A Thorn Among Roses

sofia has lived her entire existence on the softball fields...it's what she asks every day.  "do we have a tournament today?" tournaments mean playtime and pools and...well...a few more emotions too. the key to fun...a magic blanket. add a pop... then poke a  hole thru the bottom and make the pop a "pee pee pop"... toss in a backpack...and magic begins... because in the backpack are some treats... but even at the ball fields...there's time out for back talk and not being respectful.  (yes, i am that mean!) and there's tears... proving hubs point...that in our house if someone isn't crying right now, they will be soon, or they have just finished. but it's a cute cry!

i'm finding all kinds of pics i have to share with you all from the summer... one of the best things about travel softball is going places you would NEVER go normally as a family, so you have to make an adventure out of every place you go. we headed to nationals in michigan this year and on the way home found the "germany in michigan", frankenmuth.  why did we stop there?  we heard the fried chicken at the bavarian inn was worth it. i can tell you that hubs really enjoyed the huge beer glass... but the best thing of all...paige being the pied piper of the girlies! it doesn't get any better than that...because it's embarrassing for all future major events in each of the kids lives!

paige is loving softball, still...i suppose that's why she still plays year-round travel ball.  i am so proud of her, though... more than just on the field, where she is steadfast... where she is a leader... where she works with full effort every single play... where she has a group of ladies she calls friends first, then teammates... and where, in the end, she does it all for the love of the game. eat. sleep. play softball. is there anything else?

Softball is life around this fam...so we say Start em right... ...but always bat em left!!! Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

when your kid plays travel softball, the whole fam plays travel softball. we live it.  eat it. dream it. we are a softball family...but it's fun and we all love it. sofia feels most at home in the brickdust and dirt that surrounds the fields. b loves to field grounders and hit, if she's playing.  otherwise, it's all about making "soup" out of stuff around the fields and playing make up games with friends. foul balls...sofia tries to get them all! jada remains a fashionista no matter where she is and... on and off the field...some things never do change. a big sister is always a big sister, even when the little sister is really stinking cute!!!

b and jk had their very first softball game of their lives! oh yeah...the fighting blue dolphins were out to win...ok, hit and pay a little attention, in most cases. then, there was brooke...she was aggressive.  she's been watching big sis, paige, play for sure! {notice p as one of the coaches in the background} where ever the ball was hit, brooke ran full throttle and grabbed the ball...oh, and since she was first baseman and she was suppose to make the outs, she just ran the balls back to the bag in front of the runners.  yep, she was quick. after 4 balls all in b's hands, she decided to actually throw the ball to the other girlie covering 1st...or something.  she threw the ball at the bag.   if no one was there...she ran and caught it and tagged the bag.  she was a one girl team...and honestly, only 2 other girls even cared!! but when coach london told b that she could only chase balls on her side of the field, it went south fast.  tears and shruggi...

a dugout says a lot about a team... serious players... fashion minded yet always thinking about the game... desperately hungry and thirsty... encouraging and fun! i love p's varsity team this year...the girls are just awesome.  the attitudes are amazing and the leadership of the girls, on and off the field has been fab.  this group of girls has it together. they are serious when they need to be... always supportive, team buidling, encouraging and FUN!!! they are pretty much rocking my stinking face off.  just gotta say...

with softball season in full swing, there's a lot of time we as a family spend at the fields.  if paige isn't playing, brooke and jada might be...and even when none of our girlies are playing, we go and watch our friends teams play...we're weird like that. anyway, here's a week in pics of what we did...including paige's bday... do fans get any stinking cuter than this??? i mean, really!!! getting runs scored and winning games... having family dinners, field side... along with some special treats {aka sour punch straws} with friends... fielding fly balls... playing at the fields while paiger plays... spending your 15th bday watching a friend's softball game...with your teammates and family... and remembering the best pie in the world is from the most famous and never to be overestimated, stacy london's derby pie...made especially for paige on her bday {thanks stacy}... and as much as paige loves softball, london's derby pie is a very, very close...

...but it sure does make the ride home better! last night was p's first varsity conference softball game...there was some pressure, i'm not gonna lie. she would never admit it, but conference games, well, they bring some extra pressure. but our lady shamrocks came out and kicked some conference butt!  it was fun to watch...and after coming back in the 6th from a 0-1 to winning the game 8-1, it was awesome! {that's p sliding into the catcher at home...and still making the play. oh yeah} and to make things better...today is p's 15th bday. so starting off with a conference win was the perfect gift for her. hard for me to believe that my paige was actually born...she was soooo late, i swore she would go to college in utero.  i tried walking her out. i tried eating burritos. i tried everything...she was more than content to stay right where she was...but the bean burritos finally paid off and she decided to come and eat some taco bell on her own... {my fav pic of her as ...

softball call out meeting was today at the high school... and so i can smell the brick dustin the air. ok, so we have been in year round travel all this time, but this is p's chance to make the varsity softball team...as a freshman. it will be hard. it will be a challenge. but she'll do her best...and it's all for the love of the game.

sofia already has the instinct to care for things. i do say "things" because normal kiddos would care for baby dolls. doggies. stuffed bears. but my sofia, loves to care for her softballs. we are a softball family...we LOVE softball. and i guess that's showing in sofie's attention to her new kiddos...she has 2, one yellow and one white. {if u know the fam, that's not surprising at all} the yellow one is very much the cuddle bug...she has to sit and hold it a lot! {by the look on her face you can see the exhaustion} yellow also wreeks havoc with not minding and requires lectures and some discipline...tough job, but someon has to be bad cop, right? white is much more of a mover and a shaker...has to be on the move. loves the stroller and rolling down the driveway. so here's to sofie and her baby softballs...she's good softball momma. now, if we can start working on that batting form...ok, fine. we'll wait a little bit longer!