Baseball and Karate

The morning started with opening ceremonies and a baseball game.

Then we went to a friend's karate birthday party.

They had fun playing all kinds of games.

They played Karate Ball (similar to Dodge Ball) and tried not to get hit by the ball.

They tried to hit pads out of the air with swords.

A Visit with the Eye Doctor and a Little Baseball

It was time for our annual eye doctor appointment and Owen wanted to go first.

I love this sweet boy.

Chloe was watching on as Owen read aloud the letters he saw on the screen.

Then she was trying to tickle her Momma and get away before being caught.  This produced many giggles.

Owen did well with all of the choice A's or B's and was told he has outstanding vision.

Then it was Chloe's turn to read through the letters.  And because the letters are shown from a computer, our little Sneaky Sneak couldn't memorize all the letters.

Chloe was also told she has perfect vision.  Woot!

Then we went to the batting cages.

Owen was hitting the 40mph balls.  Wow!

Baseball Practice

We are in the middle of an unseasonably warm week/month/spring and headed out to the park in the back of the neighborhood with Mr. Rod and Preston on their golf cart.

Mr. Rod was the pitcher.

And Owen was the only batter who took it seriously.

O did a great job smacking almost every pitch to the back of the park.

And we all took time to be still and admire each ball's flight.  

He was smackin em good.

Chloe wanted to hit some baseballs, too.

The coordination isn't quite there, but she still had fun trying.  :)

Baseball Try Outs

We had been hoping Owen would choose to do soccer in the Spring.  And he had.  Until he remembered his best friend Tayden started saying he wanted to play baseball.  So another season of baseball it is for the boy child.

This year we arrived earlier and waited less than 20 minutes before Owen got to show off his skills.

He knew a couple of other boys ahead of him in line.  One was Preston and another was on his team last Fall.

Owen warmed up while the boy ahead of him finished his try out.

He got to swing at several pitches and knocked an impressive one into the outfield. 

Then he ran as fast as he could to second base to show off his running skills.  Owen is still one of the fastest kids his age and outruns the others (and older kids!) in little races.

Once on second base, he got to catch some pop-ups and grounders, as well as show off his arm when throwing the balls to the first base kid.

Owen was asked if he wanted to pitch. 

Of course, the answer was yes! 

Owen only got to pitch for part of one game last season.  He is hopeful he will have more pitching opportunities in Spring ball.

He was pleased with his whole tryout.  

As he should be.  Owen did awesome showing off his baseball skills for the coaches judging from the outfield!

Sand Gnats Season Ending

The boys finished strong and won their last game of the season.  They also got a season baseball which the coaches had signed for each boy.

Coach Thad is standing on the left and is the one Owen had been asking all season if he could pitch.  Coach Jeff is on the right.

This sometimes felt like an extremely long season with late night games and many school night practices combined with slow moving games and more walks than hits.  There were tears over being struck or thrown out.  But the smiles on this boy's face after every game and practice won out and keep him asking to sign up for baseball in the spring.  Owen has learned more about the game and has amazed us at his perseverance through his frustration, as well as his dedication to practicing hitting, throwing and catching at home.  Way to go, Owen on a fabulous first-ever season of baseball.

Owen Got to Pitch!

This was our last night game and in the second to the last inning, Owen was put on the pitcher's mound.

Coach Jeff stood out there while he warmed up with the catcher.

During his initial pitches, Coach Jeff made a video of Owen to send to Todd.

I heard several of the dads discussing Owen's pitching form and they were impressed.

He pitched for almost the whole inning and did so great!

Owen threw so many strikes.

When the other team had scored a few runs and the bases were loaded, Owen was swapped out with the third baseman.  He was beaming from ear to ear over being allowed to pitch.

 He liked playing third base, too.

Owen's next time up at bat, he got a hit.

And made it to third base before stealing home and scoring the final run for his team.

After exchanging high-fives with the other team, Owen ran and slid around third base with excitement.

Awesome game, Owen!  Way to hit AND pitch!!!

After the game, Owen went up to Coach Jeff and Coach Thad and thanked them for letting him pitch.  He was immediately told, "Owen, we didn't let you pitch.  You earned it.  And you did great!"