I survived baseball season!!!!

Well, yes I survived this year with both boy peeps on different baseball teams on different leagues in the same park, and oldest peep swimming year round. It has been a crazy couple of months. Both boy peeps had 2 practices and 2 games a week since March and oldest peep swims 5 days a week. There were times when Middle peep had batting practice from 6-6:30, oldest peep swims at 6:45, middle peep a chess class at 7 and baby peep a game at 7:20. WOW! Thankfully Papa Peep was not on a project for a lot of it and was able to be another driver for the athletes.

GO THUNDER!!!!

Baby Peep's team after a tough season (the first for many of these players) ended the season 4th in their division and then 3rd place in the overall post season tournament. He started the season spinning in the outfield and only really wanting to bat. He hated being in the field. He caught a ball in t he mouth one game. But slowly and with the help of his coaches and his big brother, he improved amazingly. He made his first out during the post season tournament. He received 2 game balls during the season for great play. He was definitely the clown of the team. Every time he was at bat and just could not get the ball he would switch bats and smash the last pitch. He loves smacking that ball. And like a true Jackson runs FAST!

The Mighty Durham Bulls!

Middle peep's team had a GREAT season from the beginning. They were 7-0 before spring break. They were a little rusty and lost 2 straight when they came back. When they were 8-2 a tragedy happened and middle peep had an accident. He and oldest peep were helping me in the kitchen when they collided. She was carrying a pot with hot water to the sink and the water splashed on his shoulder. It was crazy. If not for our good friends, it would have been a lot tougher. The great news is that after 2 weeks of care (and a little surgery) he is fully recovered. Kids are amazing healers. There will be no scar and the color is already coming back. So during this accident the team played 3 games and lost one game by one point. Middle peep took it hard because he believes had he been able to play it would have been a win. No worries, he was able to come back for the last game and win. They ended the season with an 11-3 record. They won first place in their division. In the post season tournament, they played some amazing games. Real nail bitters, I would say. They lost one game. (it is double elimination) Because of that they had a double header last night. They came back to beat the same team they lost too, and then lost to the number one team in the other division. But I tell you, it came down to the wire. 2 innings over regular time and they held those boys to just 9 runs while they scored 8. Those boys showed true heart!!!! They finished 2nd in the post season tournament.

Go Stingrays!!!!

Oldest peep the swimmer. What a season she has had! She started competitive swimming in October. Boy was she rusty, and those others kids so fast. She was upset about for a long time. Slowly and with a lot of determination on her part, she made her way up. Her first meet was great, but her second....WOW! She dropped many seconds off a lot of races. She finished the short course season (25m at a time) in top shape. And then she turned 11 (moved up an age group) and the long course (50 m at a time) began. Her first long course meet went very well. She needs improvement in her butterfly stroke but that comes with time. She did a great job. Everyday she WANTS to go to practice. She pushes herself to swim faster and better. I am so proud of how determined she can be. Don't tell her she can't do something. She will prove you so wrong. She has another meet in the beginning of June and her summer league team starts practicing soon too. She can't wait to be in t he water all day long. She is committed to practicing everyday with her summer team and at least 4 days with her year round team. I don't know where she gets all the energy. On her year round team for practice they swim in lanes 5-8. She started the year in lane 8 (the slowest). In February, her coaches moved her to lane 6 and then shortly after lane 5 (the fastest). She is not the fast in her lane but definitely one of the fastest for her group, after being the absolute slowest. And she is having a BLAST!!!!

Papa peep is doing great at work also. Papa Peep's company continues to recognize his great talent.



And I am trying to get these kids educated. Slow and steady we are doing it. This year I have added baby peep to the mix. He is reading so much better than at the beginning of the year. We are so happy. He still says he can't read but he can. His penmanship is great also. He loves art and says all he time that he will live with middle peep when he grows up so he can paint all day while Middle peep goes to work. Middle peep agrees to this deal as long as baby peep let's him invest all the money he makes! I am up to my ears in planning for next school year. We will all be learning 4 languages to some degree......Spanish (going very very well), Latin (WOW!! We all get it!), Greek (working on the alphabet), and French (oldest peep insists). In History we will be studying the Ancients (reading some Homer and Plato, etc.). In Math, oldest peep and middle peep are both starting algebra and hands on geometry, and baby peep will be starting the basics. Writing is going very well for everyone. I finally found something that is rigorous and is teaching them some very strong writing skills. We will dabble in Poetry writing for a semester in the fall. Science will be Earth Science for all with lots of experiments. I hope I survive!!! And for Critical Thinking we are going to start Philosophy. It has been tough finding books for this, but I think I have managed to put something together. I found a college text I am using to learn it myself and then write something up for the kids. We will see how it goes. I have all summer at the pool to plan that one.

Well that is our little update. We had a lot going on and I don't see an end in sight, but I survived baseball and swimming in one season. I can do anything!!!!