Baseball

Baseball season.

One of my favorite times of the year.

For several reasons.

One of which is that, as the collegiate baseball season begins to wind down, I will have another sports season (my 23rd) at LSU behind me.

But it's also a time when many of our grandkids are out on the fields playing ball.

Like they should be!

9 year-old Randy has begun his second season of Coach's Pitch ball.

And, for him, it comes right on the heels of a flag football season and a soccer season he just wrapped up a few weeks ago!

Randy is turning into quite the little athlete!  And he absolutely LOVES sports.

Playing sports, watching sports, reading about sports, talking about sports...a LOT!

We got to watch his first game earlier this week, and the first position he played that night was catcher!

My old position.

The position I played from the time I was 7 until my last competitive baseball game as a senior in high school.

I don't know whether Randy will "take" to catching - most kids don't.

But I can hope !!

In Randy's first at-bat of the season, we got to watch him hit a homerun on a ball that was hit WAY over the 3rd basemen's head and rolled almost to the fence!!

Randy playing catcher for the Orioles

That same night, Randy's little brother, Tanner, began his first season of Tee Ball.

Tanner also just wrapped up a season of flag football and soccer!

And as much as he seems to be enjoying the outdoor sports, his REAL love right now is wrestle mania!

He is enamored with John Cena, The Rock, Big Bluto (I just made that one up because I have no idea who all the big westlers are these days).

While most kids his age want to be firemen, policemen or major leage baseball players when they grow up, I'm quite certain Tanner wants to be a wrestler !!

But Tanner is WAY to cute to be a stinkin' wrestler !!

Can there BE a cuter ball player??

Tanner's cousin, Conner, also plays on the Yankees tee ball team with Tanner. This is Conner's 2nd year of tee ball, but it's really the first season he has an understanding of the game.

For a soon-to-be 2nd grader, Conner has a heck of an arm! He has already made several great throws this season from 3rd base to 1st base.

Not that the 1st baseman can catch them, but at least Conner gets them there!!

Conner

 Conner's sister, Kaleigh, opted not to play ball this summer.

(But I think she is regretting that decision!!)

She will begin taking guitar lessons on Monday, and I'm in hopes she will learn enough to be able to teach her PawPaw how to play!

Kaleigh will also attend an LSU Cheerleading camp later this summer and wants to take hip-hop dance lessons in the fall.

I sincerely doubt she will be able to teach her PawPaw how to hip-hop !!

Kaleigh just might be the most athletic of all our grandkids!

So, another summer is upon us.

And, for us, nothing is more fun than spending time with our grandkids and watching them express themselves in their own ways.

This grandparent thing is pretty darn cool!

Until next time...