Season's End

 The baseball season has come to a close for number 8 and the other Marlins.  This is the first year I was kind of sad to see the end come.  I am very happy for more free time.  I'm not so sad to quit packing up the stroller, blankets for sitting on, blankets for keeping warm with, stadium seat, folding chairs, waters, snacks (or dinner), baby toys, baby food, extra clothes, jammies for Henry, camera and the three kids I'm in charge of three or so times a week.  What I mean is  that this was the first season that it was often like watching real baseball.  Our boys were pitching.  There was hitting and good fielding sometimes.  We kept score and sometimes that meant nail biting at the end of the game.  We cheered for good plays.  It was fun. 

 Assistant Coach Tadd's season is also over.  I think he had a fun season with his boys.  He did his job well.  He was real helpful to the boys--for instance, if they forgot where to go after first base he kindly pointed at second.  Just kidding.  He did more complex things than that.  As first base coach he had to watch the third base coach for the sign to steal.  The signs at this age are pretty sneaky.  You know, a touch of the cap brim or something.  It's not a job that just anyone can do.  All joking aside, Ezra is thrilled that his Dad is willing to take time to help coach his team.  It means the world to him to share this part of his life with his Daddy.

 You would think that Nora and Caroline would be glad the season is over.  But to them, baseball is just one big party.  We have a team with tons of younger siblings.  And we played at a lot of fields adjacent to playgrounds this year.  The girls did not watch much baseball.  Although, Nora did get into it at the end of the season and would often stop playing to come watch.

 When you are eight years old you are sometimes in an aggressive "ready" stance....

 And sometimes you just still want to play in the dirt. 

 Checking out the results of his handiwork.  If you know me at all you know that I am not the kind of mom who uses bleach or worries about stains.  Ezra's pants were never very clean to begin with : )

 His favorite part of this year was pitching.  He loves to pitch.  I love to watch him pitch.  Of course, as a beginner he has some on days and some off.  And some way off.   But that's okay.  He also had one stellar day where he pitched three shut out innings and got 8 strike outs.  He rode that high for a while.  However, it also became the yard stick he judged the rest of his season by.  It was a tough standard to live up to.  He never stopped enjoying it--that's a good sign.

 When he looked at this picture on the computer he said "I can already see it's not going to be a strike at all!"  That's okay--it made for a fun picture.

 The team started out hot at the beginning of the season, hit a mid season slump and then started up their winning ways again just in time for the play offs.  They lost the first game of a double elimination tourney and then managed to win the next three and make it all the way to the championship.  The team we played was one that we really, really wanted to beat.  It was a long road through the loser's bracket, however, and they boys were tired by the time they got to this game.  They fought a good  battle and came in second.  Second is a pretty good place to land for their first year in this league. 

 They even earned a trophy. 

 (Those are what his pants look like fresh out of the wash.  I am not at all kidding.  In my defense, he has used them for two seasons and he only has one pair.)

Good job, Ezra!  Baseball has the shortest off season of any sport.  I'm sure it won't be very long until we're hearing "Play ball" again.