FOR THE LADIES

I took Hunter, Ryan, and Samantha to the park last night to practice baseball and to throw a few pitches to them. Actually, I didn't throw any pitches to Samantha as that would just be silly - as she always seems to hit my curve ball so well. Anyway, I threw a couple of buckets of balls to Ryan and he did a pretty good job of hitting the ball. I had him hit from the left side and the right side of the plate to see which side he preferred - he hit equally well from both sides. So, I will just let him decide at his next game which way feels better for him. After Ryan, I threw a bucket of balls to Hunter. He missed every single ball. He has been such a great hitter the past couple of years that I could not figure out why he could not hit this year. So, I told him that he wasn't waiting for the ball and that he was lunging. I ran a couple of drills with him, but he would not listen to me and just wanted me to pitch. I told him that we could spend all night out here and I would throw him ball after ball and he would miss them all, or else we could spend 15 minutes learning how to hit. He was frustrated but finally agreed and he even listened to every word that I said. We did some drills together and then I had him hit another bucket of balls - but this time I told him that I did not want him to swing hard but that his focus was to hit every ball. He did that and made contact with most of the balls. I threw him another bucket of balls and told him to do the same thing. The next bucket of balls, I told him to swing harder - which he did but he made contact with 9 of the 13 balls. I threw another bucket at him and the first few he had some really good hits, then I saw him glance over to the playground, and all of the sudden he hit this shot that would have been over any right fielder's head. I couldn't beleive it as I have never seen him hit a ball that far. I asked him "Why are you hitting the ball so hard?" He said something to me but I couldn't hear, so I asked him to repeat it. He said he would tell me later. Anyway, the next 5 or 6 balls he just absolutely cranked into the outfield. As we were, picking up the balls I asked him what he said and he replied "I said I was doing if for the Ladies." I look over and there were two girls about his age over at the playground watching him hit. I couldn't stop laughing, but for the next few buckets of balls Hunter was hitting the ball hard and hitting 11-12 of the 13 balls from the bucket. I don't really care what his motivation is for hitting, but if he keeps on hitting like he did last night, then he can keep doing it 'for the Ladies.'

Fortune

So, I was reading a blog today that talked about how men don't really pay attention to details when reading. The blog went on and started talking about Chinese fortunes or something, I am not quite sure I wasn't really really paying attention. Anyway, there was a list of like 10 fortunes and the blog post gave some kind of calculation as to what my fortune was. I do not really believe in that stuff and I do not hold any stock in fortune tellers, fortune cookies, etc. But I read the fortune anyway and it said something like:

It is still cold out - put on some pants...

Turns out, that fortune was for me...

Baseball Season

Hunter and Ryan had their first baseball games of the summer today. Unfortunately, both games were at noon at different parks. So, Stacey went to Ryan's game and me being the assistant coach of Hunter's team, I had to attend his game. Ryan is playing modified tee-ball, which is where the batter gets 4 pitches and if they don't hit the ball then they hit off a tee. Ryan did not play baseball last year, but has really picked it up strong. Apparently, he got a great hit his first time at bat and had to use a tee his second time at-bat. Ryan has been practicing with me all spring batting left-handed, but in the game today he hit right-handed. Either he is going to be a switch-hitter or he is a little confused at how he bats right now. Ryan got to play first base as well today. Stacey said it was a fun game and Ryan did great! Hunter played his first game of kid-pitch (the equivalent of The Minors in Idaho Falls). He begged the coach to let him be catcher, and the coach reluctantly agreed. Hunter actually did a fantastic job as catcher, but has a lot to learn - the coach let him take the gear home this week so he could practice the catcher position. Hunter only got one at-bat today, as the team we played was very good and they had some excellent pitchers. With the 1 hr 30 minute time-limit, and our team's inability to pitch, that made it so each kid on the team was only able to bat once. In the last inning (3rd inning), the coach let Hunter pitch. He did a pretty good job, but had a little trouble getting the ball to 45 feet each time. Many balls bounced in front of the plate, but he was throwing them in the right direction. Hunter wants to work hard at being a catcher and pitcher - though it could be tough for him to do them both at the same time!! Stacey will be taking pictures soon and we will post them on the family blog as well as this one. By the way, Hunter's team lost - they got killed actually...

A day in the Park...

One Saturday, the family decided to go for a little bike ride to the park. It was a beautiful day and we all enjoyed the park...

....and then the rains came!