Proud Mama Moment

J is an athletic kid.  He has played soccer and basketball for the last few years at school.  He's pretty good at both.  But his first love is baseball.  He's played Little League since he was five and he'll be fourteen in four days.  (That's a whole other post!)  Recently we received a letter in the mail invitng J to attend a try out for the Under Armour National Tournament Teams in Boca Raton.  The letter was from a company called The Baseball Factory.  Tom called for more details and it turns out they are a company who train and help guide high school players through the college recruitment process.  College recruitment?  He isn't even in high school yet.  No problem.  The try out was for 13-18 year olds.  The cost was minimal and we decided if nothing else it would be a good experience.  This past Sunday I made the three hour drive down south with J and my dad.  We learned about how the recruitment process works, what J will have to do if he wants to play college ball, and watched about 50 boys try out.  J was one of only three 8th graders there.  Tuesday I called to hear his detailed evaluation.  He didn't make the tournament team.  Now let me say this was not surprising.  He is, after all, not quite 14.  He was competing against varsity players and they hold these try outs all over the country.    However, he was selected to attend the Cape Cod Pro Select Training Camp in Massachusetts this summer.  The training is provided by the Cape Cod Baseball League, which is apparently a big deal in college baseball.  Baseball factory only selects about 90 kids per year to attend this camp and J is one of them.  I'm still kind of stunned.  I mean, I've always thought he was a pretty spectacular ball player, but I'm his mom.  I'm supposed to think that!  J is over the moon and immediatley started trying to figure out ways he could earn money tohelp pay the cost.  Let's just say it's not so minimal!  I'm so proud of him.  He's been saying for a while that he wants a career in baseball and now he has the opportunity to get some further training and really see if this is what he wants out of life.  If nothing else, this is a good step towards playing in high school and college.  And who knows?  Someday you just may see J playing in the majors!  If things go his way, he'll be the one playing first base for the Yankees!

Hello Out There

It's been a while, I know.  I had good intentions when I decided to give blogging a try.  Really I did.  Somehow life keeps getting in the way of blogging.  But I'm back.  Again.  I'll try to be better.  Please comment and let me know you're reading.  Knowing someone, anyone is reading will inspire me to keep going.

Making Excuses

Yesterday we were in the drive thru at McDonald's.  The clerk repeated the order back and it was mixed up.  After repeating it, we pulled around and were waiting to pay.  I remarked to my mother, who was driving, that this could be a case of a screwed up order.  From the back seat, N pipes up with many reasons why this could be the case.  The clerk is having a hard day, it was hard to hear over the speaker, etc.  He finishes by saying that even if it is messed up, it's not a big deal.  I remark to my mother that N always trys to find a reason for why someone messes up.  He always tries to find a kind hearted excuse for the actions of others.   N chimes in with, "Yeah I have to make excuses for you all the time mom."  Gee thanks!

She has a head like mine

This afternoon we were in the car on our way to J's school soccer game. A started talking about someone named Casey and how she was a friend of J's. She seemed to know a lot about this girl. Only problem is, J doesn't know anyone named Casey. When J pointed this out, A became very frustrated and insisted there is a girl named Casey on his soccer team. Figuring A was probably mispronouncing the name and Casey was in fact a friend of J's, I asked A if she could tell me what she looks like. I got the following answer, "Well, she's a girl and she has you know, a head, like mine!" We still don't know who Casey is, but at least there won't be any headless players at the soccer games.

I haven't dropped off the face of the earth

Guess it's been awhile since I posted anything. Oops! Our summer was very relaxed and carefree and blogging was the furthest thing from my mind. Now that we are back to our regular insane fall schedule I'll try to be better about posting.

A Day At The Farm

Today I took A and N to Green Meadows Petting Farm. Green Meadows is a petting farm located in Kissimmee, Florida. We had been invited by a friend of N's who was going with a large group. As it turned out, a few of A's friends were there as well due to various school and preschool connections. But I digress. Since there were more than twenty people in our group, we qualified for the group rate of $10 per person for ages 3-adult. The regular admission price is $21 or $19 for Florida residents. Little red wagons were available to rent for $3. A was excited when she spotted the wagons and I rented one to pull her around in.

Once our entire group had gathered, a tour guide took us on a 2 1/2 hour tour of the farm. We learned about a variety of animals, including turkeys, chickens. ponies, cows, sheep, goats, llamas, and pigs. After a brief lesson on each animal, we were able to enter the pens and pet the various farm animals. In the case of the chickens, ducks, and geese, we were allowed to pick them up. The geese and the ducks were quite hilarious as the kids dashed around trying to catch them after the tour guide showed the proper method. We were not permitted to enter the pens of the larger animals such as the llamas, cows, and bison. However, we could pet them through the fence. At the pony enclosure, each child got to ride a pony. We got to feed the sheep and goats as well as pet them. One friendly goat put his front hooves on N's back and started nibbling at his t-shirt. Everyone also had the chance to milk a cow. N and A both enjoyed the animal tour immensely and both managed to pick up and hold chickens, duck, and geese. I was impressed that outside each animal pen there were hand sanitizer stations and the tour guide never missed reminding everyone to wash up.

In addition to the animals, the tour included a train ride around the farm, where we got to see some animals grazing in the fields. The tour concluded with a tractor drawn hayride. Each guest received a souvenir cup and a free child's admission ticket for a future visit. For fall visitors the cup is replaced with a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch.

The farm also has several small playgrounds and large covered picnic pavilions. The grounds and animal enclosures are shaded by numerous large oak trees, so even the Florida heat was not to overwhelming. When it is time for lunch, you can borrow a wheelbarrow to retrieve your cooler from your car. The tour guide gives a break in the middle of the tour for you to enjoy your lunch or just relax a bit. Birthday party packages are available as well. There is a small souvenir stand and the items ranged in price from $1.00 -$5.00.

Green Meadows is a great outing for families with kids of all ages. A and N have already asked if we can go back. I'm thinking a trip in the fall when the pumpkin patch is available is in order.

Sky Diving

This week, A and N attended Vacation Bible school. This was A's first year and she was a bit apprehensive at the start of the week. What if she didn't like the kids? What if she got scared? And so on and so on. I did my best to soothe her fears, then dropped her off with a wave and a smile. Luckily, she loved VBS and we had no issues. In fact, by the second day she was instructing me on how to drop her off and "Just go mom!" One of the activities this week was tie dyeing t-shirts. A loved this particular activity and had the tie dyed legs to prove it. Her grandpa asked her what she had done at bible school and she told him she had sky dived. Huh? Surely the people at VBS weren't insane enough to have three year olds jumping out of airplanes. He repeated the question and got this response, "You know papa, I sky dived my shirt."