adventure *days 5 & 6*

We spent the next four days of our adventure watching a lot of baseball and Nick have the time of his life. It was fantastic.

Our overall record of 6-2 for the tournament may not sound all that impressive but I have never seen such determination and heart from any other group of boys. I was so proud of them. We were not ranked well going into the tournament and the luck of the draw had us playing against 3 teams that were in the top 25 during seed play. The boys played their best and had fun doing it.

Our first game was bright and early Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m. against the Waukesha Firebirds from Wisconsin. We lost 7-1.

I am so mad at myself that I didn't bring a little notebook to the games to record the little details of what happened during each game but I think I thought I would remember and I was having too much fun enjoying the experience.

I do remember, however, that there was a girl on the team that hit a home run over the fence. Girl power all the way.





Thank goodness for legos. These two, Luke and another little brother on the team, Koa, kept themselves entertained throughout both games for 3 days: a total of about 15 hours. I don't know why I never thought of bringing legos before. I actually was able to watch the games.


It wouldn't be a ball game without a refillable baseball mug...


...or sitting on a stack of chairs as tall as you are.







Some of the Scrappers' most loyal fans.



Our next game was against the Mallard Creek Bulls from North Carolina. We lost 8-0. Nick remembers that they did really well against this team even though they lost. He also says they were a really good team with a really big kid on it that was intimidating. I think he really likes the word really.







My parents were able to come and travel with us and they arrived on Sunday. Originally, Justin's parents were going to come as well, but last minute work changes happened for my mother in law and so they were not able to come. It was sad that they couldn't be there but they supported him wholeheartedly from home. Most of the games were filmed and broadcast over the internet and my father in law watched every one. It is so great to have all this support for our family.

Our games on Monday didn't start until 1:45 pm so we went to go say hello to Nicholas and then visited one of the many miniature golf places around the Dreams Park. Come to find out we went to an all in one stop for fun. It wasn't just any old mini golf joint--there was even a place out in the to pan for precious stones like iron pyrite, arrowheads, and crystals. And they had amazing orange cream soft serve ice cream to boot.









Look at all his loot!


The next game that followed was one of the best yet heartbreaking games of baseball played by these boys. We played the Longshots Teal from Illinois. We came out ready to play and worked hard the entire game and had a tough loss 11-10 in 10 innings. Regular games went 6 innings and our boys never gave up the entire time. We had quite a few teams come and hang out near our field to watch the game since it was so intense.

We were ahead for 5 innings and even included a two run homer by one of our players. Unfortunately, the Longshots came back and tied the game for a while and then was ahead by one run in the last inning. We were down by 1 run and home team but couldn't make it work for us. So, so sad.

This is a rare smile from Nick on the field. He loves playing the game but is usually so serious. Oh, it makes my heart happy.



Chance (#3) made an amazing catch in center field and Tyler (#10) is the best cheerleader on the team. He gets so excited for people when they make a good play.

Another memorable tidbit about this game is that Nick finally got a hit. He hit the ball multiple times during the tournament but it would fly out, ground out, or he would get thrown out at first. He was getting quite frustrated with himself so it was a relief to finally have this monkey off his back and have him get on base.

It is so funny to me to see the truth in how different 12 year old boys actually can be in development. Yes, they are both 12.


I felt so bad for the boys after the game. They cried and searched out parents to help heal some of the hurt. It is hard to get older. The problems get more frequent and the disappointments become more real. Life hands out hard lessons that can't be solved with a Happy Meal. Although they didn't win, they sure gave it their all and can be proud of the way they played.




Our next game was at 7 pm against the Ariondack Heat from New York. They smoked us 15-0 because they stole bases like nobody's business. The boys just took it all in stride and still played the game.

Nick pitched this game and pitched one of the best games he has ever played. I usually get tense while he pitches because he is a perfectionist and if one thing goes wrong he blames himself and sometimes falls apart. But he was as calm as could be on the mound. After the game I told him that I noticed a difference in his affect and commented on how well he did. He replied with "Well, we were losing so bad that I figured that I couldn't do anything wrong so I just threw the ball." I told him he should think like that every game but I know for him it is easier said than done.





We hung out for a little bit after the game and then the team went back to their bunks and we went back to the house to go to bed. I was so emotionally drained and grateful that we would be able to sleep in a little bit the next morning.