we're Australian. And chased down every foul ball.
7 - Eliza. Eliza thought all the balls belonged to her. She toddled after every one, scolding the players as she went. She refused to stay still, sit down, or hold my hand. It was all I could do to keep her away from the dugout, the pitcher's mound, and the ant hills.
8 - Carrying the cannon. It seemed like we were always getting there in the nick of time which meant we ended up parking a mile away. I'd send Clayton and Isaac ahead with their duffel bag full of gear. They always put on quite the military reenactment - each holding a side of the odd-shaped bag, pretending to carry a cannon and marching through the parking lot calling orders, charging, firing, and taking cover as needed. 9 - Five is hard. I got my first real taste of life with five in public as I took the kids to the last several practices and games on my own. Wow. Nursing a newborn on bleachers surrounded by fanatic baseball parents while supervising a very tired, hungry, and whiny one-year-old and a very active (daring) four-year-old while dealing with a misbehaving six-year-old on the field and cheering for a nervous eight-year-old was so insane. It's truly a miracle that I survived baseball season.
10 - For the love of the game. And believe it or not, there were times when we actually enjoyed the game itself. Go Bees!

Thankfully I have a whole year to recuperate
before I gear up for next season.
.