Congratulations, Heather and Adam Green!
They won’t know why they should – and will – be celebrating
yet; but Mom and I bumped into Heather today; and there is going to be a new
addition to the Green family next spring.
We – Landry’s Leopards – won our division Championship today
too; but new babies deserve top billing in my updates. Before I end up mixing the events of the day
around; let’s just start from the beginning.
Tai Chi by the river was a nice, quiet way to begin the day,
and I liked having Michael with us for breakfast before he needed to go home
again and get started on his to-do list.
While I’d finished most of my chores, there was still other work to do
around the house and yard; and I helped Mom and Dad with all of that until it
was time for me to grab a shower, meet up with Rowen, and get to the park for
our team warm-ups ahead of our big game.
Palmer’s Panthers were the home team, so they had that
advantage; but there wasn’t any doubt as to which team had the best
cheerleading squad – thanks to my aunts, sister, and cousins. Aunt Leanne wasn’t doing much jumping around
in the heat, but Aunt Grace had some help with junior cheerleader support; and
even Rowen’s Mom joined in for a while when she stopped in to catch the last
half of the game while taking a late lunch so she could do that before getting
back to the busy store.
Other than having a pair of very fired up leaders, there
isn’t anything special to report from the warm-ups. The action on the field warmed up fast; and
my hit helped Carolyn with half of the two RBI’s she earned for our team with
her first-pitch double – though those were the only runs we scored in the top
of the first. We were happy with that
until the Panthers scored three in their half of the inning; and then we knew
that they’d come to play to win too. We
took the lead back in the second; held it until the bottom of the fourth; and
earned it back to keep in the top of the sixth after tying the Panthers in the
fifth, before they took the lead again in their half of that inning. Our two-run lead didn’t look all that safe
when the Panthers started their last at-bat; but Rowen caught a pop fly for the
first out; we gave up two base hits; and then I helped turn a double play on a
bouncing line drive that shocked all of us a bit with how suddenly that play
ended the game. Final score: seventeen to fifteen!
Rowen and I did and didn’t have time to celebrate our
championship game with. We did the team
meet-and-greet with the Panthers; and I spent some time consoling our
disappointed friends – and getting razzed a bit about being too responsible for
their loss. We stayed for the on-field
celebration with our team, and had time to thank our cheerleaders and families;
but then we grabbed drinks and snacks from Mom’s dwindling supply and hurried
over to the other ball diamond in time for the start of the Wranglers-Ranchers
game. We didn’t have a cheerleading
squad with us because my sister and cousins had had enough of baseball and hot
for a while by then; but Rowen and I did our best to motivate Michael and Tim –
starting with good luck hugs and kisses before the game.
Yes, Rowen was in on those hugs and kisses; though she only
went with kisses on the cheek for both boys after following my lead. She and Tim both teased Michael and me about
why Michael’s good luck kiss from me was so much more personal than the kiss
I’d given to Tim; but then we’d also earned some whistles and teasing from the
players on both teams and a handful of spectators too. I can live with all of that because Michael
and Tim were happy to have us there; and they were definitely fired up and
ready to play too. Missing our own team
celebration was worth that; and the Wranglers and Ranchers played a pretty good
game too.
Our cheerleading was a bit muted at first as Rowen and I
rested up a bit after our game, but we were still up and cheering for the
Wranglers with every big play. They were
the home team, so being able to take that break was an option for us during a
fairly quiet first inning. The Ranchers
only managed to score one run in the top of the inning; and the Wranglers could
only manage to match them during their first at-bat. I don’t know if having Rebecca join Rowen and
me for a while helped our team or not; but they were ahead five-to-three by the
end of the third inning when Rebecca went back to the Inn
to help with the dinner rush.
Rowen and I were on our own until the top of the fifth
inning; when Dad dropped Ehlana and Ethan off with us so they could catch the
end of the game while he and Mom went to help out with the pre-dinner work for
the family barbeque. The Wranglers had
added three more runs in the fourth; and were temporarily ahead by three runs
until the Ranchers pulled to within one run during their half of the
fifth. Having Ehlana run over and give
him a big hug and kiss when the Wranglers were getting ready for their turn at
bat definitely helped Michael get fired up again – proven by the double he
belted deep into right field when it was his turn at bat – earning an RBI; and
then scoring from third on a base hit after being advanced by a sacrifice
out. The Wranglers scored three runs in
the bottom of the fifth; and the game ended when the Ranchers could only manage
one more run in the top of the sixth.
Final score: eleven-to-eight for
the Wranglers.
In addition to Michael’s contributions to the team score in
the bottom of the fifth, he had a total of three hits; and played some role in
four of the runs scored. He also was in
on the defensive plays for five of the outs they earned against the
Ranchers. Tim’s game stats were fairly
similar, though he was in on one more earned run; and one less defensive out.
Rowen and I waited with our junior cheerleaders while
Michael and Tim did the usual post-game, on-field celebration; and then we were
able to spend a few minutes with them before they needed to go with their team;
and we needed to get to the family barbeque.
That was a too-short little blast of fun; but I still loved getting to
share even that little bit of time with Michael before we’d be apart for the
rest of the day.
We were the last members of the family to get to Uncle Adam
and Aunt Leanne’s house for dinner; partly because we made stops at my house
and Rowen’s on our way there. Dinner was
basically ready by then, but she and I hopped into the river to cool off and
get rid of the worst of the baseball dust and dirt first while the parents and
grandparents were getting the younger kids rounded up and ready to eat too. They were using Uncle Mark and Aunt Grace’s
back yard too; and cooking had been going on at both houses; so it felt like
the dinner action was spread out tonight while groups of people moved between
the two houses and around the back yards.
Rowen and I were put at a table with Jaimie, Kaitlyn, Kara,
Nicole, Ehlana, and Naomi. The Seagers
were on the guest list with the other members of the Ayres’ family; and Liz was
not working late after a busy morning and afternoon at the salon with
Vicky. Liz was really happy today because
she’s basically done with full-time work at the salon for a while now except
for helping out with the holiday sales on Monday that will be more about
selling products than styling hair – though there will be a bit of that too.
Patrick and Scott were there too, and sat at a ‘guys’ table
with Ethan, Jayden, Eddie, and some other guys.
Rowen’s parents weren’t able to join the party until a bit after seven;
but Aunt Leanne kept food hot for them; and they ate while the clean-up crew
was working after dinner and the grandparents were busy with kid control. Since Rowen and I had escaped all of the
afternoon work, we were willingly drafted to help with that work; and spent
nearly an hour doing everything from washing and drying dishes to putting
tables and chairs away.
Before I get on with the report on the evening entertainment
and campfire; this is probably a good spot for a family update.
Let’s start with babies and pregnant women. Robyn Johnson is now six months old; and
she’s really growing fast! Her cousin,
Leah, is just a bit more than two months behind her, and that’s a lot at their
ages; but they still spent a lot of time together – and with their parents and
grandparents. I’m sure that closeness in
age will be as cool for them as it is for Ethan and Jayden. Aunt Leanne and Liz had fun talking babies
tonight, and while Liz may be due first; Aunt Leanne is only half-joking about
wishing that she could move her due date up a month too.
We can’t have that – it would totally mess up all of the early
birthday present jokes if my cousin gets here too early! (The nine months ago
kind of early birthday present.)
I can appreciate that the hot weather hasn’t been as much
fun for any of my favorite pregnant women lately, and that’s why Aunt Leanne
and Liz spent most of the post-dinner evening indoors; relaxing in the living
room; and being waited on hand and foot – literally, if you include the foot
massages.
Moving on to the rest of the family news; Rob and Trish
hadn’t come this weekend; but we got the latest updates for them – and most of
the news from the McEwan family too; though I get a lot of that from Christina
with her email updates. Rob and Trish
are happily plugging away in the junior ranks for their respective employers;
and enjoying the married life. Tory and
Kyle have started their Masters Degree year at college, and will be busy with
that – and getting ready for their wedding next June. Michelle is in her third year at college; has
definitely picked teaching as a career; and there may be a serious guy in her
life now. There isn’t any new news for
Christina; but the Johnson family girls are quite interested in her blossoming
romance with home-town boy Josiah Palmer.
For the younger kids, Kaitlyn and Kara were probably the
most excited about school because they’re both starting Grade One this
year. Jaimie will be in Grade Three; and
while they’re not here this weekend, I know that Martin is as fired up about
starting high school this year as Rebecca and Jenny are; Dawn and Jillian are
ready for Grade Seven; and Chris is more interested in driving cars than
starting Grade Eleven now that he’s counting down the weeks until he’ll be
sixteen, and hopefully will pass the test so he can drive on his own. There will not be a brand new car in the
driveway for his birthday; but rumor has it that the Rice family may be
adopting a used car this fall for the boys to use that will be somewhat better
than the bumper cars Uncle Rick keeps joking about getting for them.
There was the usual adult news too, but let’s just skip all
of that boring and get back to the fun parts of the report. Rowen and I went for another swim after the
clean-up was finished; and we had lots of kid company for that. We had a bit of time after that to run around
and play until the campfire started; and then I was ready to settle down and
enjoy the stories, music, and toasted munchies for a while. Some cuddle time with Michael would have been
nice too; but he hadn’t planned on trying to add some late-night campfire
action to his day after getting done at the Inn;
and his parents and sister didn’t come over either.
We weren’t having a late night with that anyway; mostly
because Rowen and I were among the oldest kids at the campfire. Mom and Dad started getting ready to go home
by shortly before eleven; and Rowen and I helped to get Jaimie, Kaitlyn,
Jayden, Kara, and Nicole ready to come home with us for their sleepover. That included getting overnight bags packed
and doing goodnight hugs and kisses with the adults; but we managed to be home
before eleven-thirty. Mom and Dad took
care of Ethan, Jayden, Ehlana, and Nicole from there while Rowen and I had
custody of the older girls. It took
until after midnight to get them changed; take turns in the bathrooms; and have
them settled onto the sectional sofa with pillows and blankets. I put a movie on to watch; but Kaitlyn was
sleeping by twelve-thirty; Jaimie and Kara weren’t far behind her; and Rowen
and I were able to move into my room and climb into bed with Mandy by one
o’clock.
After all of the work, baseball games, and play time; we’re
tired too, but needed some girl chat time while I got started on my nightly
computing. Rowen mostly wanted to talk
about what we’re going to do tomorrow afternoon and evening – especially in relation
to whether we’ll get to spend much time with Michael and Tim. Doing that while juggling family plans for
all four of us may not work out very well; but I do hope we can find some time
to play together – and go to the dance together tomorrow night too.
Hopefully that will all work out for us, and make for as
great a start to September as today has been for an end to August. That is all I have for tonight, and we really
do need to get some sleep so we’ll be ready for another big family play day; so...
...until next time, this is Magi Master Cassie Proctor;
logging out!
