Days with the Dorans

 Ali's softball season ended much better than it started.  I say that mainly because this year the league changed over to fast pitch which meant LOTS of walks which meant it wasn't very fun to watch.  In the regular season Al walked all but three times!!!  It was frustrating and sad.  In the field, the only time she touched the ball was when she backed up the pitcher if she missed a ball the catcher threw! Still her practices were fun and she loved hanging with the girls and had fun coaches!  Her team ended in third place but she missed the trophy presentation because she had a dance recital.  She was so excited because her trophy had a 'pink diamond' on it!! Playoffs were much more fun to watch.  It seemed like all of the pitchers were throwing better and there was actually some action! Al got some hits and even got to field two balls (she played short stop usually)!  They ended up winning the championship which was really exciting....

 Ali's season ended last week with her team (USSSA Pride) playing in the Championship Game!  I was excited that they made it that far and also that it meant I could finally wash my car (the fields we spent so many of our nights at were quite dusty) and I also got to watch most of the game.  I felt like with the boys having games/ practices at the same time as Al, I missed a lot (of all of their games). I did take a shift of watching the Littles at the playground but got to catch most of the action. K.K. and Ali-Cat Ali tried her hand at pitching this year (and didn't do too bad) but spent most of her time playing infield (either shortstop or third base).  When I was in high school, I played softball as a freshmen with Ali's Coach's wife (did you follow that?) who was a senior.  Her dad was the coach of our team and I played for him for four years.  He was able to come to some of the games at the beginning of the season and it was GREAT seeing him ...

 Ali has had a great softball season and was chosen to help represent her team in the All-Star Game.  She was in a bad mood (for some reason~ no idea why) and at her first at-bat struck out.  She doesn't do that often so she was in tears.  Her dad and I told her to knock it off and that it happens to the best players.  She did stop crying ( after I told her that if she was going to cry she shouldn't play anymore)!  She got hits her next two at-bats and both were RBIs!!  I was glad she could shake it off!  Although they played a great game, Al's team came in second place (like last year).  Ali's coach was the coach for the All-Star game and he's done such a great job with the girls.  Sadly, his daughter is in kindergarten so Ali won't be able to be on his team anymore (next year she'll be playing with the fourth graders).  The night of the All-Star game happened to also be the same night as the kids' school's big "Ice Crea...

I am beginning to realize that Jeff and I weren't thinking when we had our kids outnumber us.  Our April Calendar is a mess and we literally have things going on Every. Single. Day.  Opening Day for baseball was a crazy one.  Ali started with pictures at 8:15 in the morning, a scrimmage at 10:30, opening day line-ups for the boys started at 11:30, Joey's game was at noon, Zach's game was at 2:30 and Ali Jane had a party to go to at 2:30.  To top everything else off, it was COLD.  When I looked at my car thermometer in the afternoon, it had REACHED 32 degrees!  Brrrrrr...  Despite the miserable weather, Al played pretty well.  She is the lead-off batter and she got walked every time a kid pitched to her.  Her last at-bat she had a nice hit (her coach pitched) and she got an RBI, the only problem is with temperatures that low, hitting a ball STINGS and she was in tears.  She also pitched and struck out her first batter (I probably ...

The USSSA Pride All-Stars Ali had a great softball season!  She was on a young team and while they didn't win a lot of games, it was fun to watch them improve.  They were coached by one of my old teammate's husband and sponsored by the USSSA Pride (which was really cool!). Being a lefty, Ali seemed to get walked a lot but she did have some nice hits this season.  I did miss a lot because I spent a lot of time walking between her games and the boys' games. Z was proud of his sis! Ali was chosen to be one of her team's "All Stars" and I was so excited because the All Star game fell on a night when we had no other ball games (this meant we got to spend the entire time cheering on our girl!).  She played well in the field, walked her first time up and then hit a shot to the pitcher (perhaps the best hit of the game), but the pitcher caught it so Al was out.  She was devastated and cried a bit (not used to getting out I guess). She shook it off...

I had mentioned in my last post (that I wrote two minutes ago) that our life was B-U-S-Y!  Saturday was 'Opening Day' for the boys and so our day looked like this: Z game at 9:30, Ali scrimmage at 11, boys opening ceremonies at noon, Joe game at 2:30 and finally Z birthday party at 4:30. I have to admit that I was very excited to see Z play.  I believe I wrote before that when I am an old lady, I would like to wheel up my chair and sit and watch little kids play T-ball.  Everything about it makes me smile... the low intensity... the kids spinning around... picking dandelions... occasionally running the wrong way... all of it. Z did a great job (despite the cold) and listened to his coaches.  He got some pretty decent hits and was able to motor to first keeping that big huge helmet on his head.  We cheered loudly for him and the smile that crept on his face was priceless.  This meant the world to me to put a big smile on his face since he's alway...

Today was one of those days I have been dreaming about for a LONG time! It was Ali Jane's first softball game and it was on the same fields I played on growing up (though they are much nicer than I recall!). I spent half of my life on those fields and just driving up to them brought back so much emotion! It was a crazy day! With Jeff having P/T Conferences, my lifesaver (aka mom) helped me by taking Joe to practice. My dad is the scorekeeper for my brother's team (he coaches Varsity baseball at his school) and so I was the only one cheering Al on! Well... Z and Sean were there too... I knew early on that I was in trouble with them... Sean wanted to make a dash for the lake (aka huge puddle from the last few days of rain) and Z started to get cold and was whiny and miserable! Somehow I managed to still see my babe play! Her first time up to bat was AWESOME! She walked up tentatively and the ump helped her set up- batting right!!! Ali Jane can actually swing both ways ...