Take Me Out To The Ball Fields

This spring has been crazy hectic busy around here.  We have 4 kids on 3 little league teams. Trouble x2 and x3 are on t-ball this year.  What a hoot.  Troublex3 just stands around and smiles.  Always smiling.  He even got the game ball one game for being the happiest player (and trying to switch hit).  Trouble x2 thinks she is ready for the major softball league, and gymnastics, and the swim team, and the equestrian team, and the Russian ballet trop, and college.  She did really enjoy herself, focused so intently on looking like she knew what she was doing. We had AWESOME t-ball coaches!  I am hoping they continue to coach through the years, and at the different levels.  It was a good team, lots of fun. Trouble x1 was in coach pitch.  Not my favorite, but I go and show my support.  Cheering and yelling from the sidelines.  They can be some slow moving games.  They know enough to not be as cute as t-ball but not enough to make it very exciting.  Still, by the end of the year we had kids actually making catches in the infield, throwing kids out and hitting without the tee.  Trouble x1 has no problems slugging the ball.  Very first game he gets up and hits a double.  And being Ethiopian, he is fast (not that all Ethiopians are fast, troublex3 is certainly not, but x1 is wicked fast!).  Catching, well, we needed some help.  At one point the ball hit him and gave him a bloody nose, another game it knocked a tooth loose (baby tooth thankfully.  Tooth Fairy was on high alert for the next 24 hours).  He is determined however.  He goes outside and practices every day.  With only 2 games left he has gotten much better.  Next year he'll move on to machine pitch.   And the excitement will build all over.  Hot dogs from the snack bar, playground friends, games under the lights, entire days spent at the fields, picnics, and dusty clothes.  Hopefully we won't have white pants.  White pants and little league just. don't. mix.