Male Bonding At The Car Show

This year it was just the boys who headed down south to the annual car show in St. Ignace. Lily decided to go to the Pow Wow with Lisa, so us guys did some male bonding and checked out some nice old cars. Trevor's favorites were the orange '69 Dodge Charger (just like the General Lee) and the Delorian (like the time machine in Back To The Future). He also liked an old tricked out school bus. My favorites of course were the Trans Am Firebirds. Maybe I can enter my Firebird in the show someday when I get the door fixed and drop a new engine in her. Oh, I can dream.

Weekly Roundup June 22-26

Another busy week for us, and the heat was brutal, too. The kids really worked hard and worked up a sweat.

Two baseball games for us this week, both Monday and Wednesday. Trevor went 2 for 3 on Monday, with two infield hits. We tried using a lighter bat and he's getting around on the ball better. He made a couple of nice plays in the infield, too. Wednesday he went 1 for 2 at the plate with another infield hit. Still doing solid in the field and made some nice plays. Lily helped me out again with the lineup and is doing a great job.

Tuesday Trevor's soccer team had a scrimmage and they won 2-0. Only one sub for the team and it was really hot, so the kids didn't get that much of a break. Trevor was downing water like crazy after the game and was drenched in sweat. Thursday the Hawks had a real game and beat the Falcons 5-0. No goals for Trevor but he came very close and is playing a lot better. Starting to mix it up and get to the net.

Lily is continuing her physical therapy and had a session on Friday. They say her hand is coming along nicely and she'll be good as new. She's as tough as they come, so this doesn't surprise me at all.

The middle picture has Lily and Trevor with his school friends Alec and Sydney. Next week Papa and Nana are making the trip from Cadillac to see the kids.

Weekly Roundup June 15-19

Busy week for us, as the rain held off and we got all of our events in.

We had baseball practice on Monday, and things seemed to go well there. Lily helped out when she could and Trevor seems to be doing some things better. Coach Lenny worked with him on his hitting a bit, too. On Wednesday night Trevor had two infield hits. He's still not hitting the ball real solid, but getting better with practice. He also made a nice play in the field. Trevor was also picked for the Sault Little League Player of the Week for this week for the Minor 1 division.

Tuesday Lily went down to Petoskey and got the cast off of her hand. You can see by the pic she needs to wear a brace on it. She is so tough, she never cried during any of this. What an awesome little girl.

No soccer games this week, as the kids worked with the pros. Members of the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer were in town to put a camp on for the kids. They also put them through drills and give them some tips on soccer. Pictured is one of the Fire giving instruction to Trevor's team the Hawks (Trevor is #10). He is really doing better at soccer and likes it because he says it's easy. Back to games next week.

Weekly Roundup June 8-12

With Lily now on the DL, it looks like things will be focusing on Trevor for a bit. Lily did help out at the baseball game on Wednesday as my bench coach. She's keeps busy with the batting order and taking pictures while we're in the field.

Speaking of the baseball game, Trevor had two good hits, but had a little trouble making contact his third trip to the plate. He's doing better now than when before I was gone, so he's improving. He played some shortstop, second base, and first base during the game. Made some good catches and is doing a good job of getting in front of the ball. He just has to get more focused on the game and what's going on. Not just him, but remember these kids are 7-8 years old, and Trevor is 6, so sometimes it's tough for them. He had fun, though which is all that really counts in my book. Next week we'll start having 'outs' for the batters, but not sure whether we'll actually keep score or not.

Thursday night Trevor played in his first soccer game. His team the Hawks beat the Panthers 3-2. No goals for him, but he was playing forward each time his team scored. His first practice was on Tuesday, so he's a little behind the other kids and just getting used to the sport. Trevor is having fun with this too. We'll try to get out this weekend and work on some things to get him caught up.

Next week we have baseball practice on Monday, game on Wednesday. Soccer practice on Tuesday and another game on Thursday.

Lily Earns SALL Player of the Week

Lily was one of the players chosen in her division (7/8) in the Sault Area Little League for the Player of the Week award. Two players are chosen from each team and listed in the local paper. I'll try to get a copy and post a picture of it here. This was Lily's last game for the season unfortunately, as she went through surgery last Friday to have a cyst removed from her right hand. Despite being on the DL for the remainder of the season, she will come to the games and be my special helper. She can get the team stretched out and keep track of the batting order for me.
Both her and Trevor played really well while I was out of town. Trevor is starting to hit the live pitching a lot better and Lily is just a solid all around player. It will tough for her to be not playing, but I'm sure she'll bounce back next season and play great, too.

Making The Best Of It

Being stuck hundreds of miles from home in training, about the only thing you can do is make the best of it. Keeping with the theme of the website, I decided to keep busy by watching baseball and hockey, and golfing. Yes, golfing in the south is fun.

Charleston RiverDogs: I was able to make it to two games of the RiverDogs here in Charleston, South Carolina. They are Single A in the South Atlantic League. It's always nice to be at a ballpark for the first time and 'The Joe' as they call it is a nice place to watch a game. It's pretty big ballpark, but you still got a great view from anywhere. I was shut out at getting a game ball and the Dogs beat and lost to the Lexington Legends.

Golfing: I can't remember the actual name of the course we played on, but it's on the Naval Base. Being DHS I guess we were able to come on and get some golfing in. It was a nice course and all but looking out for alligators really made it interesting. We only saw one 'gator for both times we went, and he didn't seem real interested in us. I didn't golf too bad and had some fun.

South Carolina Stingrays: Who would of thought I'd travel way down south to watch a hockey game? The Stingrays are in the Kelly Cup (ECHL) championship against the Alaska Aces. Luckily we were able to get tickets, but I don't think hockey is the number one sport down here. The 'Rays won 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in the series. Now, I think they're still up 3-2. Also got to see former Laker Trent Campbell score a goal and an assist. He was the #1 star of the game and is leading his team in scoring for the playoffs.

Savannah Sand Gnats: Luckily the Sand Gnats were also in town while I was down here, this time playing the Charleston RiverDogs (maybe they're thinking I followed them). I love Grayson Stadium, though, as I was here back in 2005 when I was training in Brunswick then. Always a good time in Savannah, and the Gnats played well losing a close game Tuesday night and winning in extra innings the next. I'd love to bring the family down here at some point.