batboy

It's hard to reconcile this photograph with the three-year-old badly in need of a haircut and wearing the baggy Red Sox uniform of Jack's from last year, my coaching Red Sox cap, and the batting glove and oversized cleats from Eric. Here's Ry's official preschool picture from this year. I've been telling stories about Rylee's obsession with sports, especially baseball, now that it is its season. He's always watching the players, whether at little league or the pros on tv. Monday he was telling me how the pitcher holds the ball in his glove before taking it out and throwing. Tuesday he was the batboy for Jackson's team.

over the top

Ry has gotten to the point where he is wearing a cup under his uniform and watching ESPN instead of the Disney Channel. We finally had to put our foot down. The new rule is that he has to wear pajamas at night, not Jack's uniform. Still, I love to see him gear up in the catcher's equipment. Right now he's in his pajamas and playing with his bakagans for a change.

We have tickets for the Isotopes on Saturday.

Jack has a school year-end performance and he made sure he had "speaking parts."

Ariel's with Chris this weekend. They were about to go mountainbiking when I called.

This past weekend we began the playhouse. It's really Phase I, a raised platform. A small dome tent I bought at a neighbor's garage sale for $5 can sit on top of it, so there's no immediate plan for Phase II. The boys and I went early Saturday to the lumber store before Jack's ball game. The weather was sunny and warm. The neighbors were out and we talked to some we hadn't seen in months. We potted some plants and later we grilled. We visited Grandma and Papa on Sunday after an early church and church donuts and after cutting some lumber. Jackson told me to measure twice and together with Ry he hammered nails into some waste stock. In Belen we grilled some steak and chicken, with some green beans, mashed sweet potatoes, salad, bread and wine.

I perked up in mass during the gospel reading. It reminded me of the story about the Road to Emmaus. I think Jesus was enjoying a good joke in that one, but that's probably not the Catholic reading.

more baseball

We finally had a game without wind. It was sunny and warm for Jack's third game of this season. This is Jack's second year on the Red Sox, so Ry wore Jack's uniform from last year to the game, along with my coaching hat from last year and the cleats he got from Eric. Everything is big on him. Jack's very enthusiastic at the game. He's always down in ready position for each pitch and chatters away on the field. His fielding has improved immensely. He catches fair now, and I love to play catch with him during warmups before the game. His throwing has improved, too. Coach has played him regularly at first and third, when rotating between infield and outfield, and Jack has made several outs at both bases. He pumps his arms after each out. He knows more about the game now and is more aware about where to make the play. At bat, he gets a hit off the pitching machine most every up with good contact, but his swing could improve, as I'm sure it will this season. We don't practice between games, so he's been picking this up on his own.

The boys and I went for our first outdoor swim this year. A friend of his, a girl in second grade, joined us. At the game, a girl in his class at school came to watch him. It was fun to watch. As Cyndi says, both the boys and the girls like Jackson.

Meanwhile, Ry continues his infatuation with sports. He now has a hamper full of different sports clothes and uniforms that he will change in and out of constantly during the day, and he has a large collection of equipment. He'll often don on all of the catcher's gear, with all the pads, helmet (not just a catcher's mask anymore), and catcher's glove...and, of course, his oversized cleats and a ball...and walk about the house with all his gear on. Lately, his favorite website is albuquerquebaseball.com, which is the home site for the Isotopes, and he'll click around that site. We'll have to go to a game soon.

Today, Cyndi is going with Rylee to a farm in Corrales, a field trip with his 3-year-old preschool, and later they will join Jackson at the zoo, where he's on a field trip with his first grade class. By the way, you might want to check out the website for black sheep productions to see the new production company she has started to work for. She continues her one day at the child care at the Sports & Wellness club, which has really worked out great. She's met a lot of parents and children through it, and she'll often see them at the little league games. Cyndi's doing great, running a lot these days, and wants the whole family to run in the upcoming Zoo run.

ice plant and woodchopping

Oh, I couldn't forget the 680 pounds of ice plant and wood debris Dad and I carted off to the waste dump in Marina, so I added that leg to the map for our California trip. While in California, I cut back some ice plant, and Lisa and Beth and Sandra hacked more that was creeping into the rose garden and then loaded all of it and the waste from the deck demolition into the truck. David asked if the girls had tied it down, too, which made Dad laugh, and David retied it before Dad and I took it away. We piled some boards near the garage, where we'd re-piled some fire wood. I managed to split a few old logs, but it was very hard and I'll have to go back and split some more when the grass is high again.

I talked to Mom and Dad this weekend on the phone as I was burning some steaks. We had some more wintry weather last week: rain and snow and cool temperatures, but this week looks to be high 70s and time to think about air conditioning. Jackson did so well at the recital, beaming and skipping from the stage, and so proud of his award. There's some pictures below. Cyndi had a Pampered Chef party Friday, which was more work than she wanted, and we had a little reception of Chinese salad and salmon after the recital on Saturday. Cyndi and I introduced the young performers during the morning session, and luckily the baseball game had been canceled that morning due to the rain, so Jackson didn't miss anything. It must be strawberry season; we had fresh strawberries all weekend. They're Ry's favorite fruit, along with grapes and watermelon and pineapple, and, oh yes, there's bananas and dried mangoes, too.

Sunday we looked for some cleats that fit Ry, as we plan to sign him up for some sports and he's tripping over the cleats he wears all the time, along with the oversized catcher's equipment, but we haven't found any yet. Jackson's planning a playhouse and the desk for his office. He's decided to study animals next. We spoke to Ariel. She chose NYU. Here's a story that talks about some things she considered in her choice. Chris arrives soon, for about 10 days, and they plan to get away for a few of them on the coast of Oregon.