Our Lucky 13

 On Saturday, April 20, Joshua played his first t-ball game. We got him dressed in his cleats and uniform. And since it was FREEZING cold that day (extremely windy), I insisted on him wearing a long-sleeve shirt underneath (black to go with his uniform). I was surprised at the amount of children with actual uniform pants on!

I looked on eBay for some pants with no success (for the price we wanted to pay) and at Walmart, which didn't sell the right color. So this past Saturday we went to yard sales. I found a pair of gray ones in a size small for .50 cents! I found another pair that were highly stained for another .50 cents (and why not for practice?). While gray is the correct color, I also bought a pair of black and white for .50 cents each (can't beat the price!). We also found a small bat for him (woohoo!) and a hard batting hat. It was a great successful trip! In fact, we also found some clothes for Joshua, too, and a couple other fun finds. :) :) :)

 Here's a picture of Joshua listening to his coach's intructions. The kid who is in the middle next to Joshua (facing outward - the only real face you see) is the coach's older son, who helps with little brother's games. The coach's youngest son is Nick, who is in the other AM kindergarten class with Joshua. They get along well. There's also Abe, who really can swing hard at the ball, in the same class. And Masson joined Joshua's team late - he is in Joshua's class. The other kids are either from other schools or in preschool (you have to be 5-6 years old but not necessarily in kindergarten at Township).

 Joshua's first position was third base. Daddy was proud and snapping away at pictures!

 
When the ball came to him, he 'alligator snapped' it into his glove and threw it to first base. He understood the concept of the game. (Many kids didn't know where to throw the ball once they got it, even with the coach's instructions).

Each 'inning' included every member batting once off the 'T' and taking one base. You couldn't steal bases or move further ahead. You could get out if you didn't reach first base before the first baseman got the ball. But, that happened very rarely as kids struggled to stop the ball and throw it and then catch it when it was thrown to them. It was adorable to watch!

But, Joshua did a really great job! You can tell he's one of the older ones on the team. He truly understood what was going on, which I think is half the battle of the game.

Then they got back to the bench for their turn to swing.

They waited to be called for their line up.

Coach Mike worked with Joshua on his swing. He's definitely a lefty!

Each time he hit the ball, he got to first base. The first one was close as his hit wasn't the greatest (but the kids in the outfield also struggled). The next two hits were solid, though!

He said he thinks it's harder to hit off a 't' than being pitched to. Shawn said he needs to stand back a little from the 't' to get a better swing. But, that will come with practice. We may go buy a 't' to give him some practice. We didn't find one of those at a yard sale (yet!).

Once he hits, he likes to twirl his bat (like he's a major leaguer) before throwing it to the ground. Shawn said he'd work with him on that, too (just getting rid of it rather than making a show!). Haaa!!!

 He's running to first base...

  There he goes...
 
He's on first waiting to advance to second. Some of the kids had no idea where to go after getting on first. They've been practicing but it doesn't always sink in for everyone. There's lots of confusion as they're learning, but this is a great spot for everyone to be learning. Joshua definitely understands bases. We've been playing a ton of kickball at home so he truly gets it. He was more anxious to keep running when he had the opportunity (but obeyed the instruction to stay at each base).

  He's on second, waiting to go to third...

 

There he goes!

He's running to the next base...

He made it safely to third. The guy that helps the coaches on third base is always super nice to Joshua. He patted him on the head and told him what a great job he's doing. I believe he's one of the Dads of the other kids playing. But, Coach Chad and Coach Mike and this guy are all really great with the little guys.

He's on third base, eyeing up home plate.

And he heads home to score his first run! Shawn took video of him running home, so I'll have to upload that at some point. But, you get the idea!


Here's a picture of Mommy freezing as we watched the game. The boys are in their little baseball sweaters that Mamaw had sewn them (Ryan got his own too, now).

Then Caleb asked to take a picture:

And a couple more:














We took a picture of us, and Daddy sneaked in:

Joshua also got to play first base and then he got to play "pitcher." He saw some real action then, and he continually did a great job!!! Here are some shots of him getting the ball and throwing it to first, which is where it was to go:

 In the picture below, he's behind the kid running as he's throwing it:

He batted a few more innings and played in the outfield a few more innings, etc. Nonie & Poppy came to the end of the game to see him bat once and then took the boys for the afternoon to their house. Shawn & I went out to lunch, ran some errands, ate dinner in Berks County and had a fun time without the boys (as much as we love them). We picked them up later that night, saw Jordon too, and the kids fell asleep in the minivan on the way home from sheer exhaustion. :) They all had a fun day!

 Here's Caleb ready to go!

 

 Here's Joshua on the bench, getting his glove and hat back on after he scored his run:

  Here's our lucky number 13. He seems to enjoy the sport and his friends on the team. :) Do you see the one little boy on the right in this picture has the Giants orange shirt underneath and he also had the orange socks to go along with the uniform pants. He's tiny and cute as a button! :)

 Here's Joshua excited in the outfield! He cheered for his team (and even cheered for his fellow team members when they were getting up to bat after the coach encouraged them to do so).

 After the game, they all said "good game" to each other and gave high fives. Then we ran to get some warmth.

 This past Saturday were team photos. I can't wait to get them back! This coming Saturday is the raffle drawing for those of you who purchased tickets. Hopefully we win something!

A Visit to Eastland Alpacas

On Thursday, April 18, Caleb's preschool went on a field trip to Eastland Alpacas in Manheim. I didn't even know this farm existed. It was a fun trip!

Shawn worked a half day so I could go with Caleb. That morning, we were running behind and Grandpa Georgia stopped in with gifts from Hawaii. While it was time for everyone to leave (Shawn to take Joshua to school and me to get Caleb to Manheim), I felt bad when Dad had just arrived. So, Shawn said he'd quickly take Joshua and I said it was fine to leave Ryan with me for the couple minute walk to school. Shawn & Joshua get along so well chatting that they NEVER remember Joshua's backpack. Lo and behold, they run back for it. The bus watcher man at the corner (the 'stunning' guy) told Shawn to have a nice day and he said "Oh, I'll be right back, we forgot something." At that point, I absolutely had to leave to take Caleb or we would be late, so I gave Dad a cup of tea for the road and handed Schnook over to Shawn. Shawn laughed afterward as Joshua had his backpack (what they had actually forgotten) and he also had the baby with him. Did the guy think that our little man was what Daddy forgot? Haaa!!!! I don't retell it nearly as funny as what it was that day. We may never know what he was thinking (not that it matters).

I plugged the address into my GPS, thankfully, because some of the turns weren't well-marked. I was following an SUV that I assumed was going the same way (after all, not much was back here on these roads) but at the last minute it went straight when the GPS told me to turn. Sure enough, it was Caleb's preschool teacher's aide. She said later "Why didn't you honk?!?! I never saw the road!" Haaa!!! If I had known it was her, I may have just followed her rather than the GPS and we both probably wouldn't have been there for awhile. I was the second car to arrive (even running behind!) and didn't see a single parking spot. So, I asked the woman who was thankfully walking up the lane, and she told me to park on a grassy strip next to the road. So, when I backed in the first car that was near the barn came up and parked further up and then everyone filed in around us.

First, we went into an area with benches and seats where they told us about where alpacas come from (they are cousins to llamas but have different shaped ears). They showed the kids how they give the llamas shots, how they track their llamas, how they cut their hair and teeth and toenails, how they register the llamas with their own "birth certificates," what they make with alpaca fur, and so forth. It was relatively interesting.

Then they took us through their store where they have decently priced alpalca socks, sweaters, yarn and fur, stuffed animals and all sorts of things for sale. If I would have brought money, I would have been tempted to buy some things. Everything was so soft and looked so warm! After the store, we went into the barn to get shoe covers on.

Then to my surprise, we went into the stables with the different alpacas.

The children were allowed to pet them, and the only rule was not to run because that would make them go wild!

They gave the kids feed to feed the alpacas, which Caleb LOVED doing!

I had the opportunity to ask the owner (well, the wife owner) how they came to farm alpacas. She said that it was more lucrative than dairy (and they own a construction business as well) and a lot better all around. She also knows all the alpacas by name (and I'm guessing there were hundreds of them!). She treated them like her household pets.

The alpacas are separated by age and gender. So the young ones are together but once they can mate, they are separated into pens of boys and girls. Then there are pregnant mamas in one by themselves. I'm forgetting if there were other separations.

The man even said that Caleb and the children could hug one as he held it.

We got a picture of the two of us together. Caleb loves taking pictures!

I asked if I could get one of him with his teacher Mrs. Hurlbert and aide Mrs. Piehl.

Before we left, we tried to get a class picture.

While the weather was chilly that morning, it didn't actually start to rain until after we left. Woohoo! It was a fun day together. :) :) :)