a HILL of a good time.........: Playball! // Red Ninjas // Spring 2015

t has been a full year since we started this baseball thing and I have to say, I LOVE it!! I love the game, I love watching the boy play, I love getting to know the kids and their parents each season, I love it! I do hate some of the late nights, terrible eating habits and dirty DIRTY fields.. but those are so small compared to the parts I love!!!!
This year had some challenges, not with the kids but unfortunately with the other coaches. We were able to shield the kiddos so they didn't know the drama. I would love to remind everyone that they are kids. Little kids. Impressionable kids. Growing kids. Just kids who are trying hard and hopefully having fun doing so. Don't spoil that.

Just like the Fall season, the hubs decided to head coach again. His brother assisted. Every game started with a little team pep talk.

I love that these two cousins (only 2 months apart in age) finally got to be on the same team!!! It really makes me so happy! They were pretty pumped too!

Noah, from last year, wasn't on our team but stopped by to say hello and play with Dane. Love this little kiddo and clearly so does Dane.

A little side note... I am pretty sure my son is 100% my dad's dad. He has so many of his mannerisms and styles. One of my favorites, which my mother just recently pointed out, is how he just tosses his hat on his head. Whereever it lands is good for him. Hilarious. Seriously looks just like him!

All lined up before the game. I think they were ready to get this show on the road!!

I know these two all-stars were totally ready. I would say they were adorable but I think that may embarrass them. So I totally will NOT say they were absolutely stinkin' adorable. Nope, won't say it. ADORABLE!!

Chaz loves to play pitcher. Now, to be fair, they don't pitch in this league but he does see a ton of action and that is why he loves it!

As with every season, we have so many supporters! Even if some of them end up in the grassy area chasing kiddos.

Yep, you are pretty much the #1 coach in my book. HAHA! Love this guy!

Chaz and Brayden were a great combo! The hubs nicknamed him Spyder and it stuck! So much so, his mom had it put on the back of his shirt!

And like season's past, Chaz was an excellent hitter and still runs like a champ!!

Getting coached by the uncle, one step removed from being coached by your dad. HA!

RUN!!!

I love kids that slide. LOVE it! I also love that ~~coach's wives~~ coaches get to choose the pant color. Score!!

Always the encourager. Again, he is a fantastic coach! He gets it, really gets it.

Nice job, Ninjas!

The congrats from the coach. It was a GREAT first game and he was so proud of these kiddos.

And also like past seasons, we run after wins!

And the goal is always to beat the coach (who starts running about 20 seconds after the kiddos and has to catch up) It is a riot to watch and the kids ALWAYS love it!

The next game was coooooooooold!!! My mom is just precious! Who sits on the ground and plays with the kiddos? She does!! Dane was not sure about sharing his toys with the other kiddos but we managed to make him share. Oh the joys of being three!

As the days go on I really begin to love each and every member of the team. This has happened every season. I just adore these kiddos.

Looks like we have a lot of coaching going on here. HA!

I mean they just kept going! These kids were on fire!!

Another reason she is amazing. That would be the very cold Dane.

Jackson and Chaz traded on and off playing catcher. They are both pretty good at it too!

Obviously, they played a great inning considering I only captured a few pictures.

Ready to score again!!

I guess Jackson was moving too fast! Hilarious!

Safe!

Sometimes you just pray for a kid to get a hit or a great play. This kid was one of those. He really tried to hard but had never played baseball in his life. Getting on base made us all cheer SOOO loud!!

Grant is one of my favs too. He was on Chaz's team last spring. He is just precious!

And THIS was the game winning play! That is my boy!!!

Nice job, Ninjas!

The congrats!

and run!

Poor Davis. He was standing next to the boys when they took off so the hubs picked him up...

You get a little jolted when your uncle is carrying you and running full speed!

Here we go again. He looks so grown up!

I seriously love this!

This was the peptalk!

Adorable little supporter!

And extra little mini peptalk for these two.

Another great play by Braydon. (aka Spyder)

And sometimes you play against your friends and they try to call you out. BAHAHA!! Nice try, Owen!

I guess we needed a few more peptalks this game.

These faces!!!

Got the run!!

And Jackson was pretty pumped about it!!

Sometimes your head just isn't big enough for the helmet. I have no idea how he even saw the ball in order to hit it but he did!

Spyder and Jackson had a great stop at first! And were quite pumped about it!

They played a fantastic game!!!

And he let them know. He gave them many positives as well as some ways to improve but all in all he was very, very proud of these boys!

Of course they got to run! Go boys, go!!

My two favorite pictures! LOVE!!!

Ready to go again! I was on my own for this game, usually I have a crew to help keep an eye on the baby, so I didn't get may pictures. The few that I did get, I love!!

He looks SO big to me!

Yes, he is still here. He is SO good at the ball parks. As long as he has something to play with, some nachos and a ring pop!

Ended in a tie!

He decided to go ahead and let them run as they played VERY hard!

GAME 5

He came out of nowhere and was completely NOT where he was suppose to be but in the end, Jackson (not my nephew, the other Jackson) made a great play!!

Pat on the back, congrats and a little reminder on how we play the game. HA!!

Nice stop, Grant!

Apparently this is how you apply your breaks at first! Hilarious!!

And then this happened... Can you even make out my poor child? Yep, tripped. Totally biffed it. Poor kid was hurt but did a good job of trying to shake it off and continue. I don't even know how he did this. I think he really tripped over the base. Poor buddy.

See he did get up and keep going. He was a little banged up but ok overall!

Good game. Good game. Good game. Good game.

Seriously, my heart just exploded.

Run boys, run!!

Here we go again!! Starting out with a great play from Grant!

And another from Jackson!

Making plays left and right!!

Nice work, Spyder!!

Seriously love this kid!

And this one, too!

That is a face of fierceness!

They deserved to run. That is all!

Always ready! Game 7.

And sometimes you play your friends. This is Mac, who was on his team last year. I think I was too busy cheering (for both teams. Yes, I am that mom. I love these kids and I cheer for them.)

Excellent game!

We didn't win but we did let them run the bases.

Next up - GAME 8

Some of my all time favorite faces.

Grant was REALLY wanting a hit this game. Not that he didn't have hits and runs other games, you can see from above that he is pretty fantastic but there was something about this game that he kept telling me he wanted a hit. You can see it in his face. Oh that ~~precious~~ fierce face.

Bo was another one of my favs. He was so improved by halfway through the season and always played with such heart. He is certainly a kid you just HAVE to root for!

Someone made a great play! Nice job, Jackson!

Our cheering squad is so darn cute!

These kiddos are amazing!

He is awesome!!!

Props from the Uncle!

Grant gets another hit. He was on FIRE!

And her got Chaz around to score! Awesome work, guys!!

AND Jackson!!

And then it was his turn to run! Get it, Grant!

DANG IT!

Alright, Jackson.. You are up!

YES!!!!

Gooooooood game!!!!

And yes, they got to run!!

It was game nine and it started with this little darling hamming it up for me. I really should get him a modeling contract because he is ADORABLE!!!!

And then this kiddo, he is so darn cute but today was NOT his day. In pregame practice he took a ball to the face. I saw it happen (CRINGE) and ran over to him. Immediate blood, lots of blood. And then I had a momma panic moment... WHERE WERE HIS BOTTOM TEETH!?!? I knew the tops had fallen out (naturally) but the bottoms?? Those were adult teeth, we just got those back. WHERE THE HELL WERE THEY?!?! And then I had to put on my big girl pants, take a deep breath and go in... and in looking, his lip was planted on his teeth!! So swollen that I couldn't see the little things. A good grasp, lift up/forward and there they were! YAY! But more blood. LOTS more blood. Thank goodness we have a friend in the dental field. Mac's dad (last Spring's coach) was there and came to look at the teeth, just to be sure. Thanks to Bo for the thumbs up on the teeth and to my boy for being SO tough!

Now back to the pregame.... notice my boy at the bottom, he was still hurting pretty bad. Poor kiddo.

And more faces I love!!

Excellent play by Grant.. and then several pictures I didn't get because I was screaming with excitement!!

and some congrats to the others involved!

This kid! He is just awesome!!

And this kiddo.. Give him some Netflix and he is good to go!

Little mini pep-talk!

Another great play by these two!

Such a great coach!!

And yet another great play! They were quite the pair!

Some more of my favorite faces!!

Lip was still swollen but he had a great game so he was happy!

Batter up! This is the talk from the ~~pops~~ coach of he needed to knock it out and run as fast as possible.

I think he got the message!

Jackson's turn!

Book it kiddo!!!

He was SO proud of himself! He should be!!

This face. Fierce.

He got his run!!

I think his ~~coach~~ dad was pretty proud of him!!

Nice game!!!

And one of my favorite moments of the season. We played a hard game and came out victorious but the hubs wanted to recognize how hard the other team played too. He told all the kids to line up so they could run the bases.

And then called the other team over to run with them! So fun!

The kiddos were beyond pumped!

And yes, that is my speed demon kid in front. He is fast!

The hubs brought up the rear chasing the boys!

All the kids, coaches and parents thought it was such a good idea. All about sportsmanship.

Then it was time for season trophies!

I am pretty sure this was the hubs favorite part.

Brayden was pretty pumped that his actually said "Spyder"

And then they wanted to run again! Crazy kiddos!

And Davis wanted to join!

Jackson protecting his little bro!

This face is AWESOME!!

And then it was time for the tournament! The pep-talk was about having fun with a side of maybe winning!

The boys decided they wanted to run BEFORE the game. I guess they thought it would be good luck!

I love that Jackson was sporting his shades. He looks so big!!

And sometimes you play your friends in tournaments. I tried to be a little better about not cheering for both teams but I really think I failed! HAHA! Go Mac!

The hubs is guilty of it too! He always congratulates the kiddos on a good hit/play. He is so good!

Those shades again! Love this kid!

And there is my awesome kid playing catcher.

High fives!

When did he get so big?! And that hair!?!?!?

And he got another run!

Yeeeesssss!! Get dirty!

Great play at home!

He was ready to run it in!

Good hit, Jackson!!

RUN!

Keep running!! He scored another run!

Grant was up next!

And then Spyder.

Nice hit! Great run!

Run it in!! Great job, Jackson!!!

They were a fantastic team and had GREAT improvement over the season but they did mess up sometimes. It is very funny when I capture it in pictures!

Mac is back!

Winner, winner!! Great job!

I tried to get a group shot but have you ever tried to get a group shot of 9 boys? It is a challenge and funny as all get out. Add in the bonus of the two year-old who pretty much thinks he is on the team this year!

I absolutely LOVE this one! Crazy kiddos!

BAHAHAHA!

Y'all ready to run!?!?

Yes, he offered for the other team to join too!

And then coach decided to join, while carrying the mascot kiddo. Poor Davis!

I am not sure Davis knows what he signed up for!

By this point, Davis was pissed. HAHA. Poor kiddo!

Right after this picture was taken, the hubs tripped over Grant and barely saved the baby. Crazypants.

We made it to the next tournament game!

And sometimes you play your friends.. again.... This time it was Owen.

Chaz was ready to go!

Love this kid! He was on our Spring team last year and he and Chaz have known each other since they were 3 months old! Love this kiddo!

Next up was Jackson!

Then Grant!

Bring it home, son! Scored another run!

Jackson's turn to catch.

And Chaz was placed out here....because this team could hit!

Nice hit, Owen!

But Spyder came through with the out! Nice work!

Nice work, Bo!

And then the other Jackson. Nice work!

And sometimes we mess up. They are kids, right? Bo got nervous running to second because the ball was going that way SO he turned around to run back to first BUT Jackson was on his way in. AHHHH! Check out Cameron trying to coach these littles.. GOGOGOGO!!!

Poor kiddo. Sometimes it just doesn't work out but we will learn from this!

A great Jackson to Spyder combo!!

Some coaching from the uncle

Chaz was back at catcher.

We didn't win but we played hard. the hubs promised the kiddos that if they played every game with everything they had, he would shave his head! This was the moment he told them Cameron would do the same. I don't think he was having it.