Monday, July 29, 2013

U-14 Blue All-Stars 2013

Our summer of softball is now completed.  This weekend Kamryn's team had their last tournament. The tournament happened to be in place called Hemet.  Hemet is not somewhere you typically want to hang out mid-summer.  But we survived the heat.  It was actually the "world series" tournament and the complex where they played was one of the nicer places they've been this summer.  We did make the 45 minute drive 5 days in a row this past week which got a little old! Kam's team ended up playing quite well with some nice wins.  They finished a strong 5th in the tournament.  The final game was especially fun.  Coach finally gave Kamryn a chance to play in the infield.  (For different reasons, she typically plays outfield.) While she was at third base, the batters hit every ball to her. She handly fielded the balls and threw all three batters out at first base right in a row! Such fun!  Everyone was excited for her and it was so awesome to see that joy in her eyes.  She also had some nice hits and great base running.  We're proud of Kam.  This was not the easiest team to be a part of.  She had no really close friends on the team, was the youngest by far, and had to prove herself and work her way up.   Impressive!  Nice job, Kam...you rock!  (Btw, now I'll have softball chants in my head for a long time..."We love free bases"..."Kamryn is a friend of mine"..."Check, check, check her out"...       
 






 






 

Redlands Serve-2013

One of the highlights of the summer for Katie is getting to help lead SERVE at our church. Katie was on the lead team (not sure what exact name they ended up with) which meant they did a lot of work to help the week run smoothly. Groups of kids from all over the US and Canada came to our church for a week and got to experience Southern California, work at different sites, worship each evening, meet other kids, stay up late, and have fun in general. It was a great week, without too many hiccups. We're thankful that Katie is able to use her gifts in these ways. 


 The "Fab Four"

 Kamryn helped with the sports camp at a local school and is seen here with a gold medal softball player who lives in our area.
 A highlight of SERVE week is going out to Huntington Beach.




Can't Beat a Day At The Beach!

Of course, beach camping involved spending a day at the beach.  We were really fortunate in that some other people from our church just happened to be renting a house just steps from the beach which they graciously offered to us as a shelter/ break area if needed. It was really cool how it all worked out with the group that ended up together, too.  A few families happened to be in the same spot for different reasons, so we all kind of hung out for the day.  Ends up every kid had a buddy too, which always makes for a more peaceful day for parents. Holes were dug, waves were jumped, turtles were inflated, babies were held, chairs were relaxed in, islands were boated around, sand crabs were captured, sun was soaked up, and much fun was had!










Beach Camping

We were invited to join some friends who were camping at the beach for a little get-a-way recently.  It was a great time of setting up tents, hanging out with friends, laying in hammocks, eating wonderful food, looking out over breath-taking scenery, and more hanging out with friends. Such fun!