Inside baseball

Looks like it's going to be a great season for Luke and Dave... The playing fields are beautiful, the players are excited, and there's free candy after each game! The only problem is, this season is going to be pure torture for Zach, and possibly for me too, because I don't know if I'll ever get to see a game unless I keep Zach at home with a babysitter. All he wants to do at practice is run onto the playing field (where flying balls are a constant hazard), and all he wants to do at the game is push his way through the chain link fence into the dugout. Oh, and it's the repeated plaintive wail of "Dadd-ee! Dadd-EE!" that is probably most disconcerting to onlookers. I don't blame him - everyone else is having so much fun, why shouldn't he? - but the sad fact is, he's just at that age where he cannot be convinced to stay put. Today I took him away from the game over to a nearby playground and - fortunately - we made it back just in time to see Luke make the final hit of the game (which is always a home run) so we all had a chance to celebrate together.

So yes, it seems like Luke is having fun with the team (each player has a chance to bat at every inning, and every at-bat results in a first-base hit so they all get a chance to run around the bases) and he's even gotten a few hits off a regular pitch instead of the tee. But the real "hit" of the game is Dave. The kids love him so much that one of the boys told his mom last night, "I think I like baseball so much because I really like Coach Dave." Even one of the grandmas at the game today told Dave, "I think my two favorite parts of this game are watching Steven (her grandson) and watching you with all of the kids."

My picture-taking skills are probably going to be fairly poor for most of the season because one hand is on the camera while the other hand is on Zach, but I'll do my best to document some of the highlights. Today Luke was in charge of his class teddy bear, which he's supposed to take around with him on all of his adventures - kind of like a non-flat Flat Stanley - so we took a few pics with Coco the Bear on hand at the game.

Speaking of pics, if you get a chance, check out Zach's blog for a few recent ones taken by Bill; and if you want to see even more amazing shots, go to Bill's photo site at www.meinkephotography.com.