Wordless/WORDFUL Wednesday ~ Our Hero!

It was another typical CRAZY night for us last night. The girls had a figure skating lesson and CJ had a baseball game. All of the girls (including Grandma) headed off to figure skating, all of the boys (including Grandpa) headed off to the baseball game. The plan was to meet up at the baseball field for the second half of the game.

I thought this was going to be an easy game for our guys because they had beat this team pretty easily in the first game of the season. To my surprise when we arrived at the baseball field the score was 2 - 8 in favor of the other team.

The girls walked over to the bleachers and settled in to watch the rest of the game. It was the top of the 4th inning. The other team parents let us know that the score had been 0 - 8 at the end of the second inning. I was still really surprised by the score, I considered the possibility that our guys might lose, but was still hoping they could pull out a win.

Our pitchers had a little trouble in the 4th, giving up a few hits and letting the other team score 3 more runs. Now the score was 2 - 11.

The Dodgers game up to bat in the 4th inning ready to play. The other teams pitchers starting having a lot of trouble. They were inconsistent, threw a few wild pitches, and walked a bunch of our players. The walks along with a few hits earned the Dodgers 5 runs in the 4th inning. Now the score was 7 - 11.

At the top of the 5th inning our closing pitcher did an awesome job. He struck out the first two batters, walked the 3rd, and struck out the 4th.

Now, it was time for the Dodgers to get back to work. The umpire called last inning at the beginning of the 5th. The team knew this was it! They were down by 4 runs, they had to score 5 to win, and there is a 5 run rule in the in the 5th inning.

The other team continued to have trouble with pitching. Their pitcher walked a bunch of our players, eventually walking in 3 runs. Now the score was 10 - 11. Our next batter struck out, giving the Dodgers the first out of the inning. Next, the Yankees pitcher threw a wild pitch, our coach sent the runner at 3rd to steal home, the catcher picked up the ball, ran to home plate and tagged our runner out! 2 outs! The next Dodgers batter to come to the plate took a walk. Now, it was CJ's turn to come up to bat.

It was the bottom of the 5th inning (the last inning of the game), there are 2 outs, the bases are loaded, the score is 10 -11 in favor of the Yankees. CJ walks to the plate. Before the first pitch, the coach gives CJ a last minute pep talk. The coach looked him in the eye and said "are you ready to be a hero?" CJ walked to the batters box, got in position, the pitcher throws the first pitch, it is short and low, it hits the dirt in front of home plate. CJ gets back in place, gets his batting stance just right, the pitcher delivers the second pitch, CJ swings, he hits the ball, it sails down the first base line (staying fair), lands on the ground and rolls about 1 foot from the fence. All of the base runners score! The parents and players went crazy! My kid was the hero of the game! He took on the pressure, put together everything that he had learned about baseball, and got the best hit of his Little League career. It was so exciting to see my own kid get high-fived, body slammed, and congratulated by his teammates. I was so excited for him!

Final Score

Dodgers 13 - Yankees 11

CJ shows off his first game ball!

A Great Day for Baseball

Today was game #5 for the WGLL AAA Dodgers. Their record up to today was 2 - 2. Their opponent for the day was the AAA Mets. It was a great day for baseball. The weather seems to be turning and we finally got a day that actually felt like Florida weather.

Silly baseball sisters entertain themselves during the game.

The Dodgers struggled last week loosing two games. They came back strong this past Thursday with a decisive 11 - 0 win over the Cubs.

Today's match up with the Mets looked to be a tough one. The starting pitcher for the Mets was very good and started off the game by striking out our first three batters. The Mets ended the first inning by scoring 2 runs. Thankfully, our boys did not let it get them down.

The Dodgers came on strong in the 3rd in with a classic 2 out rally. The batters got a bunch of great hits and ended up scoring 5 runs with 2 outs!

The Mets came back in the 4th with one run. From then on it was a battle between the two teams. The Dodgers went up 7 - 3 in the fifth and scored one more at the top of the 6th to make the score 8 -3.

The Mets had their last at bat in the bottom of the 6th inning. The Dodgers pitchers got into a little bit of trouble walking a couple of batters and letting the Mets score two runs. The Dodgers closing pitcher got the job done striking out the last two Mets batters.

Final score

Dodgers 8 ~ Mets 5

CJ enjoys a big win. He ended the day with a double, a stolen base, and an RBI!

Wordless Wednesday

Not lovin' the rain!

for more Wordless Wednesday go Here and Here.

Thursday Thought

"When you are a mother, you are never really alone in your thoughts. A mother always has to think twice, once for herself and once for her child."

~ Sophia Lauren

Wordless/Wordful Wednesday

A new season of baseball has begun.

Good-luck for a great season WGLL AAA Dodgers!

for more WW go here and here.

From Cub Scout to Boy Scout

Last Saturday night was Cub Scout Pack 220's Blue & Gold banquet and Webelos Arrow of Light/Crossover Graduation ceremony. This year was especially meaningful for our family because it was the night that our Cub Scout was going to become a Boy Scout. After four years of busy Monday nights, long camping weekends, pinewood derbies, raingutter regattas, fund raising, and community service projects our little boy was about to take a huge first step toward becoming a young man.

It was also the night that I would no longer be a Cub Scout Den Leader. I had mixed feelings of relief that I would be freeing up a big chunk of time in my life and sadness that I would not be spending every Monday night with 10 of the greatest boys you could ever meet. For the last four years I have been dedicated to providing a fun and meaningful scouting program for these boys.

The banquet was held at a local church. The theme of the night was "Blasting into the Future." Dinner was provided by a local pizza/Italian restaurant. The room was decorated with rocket ships and stars.

The program for the evening included awards for leaders and volunteers, a special award for 5 sisters of the scouts, video presentations, and the highlight of the evening...presentation of the Arrow of Light award.

The Arrow of Light is the highest award that can be earned in Cub Scouting. It is the Cub Scout equivalent of Eagle Scout. We were lucky enough to have 10 Arrow of Light recipients in Pack 220 this year.

CJ is awarded the Arrow of Light by Cubmaster Hoyos and Asst. Cubmaster Smith.


After the Blue & Gold banquet we traveled to a near-by lake for the Arrow of Light ceremony. At the beginning of the Arrow of Light ceremony each of the boys is given an Arrow of Honor. The Arrow of Honor is painted by the parents of each boy. Each part of the arrow represents a part of scouting. The rings that decorate the arrow represent each of the achievements that the scout earned while in Cub Scouting.

Next, each of the boys is called forward to shoot a flaming arrow into the lake. This is the part that the boys had been looking forward to all year.

After the Arrow of Light ceremony the boys moved on to the Crossover Graduation ceremony. Each of the boys walked across a bridge that is decorated with the Arrow of Light. The crossing of the bridge symbolizes the boys crossing from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. This is the moment that it really hit me that these 10 boys were no longer Cubs, they had grown up and were ready to be Boy Scouts.

The members of the Boy Scout troop wait for the boys at the far end of the bridge. The Boy Scouts welcome each of the new Scouts into the troop. The Scouts remove the old Webelos neckerchief and replace it with a Boy Scout neckerchief. They also remove the blue Cub Scout shoulder loops and replace them with green Boy Scout shoulder loops.

And just like that...they are Boy Scouts!

When I look back at our years of Cub Scouting I will remember all of the work that went into it. I will also remember how much fun we had, the friends that we met, the memories that we made, and the difference that we made in the lives of the boys.

Thursday Thought

"Men are what their mothers made them."

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson