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.

 

Catalina Island

After a full day and night at Disneyland, we woke up a little blurry-eyed.  We were happy to be heading out to Catalina Island, though!

Everywhere we went in CA was just picture perfect...even the parking lots!

We were some of the very last to board, but we made it.

An hour and 15 minutes later, we arrived on Catalina Island.

This place was movie-star cool...just like our ferry!

Since it was right after the 4th of July, this enormous American flag was still flying.

Such a neat photo-op for all!

As we walked, we saw all sorts of funny little shops, but this one was my favorite.

It was completely cloudy, but still so pretty.

This restaurant was especially charming.

After a 20 minute walk, we found the Beach Club, which had good food and drinks.

And since it was right on the beach, this little gal could go play in the sand before our meal arrived.  Perfect!

After lunch, the sun arrived! Somehow this island got even more beautiful.

Brian, Belle, Lila and Maddie got all set for their cool ziplining expedition.

Lila wasn't kidding when she said the views were magnificent!

Leslie, Cami and I didn't have too shabby of views ourselves, though.

We caught some rays on the beach...

and then rented a kayak for an hour.  We had SUCH a great time going up and down the coast.   

After the big girls got back, the kids played on the beach for a minute...

and then began our walk back to the ferry.

It was so hard to say goodbye!

We love you, Catalina Island!

Disneyland

For our second day in California, we tackled Disneyland.  So much walking, but such a magical place.  That morning, we had a leisurely breakfast of pancakes and bacon, and then arrived at the park around 12:30.  We had high hopes of staying until after the fireworks that night!

Disneyland!  We made it into the park without so much as waiting in any lines!

This was my first time to Disneyland.  Main Street was charming, but Sleeping Beauty's Castle doesn't hold a candle to Cinderella's!

 While we waited in line for our first ride, this big boat cruised by.  Cool!

Pirates of the Caribbean was our first ride.  It was so fun!

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was next, and it was even better. All thumbs up!

We met back up with Leslie, Brian, Belle and Zac and had a little waiting time in the shade for our next ride.

Astro Orbiter was cool--especially for me and Cami!  We rode Star Tours after that...

and then met everyone again at It's A Small World.

"It's a small world afterall, it's a small, small world."  I loved this ride.  It's recently been redone and they did such a great job representing all the countries.  And it's in the air conditioning!

Our favorite of the day, though, had to be Splash Mountain!  Despite my face and Cami's face, we loved it.  Poor Lila got soaked, but she was a great sport about it.

We rode a few more things, and then decided to check out the brand new Star Wars land.  It was impressive.  Really impressive.  I felt like we had walked into a million dollar movie set.

Our last ride of the night was flying high on Dumbo.  After that, we met everyone for the fireworks show, which was nothing short of amazing.  It even snowed during the Frozen part!  Magical is the best word I know to describe it.  Disney does things well!

California Girls

On Friday, July 5th, we all went to the airport together.  The boys headed east to Cooperstown, NY, while us girls headed west to Cali.

My sweet cousin, Leslie, picked us up from the airport. 
Valet service and then she took us to her home in Newport Beach.

We ate lunch on the back patio with this incredible view.  Vacation was off to a great start!

My Aunt Glenda made us cute cookies and cupcakes...

and they even had a trampoline in the front yard that the girls loved!

By mid-afternoon, we had arrived in Huntington Beach.

These girls couldn't wait to run into those waves!

Not only was the water cold, but the waves were fierce.  Didn't stop our crew one bit. 
They had a total blast.

While they squealed with delight, Leslie and I got to catch up a bit.

Friday afternoon with this view.  Oh, and only 80 degrees...

we will take it!

This girl loved the water and the sand...maybe a little too much, but oh well!

After some good showers, we went to dinner in Newport Harbor.  Can we say picturesque?!  There was live music during dinner and we were right on the water.  Halfway through our meal the music stopped, though.  People began running outside and we started swaying as if we were on a boat.  Except we weren't.  We were in the middle of an earthquake!!!  Welcome to California!  Nothing like starting things off with a bang.  

Happy 4th!

Happy Birthday, USA!