Softball in OKC

The last weekend in March had us traveling to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma for a softball tournament. All of the girls were really excited to be playing in the same complex where the Women's College Softball World Series is played. (This is the same place we visited last year on our road trip back to the midwest!)
It was a beautiful sunny weekend. A great weekend to be outside and enjoying some softball.
The weekend started out with three wins on Saturday. Then on Sunday morning, the team lost and we were knocked out of the tournament. A very disappointing end to a great weekend!
Lexie had an amazing weekend! One of the team's catchers could not make the seven hour trip so they asked Lex to bring her catcher's gear. (She hadn't played catcher since last March.) She did great behind the plate. She threw a girl out trying to steal second base and also made a throw to second that was part of a run down that resulted in an out. We were so proud! I have a feeling she may have more time as catcher in the future.
In addition to playing catcher, she also played pitcher, third base and left field. She played four positions in the three Saturday games! 
Besides playing great defense, she had two triples and a home run, too! She had a very good weekend to say the least!

Here are the girls looking "fierce"!!!

This is Lexie's (#7) favorite photo...both teams meeting after the game for a prayer

While we were in OKC, the team had dinner at Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grille. Luckily we were able to get the private room upstairs and the girls could all hang out together. They took a moment to sit at Toby Keith's private table (darn...he wasn't there that night) and pose for a picture. We loved the cowhide back to the booth! It was the only booth like it in the restaurant.

The team sitting at Toby Keith's personal table. 

This is the farthest tournament on our schedule for this season. The season ends on August 1.

Volleyball update

Mackenna's high school Junior Varsity team ended their season being undefeated in their district. While they were doing well, she was happy to finish her high school season and move on to her new club team.

She began practicing with her new club team in November and their first tournament was played in January. They play two tournaments per month, mostly in the Houston area. Mackenna really likes her club coach and teammates. 

They started off strong with a second place tournament win, but have been struggling a bit lately. 

The last game in the last tournament in March came down to a third set. Mackenna dove for a ball into the crowd and ended up with a sprained wrist. She is fearless!! Luckily, it wasn't broken! Also, her next tournament is three weeks away so she will be able to have some time to heal. 

Here's a picture one of the dads on the team took of Mackenna. I love it!

Summer 2014

A brief recap of our short summer...

Each year, summer seems a little shorter. We bookend it with the girls' sports. School is finished at the beginning of June but softball continues. School begins late in August, but volleyball has already begun. 
For this past summer, it began a day later than the girls would have liked due to a make-up day for some inclement weather in January. (We have to make up all missed days here). The first weekend of summer was a trip to Beaumont, Texas for the state softball tournament. While we were there with Alexa, Mackenna spent her first weekend of the summer with a friend at a 3-day volleyball camp. We returned from the state tournament and the next day dropped Alexa off at a softball camp, drove across the city and picked Mackenna up from her volleyball camp. Both girls enjoyed their camp experiences. 
Later in June, softball continued with another state tournament in Corpus Christi, Texas. It was again very hot and humid in late June. It was also quite windy due to being so close to the Gulf of Mexico. 
Upon returning from Corpus, we packed to head north. Leaving a day later than expected (car issues), we headed north on what we called the "college tour." We drove through Dallas (drove past SMU) and stopped for the night at the University of Oklahoma. We did a self-guided tour of the campus. From there we ventured to the Softball Hall of Fame and then did more self-guided tours of Oklahoma State University and the University of Tulsa. We spent the night in Branson, Missouri and took a tour of the Titanic Museum. We all enjoyed that; it was quite impressive! 
We continued our college tours with stops at Miami University and then Ohio University. It was fun for both of us to show the girls our alma maters. 
Our college tour ended with stopping at the University of Michigan to drop off Mackenna for a volleyball camp. She stayed in the dorm with a friend and they had a blast!
Despite some cooler weather, we had a great time in northern Michigan. And again, like last summer, our return to Texas was sooner than we had hoped. 
Mackenna had an opportunity to try-out for a premiere volleyball club in our area and so the two of us flew back home a few days early. Matt and Alexa stayed the next few days (Matt had a meeting he had to attend) and then they drove back and met us at home. 
Going back early paid off and Mackenna made the team. We were all so proud of her and so happy for her!
The following week brought another week of volleyball camp and then volleyball try-outs for the high school team. Mackenna made the junior varsity team and they began practices and games the first week in August. 
In mid-August, softball practices began again. Even though it was 100 degrees outside, summer was officially over. The girls were busy with sports again and school was still two weeks away!

New Driver

It is official. Mackenna has passed her written test and has her Learner's Permit. I don't know if I'm ready for this. Wasn't she just five years old yesterday?!? How could she possibly be ready to drive?!?
As you can see, she is ready whether I am or not...

Our first outing together was driving from the gas station to home. It is trip that is only about 15 minutes long. She did great and I was completely calm (on the outside). However, my insides were like jelly! 

As she was driving and I was sitting in the passenger seat (read: not in control) I was thinking about the airbags in the car, just in case. I was thinking about how squirrels and deer can just run out in front of you. I was wondering if she know about construction zones, pedestrians, and little kids that can just dart out from behind a parked car. All kinds of these scenarios were playing out in my mind...but yet I remained calm. (Did I mention she did great?!?) 

After we pulled into the garage and the car was in park, I began shaking. Oh boy! That was stressful. Come to find out, her calm exterior was masking a stressed out inside, too. She loved driving but she was glad the first drive was over. And, she mentioned that not only was she stressed a little, but she thinks she may have sprouted a gray hair. 

LOL! I love this girl!!!

Celebrations

We have had a fun filled week first celebrating Mother's Day on Sunday and then Matt's birthday on Monday. The girls and I had fun making a non-cake for him. Mackenna suggested we buy an edible arrangement. Instead, we decided we would have fun making it ourselves and we did!!
Check out this awesome "cake." We joked we made him a fruitcake!

Club Volleyball

Mackenna has been playing Club Volleyball since her high school season finished. She has really grown as a player! She plays every point and is not one of the girls who are subbed in or out. We are so proud of her! She absolutely loves volleyball!!!

This past weekend she had a volleyball tournament and the girls played great. Mackenna dives to the floor to save a point and jumps up at the net to block the ball! They fought hard and did not lose one game. They were the CHAMPS!! The best they had finished previous to this was second place.

Check out this group!

They have three more tournaments in the season and then they are finished. It has been so fun to watch her play!

A New Pitcher

Softball news:

In November, Alexa told us she wanted to be a pitcher. Wow! Matt told her she was really going to have to be committed to a lot of extra practice...and she has!

Alexa made her pitching debut at the end of January. She was able to pitch at the bottom of the last inning and faced the last batter. She threw five pitches. The first two were balls, the next two were strikes, and then the batter hit the fifth pitch. The defense behind Alexa fielded the ball and got the girl out. The inning was over. I was a nervous wreck the whole time and then I felt so much pride. The best thing that happened was after she pitched her first strike, she put her mitt in front of her mouth and nose...and smiled! No one else noticed, but I did!! It was so adorable!

It just so happened that a photography company was at that weekend's tournament and took pictures of Alexa pitching. Check these out!

Since that first time, she has pitched many innings and is doing quite well. This past weekend, she pitched her first complete game! We are so proud of her hard work!

One more thing...this past weekend's tournament (she has one almost every weekend), she was amazing at the plate! She had a homerun and had an incredible hit that almost went over the fence! Impressive!!!