Eat it!

MacDaddy, who has learned he is goofy footed because he skates with his right front in front on his skateboard, signed up for a 1 week, half day skateboarding camp. MacDaddy wanted to learn to do "tricks" like the 180, an ollie and skate ramps and rails. If you have ever watched a skater make his board jump off level ground, you are witnessing an "ollie." I can't figure this one out. How can a piece of wood jump into the air and somehow stick to a kid's feet? These tricks are hard to learn and crashes are common. If you have a bad crash you "eat it." If you eat it, the best thing to do is get up right away, walk it off and try it again.

Neeless, to say MacDaddy had a couple of "eat it's" today. He twisted his ankle, bruised his wrist and scraped an elbow and a knee. He did get up each time and got right back up on the "horse".

Mexican Food

Among the things we miss about not living in Texas anymore is enjoying some good BBQ and Mexican food. We headed to Port Credit after our family walk along the Credit River to see some street performers participating in the Busker Festival. First stop was Baskin Robbins for an ice cream cones for the kids and Big D. At Memorial Park, Lil' Lefty saw a family sitting eating huge burritos and quesadillas. She said that it looked really good. I told her to go asked the gentleman where he got the mexican food. She was too shy. She did walk over with me, but I did the asking. He pointed us in the direction Burrito Boyz via a short cut between two house apartments. He warned us that although the food was good, it would take a while to get our food. Burrito Boyz is not a restaurant. It is basically a counter where you place your order and small kitchen beyond the counter. While waiting for our order, MacDaddy had to investigate whether or not the cactus were real?

Oh yeah, MacDaddy says the cactus were fake. No blood drawn from his index finger after touching the needle.

Needless to say, Lil' Lefty was in heaven as she enjoyed her bean and cheese burrito. Yum....rice and beans and cheese!!!

Happy Trails

Sunday afternoon, we enjoyed a family walk on the Culham Trail along the Credit River. It is an 18 km hike and bike trail that runs from Erindale Park, Mississauga up the Credit River Valley to the City of Brampton. Big D complained that we took to many breaks along the river. He sometimes forgets that he has three kids that need the entertainment of climbing boulders and throwing rocks in the river periodiacally so they do not complain about the walk. MacDaddy often questioned why we had to walk and why we couldn't just ride our bikes?

Lil Lefty - 2009 Softball Stats

I am posting these stats so 10 years from now Lil Lefty can look back at her stats from when she was 10 years old. They aren't really comparable to other kids on other teams or in other league. I have tried, unsuccessfully, to keep stats during the season. I have failed because being pulled in multiple directions and enjoying all three kids playing ball. A Dad on Lil Lefty's team kept stats throughout the entire season. I suspect he missed a couple games, maybe, but he seemed pretty consistent in his recording.

Things I notice in the stats

• Lil Lefty had the most "At Bats" on the team with 100. They were in 7 tournaments and probably averaged 4 games a tournament with 15 league games... so about 2.5 at bats a game sounds right.
• Lil Lefty had the most hits with 51 batting .510. She had an amazing 34% more hits than anyone else on the team.
• Lil Lefty had one Home Run - the one over the fence. She says she had 2 others, but I can't remember them.
• She only walked 8 times. The lowest amount on the team. Lil Lefty likes to swing the stick.
• She only struck out 11 times and never struck out watching. She likes to swing the stick and doesn't miss too much.
• She tied for the team lead in runs with 29
• She led the team in RBI with 30
• She was 3rd in stolen bases with 26

Lil Lefty plays competitive fastpitch softball. She had a great season. I was looking through some boxes from our recent move and spent an hour going through old high school newspaper articles. It was fun for the moment to look back. Technology has changed and it is nice to be able to memorialize Lil Lefty's season. I am disappointed that I didn't have anything for A-Mac and MacDaddy... I will work on those for next year.

2 Down, 1 to Go!

Moving into a new house means redoing the kids bedrooms to make them their own. A-mac's only needed a new coat of paint to her liking.

MacDaddy's needed a little more mom TLC that required endless hours of scraping and peeling off floral wallpaper, patching, priming and painting. The transformation is pretty good if I do say so myself.

Before with Periwinkle Blue and Floral Wallpaper

No more wallpaper means no flowers!


MacDaddy's Sports Room. He chose a soft denim blue and a khaki greenish color. We have hung all his sports pics, pennants, trophies and memorabilia. Hey, even POOH gets a Yankee hat and wind jacket! Sorry, Red Sox Fans!

End of First Guitar Camp

Hiding behind her guitar is A-Mac at her final guitar camp recital. This is the best picture of the bunch. She went to Guitar Camp for two weeks and made enormous improvement... probably learned a bit too. I hope she keeps playing.

The video is A-Mac, in ensemble, playing Green Day's Time of Your Life. A-Mac is the person playing all the notes correctly. Any "bad" sounds must be from someone else in the group.

MacDaddy COBAs

I am not as knowledgeable about MacDaddy's rep baseball league. He plays in the Central Ontario Baseball Association (COBA). Teams in his 10U age bracket are ranked during the season based on their success. MacDaddy's Oakville A's is a "AAA" team, the highest level, with only two other COBA teams. Their league championships were last weekend. Provincial championships are over Labor Day weekend.

MacDaddy has worked hard to improve his batting form and results.

He plays outfield. I used to want him to play infield, however, with no walks and hitting off a pitching machine there is a lot of action in the outfield and he is above average in his ability to track and catch fly balls. He is making a catch and throwing the ball to the infield.

This picture shows him throwing the ball in.

MacDaddy's team, the Oakville A's, finished second and received finalist medals.

MacDaddy was awarded the MVP of the championship game and received the game ball. After the game his team came over for hot dogs and a swim.

Lil Lefty Provincials - Saturday (It was Hot!!!)

The Tigers were back for their 1pm game on Saturday afternoon. Same orange hair with new whiskers now. Lil' Lefty pitched a full 7 inning game against the Brampton Blazers, and the Tigers won 11-4 . Lil' Lefty pitched and hit well. The victory eliminated the Blazers and gave the Tigers another game at 5pm.

It was a "little" revenge for Lil' Lefty as this Blazer team beat Lil' Lefty's Oakville Angels team last year for the Provinicial gold medal.

Between games Lil Lefty, A-Mac and I ran to a grocery store for sandwiches and fruit (No McDonalds or Pizza). Lil' Lefty did sneak in some popcorn while I was getting the groceries. The car thermostat read 102 degrees at one point with temperatures in the 90's. The car air conditioning was a nice break from the heat.

Lil' Lefty started the second game on Saturday against the Vaughn Vikings. I mentioned in warm-ups that she should accelerate her arm to her flip and she made a change... seemed like it added some speed and for the first two innings Lil' Lefty threw harder than I had seen her pitch all year long.

After the second inning, Lil' Lefty said her back hurt. We have been discussing the different types of hurt. It was not a sharp pain so we decided she could continue (if she has a sharp pain, like a pinch, she stops immediately). We have also started stretching more before games, something I never did well. Lil' Lefty's speed decreased in the 3rd and 4th inning and she came out from pitching for the 5th inning. She had a headache and stomach ache. The Tigers took a 1 run lead into the top of the 7th inning. Lil' Lefty was now playing first base. Our pitcher gave up three successive walks and Lil' Lefty was to go in to save the day. Unfortunately, the Vikings scored 4 runs and took the lead for good. The Tigers had a valiant effort in the bottom of the seventh, Lil' Lefty was on-deck with the bases loaded when the game ended.

The entire team came over for a swim after the game. It had been a great year.

Lil Lefty Provincials - Friday Night

Lil' Lefty started her PWSA Squirt II Provincial tournament Friday night. In a nutshell, they lost their first game 10-7 to Oak Ridges. I am disappointed. Lil' Lefty did not start pitching. She batted fifth for the first time all season. More on this later. The Tigers were behind 10-1 in the top of the seventh. They batted through the order and scored 6 runs ending the game with the bases loaded. A great comeback, but a loss in the record book. Lil' Lefty got up three times grounding out to second twice and hitting a hard grounder past third with the bases loaded in the seventh. The Oak Ridges pitcher had 14 strike outs. Lil' Lefty may have been the only batter to not strike out.
The Tigers started the night with a quick practice and make-up event at "an undisclosed location". For the record, the orange hairspray came out in the shower and I knew not to put tattoo's on Lil' Lefty's face.

Lil' Lefty was disappointed that she was not pitching (honestly, so was I) She pitched the last two innings after we were already loosing 9-1. Great Yankee Manager Leo Durocher said "You don't save a pitcher for tomorrow. Tomorrow it may rain."

The Coach, in my opinion, has been fair and consistent all year long. Lil' Lefty has had the lion's share of important pitching assignments and the team has benefited from her efforts. She has pitched the final game in every tournament where the Tigers have won a medal. The coach's daughter started the game Friday night. The coach may consider her the #1 pitcher and if he does, then so be it. He would have made the correct decision pitching his best pitcher Friday night. I do not, and think it is important to start a double elimination tournament with a win. Again, pitch you best pitcher Friday night. (See Leo Durocher quote above) I would have a hard time coaching because of decisions like this, and if in the same position I would probably have made the same decision... unfortunately, the Tigers would have had the same outcome.

Lil' Lefty loves big games, and has the intangible quality to elevate her team mates. Not sure why after batting 4th all season long she was moved to 5th. Not a big deal but, she didn't bat in the first inning, and will not bat in as many run producing situations. I guess coaches feel the need to make strategic decisions in big tournaments... along with some of the other unique changes in the batting order for this game. I wish we had danced with the order that brought us here.

Tigers are back at 1pm today and play until they loose one more game. Their defense is below average so it will be a challenge to continue playing. Hopefully, Lil' Lefty will get a chance to pitch.

Note to self: future blog entry coach vs. instructor.

Over the Hills and Far Away

Ok, so it is not the intro to the classic Led Zeppelin song... yet...

A-Mac has signed up for a two week class through our new town to learn how to play guitar. After the first day she said her fingers hurt. She said she could play a Green Day song and Smoke on the Water... you know... "da da da-da... da da da-dahhhh..." not shown here...

As Ferris Bueller said after playing the clarinet, "Never had one lesson"

"These are a few of my favorite things" about the new house

"Da Pool"















Soft, green, grass















6 Car driveway















Storage, storage, storage, storage, storage,.... you get the idea


Cabana with toilet, sink, change room,...

SHED - my house

Shade - from these big things called trees

Dark rooms in the AM (the sun always woke us up at 5am)

15 minutes from work

Hockey rink size back yard

Waterfall in the pool - the water noise

Tranquility

Croquet Anyone?

The kids are enjoying the recreational lawn game of croquet in the backyard. Lil' Lefty pointed out that she was not dressed appropriately and should be wearing a dress and a fancy hat. The only Mac rule of croquet is that there is no throwing the balls and the mallets are for hitting balls only...not your brother and/or sisters.

You Say It's Your Birthday

A-mac finally celebrated her 13th Birthday with a boy-girl pizza/pool party. Better late than never the saying goes. We had to wait until we had an open night in our schedule where there were no softball or baseball games/practices to compete with.