We got up bright and early yesterday for the start of a really long day. We got all of the kids ready for Mt. Laurel Baseball Opening Day and hit the road around 7:30am. The wind was already kickin' pretty good at that time, so it was rather cold standing outside. When we got to Laurel Acres Park, the twins played with the other kids on some of the jungle gym stuff they have set up there, which passed the time. Once the "parade" started, we walked with the other teams/leagues to the area of the park where the baseball fields are. There, all teams lined up around the outer edge of the infield, spanning from first base to third base, and most parents took a spot in the outfield.
Dickie Noles (pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies from '79 - '81) gave the opening commencement speech, which was really nice. During the ceremony, Dillon and Jason were miserable. The wind was really firing up at this point, and they were just ready to go home. I spotted tears at various times, so as soon as the ceremony ended we made our way back to the van through the worst wind of the morning (it would literally take your breath away).
We went home after stopping at Dunkin' Donuts for hot chocolate and donuts, and we had just enough time to take quick bathroom breaks and jump back in the car for the first T-ball game. Of course, we were late as usual (Jason spilled hot chocolate in the car, forgot his baseball hat in the van so we had to run back for it after walking to the field), but we managed to get the kids into the outfield for the other team's first at-bat.
In the Instructional League, each team bats through the order and then changes sides. They only play three innings, so things move fairly quickly. The whole game was over in about an hour. No score is kept and no outs or strikes are counted. Every kid gets a hit and then gets to run to the next base when the kid behind him hits.
After the game, we came home and had lunch with Uncle Ryan (who had come to the game, along with Mom Mom and Pop Pop). Adrian took his nap while the twins watched "Bolt" again and mommy and daddy got everything ready for the Timbercrest Easter Egg Hunt. Mommy had to go there at 2pm to prep the field and help the other moms get everything set up. Daddy woke Adrian at 2:45pm and got all the kids ready and drove the van over to the field for the 3pm start time. All of the kids had a great time. They had a guy there making balloon creations for all the kids, Mr. Softee stopped by to dispense ice cream treats, the Easter Bunny made an appearance and posed for pictures, and prizes were awarded to kids who found the special Easter Eggs with the "Prize Winner" papers inside. Oh, and there was a "Guess the Number of Jelly Beans in the Jar" contest, too. Prizes were mostly store-bought Easter baskets with lots of goodies/toys/candy inside. It was really nice, despite the gale force winds that blasted through the field and more often than not blew balloons everywhere.
When it was all over, one of the moms invited us across the street to her house for a barbecue. Since there were lots of kids there, we figured it would be a good opportunity to let the kids play and talk with the neighbors. I think we stayed from about 4pm until around 7pm. They had wine and beer for the adults, and plenty of juice boxes and soft drinks for the kids. They had lots of food, too, which was really nice. We felt guilty since we didn't bring anything. But it didn't stop me from enjoying lots of snacks, two burgers, three beers, etc. And it was nice talking to the neighbors and hearing about the rest of the neighborhood.
The kids were exhausted when we got home (and so were we). The kids were all in bed by 8pm, but Angie and I stayed up later than we should have, talking and watching TV.
Enjoy the pictures and videos from the past couple of weeks. The new pictures are in our Picasa web albums (the link is on the top right side of this blog's main page).
Dickie Noles (pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies from '79 - '81) gave the opening commencement speech, which was really nice. During the ceremony, Dillon and Jason were miserable. The wind was really firing up at this point, and they were just ready to go home. I spotted tears at various times, so as soon as the ceremony ended we made our way back to the van through the worst wind of the morning (it would literally take your breath away).
We went home after stopping at Dunkin' Donuts for hot chocolate and donuts, and we had just enough time to take quick bathroom breaks and jump back in the car for the first T-ball game. Of course, we were late as usual (Jason spilled hot chocolate in the car, forgot his baseball hat in the van so we had to run back for it after walking to the field), but we managed to get the kids into the outfield for the other team's first at-bat.
In the Instructional League, each team bats through the order and then changes sides. They only play three innings, so things move fairly quickly. The whole game was over in about an hour. No score is kept and no outs or strikes are counted. Every kid gets a hit and then gets to run to the next base when the kid behind him hits.
After the game, we came home and had lunch with Uncle Ryan (who had come to the game, along with Mom Mom and Pop Pop). Adrian took his nap while the twins watched "Bolt" again and mommy and daddy got everything ready for the Timbercrest Easter Egg Hunt. Mommy had to go there at 2pm to prep the field and help the other moms get everything set up. Daddy woke Adrian at 2:45pm and got all the kids ready and drove the van over to the field for the 3pm start time. All of the kids had a great time. They had a guy there making balloon creations for all the kids, Mr. Softee stopped by to dispense ice cream treats, the Easter Bunny made an appearance and posed for pictures, and prizes were awarded to kids who found the special Easter Eggs with the "Prize Winner" papers inside. Oh, and there was a "Guess the Number of Jelly Beans in the Jar" contest, too. Prizes were mostly store-bought Easter baskets with lots of goodies/toys/candy inside. It was really nice, despite the gale force winds that blasted through the field and more often than not blew balloons everywhere.
When it was all over, one of the moms invited us across the street to her house for a barbecue. Since there were lots of kids there, we figured it would be a good opportunity to let the kids play and talk with the neighbors. I think we stayed from about 4pm until around 7pm. They had wine and beer for the adults, and plenty of juice boxes and soft drinks for the kids. They had lots of food, too, which was really nice. We felt guilty since we didn't bring anything. But it didn't stop me from enjoying lots of snacks, two burgers, three beers, etc. And it was nice talking to the neighbors and hearing about the rest of the neighborhood.
The kids were exhausted when we got home (and so were we). The kids were all in bed by 8pm, but Angie and I stayed up later than we should have, talking and watching TV.
Enjoy the pictures and videos from the past couple of weeks. The new pictures are in our Picasa web albums (the link is on the top right side of this blog's main page).
Comments