mikey and baseball

mikey started with the summer baseball program a couple of weeks ago and had his first game last week. despite playing in 104* heat, the kids had a great time and they were so much fun to watch.

mikey was particularly entertaining to the spectators. it's not possible for mikey to just play ball. he has to do tricks, too. like sliding into home plate...except he didn't quite make it to home plate. he stopped about three feet short of it. then he kinda just sat on the dirt all confused, like he didn't know where he was. it was too funny.

he even had a chance to play pitcher. except it's tee-ball, so he didn't really pitch. the pitcher's job it to get the ball back from outfield after a play and throw it back to the umpire. 

of course, mikey couldn't just throw the ball. he had to do this spiffy, backward-over-his-head, throw-the-ball-without-even-looking smooth move and almost popped the next batter on the head. 

but the crowd went wild. and that's what mikey loves - to make the crowd go wild.

thanks for being so awesome, buddy.

i really love to watch you play.

lake tahoe open 2011

we headed up to the mountains last weekend so that isaiah could compete in the lake tahoe open brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament. it was held in truckee, ca, near north lake tahoe. this is my favorite tournament {it is held twice a year} because of the beautiful location and venue. we always make sure to turn it into a mini-vacation every time. last time we came up, it was during the winter so we went snowmobiling and sledding in north tahoe. this time, it was a summer tournament so we spent the weekend in reno, nevada, where my sister and her family live.

isaiah fought against two other boys or the same belt rank and weight class. he won his first fight by points, 12-0!

he also won his second fight by points, 6-0, and took home the GOLD from this tournament! he doesn't even give his competition a chance to get a single point on him.

isaiah with his instructor/coach, master charles gracie.

proud mom and dad with our little gold medalist. :)

isaiah was fortunate to have such a large cheer squad supporting him at the tournament. it was great to have my dad, sisters and nieces there to watch him do his thing. i'm sure the audience motivated him to fight his hardest. we need to make sure they come along to every tournament! 

we spent the rest of the weekend running around reno, stuffing our faces at the countless buffets, playing in the midway arcade at circus circus. i haven't been to reno since i was a kid, but the midway was exactly as i remember it. it was so much fun taking my own kids and letting them experience it as i did. yet another reminder that...holy crap, i'm getting old.

i hope everyone had a fun and relaxing labor day weekend!

embrace the camera - aug 11

the bigs participated in a summer baseball program called the junior giants. this program is sponsored by the san francisco giants and is an awesome, well-funded, free community program that we are so fortunate to be able to participate in. 

isaiah and mikey had games yesterday at the exact same time, of course, because the universe purposely makes things as difficult as possible for me. i missed mikey's entire game because i had to help coach isaiah's team. :( it was a big bummer for me because it was mikey's last game of the summer. isaiah played an awesome game, and even hit a homerun. afterwards, i found out he was playing extra hard because a couple of girls from his class at school were on the opposing team. apparently, he was showing off. those girls were some motivation!

i made sure to get a picture of me and my big boys after all the baseball fun.

i hope everyone's enjoying what's left of summer. we are starting school again on MONDAY over here!!! just four more days!!! i can't believe how fast the summer went by.

boys and sports

another one of our boys is growing up and we've begun trying out different sports to see which one he loves. my idea is that the boys should practice a martial art, play in at least one team sport, and eventually take lessons in one instrument. 

isaiah has been practicing jiu-jitsu year-round since he was three and loves it. he's becoming more dedicated to this sport and competes in a tournament monthly. as for a team sport, isaiah tried baseball but didn't like it much. he preferred soccer, so that's what we go with every year. his long and lean build makes him a fast runner, which is why he's pretty good at soccer. his favorite position is mid because he says he can "run anywhere he wants so that he can score". awesome in my book. but, despite my coercion, he wouldn't join the swim team. :( i secretly wanted to be a swim team mom. haha

we've now begun this mission with mikey to find the sports that interest him. as obsessed as his older brother is with jiu-jitsu, i really don't think it would be a good fit for mikey. jiu-jitsu is grappling, much like wrestling, but with chokes and arm bars and other scary things called 'lion killers'. the moves are calculated, timing is precise...and that's just not the kind of kid mikey is! i think he'll do much better with a martial art that has striking and kicking...muay thai, kung fu or tae kwon do.

this past weekend, mikey had his first experience with baseball. he's participating in a tee-ball clinic, where they teach the littles ones the basics of the game: running bases, proper stance, hitting the ball (er, hitting the tee stand). it was a pretty exciting. it was also really entertaining, because the kids just did not quite understand the order that the bases are run. there were kids going from 1st to 3rd then to 2nd then across to home. too funny.

baseball stance

mikey's first huddle and break! haha

i had isaiah write his name on his glove last year, and when i pulled it out of storage, i got all teary-eyed! but i guess that's why i have them do it...for the memories.

mikey cracked me up because he wrote his name as a mirror-image. pretty crazy...but also pretty neat.