Happy 4th!

We certainly had a memorable 4th. We have spent the weekend at Ocracoke (an island on the outer banks where Glenn and Mandy have a house). You have to take a ferry to get here. From our direction you ride a 2 hour 15 minute ferry. From the north end the ferry is about 40 minutes, I think. Anyway, right at 9:00am, there was a huge explosion that shook the house. I thought it sounded like some strange kind of thunder that just kept rumbling. Carey thought it sounded like something blew up in here and water was then rushing through/pouring through the house. We looked out the porch and (in addition to the gazillion other people we saw rushing out to look, including a man in his boxers which had Bryant in stitches) saw what looked like a huge white mushroom cloud. As it began to fade, darker clouds of smoke were seen. If you have not heard, the fireworks truck blew up. They were just beginning to unload the fireworks and set them up for the celebration that night. As they opened the back door to the truck, it blew up. It threw one person to the water. One person died quickly, and 4 were taken to the burn unit in Chapel Hill, I think. Two more have since died, and the remaining 2 are in critical condition. They immediately turned the ferry around and sent them back -- they were very close to landing. I can't imaging how frustrating it must have been to see the island and then be turned around. They did not allow anyone to come over on that ferry all day. The northern ferry was closed for much of the day to allow emergency vehicles on and off. It took quite a while for the helicopters to get here for the injured people, but fortunately there was some medical support on the island. It was very tragic.

Today, we are thankful that more people were not injured in the accident. This was only the 3rd year fireworks have been planned on this island. I'm guessing that might be because they must drive those things over on a ferry. Can you imagine being on the ferry with a loaded truck of fireworks? I don't know if they will ever do it again. I'm praying that the others injured will heal quickly and with minimal pain. Having been in the burn unit at Chapel Hill, I know it is a very scary, hard place to be. These people were all from Rock Hill, SC, so I hope their families are able to come be with them. Every time I see fireworks from now on, I will probably remember this firework show that did not happen and just how dangerous a business fireworks can be.

The JOY of Coaching Your Son

OK, it is not always easy to coach your son. It is frustrating when your son will not listen to you. You feel like he might need someone else's instruction. You worry about whether you are being blind to your child's difficulties or playing daddy ball. Sometimes you don't even recognize their strengths in an effort to be fair. It's hard to be coach and dad. But, Carey would not have traded the experience for anything. How long do you have this chance? And, then there are the rare opportunities you get to experience the joy of sharing a big victory with your son. I love these pictures of Carey giving B his trophy because he seems so happy, and he is so obvious with his love. No one else got a hug!

Hoisting the Cup!

The summer of 2007 Carey finished his 4th year coaching Cal Ripkin baseball (2 years of tee ball and 2 years of machine pitch). He was an assistant coach on the All Star team the first year of machine pitch, and he was the head guy the summer of '07. We won the District III All-Star tournament and did well at states, but we only did OK at our local park. After All-Stars, Carey was determined he would not be coaching Bryant any more. He told everyone who asked and even some who didn't. He felt like he had coached all he could. Well, it is now 2 years later, and he's coached 2 full years (4 seasons) more.

At the start of this year, Sasser Appraisals was one of the teams to beat. We lost (or maybe tied) our very first game to an expansion team. It was not a pretty picture. But, we finished our season 9-3-1. Oh the stories I could tell. It's amazing the politics and craziness that accompany kids' sports! Anyway, our park has an end of the year tournament for all levels except tee-ball. (Although the first year Bryant played even tee ball had a tourney - it was crazy!) All of the games in our division, the Minors, were exciting games. Our second game was against the team that finished just ahead of us and had beaten us in the last regular season game. Man were we off that night! But, we beat them in an exciting game to make it to the Championship game. Our biggest competition and the winners of the regular season did not make it to the championships! That was a big upset.

Anyway, I'm sure you can tell where this is going. The Sasser Appraisal boys played their hearts out and won the tournament. It was very exciting! There were so many people there that night. It was the last week of school, and people turned out to watch. It made me very nervous. But, the boys won, and I'm not sure who was more excited - Carey, Coach Brian (who coached the team for 2 years even though he did not have a child on the team), the parents or the boys. But, here's the story in pictures.

Coach Brian huddling the infield up in the last inning (we were visitors), so we needed one last out to win. Who knows what he said!

Just after he struck out the batter for the final out. Have you seen a more joyous expression? I love how the others are running in to celebrate with him.

The mob scene after the win.

Hoisting the team trophy -- as Carey says.

Waiting for their individual trophies. At this point, you only get trophies if you win the regular season or the tournament, so these actually mean something.

Alright, here's what we're going to do. One more huddle and let's make sure everyone can hear us.

1, 2, 3, "Sassquatch" (For some reason that's what they always called it up with.)

And that ends the 2009 Minor League season. We'll see what happens in the Majors next year! If you want to see a video of the joy, here's a link to another Mom's video. It is NOT me yelling beside her. I was yelling, but I just wasn't right beside her.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcSSJPqO5HY

Wax Museum

In the 4th grade at our school, the kids all dress up as a famous North Carolinian and have a "wax museum" for the other children and any interested parents to come see and read about. As you can see and probably predict, Bryant chose a famous baseball player from Wilmington. His name is Trot Nixon, and he spent most of his professional career with the Redsox. It is really neat because Carey's dad coached Trot in football in high school, and he actually went to our elementary school for a year. I wish they had required a longer report because this is something Bryant might have had enough interest in to actually research and write a nice report about, but at least what he wrote was grammatically correct.

That is Enos Slaughter (aka Christian), Andy Griffith (aka Van) and Sugar Ray Leonard (aka John) in front of Trot. They line up all around the school and have to stand still for about an hour. Of course, B was not able to accomplish THAT feat, but he looked good!

This is Mary Elizabeth Winstead (aka Maddie) with B/Trot. It's nice to have famous friends.

I've heard other people complain about all the dress up requirements in elementary school, but I think this is the only time Bryant has had to do this. Once in 5 years so far is not bad. The kids all enjoyed it, and I think they learned a lot about who is from NC -- as did I since I did not grow up here. Besides, what else are they going to do the day before the last day of school? It is much better than a movie!

Not Very PC

While driving around today, we saw a lady wearing what I think is called a hijab. I tried to find a picture just to make sure everyone knew what I was talking about. This one seems a little more trendy than some, but you get the idea. Anyway, this started a conversation with my kids about why people wear these. I stumbled through an explanation of modesty. Ann Bennett said she thought it was to keep the bugs out of your mouth. I am still chuckling about this. I guess maybe we need to do some cultural education.

NEVER Thought I'd See This

Having 10 and 7 year old children means I hear a lot of arguing and complaining about each other. I'm never fair. They are both mean, and by golly, one of them looked at the other one! They talk over each other. I spend a lot of time dealing with this issue, trying to remain calm and teach how to behave toward each other. MANY times I fail and lose it with their arguments. Add to this that they have few interests in common. I mean, TV is the great equalizer, and they will play games together (board or the wii) on occasion. But for the most part, B wishes he had an older brother - or at least a younger brother. AB loves to go to Bryant's baseball games, but it is because it is her social scene. Her girls are there, and she almost never watches a game. She will tell you she'd like a sister too (especially after visiting her friend with 3 older sisters), but I think she'd keep Bryant too. I keep telling Bryant in particular that he's going to be glad he has a sister when we are all older, but he's not really buying it.

So, imagine my surprise when this morning as I was pruning the overgrown box woods in our front yard, I hear Ann Bennett volunteer to throw balls to Bryant to hit! He took her up on it, and you know what? They played together that way for probably an hour.

As you can see by the previous 2 pictures, AB still has a bit to learn about soft toss. He's catching the first ball. The second one he swung at even though it was way too high. I think he was afraid it was all he was going to get, and on occasion he remembers what his preschool teacher taught him (you get what you get and you don't pitch a fit).

But eventually, she threw him some good ones. He "jacked" it all over the place. He encouraged her, and she VERY patiently kept feeding him balls. They even went to pick up the bucket full of balls together without complaining. I'm telling you it was a miracle. I went to get Carey to serve as a witness to the miracle occurring in our front yard. It was Carey who wondered whether it was wise to have Bryant hitting real baseballs in the front yard. (B broke his first window around 5, I think, hitting golf balls at grandpa's house.) I knew our windows would be replaced even if broken by a ball, and I think my neighbor has a similar agreement. Either way, I decided the bliss of seeing them play together was worth the cost of a broken window if necessary. Fortunately, we have some trees in the front that blocked the damage; although, one hit the power lines. That was a bit unsettling.

Anyway, Ann Bennett even decided to try to hit. When she asked Bryant to throw to her, he agreed without a fight! He reminded her how to swing and gently tossed balls to her. I did not hear even ONE comment about her lack of technique. He cheered for her when balls were hit well. Miracle, I'm telling you! Did you hear the angels where you are?

My smiling, agreeable 10 year old. Proof that he's in there. (He not only played with his sister, he let me document it.) I might need this picture over the next "104 days of summer vacation." (Anyone out there recognize that song?)

Last, did you notice Ann Bennett's choice of clothing for this activity? Pink helmet and tee-ball bat, Hannah Montana shirt (from her Halloween costume), jean skirt and 2 inch wedge sandals. Priceless! But, her daddy and brother taught her well -- her eyes are on the ball!

Here's hoping for a summer full of pictures just like these!

Daughters

Some days having a daughter just takes my breath away. Today is one of those days. We went to a birthday party at a spa for girls. Ann Bennett had her hair done and a mini mani and mini pedi. I'm sure there could be lots of commentary on spa services for young girls, but I'll leave that for others. For us, it is fun. She is such a girly girl and always has been. I've had the nature/nurture argument many times! But, boy is this girl a GIRL, and I love her to pieces - pop star hair, princess necklace, hearts on her fingers and toes, animal lover and all!

This is actually the second time we've been to a place similar to this, and I am always amazed with what they can do to hair! And, AB has that baby fine hair!

This picture is from the last time we went to a place like this. That's her friend Courtney, another younger sister from Bryant's travel baseball team.

This is officially Bryant's cat, Sammy. She was named after Sammy Sosa - a Cubs player whose questionable use of drugs was not known at the time!

Sammy has a love/hate relationship with AB. She knows AB is most likely to do this to her.

But at the end of the day, Sammy loves AB as much as AB loves her -- I think.