last game

Ry had his last baseball game on Saturday. A grandfather of a player on his team last fall came up to me to tell me how good Rylee was at catcher the first inning, and after the game several people came up to Ry to tell him how fun he was to watch this season. He also played shortstop and first, where he made several outs, including one where he had to stretch his arm and body almost horizontally near the ground to make the catch while keeping one foot firmly anchored on the bag. He stole several bases, including one where he dared the pitcher to throw on a large lead off and slid into third head first. He pitched two innings, too, striking out all three batters in the first one.

He finished his Wimpy book and his pumpkin book report last night.

Meanwhile, Jackson's soccer league seems to be teetering on closing. The league cancelled another Saturday of games. It's such a shame, because he's so good at it and I'd like to see him continue in that sport. His homework is getting tougher. Math problems last night took him over an hour. He practiced some geography tests online and aced his test in class. There's lots of reading assignments, which he has to annotate and take notes on. The Spanish written tests may be the hardest thing he is doing now. But all in all, he is doing very well.

Cyndi says he worries about our family's well-being, since we are living on a very austere budget right now, but I had some interviews last week and got a very nice offer from a firm I liked immensely. I start on Monday. Jack's computer parts can't be too far away.

We had family over Sunday for our traditional Halloween potato soup and homemade croutons, with Cyndi's apple crisp for dessert. The clock goes back this weekend. Ry and I have been following the World Series. He's rooting for the American league team, even though it's the arch rival of his favorite team. I talked with Ariel briefly and she is doing well, enjoying her dishes finally. She managed to take some with her on her return flight from her visit here. Mild temperatures, cool at night. The cottonwood is changing.

a slideshow & update

Here's some promised photos. It's missing action shots of the boys' games. I recently wrote about Ry's election and his town hall meeting. He said he got lots of good comments when he asked for additional input, but the meeting was cut short because there were cupcakes that afternoon. He's getting perfect marks on his school work. Jackson had a soccer game. He is amazing to watch. He runs fast and there's a determination in him when he plays. Rylee finishes fall ball this weekend.

class prez

As I wrote earlier, Ry ran for class president of his third-grade classroom. His running mate was Enrique. Most of the class was running, too, so it was bound to be a close vote. The campaigns culminated on Friday, when they gave speeches to the class, outlining their platforms, and then they voted. Ry said many promised more recess time, but he also added something educational, such as being able to retake a test. Ry announced he won on Monday, the day the teacher announced the outcome. He told a fun story. The teacher was announcing it, and when she finally said who won, Ry and Enrique looked at each other and, happily surprised, both said, "What?"

The other candidates are now part of the cabinet. I asked him what he's going to do now that he's the class president and what his constituents would like him to do. He asked, what are constituents? So we talked about finding out what his classmates' interests and concerns were. I said, not expecting to be taken too seriously, you could hold a town hall meeting to ask them and give them a chance to talk. So the very next morning he asked the teacher if they could have a town hall meeting. She said they would have one on Friday and asked him to write out a list of goals to present to the class. He worked on that last night. It sounds like he's already negotiated with her about his educational platform.

Jackson seems to be cruising through his first few weeks at the academy. Every day seems to be filled with something new to be discovered, whether it's scientific observations being conducted outside or annotating some story or article, and I think it's opening up some mature thinking. Still, I managed to see him through the glass doors of the performing arts space, while I was waiting for him to finish his after-school drama club, and watched him at play as they did some acting exercises. He was his sixth grade self, still on the cusp between childhood and a young adult. He's a very good listener, and occasionally he'll say something I know must be new. In math, they were working on proportions and rational equations. For years, I have been setting up ratios for him whenever he had a word problem to solve, and he reminded me of that. So we worked on some problems together, solving for x. While occasionally he'll have a night of homework where he ends up scrambling at bedtime to finish, his complaints about doing homework are pretty mild and most nights he can accomplish it in short order. Sometimes I don't think he sets enough time aside for homework and reading (and practicing), but he doesn't seem to have any problems staying up with the classes. 

changeup

Ariel visited us yesterday. We made sausage and eggs and pancakes, and afterwards went on a walk around the academy. Jackson showed Ariel his campus and later she and he walked and talked ahead of Cyndi, Rylee and me. I overheard snippets: Ariel had questions about his classes; Jackson asked her about what she did. Unfortunately, Jack's soccer game was cancelled. It wasn't due to the weather.  I'm afraid the league's season is off to a shaky start, especially with a week postponed, a week cancelled, and uniforms on back order. The most unfortunate thing was Ariel didn't get to see him play. I hope the soccer season doesn't lose momentum. It looked like Jack would have a good season.

Jackson told me about his art class before and this morning I saw his work online, with his teacher's comments attached. Wow, it was really good. He called it contour drawing. The composition was two plants. There were different weights of lines, and they paid attention to "negative space."

The academy sends out weekly reports of what they are doing and what is coming, so I do know something of what he's doing. Right now he's studying upstairs, in between "breaks" on his computer. Sunday appears to be his heaviest day for homework. Rylee is outside, playing baseball in the yard with his friends. I think it's the fourth game of their World Series. Cyndi is taking a CPR class. I'm cooking a pot roast, and I'll go pick up Ariel in about an hour. She leaves on a red-eye tonight back to NYC.

Rylee had two games this weekend. Friday's ended up under the lights on the major field. His friend, Nathaniel came along, and it was cold. Many people showed up to see Rylee's game late on Saturday afternoon: Ariel, Jackson, Cyndi, and me; Cyndi's sisters; and Nico and his parents, our neighbors. Rylee pitched the first two innings, got himself into a jam a couple of times, walked a few on full counts, threw several fast, unhittable pitches over the plate and very few wild pitches. He had an enthusiastic section in the stands rooting for him. I kept worrying he would get tired. At one point, he and the catcher had a talk on the mound, without the coach. I wondered what that was about, and he later told me Scott, the catcher, was giving him the signals for a fastball and a change-up. The next pitch was a strike. With bases loaded at the end of the other team's at-bat in the second and a full count, Ry threw one right down the middle. The batter smacked it right back at Ry. Ry reached up and snagged the line drive and the inning was over. Ry's team was ahead and they stayed ahead for the remainder of the game.

Ariel got to watch Ry play catcher in the third, hit a single through the gap into left field, and even play second before the game was called in the fourth at sunset.

On Thursday morning, Ry was off school. He and I rode our bikes to the balloon fiesta before dawn.  From the bicycle trailhead in Journal Center to the free bike valet near the balloon fiesta museum was about two miles. We outfitted our bikes with lights, including a fllashing strobe light on the back of Ry's. It was the morning for special shapes balloons. Although the winds on the ground were calm, the pilots said the winds were blowing over 19 knots at 400 feet. Many of the special shapes inflated, but none launched. Ry had a great time collecting the balloon trading cards.

Total cost: $8 for an adult entry, $3 for a tall hot chocolate with whipped cream, and a token donation in the bike valet jar. Total time in a line: zero. Total fun: immeasurable.

Coming Home

I have returned from Raton. The circumstances are very strange, and it has created a hardship for us. That story I'll save for another time and place. Meanwhile, an update from home is long overdue and I don't want to go any longer without one.

Fall is coming. The balloons are in the air this week. The mornings are cold but the days are mild and sunny. The cottonwood is not changing color yet but it won't be long. Ariel is in town for a story and a visit and maybe some games this weekend. Jackson began school at the Academy and is playing soccer. Rylee is in third grade at Dennis Chavez and is playing baseball.

Jack enjoys his new school. At first, he was a bit overwhelmed but he seems to have found a rhythm now that he has his supplies and books and understands the system. There's no set daily schedule for the entire semester; rather, a weekly schedule is posted ahead on a board in the common area and online. The sixth graders are divided into pods, families, and clusters. There are two pods of sixth graders, each with half the class. Each pod has its own group of teachers, for the most  part, so the kids in that pod share the same teachers and the same subject matter, though not necessarily the same classes, and share assignments and common group projects, such as the "experiential education" hike Jack's pod is taking this week, a kind of outward bound program, which will include an overnight later in the year. The smallest unit is a cluster, and these are combined in a variety of ways to make up the classes. The family is the group of kids that went through orientation together, have lockers near each other, meet daily, I think, for a kind of "home room", and eat together every day with the same teacher in the dining hall.

Bunty is his companion in his bedroom. Bunty is what he calls Limes, the rabbit, who chews through all the charging cords she can find. Exactly, it's Ry's pet but Cyndi and Jack are in love with her. Often it roams freely around the room, and even though Jackson is concentrating on his computer, the two of them must enjoy each other's company.

Jackson still spends much of his time after school on his computer, but he's also pretty diligent about getting his homework done. It may take some prompting from Cyndi and me, but there's little complaint from him as he eventually settles down somewhere and opens his notebooks. At night he comes into my room to practice his flute. His tone is improving. He still does not know enough notes to complete a scale, but his class has a repertoire of tunes using a limited number of notes. He is breezing through math and last I heard he had looked into joining the math club. Once in a while, he mentions something he learned in science (the metric system and lab safety) or history (the electoral college and the Constitution). In English, they are reading Greek myths. He first came home practicing the Spanish he learned by walking up to me one evening, shaking my hand, and saying, "mucho gusto," with a confident pronunciation. His Spanish teacher uses only Spanish in class. He's also been going to a drama club, and talked about an exercise they first did, a dialogue of sorts, comprised only of improvised questions. I have not heard much about P.E. He has talked about the drawing projects he's been doing in his art class. There's also a music class, in addition to the requirement to take a performing art--he's in the cadet band--and a "tech app" class, I think, rounds out the curriculum this year.

Jack's first soccer game was this past Saturday. He plays on the Chelsea team, and they played his team from last year, Germany. Jack's coach has taught the kids many basic skills and plays, and Jack seems to have caught on, exhibiting some great footwork and passing. He looks to be a good tackler. While he never exhibits the exuberance for sports as Ry does, still, it's astonishing to see how good he is when he does play and how much fun he has. It's great to see him running, his head in the game, with his teammates, both boys and girls, his age and a bit older. Jack is really shooting up in height, very lean, and it's fun to see him whenever he's energized.

Jackson has been determined to build a computer, and while he has set his birthday money aside for parts, we must wait a bit more for our contribution to all the parts he needs. He's told everyone at school, however, that he is going to build one. So when the school needed a student to represent it in a new online admissions "brochure" for prospective applicants, they thought of Jackson and his motivation to build his computer. Last week, some people from Baltimore came to our house, after shooting other scenes and other children, to film and photograph Jackson in his room, doing computer stuff.

Rylee, meanwhile, has a new teacher he likes. His friend from preschool and church, Eddy, is in his class. Ry's class was studying the Constitution a few weeks back. His teacher said anyone who memorized the preamble would get a special surprise.

We the People of the United States,
in Order to form a more perfect Union,

establish Justice,
insure domestic Tranquility,

provide for the common defence,
promote the general Welfare,

 and secure the Blessings of Liberty
to ourselves and our Posterity,

do ordain and establish this Constitution
for the United States of America.

Ry came home and said he wanted to do it. He and I worked on it that night until he had it. I told him when I dropped him off to be sure to volunteer to say it. He did. He was the only one prepared to do it. I don't think his teacher thought anyone would do it the next day. He said he was very nervous, but when he went to gifted and told his teacher there, he wasn't nervous because the class was smaller, and said it perfectly when the teacher asked. The next day he told the original teacher he wanted to do it again and he did it perfectly. Eventually, over the week, most of the other kids did it, too.

Ry is scoring high on math and spelling. He just campaigned for class president with his running mate, Enrique, Eddy's neighbor. He is already starting projects ahead of time for his gifted class, and he's already started his book report due at the end of  the month. He's always eager for school.

Rylee is crazy about baseball. He's playing minors fall ball. He's amazingly good. Since fall ball is a training season, the coach is very good about rotating positions. Everyone gets outfield at some point; everyone has an inning on the bench. Rylee still manages to get some key positions. He's certain to play first, as he is such an outstanding fielder. He has a glove just for first base. Last game, two pop-ups came his way in the same inning, one fair and the other foul, and he just gets under them or chases them down and makes the catch look matter-of-fact. And for the first 5-3 out of the season, the third baseman fielded a good grounder, fired it to Ry on first, Rylee had to stretch, the throw was in the dirt, but the catch was made just before the batter reached the bag. Some real baseball.

The boys on his team range from about his age to a couple years older. Ry's probably the second youngest and second shortest, so that makes it even more fun to see him hold more than his own. (The youngest and shortest, by the way, is equally fun to watch.) I asked Ry how he felt after catching the pop-ups. He said his heart was beating fast. Ry has pitched several innings. Like Jackson, his pitches are right over the plate. After a while, however, he looks like he's tiring. He gets anxious when he's pitching, concentrating to get the throw over the plate, but he doesn't show it. Last game, he also brought his catching gear and played catcher for an inning. He also line-drived one over the shortstop's head. (He had the no. 4 position in the batting order that day.) He rounded first, deciding to go for two. The ball wasn't too far from second, however, and he had to dive headfirst, his right hand touching the bag just as the second baseman caught the ball but before the tag.

Ry studies the game. He reads the rule book. He's learning how to score a game. He watches videos on pitching grips. He's studied the cutter of his favorite pitcher, Mariano Rivera, who happens to play for Ry's favorite team (until he retired at the end of this season). He looks up stats and histories in a baseball almanac and at his school's book fair he bought a book of the "50 best" current MLB  players. He studies their rosters; he follows the standings; he even follows the minor leagues. He's following the playoffs, even though his favorite team didn't make the cut. He wears their cap everywhere, including school. He collects, and even trades, baseball cards. He must have thousands now, past and present; he reads the cards; he knows the player's names, their position, the teams they played on. Sometimes, even their stats. He collects cards in binders. Right now, he's working on a binder of the teams and players who will spring train in Arizona: The Cactus League. He's determined to go next Spring, watch them play and get autographs. Every day after school, he's playing a ball game in our yard with the boys around the neighborhood. We have some  rubber plates and bases. The lawn around home plate has worn to bare dirt. The mums, which are blooming now, are sadly trampled, too. If the ball reaches the street, that's an out-of-park homerun. This Sunday was the third game of a neighborhood World Series, comprised of two-person teams and played with a tennis ball. His team finally won a game. He came in at dark, ate some dinner Cyndi had made, and then came upstairs to watch some Disney show on Netflix with a bowl of apple crisp Cyndi also had made, while figuring out his team's batting averages, and said he wished every day was like today. It was a perfect day.

By the way, he even has a book that will tell him the market value of the baseball cards. He loves reminding me that a Honus Wagner baseball card sold for $2.1 million.

While he has other aspirations, one goal he has is to play high school baseball for the Albuquerque Academy Chargers, college ball with the UNM Lobos, then minors with the Vermont Lake Monsters and the Albuquerque Isotopes, then move up to the majors and get traded to his favorite team.

a long gap

So here I am near the border of Colorado where I’m a Senior Trial Prosecutor. Rylee says that means I prosecute people over 50 years old.

There’d be a lot to say about this move, but my job has never been the focus of this blog and so, for now, it may be enough to describe my commute back home, all 216 miles, usually on Friday afternoons, lately in spots of rain, until I arrive and I’m greeted enthusiastically, first, by Rylee, with Cyndi standing nearby, a smile on her face, partly a look that says, thank God, you’re home, please deal with these boys and give me a break. Jackson is invariably upstairs on his computer, and he will stop whatever he’s doing and give me a hug.

Jackson has a birthday coming up, and we are once again talking about building a computer. He needs to start a parts list. He has many ideas, and he is doing research, even comparing costs. He's still wrestling whether he wants Linux or Windows for the operating system. The idea is that he will use his birthday money. About the start of July, we started a new computer policy, limiting the total time he’s on the computer each day, as well as the length of time he’s on at any one sitting. He still gets his unlimited Friday evening session. The limits mean that Cyndi and Ry get to see some of Jackson during the day. He plays more with Rylee. Sometimes he gets anxious and just doesn’t seem to know what to do with himself. For the first week or so, he feigned that he was very cross with me for limiting his computer time. I think he’s largely gotten over it, and, of course, once school starts, he’ll be too busy to spend all day on a his computer. The Academy assigned two books to read over the summer. He was reading about two short chapters a day. Last week, I called and said I thought if he read three chapters a day, he could get some bonus computer time on Saturday. He did and by Saturday night he had finished the book. On Sunday, we went to the library to find his second book.

Rylee is collecting baseball player cards. He’s already got a couple of notebooks organized by year and by team. The favorites are inside sleeves, which are inside hard plastic cases. We go to Bubba’s now every weekend. The owner knows him well. Ry’s the only 8-year-old kid in the shop. He usually has a list of players he wants.

“Who are you looking for this time?” Bubba asks from the other side of the counter. “And don’t say Dan Johnson, because we still don’t have him.”

Ry looks up and says, “Rickey Henderson…when he played for the Mets.”

I tell Bubba that Ry wants to collect a card for each team Henderson played for. Henderson played for at least nine major league teams. Bubba pulls the book from the shelf and they flip through it.

“Here’s one with the Mets,” he says. “I know you got one from the Red Sox last week.”

He pulls out five cards from five different teams, but only charges Ry for two, at 50 cents each. And he finds a Cody Ross Ry asks for, too, along with more plastic sheets for Ry's notebooks and a packet of Series 2 cards for 2013. This is not the first time Bubba has thrown in extras for Ry. Ry opens his envelope with his birthday money and hands Bubba a five.

It’s fun to watch. Ry consults his baseball rule book. He looks up players in an almanac. He watches video clips on YouTube. He diagrams plays. (He diagrammed Jeter’s flip play against the A’s). We watched the All Star Game together by telephone. (He wrote out the roster in excellent penmanship and discovered designated hitters). When we play catch on the weekend, he wants to talk about free agency and trades. Ry and I went to an Isotopes doubleheader. He brought his glove and hat, and his messenger bag, and wore the little league Dodgers jersey David found in Mom & Dad's basement. We bought a program with a card and we scored the game. We got peanuts. Ry got the baseball cards for the Isotopes. We whooped it up when the final visiting batter struck out. As a bonus we got to see a fireworks show, and Rylee ran the bases.

Ry's signed up for fall baseball; Jackson will play soccer.

Some pics will come soon. There's pics from 4th of July and me and Ry kneading pizza dough and a mini-cation Cyndi  and the boys took to Santa Fe. Ry got a rabbit for his birthday, and looks like I've already posted some of her. Her name is Limes. That's worked out very well. Jackson likes her company when he is on the computer, and Cyndi loves her. Ry plays and cuddles with her. It's like a quiet dog, hopping around the house, hanging out with the boys. Ry and I went to a feed store in the valley for more food, hay and litter. I'm not kidding when I say we got more than 4 times the amount for less than a quarter of what we paid for at the big box pet store. Cyndi does much of the caring, but she doesn't appear to hate any of it...that's how much she loves Limes. She lets her roam more and more about the house, and the only damage has been a phone charger cord.

heading into summer

Surf's Up

Some time has gone by again. A few big things have happened, some of which I may write about at another time, but for now I just have some baseball and Rylee's birthday in mind to tell you about. I also have many pics to upload from our camera. I'll get those here soon, too.

This has been such a terrific year for the boys playing baseball. Jackson has been playing for the Yankees in the minor league. Rylee has been playing machine pitch (sometimes called Rookie League) for the Marlins. It's been a real treat to go to all the practices and games and watch them. We've gotten to know the players, the coaches, and the parents...even grandparents and other family, and that's been a fun part of the season, too. The parents become good friends, and we often chat with them in the stands during the games. Several discussions about camping and fishing and other sports and just about anything you can think of. We tell stories. We ask about things. Did you bike here again? How was your trip? We prep the fields. I bring a camp chair for Cyndi and we all try to find a bit of shade. I often get antsy and have to pace, often leaning against the chain link to clap and give some encouragement. The minor league field is next to the concession stand, which has the best hot dogs, frito pies, and green chile cheeseburgers. Rylee likes the nachos and cheese. It's also a treat to see the camaraderie among the boys on each team. They genuinely support one another and have learned to act like a team. Baseball teaches a lot, and Jackson's coaches, especially, have been outstanding.

Jackson is in the middle of tournament season now. Tournaments are played in minors and above, so Rylee's season has ended. Jackson is anxious for the season to end. (We've been playing since January.) He was specifically asked to play on the all-star team to play other minor leagues around the area during the summer, but he declined that. They finished their season in first place. They won their first tournament game, but last night they lost in the bottom of the 6th when the home team scored a run. They were tied 2-2 in the top of the 6th, after a fierce defensive battle on the part of both teams. It's double elimination; next game is on Thursday.

It's been such a treat to watch Jackson play. Last night was like so many of his games this season. He pitched two full innings. You could feel the pressure in this tight game. On the mound, he takes time to collect himself, then focuses on the catcher's mitt, balances, and throws. It is very methodical. One parent asked if he played chess, the way he studies each of his pitches. He has an uncanny ability to throw strikes that drop right over the plate. He throws very few wild pitches, which keeps any runners from advancing and scoring, and he hardly ever walks a batter. When the batters do hit off him, as they did in this last game, they usually get grounders that Jack's teammates field and make the out. He's been very effective, and it's also great to see his teammates make the solid defensive plays behind him. Last night, there was the prettiest of an almost, classic 4-6-3 double play. The other team did not score on him.

At bat, Jackson is the premier bunter in the league. He leads off and lays down the softest bunts just inside the line and runs hard for first, almost always getting on. From there, he is quick to steal and this year he has developed a great slide. Last night he took out the short stop sliding into second. He also played second base last night, and he got a hard grounder to make the throw out at first.

Rylee wasn't challenged enough this year, but he had a chance to shine and develop his play at first base. The coach put him there from the beginning since he quickly learned to stretch and make the catch and the out, despite the fact that he is so young and therefore smaller than most of his teammates. One parent remarked at the last game that he was just a vacuum cleaner at first. He plays in front of the base line, and with the artificial turf in the infield the grounders come fast and hard. He always charges and moves in front of the ball, and you can see his big first baseman's glove scoop the ball up. He's not afraid to take one in the chest, too, if it has to come to that, since he is so determined to make the out. He'll chase any popup, fair or foul, and get under the ball for the out. Another parent remarked how fast he is on the bases. He is such a determined runner and has a beautiful slide. He's getting smarter about running and plays. He hits good drives off his bat. It didn't hurt to get some more batting experience this year at this level. The coach treats him different from most of the other players. For one reason, Ry listens and learns fast. For another, his skill level is beyond most of the other players, but they all have improved remarkably over the course of the season and it's fun when you see something that looks like real baseball. His team hands out little awards after every game, and Rylee has come away with most of the fielding awards. His end of the year party is next week, and he and his teammates are getting some nice warm up jerseys, in lieu of trophies.

He's anxious to sign up for fall ball, while Jackson is ready for a season of soccer.

Before the last game, Rylee kept telling me about this scenario: there's one runner on third; no more than one out; he's playing first as always; a grounder is hit toward him; he fields it, tags the base for the force, and fires it home to the catcher for another out, saving the run. He wanted so much to make that play. Arthur, who has played catcher almost the entire season, is good and can make that catch and make that out. I think Ry and Arthur make the best combination on the team. I told Arthur's dad about Ry's scenario. That scenario actually came up during the game. Ry gathered the grounder, made the out at first and threw hard to the catcher as the runner from third was coming in. Arthur caught the ball at home as the runner was sliding. Oh, it was so close! I turned to Arthur's dad and we laughed with joy.

Ry's next to last game came the night that Jackson's team was the team of the game at the Isotopes. That was pretty cool. The boys dressed in their uniforms and brought their gloves. Before the game they had all the hot dogs, sodas and ice cream they could want while the Isotopes had their pregame warm up and batting practice before dressing up for the game. Then the boys were taken down to the field, along the third base line in front of the home dugout, where some pictures were taken as the professional players emerged again for their final warm up in their uniforms, many of them walking down the line of boys and giving them high-fives. Then the boys stood in front of the dugout, and the Isotope players would come over to them to sign balls and gloves. Finally, the boys got to take their position in the park, alongside the Isotope players, for the Star Spangled Banner. Jackson got to stand next to the starting pitcher by the mound. The boys sat together in the stands for the game, trying to catch fouls or get a player to toss them one. I got Jackson a ball after the game, after they ran the bases, a tradition for all children at all of the games.

School ended before Memorial Day. There was an outdoor graduation for the fifth graders, and they sang some fun songs. Jackson got a "diploma". He'll really be moving on next year. Cyndi and I attended a parent social at the Academy one evening. It's all so impressive. Rylee was excited at year-end about the great teacher he had and his gifted class, and began preparing ahead already for next year's gifted project. Last week, he read the Tin Tin graphic novel Jackson got from Ariel, and I watched him play with tiny toy soldiers in the sandbox outside. Jackson, meanwhile, is as full time on the computer as he can be and he still talks about building one this summer. Cyndi takes them to the pool as often as she can, while she is studying for a Series 65.

Rylee began to count down to his birthday about ten days out. He also remembered Ariel and Chris' anniversary would fall the day before. He didn't have much of a wish list. He wanted a dog but the house is small, the yard is small, and there may be some allergy issues in the house. Then he started mentioning a rabbit, and that started to sound like a good idea. A few days before his birthday we did some research and I even visited the nearest animal shelter and was surprised how impressive an operation and facility it was. On Sunday, a day before his birthday, we surprised Ry and took him there. A rabbit adoption organization would be there that morning, too, to answer questions as they cleaned up the rabbit room and cages. A man, everyone called him the bunny man, spent over an hour with us as Rylee picked out just one rabbit and began to hold it. Her name is Limes, and we've stuck with that name. Poor rabbit seems to have had a very rough start to May, after probably being lost from a home at some point, but she is very gentle. We brought her home, after buying a rabbit cage, and food, and litter, and hay. She is in the boys' room now. Both love her.

Ry went swimming with a friend on his birthday. He also celebrated with Nicholas's birthday. We had pizza on Sunday and cake and ice cream on Monday, and he got a few other presents he wanted: Tin Tin volume 5, a major league baseball rule book (okay, that wasn't actually on his list), basketball shorts, a skateboard shirt, and a set of Legos. He's been smiling a lot lately.

Cyndi, meanwhile, has made new friends with a wild rabbit--Rylee calls it Frederico--that hangs out in our yard, along with a robin and a couple of sparrows. It's our own menagerie. They come around when I'm outside, too, expecting to see Cyndi. The grass is coming back, finally, and a couple spots I seeded are sprouting now. The lavender will make it another year. The aspen is shooting up. The state is having an extreme drought, and a couple of fires sprang up last week. There's been no rain for as long as we can remember.

Ariel is running the San Francisco marathon with her friend Emily on Father's Day weekend. She says it's hot in New York City now. She called once as she was doing several loops around Central Park.

I'll say more, but I'll start working for the District Attorney in Raton  in a couple of weeks.

surfing lesson

There were a couple of  spots David and I mowed that had poison oak. David pointed it out to me. Some we just mowed over. There were a couple of spots on a hill I worked on. No problem with long pants, socks and shoes, but when I capsized the next day I took off my wet socks and I think there was still some oil on my shoes that rubbed off near my ankles. A couple of small red splotches showed up when I got home. I avoided irritating them and they've gone away. I read up on it and learned it is not contagious; it really requires contact with the plant oils.

This is a good year for baseball for both of the boys. I did hear many good things about Jackson's game pitching while I was gone.The coach said it was phenomenal, and then started him pitching again in the game this past Saturday. He pitched two innings. He's working on speed, and last night at home he tried more movement in his arm. But he has lots of accuracy, and the ball he throws is deceptive. He spends time before his throw, and gathers his focus and balance. His teammates chat him up with encouragement and back him up whenever there is a hit. Very few walks; no wild pitches. Several 1-3 outs. A really nice 6-3 play, and we're going to start seeing some nice double plays soon. His team won 12-0 against a team that was undefeated. There was some grumbling among parents and coaches on the other side of the field, but we had a great time on our side in the cool morning. Jackson had a couple of hits and a couple of strike outs, swinging. A nice bunt and some strong base running, even a couple of good slides. He played first the remainder of the game. (He needs a new glove!)

Rylee's team won 11-0 on Saturday. He played first again. I filled in as a field ump, so I got to see Ry play close-up. Early into the game, a hard hit came his way. The infield for this level is artificial turf, and the ball comes hard and fast. Rylee got in front of the ball, which came off the turf fast, off his glove and into his chest and cheek. Ry didn't miss a beat, scooped up the ball and ran to first for the out. Another hit was very wide off first and I watched Ry scoop it up and drive to first faster than I'd ever seen. I could see the determination in his face. The batter also was running hard to first. I called the runner safe, but I told Ry later that his coach thought he'd beaten the runner to the bag. Ry also scored several times, a nice slide into second, and a good hit into shallow right field, where the real grass, cut long, stops most hits. Both boys batted in the no. 2 spot.

By the last couple of  innings, the day had warmed considerably. I started thinking seriously about hydration for myself, and I noticed the players on both teams were getting worn down. By contrast, Jackson's game was in the early morning, still quite cool, and I watched him joking with the coaches about computers at the start of the game. Last night, as the boys played catch in the front yard, Jackson pitching, Rylee catching and calling balls and strikes, I wondered if this will be something they do in years to come. At one point in the morning, they just got pissed with each other and started fighting. Rylee got his feelings hurt, Jackson tried to make it right, and Rylee retaliated. After telling them they were both wrong, and both right, I made them shake  hands. They thought that was funny. We wrapped mom's birthday present and signed a card the boys' found, and later we baked a cake.

Rylee went to the school's spring fling on Friday evening. It was like a special two-hour recess for him. He played with his second-grade classmates, first on the inflated jumpers and slides and then on the regular playground. The kids were shouting "onomatopoeia". They knew what it meant, but I think they did it for the penultimate syllable. Lots of kids and parents. I waited in line for pizza slices for me and Ry, and then got him to join me in the faster line for the shaved ice.

 I'm ending with a few snapshots I took on my phone. The first is Ry's desk. It shows many of his Lego sets: buildings, ships, all sorts of cruisers and minifigures; some comic books and a book he's reading; and the two sea urchin shells. The second is Jack's desk, with the two monitors, and maybe you can make out the microphone and a small speaker and lots of plug ins coming off the side. Since the boys don't read this blog now, I'm pretty sure, I didn't think they'd mind this glimpse. And maybe it would be fun to see later. The third is a pic I didn't use from the White Sands trip but I think it may be interesting to post.

Today is cool with a mild breeze, a touch of dampness, that reminds me of my time near the ocean. Big white fluffy cumulus clouds lolling about in the sky above in all directions makes me think rain is coming.

surfing

I usually blog from the perspective, as much as I can gauge it, of our family, but I just returned from a trip on my own to my parents' home outside of Monterey and thought I'd spend some time describing my visit with Mom & Dad, David, Beth & Gary, and Lisa. David first suggested the trip, since he was going to help out around the house, and then Beth and Gary helped arrange my flights. As usual, Lisa was the point person for coordinating much of the time, and she and Mom must have figured out the meals together. There were lots of good eats, and a little wine. David grilled tri tip, ribs, and a roasted chicken, while Lisa cooked a stroganoff the last night. Lots of Lisa salads, and Beth made a potato salad that was different and amazing. Dad supplied ice cream, Beth blond brownies, with and without nuts, David Panamanian coffee, and Mom laid out breakfasts and lunches. All wonderful. Mom packed a lunch for my return flight.

Beth and Gary picked me up from the airport and we drove down to Salinas together that evening. David, Dad, Gary and I spent some hours on Saturday and Sunday cutting grass, with a tractor, a brush mower, a lawn mower, and a weed whacker on the hills, before breaking for meals. The land is about 6 acres and I finally figured that this was the cut after the growth season there and just before the Hawaii trip. Beth and I also visited Lisa at the pool she manages. Such a really lovely place, and I could tell immediately how she was a perfect fit. They must love her there. But with her teaching, it means never having a day off. She did say she was planning a trip with Sarah to visit Michael and his family.

Beth and Gary held over another night and left on Monday. David and I spent the better parts of Monday and Tuesday boating in the bay, rowing the boats he made and keeps stored down there just for these trips. Monday we rowed over to Wharf No. 2 from the Coast Guard launch, past the sea lions lounging under the wharf--and even on some of the boats moored outside the marina--and along side the seals and otters, and had a breakfast at loulou's. I really enjoyed this and wanted to return on Tuesday, but it's closed on Tuesdays, we discovered. (When I searched for the website address for the link, I also discovered that tripadvisor readers' rank it the no. 1 restaurant in Monterey.) We met one of the owners. The next day we ate at Lopez Taqueria, across the street from the wharf, and ate on a picnic table next to the beach, in the park where Terra and Karl had their rehearsal dinner. (I couldn't find a good web page, but I discovered it may have been formerly known as La Casa Bodega and may be now owned by a family that owns a restaurant nearby.) Good tacos and burritos.

We spent some time at the divers' beach near Cannery Row after rowing on Tuesday, and the day before we did go to the other, popular wharf and got a beer after the rowing. I got the boys some sea urchin shells there. When we were on the municipal beach the next day, David suggested collecting a couple of beach rocks for the boys, too. Rylee loved these gifts, and I let him think I picked them up in the tide pools, as well as on the beach. I don't know if Jackson was so impressed, but he certainly was glad to see me when I got home and we've spent more than the usual time together since.

I have to tell you how we came to be eating on the beach. We decided to row onto the beach and not dock. David went first, straight in, as he should. Then I rowed toward the beach. A half-second before I hit the surf, my boat turned and it rolled over the wave and capsized with me. Sopping wet, a sight I'm sure. David thought this made for a great adventure. Luckily, I had a dry fleece stored in David's boat to change into.

While I was gone, the boys had a couple of baseball games. I'm sure to hear from the parents how they did, 'cause Jackson reported he pitched one entire game, very unusual in his league, what with a stringent pitch count. His team won and the coach gave him the game ball. Meanwhile, Rylee got a break from first base and finally got to play catcher for a change, his long favorite position. His team won, too. He said he got one in the knees and "they let me walk it off" before resuming catching. He also told me about what might have been a pretty play where he ran in from first to get a hit ball and then tossed it to the pitcher who was running over to cover first. It sounded like he still got to first before the pitcher, but together they got the out. Cyndi reported that Rylee's teacher conference was full of praise for him, including marks for a good sense of humor and the teacher's go-to student to explain a new lesson to the rest of the class. Both boys looked to have grown a few inches while I was gone, and it was so good to be back with them.

I had a wonderful chat with Ariel as she was sitting on the plaza below her place in Manhattan. The weather sounded perfect, trees blossoming, that sort of thing. There was discussion in Monterey about all the kids, Jenni and Jacques' baby on the way, and a possible "reunion" for us all in Asilomar, instead of the Hawaii idea we bandied about a couple of months ago.

forgot afterall

Well, I was mentioning Jackson's interest in computers and did not mention how he now wants to build a computer. He wants to be sure he has a good processor and graphics card. He seems to have figured out easy ways to boost RAM. I'm sure he's been researching this already. I told him I saw a catalogue online with quad core (and even six-core) processors, and he was excited. We talked about scavenging parts from old computers, like the case and a DVD-ROM drive. And then he went on to talk about ports and servers and tracking IPs. It's pretty obvious he's been studying up on this (he prefers the video instructions to the written instructions and he also gets information from boys he's in touch with online and from school) and he may be calculating how to save up for the parts, as he has done for some of his software. He's not just playing video games. In fact, I don't think he's doing much real video gaming. He's much more interested in how it works. I am very curious to see how this bug to build develops. I talked to a guy at practice about it, and he said he did it once and thought Jackson would have no problem doing it. (I thought how the boys love to construct these elaborate Lego sets by following the meticulous graphic instructions.) The biggest time spent was gathering the parts, he said, choosing between the options: there's always something a bit better (and more expensive) to get. The dad also mentioned that he inserts all his old hard drives into his new desk top so he always has access to the old picture files. A great idea, and seemed so obvious once he said it. He also loved loading the new operating system without all the add-ons you don't want and don't use. You start with a clean slate. Or a blank screen.

Jackson's second baseball game was brutally cold. Jackson played first base and several outs were made there. He also pitched again. His first inning went good. One hit. No walks. A nice play where he fielded the ball and threw to first. He got into a bit of a jam in his second inning as a couple of hitters found the gap between first and second, and he got down on himself after the game. Comparatively, he did great! The coach likes to give him bunt signals and he laid down two that went along the third base line and then foul. He got on base a couple of times and scored a couple of times. Fun to watch him off the base, teasing the catcher to throw.

He had lots of homework to do after the game. He's working on a couple of projects.

Ry's had an earache for a few days. His second game the day after Jack's was still cold and windy but not nearly as bad as the evening before. Rylee played first again and got on base a couple of times. The boys on  his team are getting better but it's still hard for them to throw the ball to first. The innings go by fast, since there are many strike outs--all swinging at this level--off the pitching machine. One of his teammates caught a big pop fly into left field.

Ry finished his first enrichment essay on future inventions, and he said he was going to ask his teacher if he could draw some pictures about what he wrote about.

Saturday more games.We got the scoreboard working at the minor field. I missed most of Jackson's because Ry's started shortly after it started, and it was my day to ump again. I did see Jackson lead off at bat, and, as I predicted, the coach signaled for a bunt. He laid one down perfectly on the first pitch and ran faster to first than I've ever seen him. Ry was at first again. I could watch from behind the plate. Midway through the game, a parent was being a jerk in the stands. The field ump called a ball foul as it sailed out of bounds just before first base. As a volunteer parent ump, it bugged me when I heard him the second time. I told the parent he was not there to make the call and that seemed to quiet him. The boys did great, and you can see the progress already in the team play. Ry is hitting better and running faster, and Jackson is becoming very good at bunts and cracking the ball, too. Jackson concentrates on shielding the sun. Those early and late games can be tricky. They both hustle. Jackson gets down on himself, like he did Monday when both boys had practice in the evening, but in Monday's case I think it was mostly because he was hungry and thirsty and just ran out of gas in the last minutes of a hard two-hour practice. The boys and I stopped off at the supermarket on the way home and we talked a lot about shaking it off and moving on. The talk and the chocolate milk we got from the refrigerated case revived him and he was happy again. We talked to the butcher and he gave us a break on the hamburger, so we bought twice as much. We managed to get a bunch of food for $13! It was a late dinner, and the boys almost nodded off at the table.

don't forget Winona

Rylee requested a Lego motor bike set from the Easter Bunny, who also brought a Lego Technic dune buggy for Jackson. Rylee was very pleased, and Jackson appeared to be challenged by his, which featured all sorts of spring suspensions, gears and chain drives...even a piston, leaving only a working engine for the future. Ry has a desk in the boys' room filled with many of his Lego buildings, ships, cars, planes, and minifigures laid out on top, a mix of different play scenes. When he is not playing with those, he often sits in a basket in the corner to play on his tablet. Jackson is almost always at his desk on his computer. Yesterday, he was working with some software he hasn't used in a while and he showed me the three-dimensional graphic he designed: an apple.

Ry was very excited because Tuesday was the first day of his enrichment class. He goes again today. He wrote out his first assignment about future inventions, and he came up with three, including a hoverseat, while we talked. Jackson's apple is part of his independent studies project on computers.

After a week or so of mild, spring-like weather, with little wind, we got blasted with a storm that brought relentless gusts on Monday evening, while Rylee had practice, followed by cold and rain and even some snow. Today doesn't look good so far for Jack's game this afternoon, which will likely be played, but should improve some for Ry's game tomorrow, with much better weather for Saturday's games. We needed the rain, and, fortunately, the temperature did not drop to freezing here in the city.  

opening day

Saturday, the day before our visit I just wrote about, was baseball. It was opening day for the little league. Jack's early game meant we had to be there at 8 in the morning. Rylee had a game midafternoon, and in between there was a brief ceremony for opening day. The day could not be more perfect. There were games going on on every field all day long. Foul balls landing everywhere. Cheering. There were even some vendors and mascots and free samples. The concession stand was warming up its grill for green chile cheeseburgers.

Rylee's game felt strange, because I viewed it through the cage of an umpire's mask, calling strikes and outs and fouls. I had to volunteer. It's a struggle, too, because going into this season, Ry really wanted to be in minors league and we held him back. He often practices with Jackson's minor league team. Ry is guaranteed a good position to play on his team, since he has the skills, and he's delighted learning to play first base. He also got some great hits that went into the outfield. He was second in the batting lineup. He ran the bases well. He scored. The level of play is a bit frustrating, although he does not express it. Most of the players cannot field a ground ball and throw a ball, let alone know where to throw it. Rylee fielded the hits that came in his direction and made the out but otherwise not many fielded balls made it to first for an out. The season's young but I am afraid Rylee did not get the opening day spark Jackson got. This weekend was Jack's, and I wished more for Rylee, who was also coming off a week of tough cold symptoms.

Jackson started his game in left field. He played some excellent back up. A high fly got lost in the sun when one came to him, but I'm not worried. I've seen him shag fly balls pretty matter of factly. He played third, too. He was second in the batting lineup. He got some great hits, also going into the outfield. One came on a first pitch after a perfectly timed fake bunt. He scored a few times. James pitched first, then Nnamdi pitched two innings. Jack began pitching the fourth inning and then again in the fifth. As I told a coach of Jack's from the last several years, it was 6 up, 6 down. A no hitter. No walks. He struck out, I think, three, both swinging and called. Jack recalls one sucker pitch he threw. One batter got a hit, a line drive which the short stop behind Jackson leapt and caught. One I just don't remember. But the final out was a solid looper out into right field. The batter rounded first. The ball stopped in the grass.The right fielder chased down the ball. The runner rounded second. The right fielder threw past the cut off man to the short stop near second who fired it to third. The third baseman caught and tagged the runner a step from the bag. The crowd went wild! The team went wild, congratulating each other. A nice way to start the season.

I told somebody else how we weren't sure if Jackson would play baseball or soccer in the spring. Jackson had a great season of soccer last fall, and he can play again next fall. But there is a spring league, and his coaches hoped he'd return with the other players. We weren't sure where he stood in baseball for this season. Jackson said to me at the last minute, you know, Dad, if I don't play baseball this spring, I may never play again. Ah, I think he made the right decision.

The ceremony was short but late and it ate up the middle of our day. The boys hung around with their teams and ran out onto the major field as their teams were announced. All the teams lined up from first to third. A few awards were given out, and we finally went home.

the knighting

Jackson, Rylee, Cyndi and I went to the academy Sunday. It's about a mile away. There's a bike path off the street behind our house that goes to the acreage and another one that goes to its gate. We drove and parked at the lower campus. Inside the west gymnasium, next door to the natatorium, Amy, who interviewed Jackson, greeted him. He shook her hand and we got our name tags downstairs. There they had an assembly of the newly admitted sixth grade students, the Class of 2020, and their families. Judy, the admissions director, welcomed us. This is her last year. The head master spoke. He talked about books that have a map inside the front cover. These, he said, were fantastical maps to a future adventure and the home on the map of their adventure was the academy. A senior spoke about her time at the academy and she and the head master asked the new admittees to stand up. These are your classmates, they said, asking the students to look around, and your friends for the next seven years. A knight's armor stood on the makeshift stage, and the senior passed a sword overhead, welcoming the children to the Chargers. The 6th grade department head, a Spanish teacher, began by reading a passage from a book in a choose-your-own-adventure series and introduced the teachers. An a capella chorus sang a song with lyrics written for the event. There was such pride in the parents. I spoke to one woman. She said her children went here, and now her grandchildren. Jackson knew a good handful of the kids already, and we knew some of the parents.

We walked first to the far side of the lower campus to the visual arts building. The art room was filled with student drawings, paintings, and sculpture. Three sixth grade students were printing the frontispieces for their portfolios on a printing press. The art teacher told us about filmmaking opportunities in the future and an artist in residence program next year. We then walked to another building which had two wings: a technical applications wing and a performing arts space. We met a drama teacher and he filled us in on some of the choices. As I recall there were dramatic arts, orchestra, band, dance, chorus and guitar. There was also a club for stage technicians. In the other wing was a creative arts installation based on sea life. They also use the performing arts center on the upper campus.

We then walked to the 6th grade building. There were more people there, a few we recognized, and some friends Jack already knew. We met one of the English teachers. There was Shakespeare inside, but also Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited. The English teacher next door had student mythology stories on the wall and language reference books on every table. In a science room, we met a science teacher and the head master again. The large room looked made for experiments and projects, although not a lab how I remember. (More labs are located in a separate building in the middle of the campus.) The sixth graders are taught life sciences, and I gathered that included some fundamental scientific tools and many different subjects and whatever seasonal or celestial event that was happening. There was a handmade periodic table of the elements along one wall. We visited two history teachers. One room was filled with classic history posters and her class concentrated on U.S. History from the Industrial Revolution to World War I. The other room was an explosion of popular culture ephemera and the subject matter included most of my lifetime.

Inside this building are lockers and a student common area with one wall dedicated to daily schedules. We indulged in the refreshments there. The sixth graders are divided into two halves, what they call, in their pod-speak, pods, and those are further divided at least two times until you get a family of one teacher and 10 or less students who eat lunch together every day in their dining hall in yet another building.

We almost didn't go the lower campus administrative building, but it was only half administrative. There was an atrium and a small bookstore inside and several more classrooms and more lockers. Jackson got to talk with the Tech App teacher. She understood him. In her class, each student creates their own web page using html script; not so much, she conceded, the java script Jackson is now using, among whatever else he's doing. We also met, unfortunately so briefly, a Spanish teacher and finally a math teacher. Spanish is required. I wondered how advanced the students might be in math but Jackson was soon talking with the teacher about calculating volumes, which he is doing now in his general class, and a mathematical theorem he must have learned in his gifted class. In between we visited the music room, filled with instruments and keyboards, and talked with the teacher.

That was a full two hours. It was sunny that day, no breeze, and we were still exhausted from the previous day. We had already visited the upper campus and the library before, and the boys and I have practiced on the some of the athletic fields already. Ry and I have run around its track. I have swum in its pool and run on its cross country course. We didn't get to visit with the physical education program or get much information on athletics for sixth graders.

The remainder of the day was spent with yard work, computer gaming, a work out, church, catch, soccer, French toast and leftovers. I saw Jackson sitting with Rylee that evening, helping him with graphs on his homework. I do wonder what will come in three years with Rylee. As Jackson said the other day, their scores for applying to gifted were exactly the same. I love the smarts I see in both. Ry is still 7 but he wants to do now what Jack is doing, whether it's sports or academics. In ways, he's excelled earlier than Jack. While he exudes confidence and ability, he's also still shy around adults. Jack was never shy. Ry gets to start his gifted class at Dennis Chavez tomorrow.

scrimmages

The boys' scrimmages on Saturday, one week before opening day, were at the same time. Jackson's coach, when asked, said Jack was scheduled to pitch the second inning. While Jackson and his team warmed up and practiced, Ry and I practiced throws to first. Then we went up to his field. I watched one inning. Ry played first base and he got a hit at bat. Not many throws made it to first that inning. Lots of hits got past the fielders and pop ups were misjudged. When a couple of grounders were hit in Ry's direction, he scooped the balls up and tagged first to make a couple of outs.

I ran over to catch Jackson pitching. He was getting a lot over the plate but he also walked a few. Several swing strikes, a couple of hits. I wondered if he'd get frustrated. This was his first full inning. He'd walk to the mound and get in his stance. The boys tried a few pick offs but there was lots of small mistakes being made all around. I knew they were better. The boys were talking to each other, giving lots of encouragement to Jack. The umpire was a young boy getting some experience, too. He was pretty good but he sure called a tight strike zone for the little league sized players. Jackson retired the inning and I watched him get on base during his at bat. Jackson said he would not be pitching again, as the coach was trying out all of the pitchers, and I left the field while Jackson was warming up the next pitcher. A good first inning of pitching to have under his belt, but of course he was slightly down on himself. Fortunately, he seemed to shake it off.

Ry's game was pretty much the same as when I left. I think there was one grounder that managed to be stopped and thrown to first. Ry got on base again, and as it was approaching 11 I thought I'd see how Jackson's was going. Ry's team was behind when I left, although there was no official score. Cyndi and I missed each other going back and forth between the games. She had just left Jack's game to see Rylee's. I watched Jackson play third. He had a nice tag out, a couple of throws to first, and was very enthusiastic in the field. Before his game ended, I saw that Cyndi had returned to the stands with Rylee. Ry's game had ended. He said their team came from behind to win. He told me about a pop fly that arched over his head, which he caught. It had to be about the only caught fly that day.

Jackson's coaches are evaluating this week to determine positions. I think Jackson will pitch a little and play a little third. We did bring Ry's catcher gear again but for now his coach wants him to play first.

Ry has some sort of cold he's been fighting off for a few days. He and Jackson got Legos, some clothes, marshmallow and chocolate candy and a movie they love on Easter morning and played some catch that afternoon with their cousins in Belen.

the academy

It was a very exciting day Thursday. Cyndi went to the mailbox and found the letter from the Academy. She called me right away. She was so excited. Jackson was accepted. And the extra surprising news was the amount of financial aid they awarded. It makes it very doable for him to go. There really is no question about it.

When school was out, Cyndi put me on the speaker on her cell phone so she could tell Jackson. He squealed with delight. I emailed Ariel with the news and included Rylee in our celebration, so he knows that his time, just like Ariel's and Jackson's, will come, too.

All in all, a pretty exciting week. I'm also very excited about the boys' scrimmages this weekend. The following weekend there'll be opening games on Saturday and a ceremony for new admittees on Sunday.

Link to Albuquerque Academy website.

Link to Wikipedia article.

little league Yankees and Marlins

Saturday's baseball practices were a mixed bag due to some very cold weather in the morning and gusty winds. Sunday, however, was a mild, sunny and calm day when the boys and I went over to the academy fields to practice a little ball. We started catching. Then Ry put on the catcher's gear while I guessed a distance between the home plate and the pitcher's rubber. Jackson pitched to Rylee, again throwing a lot right over the plate. As I think I mentioned, Jack's coach really has plans to play Jack at pitcher. (It wouldn't hurt to get a real pitching lesson; there are a couple of places in town young ball players go for private lessons: one would be helpful.) Whenever the coach puts his team on the field at practice, Jackson is at the pitcher's mound. After some pitching, I tried tossing some balls for batting practice, and then I hit some pop flies to them. A good practice for us.

But the best part came afterwards as I lay down on the field and the boys batted some balls to each other. This was great fun for them, and something they'd never done before. It went on a long time. I thought they were probably getting more out of that than anything else. Jack would ask later if we were done, and I'd say whenever you are. Then he'd hit some more, and it was good to see how much fun he was having. Finally, he was tired. We had a bit of a dog pile on the grass and then gathered up all of our gear.

Ry's Monday practice had good weather, too. I enjoyed helping out on the field. When the coach put his team on the field for practice, Rylee played first base and pretty much stayed there the rest of the practice until the coach reluctantly gave him a turn at batting practice before the end. Ry is actually using a first baseman's glove which he uses for catching behind the plate. While some players on his team are improving, Ry still is the most dependable at catching the ball and now he even stretches from first base to make both the catch and the out. He was hitting pretty good, too; a little late, but solid hits.They're going to scrimmage another team this Saturday.

Ry is very happy these days. He's learning a lot; he asks good questions, including the meaning of new words; he makes up games and puzzles and songs and rhymes. He draws. He has this fun way of laughing whenever someone makes a pun or makes up a joke, like he's getting pleasure from getting it. "Oh, ho, ho, good one!" He went with Cyndi to the public library for almost two hours over the weekend and checked out several new books and a couple of comic books. He'll spend hours fishing in his bins and drawers for Lego pieces to build something new. He voluntarily runs laps. He has a little "cubby" in the walk-in closet he likes to retreat to with his tablet. He watches mostly Arthur (a PBS cartoon show with a lesson). He's been very excited about his class field trip this morning to the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History. He talks about it all the time. When we were there last, they were remodeling the history exhibit, so we visited the art gallery, where he found a favorite painting. He says the class is going to see the history exhibit but may have a short time afterward to visit the gallery so he can find his favorite painting.When he returned, he told me he liked the conquistador armor you could touch and he did find his favorite painting (Peter Hurd's A Shower in a Dry Year).

Jack's Tuesday practice also had great weather until the last half hour when the cold wind picked up as the sun went down. Once again, when the coach fielded his team, Jackson was on the mound. The boys are getting very sophisticated. Not only batting and base running signals, but defensive signals, too, with pick offs and checks. The whole field comes alive on every play now. Rylee helped some during the practice, with lots of base running and even warmed up with them, playing four corners. He definitely held his own. It's hard (more a hesitation than a reluctance) sometimes for Jack to leave his computer after school to go to practice but I know he's loving it. The level of play (and overall talent) is exciting to watch. The coaches have a great attitude about the game and also work on character and team pride. When the boys run their laps at the start of practice, they are expected to have their shirts tucked in, belts on, team cap on, carry their glove, shout "attack" on every corner of the field, and stay together as one pack. His team, the Yankees, also has a scrimmage with another team on Saturday, at the same time Ry's team, the Marlins, has a scrimmage. I guess I'll run between the two. I'd really like to catch the debuts of Ry on first and Jackson on the mound. And I'd like to see them get some good hits. I think they will.

Jackson has really sprouted up. He's getting tall and lanky. It's good to see him play outside. He's good at it and he enjoys it. I recall how well his soccer season went last fall. At home, I see that he's constantly running through code as he plays his computer game with some online friends, and I think it's an  okay thing to do for a boy in 5th grade who is so interested in the technical aspects of computers. He really enjoys talking about it and explaining things. I do look forward to a time when he grows tired of this particular "game" and moves onto something else. He does have his eyes set on a more powerful computer and lately he's been back on his old ipod.

They are great boys.

spring ball 2013

I'm downloading a big video file Jackson sent me that's less than a minute long to view. I want to see if I can attach it here. Jackson took it last fall. While it's doing that, I'll fill you in on spring baseball. Both boys are off to a good start with practices. Jackson is doing very well, and it looks like he may be a starting pitcher. He fields great and he gets his throws consistently over the plate in the strike zone. His coach is saying great things, and I really like how his team plays together. It should be a great season. Rylee may be the best player so far on his team, so the coaches have put him on first. He's pretty small for that position but he's got the glove for it. He's learning to stretch from the bag to make the catch and the out. I suspect the other players will start to catch up as the season progresses. It always happens that way. It's only the second week of practices, with about two to go before opening game day. We went out to practice a few days ago, just the boys and me. I hope to go again this afternoon with them. The boys shagged pop flies. Both are great at that; they make it look easy. And Jackson pitched while Rylee catched. We bring Ry's catcher gear to practice, but so far they really want him to get used to playing first base. When his team practices infielding, that's the position he plays. When Jack's team practices infielding, he's on the mound. Saturday's morning practices were cold and windy. That's spring here.

Okay, it's almost finished downloading. Let's try it.

Guess it won't.

white sands

Cyndi went to a conference in Tampa Bay for four days at the end of February, and it so happened the boys had no school on Thursday and Friday for parent teacher conferences during that time. We did have to show up Saturday morning at the baseball fields for cleanup day in preparation for the new season. The general meeting was held on the following Monday, and the boys found out what teams they are on. I am very excited for them as they both got on good teams. Rylee will play for the Marlins in the machine pitch II league, and Jackson will play for the Yankees in the (player pitch) minor league. Each team looks to have a good group of boys that will be a good fit for each of them, but I was also very pleased to see that each team also had experienced head coaches and assistant coaches, all of whom were not only experienced coaches but also experienced players and, what is more, were experienced working as a coaching team together. This was very good luck, as I think they will both get some good challenge, develop lots of skills, and have fun.
 
Meanwhile, Ariel was attending a conference of some kind in Barcelona. She called me after she returned while she was going on an 8-mile run more or less along the East River from Manhattan across the Queensboro Bridge and returning across the Williamsburg Bridge. She said she actually stayed  in Sitges, a coastal town about a 30-minute train ride from Barcelona. She loved the region, she loved the people, and she loved the food and wine. Chris, I gathered, is very busy with research work and graduate work.

Santa brought the boys backpacks for Christmas, and they had not been used yet. On Thursday we adjusted each of the backpacks and the boys grabbed a few things to bring along. Their bags were mostly filled with a sleeping bag, some layers of clothes, extra socks, gloves, and ski hats, and each had a bottle of water. Mine was filled with the tent, extra down blankets, the usual emergency and first aid kits, a lantern, a stove, a couple of old pads, cups, spoons, a knife, a cutting board, and my own water bottle and extra clothes.

Oh, and we did remember our toothbrushes. Jack packed vitamins, too. Plus, we brought the disc sled we got in Ruidoso to slide down the sand dunes.

After a hearty breakfast of pancakes and bacon, we went by the market and got bagels, summer sausage, a gallon jug of water, string cheese, dried apricots, instant oatmeal, and instant hot chocolate. We got a few things for the drive. Jackson got sour cream and green onion chips for his "snack". I got Funyons. Ry got a roll of candy. Since we only planned one night, packing in late afternoon and packing out early morning, we didn't need much of anything else.

We gassed up at Costco, picked up submarine sandwiches at the Subway next door, and then drove to White Sands, about a three hour drive. This part of the adventure did not appeal to Jackson, since he did not have his computer and did not appreciate the drive. We retraced much of the same route as our trip to Ruidoso, except in Carrizozo we turned toward Tularosa and Alamogordo. Along the way, I played a CD Ariel gave me ten years ago. We talked, the boys played, and I don't recall any fights between them. Tularosa and Alamogordo both seemed like nice enough towns and places one might retire to on the cheap. Alamogordo, in particular, seemed to be developing and had many hotels, restaurants, a college branch, and the Space Museum, which we were going to visit on our return.

We arrived at White Sands about 4:30 and the Ranger registered us and assigned us a campsite. The National Monument only allows overnight stays in ten primitive camp sites disbursed along a two-mile loop in the dunes near the end of the road. They lock the main gates at night, so no-one comes in at night. On the back of the permit is an emergency number to call if you need to get out.

The visitor's center was great (its bathroom not so great), and there was a little museum and gift shop. Among other things, the center and gift shop sold the disc sleds for about six times what you might pay at Walmart at the end of the winter season and about three times what we paid in Ruidoso. They also sold wax for the bottom of the sled, which we later found out might have been worth purchasing. The Ranger gave the boys some Junior Ranger books, but Jackson would have no part of that kid stuff. She also gave the boys a booklet on "ordnance" that might be uncovered by the shifting dunes from a past history of drops (or strafing?) from fighter planes from the major air force base next door. (The White Sands Missile Range is in this area, too.) She warned to leave these alone if, by chance, you ever see one, which, of course, we never did. But the warning provoked lots of comments from the boys until, eventually, they forgot about it. She also told us about the Leave No Trace/Pack It In, Pack It Out camping. (Don't leave toilet paper; dig a hole for any potty. I brought a trowel, but in the sand the heel of your shoe worked just as well.) While we were there, a number of families stopped in to sign up for the Ranger-led stroll at  sunset, before the park closed.

The Visitors Center is actually at the edge of the dunes. I brought out the string cheese, which the boys devoured, saying they hadn't had some in a long time. We paid $9 total for admission and our camping permit fee. The road goes about 10 miles in all, most of it covered in sand. We passed the cars parking for the stroll. The backpacking trailhead is at a large parking lot about 8 or 9 miles in, with a vault restroom, at the base of enormous dunes of sand. When we arrived, there were about four or five cars parked at the trailhead. There were two families up on the dune next to us, sledding, and Rylee immediately grabbed the sled and ran to the top, coaxing Jackson, who joined him, as I readied all the packs, making sure all the loose clothes, food and extra water were packed away.

It's not really a trail, although there were several footprints you could follow. The trail is really a series of posts about a 100 yards or so apart. When you reach one, you look for the next one. One post had tumbled over from the shifting sand. You go along the crests of the dunes and up and down dunes. The footing can be firm in spots but often was very soft when climbing. The trick is to find a route that keeps you on top of the dunes. Of course, the view is tremendous. White sand as far as you can see. The boys thought it looked like snow. Closer to the beginning of the trail there were small valleys of scrub vegetation, grass, and cacti, living in the sand, but these became fewer as you hiked in.

The Ranger assigned us campsite #1 as the closest, and it was no more than three-quarters of a mile in. Jackson hiked along, talking about the ordnance and much surprised at how easy backpacking was. He kept track of the posts. Rylee would dash about and a couple of times fell face first into the sand. He stopped for water once. I led the way and wondered if we had passed campsite #1 where we saw the post that had tumbled down a dune. We kept going. We'd see a post in the distance, arrive, but no number. Finally, we were certain we must be at the spot and we decided to stop and pitch the tent at the bottom of a dune, away from any wind I hoped. It was getting late, and I was certain it would turn cold almost immediately at sunset.

The boys played as I pitched the tent. Ry had brought a ball, and we also brought along a frisbee. They had their caps on and thick sweatshirts and fleece parkas and insulated vests. I laid the mats and sleeping bags in the tent. Ry remembered the rocky tent pad we had in Durango. Here it was  firm sand. Jackson arranged the extra down blankets on top and the boys nestled in. Jackson mentioned food and I crawled inside with the bagels and summer sausage. Jack said, don't cut yourself. The apricots were not appreciated, but the bagels and summer sausage were a feast and the boys loved it as we ate laying down inside the tent, a small lantern and flashlight on. We talked. It was pitch black outside, a faint glow over the top of the dunes from the horizon. We had nothing better to do, and it was too cold to sit outside to see the stars, so we slept.

Off and on I had watched the weather at White Sands, trying to calculate when we could go. Summer would be too hot; spring would bring winds and busy baseball schedules would make any backpacking plans difficult. This particular time promised sunny days and official highs around 60. Close to freezing at night, but no wind. Almost a full moon. I knew the moon would rise about 9:30 and last until dawn. Sometime in the middle of the night I got up and walked about while the boys slept. It was actually very comfortable. The moon glow prevented a good view of the stars. The light reflected from the sand glowed all about me, with no shadows.

We slept better than I thought we would. Three times I awoke to hear a light wind flapping the fly cover. Each time it seemed the temperature dropped. Several other times I awoke from being sore from sleeping in one position on the ground. I'd awake to be sure the boys had their caps on and that each was covered. We slept very close to each other, thriving on our body heat. Only just before dawn did it seem to get uncomfortably cold and the sides of the tent had frost. But once the sun began to come up, the morning warmed up considerably.

I boiled water on the stove and made hot chocolate and oatmeal. The boys hiked all over the surrounding dunes. Sure enough, on the very other side of the dune by our tent was the post for campsite no. 1. We hiked over to see some protuberance of hardened sand, which at first from a distance we thought was a tent, but it turned out to be a crust where a cactus once grew; its skeleton lay beside it. The boys played in the sunlight and "moon walked" down the dunes, hopping down the soft sand. From the top of the dunes we could get telephone service, just barely, but enough to talk with Cyndi, who was warmer and worried in Tampa. The boys kept playing as I began to take down the tent and pack the bags in a slow and methodical way.

Just as we were leaving our site, another backpacker approached from the trail from further out in the dunes. It was a woman hiking out from her campsite. She remarked, after I asked, how she had heard us at one time in the night but the sound was gleeful, how she wondered at all the stars visible before the moon rose, and how cold it was. Jackson commented how he was a "techie", something he said a couple of more times to people who asked about our overnight at White Sands. The return hike was even better because we could see all of the dunes stretching out and we saw not only the course we had taken the day before but many, better alternatives to get back to the trailhead. From atop the dunes, facing in the direction of the road, you could see a little "backcountry" playground laid out among the dunes, perfectly accessible from the parking areas at the end of the road. In the distance we could see another early hiker coming or going, I don't know which. It looked like he was carrying a tripod.

Jackson really liked the bagel and summer sausage meal and there was some left, so when we got in the car we drove to the visitor's center, bought some drinks and made sandwiches in the parking lot. We saw the ranger who checked us in. She said their gauge showed the temperature had dropped nearly 50 degrees during the night, nearly to single digits. We drove to Alamogordo and visited the Space Museum. As it turned out, it was a free admission day for New Mexico residents. The museum had several real and replica missiles and space capsules and some mock ups of space stations and shuttle controls. Lots of displays of gear and food, space suits, satellites, and technology.

Driving home, Rylee was preoccupied with his tablet for most of the trip. Jackson brought his video camera and microphone but we left it in the car during our hike because we thought the sand might not be good for it. He took it out for a few minutes on the drive. Jackson really did not like the driving and at one point I looked back and saw him sitting, staring out the window. At that moment, I thought that was okay. He doesn't get much chance to be bored and lost in his own thoughts. Rylee had dibs on a bath when we got home. Jackson, I'm sure, was ready to get on his computer. Which was okay, too, I thought.

baseball, Barcelona and the boogeyman

It's snowed twice this past week, enough snow one day to delay school openings and just a light, powdery blanket last night. Saturday was going to be nice and it was sunny enough for the boys' baseball tryouts at the baseball fields. The best part may have been spending the day outside, away from electronic games and computers. After breakfast (waffles for Ry; hashbrowns for Jack), we got outside early to check the gear and the cleats (see if everything was working and fit and make sure we found everything and included water bottles and snacks in the boys' bags) and the boys played some catch in the front yard. We drove over in time for the MMPII evaluations and then the Minor tryouts. Jackson wasn't sure whether to do minors or majors, but it looks like one more year in minors would be okay. Jackson wants to try some pitching this year, and the majors are stacked with club ball players. Rylee really wants to do minors. The adult rep for that league has cautioned us that Rylee is very young for minors. He was the only 7 year old out there. The rep is pushing Ry to do one more year of MMPII. Jack's coaches for several years, Eric and Bill, said Ry did  better than many of the older boys but purely because of his age probably wouldn't get much playing time in minors. Ry needs work on batting and the machine pitch would be better for that than the errant pitching. Lots of walks in minor league. Ry is a little disappointed and we have to talk about it more. We went to Flying Star for a celebratory lunch, welcoming Spring in a way, even though I suspect there's still some cold weather ahead and maybe some waves of snow, which we really need in the mountains to replenish our aquifers. Next weekend is field cleaning day.

Cyndi says she talked with Ariel, who was on her way to Barcelona for a week for another story. Cyndi also reported that Rylee scored very high on the final round of tests for gifted programs at school, and we just completed the financial aid application for Jackson to attend the academy. Still a long shot, I think, but worth doing. Bright kids.

I've been meaning to mention, mostly for jogging some memory in the future, a couple of the boys' superstitions that I've observed. One is Ry's careful closing of the bathroom door at night before going to bed. That door leads into the bedroom and the bathroom includes a closet. He likes that shut off. The other is how Jackson always asks for company, especially at night, to go downstairs. Ry seems to understand and always goes with him. He will ask even to retrieve a page of homework and even though Cyndi makes sure that several lights are always on. I think it's more an exercise of caution than fear. Jack also got quite concerned about reports that Java is being exploited to hack into computers. We did some research together, and it's actually very real. He wondered if the problem had been successfully patched, came up with lots of explanations, and then a resolution, we think. He needs Java for his Minecraft but thinks he can still use it as an application for that while disengaging it as a plug in for his browser. The downside, from what he told me, is that YouTube also depends on Java running. I'll have to get a followup report from him, because that's the best I can explain.

around me

I was just telling Ariel that Rylee scored very high in all categories on his screening test for gifted classes at his school and that I was talking to Jackson about all of the jobs opening up in cyber defense, which led him to talking about coding (it's all code, he said) and open ports. Ariel was sitting in the air conditioning in the Dubai airport on her way home. It was the middle of night for her. Kuala Lumpur sounded good to me. She was there for the Chinese New Year and all the food sounded so yummy. She was glad to be going home.

It's been a quiet time at home. The weather has been cold, so the boys haven't been getting out. Ry finished The Hobbit. Jack's still hooked on his Minecraft. Maybe I've said this before but I want to be sure to write it down. One of my favorite moments is going to bed at night. Ry stays up with me but at about 9:30 he's ready to sleep. We go downstairs for a snack and something to drink, usually a half glass of milk, for Ry. Then when we get in bed, Ry says, can you put your arm around me? He nestles beside me. It's a sweet moment. In less than a minute, he is fast asleep.

on her way to Kuala Lumpur

I just got off the phone with Ariel, after missing her a few times and having just written a note about her trip to South America. This time she was on a double-deck airliner just before take off to Dubai and then on to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where she is going to meet some agricultural engineers to do a story on rice farming. I guess the assignment just happened. She must be very excited about it. Sounds like she will have an opportunity to explore the countryside, too.

The boys signed up for little league. Jack decided to play baseball again, even though he really liked soccer last fall, because he thought that he might not play baseball again if he missed this season. I thought it was a smart reasoning, and now want to make sure they both have a good season. He is on the cusp between minors and majors; and Ry is on the cusp between machine pitch and minors. Both the boys seem to understand this and don't have preconceived ideas about which league they should play. I talked to a coach for a bit, and it seemed reasonable they should just try out for both of their age group leagues and decide which fits best in about a month from now.

la piedra parada

I couldn't go longer without including Ariel & Chris's trip to Argentina. I haven't heard many details, and perhaps they will post some pics somewhere, but it involved flying into Buenos Aires, camping along the Chubut River, climbing, and lots of beef. La Piedra Parada is in the Patagonia region, the southern part of Argentina and Chile. The comparable coordinates for their location in the Northern Hemisphere, by my calculation, would be in the Sea of Maine, east of Portland. The climate should be their equivalent of our midsummer. I don't know how they got there from Buenos Aires. I'm pretty sure they went there on their own and the map shows a web of roads somewhere about 1200 miles from Buenos Aires, closer to the Andes than the coast, about half way from Buenos Aires to Tierra del Fuego. I think they were there a good week or so. So here's one pic of them and a video I thought might show something of what they experienced. Maybe they will add something?

Petzl RocTrip Argentina 2012 - Official Teaser from Petzl-sport on Vimeo.

which came first

Rylee and I have been joking around with the old riddle, which came first, the chicken or the egg? He's done some research on the question and found this answer among a series of videos:




The wonder of these is that he can replay them and get more out of them.This is the link to the site, which appears to have some smart videos, which range in subject matter to some that may be beyond his age  level.

Jackson took his academy test. It rained all that morning but it was not cold. The week before, he had his interview. Normally, the interviews last from 30 to 45 minutes. The woman in the office told me they go longer when the child is talkative. Jack's went close to an hour, and the reports were that he just charmed his interviewer. He shook her hand as they left. I don't know if this is something that will really happen, but he really does belong there and it's a pretty spectacular place to see.

This weekend we sign up for spring sports. Jackson has to decide between soccer and baseball. I think he's leaning toward baseball. He told me that if he didn't do spring ball he might never play baseball again, and I guess he's not ready for that, even though he loves soccer. Ry had mentioned basketball for the spring, but looks like he'll try out for minors baseball.