Big League Dreams

Last weekend we went to J's first baseball tournament with his new team.  It was at the Big League Dreams ballpark in Mansfield and was such a cool place.  They have replica ball fields of the most well known or iconic baseball parks in America.

After some rain earlier in the day, the boys were pumped to take the field in the Brooklyn Dodger Stadium.  They got some last minute words of encouragement from Coach Mark and then all took a knee to say a prayer.  I love this so much.  He's got really great people around him, not just looking out for what's best in terms of baseball, but what matters so much more--building their faith and helping mold them into strong, confident young men.

Cole and Jackson were in awe of this place--those are fake people in the stands out past the outfield.  They may or may not have fooled Gigi when we walked into the park!

No water bottles allowed, either.  These boys got treated just like the pros with water available to them in the dugout.

By gametime even Mr. Sun came out.  Let's play ball!

J was batting second and hit a good one to the third baseman.  He outran the throw to first and got on base.

A few plays later, he crossed home plate and The Fury was on the scoreboard.

We had brought umbrellas, ponchos and raincoats, but didn't think we would need any sunscreen.  Thank goodness for other moms.  The sun was beaming down on us by the second inning.

Jackson hit a good one to right field the next time up to bat--yeehaw!

Don't watch it, son--get going!

Unfortunately they got behind a little, made a few throwing errors and couldn't come away with the win.  That's ok--we thought we would just go have a snack inside the food court and then come back in a few hours and win the next game.  But alas, the rains came, and we were stuck inside for what felt like forever.  This little lady actually did really well.  We took her on a few strolls outside in between the storms and even let her get soaking wet at the playground because she was as happy as could be climbing inside the tunnels and going down the slide.

The boys did well too, although I know they were dying to get back out there.  Cami was thrilled that they came over to talk to her, though!  She loves all of J's friends, especially the ones who will speak Jibber Jabber with her!  Thanks, Cooper and Brock:)

And Miss Lila was a trooper, too.  She could only eat soft foods because she was still sick.  Thank goodness for a good food court and a sweet Gigi--this kid had an ice cream sandwich and this huge popsicle.  Smiles all around.  Three hours after first coming inside, they finally called off the games for the day.  Three hours!  Hopefully our next tournament won't be in the middle of monsoon season, but it's not looking that way.  Both games got rained out for today and it's still pouring outside.  Good grief.  Enough already!