9th Birthday and Last Soccer Games Weekend!

I am feeling like the world's worst mother!  October 12 was Allison's 9th Birthday, and we had 5 other girls over at the house that Friday night for a slumber party. I was actually very nervous...why I don't know, but it went very well.

Did I take any pictures that night or on Saturday of her birthday? Heck, no!  Geez...

I did however get this picture on Sunday afternoon after Allison's final soccer game of the season.  It was not, unfortunately, her shining example of good sport (she really didn't try very hard, and showed her passive-aggressive side), but I figure she was a) tired from a busy weekend, or b) preparing us for her upcoming adolescence! 

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Fall Soccer

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Summer Coach Pitch Girls Softball

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Another Year of Softball in the Books

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June is "Softball Month"

The month of June provided our family with one or two evenings at the ball park, watching Allison play her first season of "coach pitch" softball. She had played Blastball and T-ball for the past four years, but this is the first summer that she had played where she had to hit the ball, not off of a tee, but having it pitched to her.  

I am proud to say that she did very well, and made really good progress over the summer.  We were very fortunate to have two couples who were very, very good coaches, and who worked with the girls and were really good at helping them learn some fundamentals.    We were very lucky to have been put on this team.

Nearing the end of season, with about three or so games left, the coaches had asked if anyone else had wanted to try to play catcher.  Allison had raised her hand and told the coaches she would like to try.  Dad wasn't so sure she was ready for it yet, but one game we looked over at the dugout at the beginning of the game and Allison was being helped to get into the catcher gear.  She did very very well.  When the game was over, when asked how she liked it...she looked, tilted her head, and said, "I liked it...I really liked it."  So, who knows.... :)

 I LOVE this picture...her coach letting her know that she had done a good job on her first time playing the catcher position.

 Coaches and players before the last game of the season to have a team photo taken.  The temperatures were hovering around 100 degrees with humidity, but the kids looked as ready as they could be. :) 

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1st Ballgame

Allison had her first coach pitch softball game Thursday evening. This was definitely new for us.  She has had about three practices so far, I believe, and Bruce had been taking her, so I really didn't know what to expect.  She did very, very well.  She actually got hits on both of her at-bats, so I think that is pretty awesome for the first game in the first year of playing softball where the ball is pitched to you versus being on a Tee, which is what she has played for the past, what....4 years I guess.   There is a lot of standing around ... on purpose...basically because they are still learning how to hit a ball, so there are a lot of misses!  I think I heard someone say that they get 7 pitches and then they are out if they haven't hit, but it sure seemed like a lot more pitches to the first batters.  There is beginning fielding going on too, but the girls basically are just to try to field it and throw it to first base...many were also throwing it to the coach/pitcher, so maybe that is desired too...I don't know.  Some weeks we will actually have games on two evenings a week...so thus it begins! :)

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