Baseball

We took our annual trip to see a professional baseball game. It's getting a lot more fun now that Nate and Sean are a little older. Nate dressed the part of a good fan with his ball cap and t-shirt. Dad had an enjoyable time too.

We got some great seats on the club level. The team hasn't been doing so well lately so tickets were plentiful even on a picture-prefect day. We did manage to last through all nine innings for the first time ever and we even got to see a grand-slam home run. And we got to see a victory!

We weren't actually this close to the action. Dad used the telephoto lens to get a close-up shot.

Waterpark

They opened the water features at our local park over the Memorial Day weekend. We didn't know it at the time and apparently nobody else did either. Nate just happened to trigger the infrared timer and water started shooting out. A lack of bathing suits didn't stop the kids from splashing around and getting soaked. Within a few minutes they were joined by a dozen or more kids, all getting soaked in their clothes. Everyone had a great time.

Sean in particular took full advantage of the opportunity. He got wet, then went over to the sandbox and covered himself head-to-toe with sand. He was a mess even though we made him rinse off before heading home.

To the Park

Nate was invited to a birthday party at a local park. It was just far enough away to make it inconvenient to drop him off and then pick him up when he was finished. So while Nate attended a theatrical performance, got lunch and ate cake, the rest of us spent time in the park and had a little picnic. The rangers fired up the antique carousel at noon and Sean was ready.

Here's a rare photo with daddy in it. Mom didn't feel like being flung around in circles so dad got the honors this time. Sean thought the ride was the greatest thing ever even though his horse didn't go up and down. He got mad when he had to leave once the ride ended. He doesn't yet understand the whole ticket concept.

Later in the day we caught up with Nate again. He got to ride the carousel too, and then it was time to head off for another birthday party. That's our Nate, Mr. Popularity. He has more events on his calendar than mom and dad combined!

Soccer

Nate is in the middle of another successful soccer season. It's hard to believe that our little guy who used to hate going to games two years ago now runs from the car to the field so he won't be late. He's gotten bigger, stronger and more coordinated, and that's made all the difference. He's getting better at ball control and he's even scored a few goals. He's also lost the timidness that used to keep him on the periphery of the action. Now he goes into each play with confidence and realizes he may win some confrontations or lose some, but he tries nonetheless.

He even looks a lot happier out on the field now, and he certainly enjoys playing with all of the soccer buddies he's played with since he began. Most of the kids on his team are all from the same small neighborhood where we live so he sees them everyday at school too. I'm sure this also helped his confidence since they are all great friends.

Sean enjoys the games too although he spends more time finding creative ways to get into mischief than watching his older brother play. Most of the parks have playgrounds adjacent to the ball fields so we can at least keep him confined to a safe area.