Abby found Belle

Abby has been doing the back up onto a lot of laps these days, but this day she found her little sister's lap for the first time... so cute!  Belle was a bit caught off guard, but as you can see, they had a moment.  Belle has traditionally been such a competent caregiver.  No... she doesn't actually take care of Abby, but she's been able to direct care for her since she was three.  She's spent her days dodging a pinch or a pull, but not really connecting with her on any level like a sister would; whereas, MA go to see a more interactive Abby.  Belle is just starting to see Abby as a person to interact with.  They even shared the backseat of the van on the way down to GA this summer.  The slept through the night without Abby attacking!  Amazing...

U10 2012

Can you believe the only team pic we got was when we were gone

Belle played fastpitch softball U10 for the first time this year at eight.  Mom coached!  We had the sweetest group of girls and the best parents around!  Kris Mallet officially assisted, but there were always extra parents around practice and games to help out... great parents, right? 

Our team was mostly 8 and 9 year olds, with a couple of 7s and a few 10s, while most teams we played had mostly 10/11 year olds!  Needless to say we got beat pretty good most games, but the girls improved a ton!  With a few games to be played this year we have won a game, but only won and the team we beat had a great coach who understood this whole learning the game thing.  Most of the coaches were pretty cool about teachng, but there were a couple who ran the score up and were just jerks.  We even played one coach who was stealing bases after they were ahead by double digits.  What do you teach kids about life?  So sad to see these kind of people leading children.  I'm not a perfect specimen at all times and I made some mistakes in the area of role modeling, I'm sure; but... I'll let it go now :)

We actually started hitting the last couple games of the year.  Being a stronger defensive player I typically "hit" that first, so it took me a few games (half the season) before concentrating on the offensive side.  They started hitting and having a bit more fun running the bases and such.  By the time playoffs came, we had a chance to win our first game and we I was excited until the temp went to the upper 90s and our game was postponed.  This change made it impossible for me and Belle to attend the game as we had already planned to be in GA for our family vacation and that couldn't be changed.

A couple of veteran ball playing dads took over and I was able to follow my girls via texting with a fellow coach and some parents.  the girls started the game with a 4-0 run, but ended up losing to a homerun by the opposing team.  Way to go girls!  They improved so much and I was so proud of them by the end of the year.  Everyone hit the ball by the last game!