World Series Champs

Hi, everyone.

Last night was game 3 of our local baseball league's world series.  Logan's team won!!!    This was the second year in a row his team made it to the world series but they lost last year.  Yet, it was still an accomplishment to even make it that far. 

This year was different than last in that they played against a team made up of 17-18 year old boys whereas Logan's team was made up of 13-14 year old boys.  Those kids were much taller, stronger, etc.  Logan's team was outmatched in every way and yet won 2 out of 3 games.  They played so hard and worked together to make some really great plays.  It was truly a celebration last night for all of them and us parents who rooted them on from those hard wooden bleachers all season.  My butt is still numb!  LOL

The picture below was taken by another parent just after they received their trophies but not all of the kids are in the picture.  (I stooooopidly left my camera at home, dummy that I am.  All I had on me was my dinky cell phone so another mother was kind enough to email me a picture she took.)  It was after 9 pm by the time this picture was taken but they were way too happy to go home.  The league brought in pizza for them which was nice since it was so late already.  

If you look closely, you'll see that Logan is holding 2 different trophies.  While he received the trophy the other boys are holding for winning the series, he also got a special trophy for being chosen MVP of the World Series.  Whoo hoo!  In the last game of the regular season, he scored the winning homerun that put the team into the post season.  Then in game 2 of the series, he hit a double that brought in 2 runs allowing them to take the lead in the game and they never looked back after that winning the game 9-3.  He made a few other nice plays during the series including catching the last out of this game.

Logan is by no means the best player on the team.  There are a few other kids on the team who play on travel and school teams simultaneously and are way better than Logan.  But what was wonderful was the coaches recognized how hard Logan tried and worked and they acknowledged that effort and heart by awarding him the MVP award.  What was even nicer was how the kids embraced his winning the MVP award.  They hugged him and cheered for him as he accepted the trophy.  That was the nicest moment for me when I saw his peers cheering him on and it brought tears to my eyes.  I'm so proud of all of them!

Congrats to the ICYP Reds 2012 World Series Champions!!!

Thanks for visiting.

Wishing you all a happy day!

Surfing USA...

Hi, there!

Hope you are all enjoying your summer so far.  It's been a hot few days here in New York City.  We are currently in our third day of mid to high nineties which officially qualifies for a heatwave.  Needless to say my home a/c has been getting a work out.  Unfortunately, my office is another story.  As part of an energy conservation program, they've been turning off the a/c for a few hrs each day the last few days which makes it really hot in here.  Yesterday, the hottest day of the year so far, they turned off the air from 2 - 6 pm.  Thank goodness for my little personal sized desk fan.  I never could have made it through the afternoon without it.

So while it's been a tough few days, my boys and Caterina found a way to beat the heat.  We have a neighbor named Dave who happens to be a surfer.  He's been offering to teach Logan how to surf for a while now and he mentioned to me earlier in the week he was planning on going surfing yesterday.  I asked Logan if he wanted to go and he jumped at the chance.  Jim put in for a vacation day yesterday and took the kids to the beach with Dave who you can see below.  It was a great day to learn as the waves were only 1 - 2 footers and seeing as it was 98 degrees outside, in the cool water was a good place to be.

Here you can see Dave teaching Logan at the surfing only section of Rockaway Beach.  I didn't even know we had a surfing only beach section.

Paddling

Getting up

Standing

Here is a video of Logan surfing..  I hope it plays.  I've never uploaded a video before.

 

The kids had a great time.  They utterly LOVED it.  Logan didn't stop talking about it all night.  So, that being said, guess what Logan wants for Christmas?  You guessed it, a surfboard.  BUT!!! Do you have any idea how much those cost?????  (Thanks, Dave! LOL)  I was shocked when I found out.  I had no clue they were so costly.  I think we may be renting from a shop near the beach for the near future.  

No joking around, thanks really do go to Dave for being extremely patient and taking the time to teach the kids.

The kids can hardly wait to go back to the beach to surf again but Caterina needs some days to recover from her sunburn.  She didn't heed Jim's multiple warnings to reapply sunscreen and now her face is blistered along her cheeks and nose. 

Keep cool, folks!  Have a great weekend, too!!!