Cooperstown, NY

While the girls and I were in California, the boys were in upstate New York.  Jackson's biggest baseball tournament of his life was under way in Cooperstown, home of the Baseball Hall of Fame.  It was a tournament of epic proportions, with 104 teams competing against each other.  One hundred and four!

From the moment they arrived, all of the boys were in awe of this place.

They went to Sal's pizza...

The Baseball Hall of Fame...and played their little hearts out.

Every photo I saw had one thing in common--Jackson's big grin.  I loved it!  But I was so sad to be missing this special time with him.

The Eagles first game was at 8:30 am on Sunday morning.  At 5:20 am California time, I got a notification that the game was starting early.  Two minutes later, I got another text, this time from Jared.  It simply read, "Dinger first at bat!!!"  Jackson had hit a homerun during his first time up to bat in Cooperstown!  After that, there was no way I could fall back asleep.  I followed each game as much as I could, while beebopping all over Southern California.

 

The morning after the girls and I got back home, we were able to watch his 6th game live on the internet.  He was playing so well, and so were the Eagles.  They won 5 out of 6 of those games and were on fire.  I just couldn't stand it any longer, so I started making some calls.  Both Gigi and Memaw agreed to help me out, and Jared booked me a flight to NY at 5:00 that day.

The next morning, we awoke in our cabin on the lake and went to pick up Jackson.

SURPRISE!!!  He was shocked to see me, but so very happy.

We went to Doubleday Field, home of the very first ever game of baseball...

and the boys got to feel what it was like to walk on hallowed ground in their favorite sport.

We took a look at some old school batting cages...

and then headed back to our cabin to explore the lake.  Let's go canoeing, kid!

The boys put the toys in the water...

and we were off!  So great.

The Maddux boys joined us for the afternoon...

and everyone had a wonderful time.

We ate lunch at Blue Mingo...

and then took Jackson back to the fields for his two games that afternoon.

Let's do this, #7!

The Eagles were ready to play.

Jackson got things started with a hit to center field!

A few plays later, he was on 3rd base...

ready to score.  And score he did!  This kid went 4 for 4 at the plate and played excellent defense at 3rd base and short stop.

It was a battle for 2 extra innings, but in the end the Eagles prevailed!

The kids were happy, and so were the rowdy dads!

They hung in there against a really tough team, but in the end, lost 4-0.

Just like that, the season was over.  Bummer.

This kid was not ready for it to be over and was emotional.  We told him that he should hold his head high--he played lights out for 8 games and never gave anything less than 100%.  If you are looking for a true competitor, who does not fold when things get tough, he's your kid.

The next morning we had a homemade breakfast on the back porch of our cottage...

and then went back to the fields to watch some more babeball.  Despite the rain, the games went on!

Jackson got a custom ring...

and got to spend the afternoon in the most picturesque baseball dreamland.

After the rain passed through, a rainbow even appeared!

We all went back for the championship game that night and enjoyed the firework show.

So good to see all of them smiling again!

Goodbye, Cooperstown!  Thank you for a magical week that our 12 year old will never forget.