Last weekend we embarked on our first baseball road trip of the season. Hooray! We are big fans of baseball season and the prospect of some new scenery and a little sunshine was so exciting. I was giddy as I rummaged through my tote of capris and spring shirts. I was super happy when I slipped some on that haven't been worn since my pre-Mason years. March was the last time I went somewhere. I have been LONG overdue! Russell and I spent a portion of date night shopping for chairs and a cooler. THAT is how excited I was for this trip.
An avid weather watcher, I started checking the forecast a week out. As each day got closer the forecast got colder. Eventually it looked like a total rain out but we remained positive. I am sad to say the capris were left home and the long sleeve layers got packed.
The kids were out of school Friday and Monday. We took full advantage of the time by leaving early on Thursday afternoon. We made it as far as St. George and stayed at the
Thompson Bed and Breakfast as we like to call it. It is always fun to visit with some of our best friends ever! The next morning we lazily got up and headed to Vegas. The 90 minute drive was a breeze!
We got one beautiful day in Vegas. We were in short sleeved shirts for a time while we did a little sight seeing. The boys had never been to the strip before so we thought we would take them to some of the more family friendly attractions. Ummm...yeah, kind of stretch of a statement I know.
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| The 3-D movie at the M&M store. |
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| Mason with yellow. |
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Free tram rides from Mandalay Bay to Excaliber with a stop off at The Luxor. I LOVE the architecture of The Luxor...so fascinating!
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As hard as we tried to keep our sight seeing wholesome there are just some things you can't avoid. Weirdos line the sides of the streets dressed up, doing crazy tricks hoping for tips. The card passing goes on right in the middle of the day (we told the boys to keep their hands in their pockets and look straight ahead!). The only way to get to the roller coasters, arcades and even a hotel room is directly through a smokey, drink happy casino. I forget how blessed we are to live in Utah where the alcohol is pretty hidden and we have the Clean Air Act to keep us from constantly inhaling second hand smoke. Until you spend 4 days without those luxuries you don't realize how much you appreciate them. So, that pretty much sums up sight seeing. We really went there to play baseball!
Like I mentioned, it was rainy while we were there and cold. Our first day of baseball ended up being sunny with slightly muddy fields and a bitter cold strong wind. The pictures are a little deceiving when it comes to the weather! Thanks a zillion to my brother and his family who not only came and supported Stockton in the cold weather but took pictures for me as well. Thanks, Dave! I don't believe I mentioned that somehow the camera didn't get packed so an even
BIGGER thanks, Dave! Here is a sampling:
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| It really is better to keep your eyes open while fielding a ground ball but I love this picture of his otherwise fantastic form! |
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Ideally, the shortstop will catch the ball before he tries to tag the base runner out at 2nd (see ball directly over the umpire's left hand). Stockton was trying to find his groove as was most of the team. We will chalk it up to first game jitters and go from there!
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| One for the highlight film! With Stock on short and Cayden on 2nd one was hit right down the middle. Cayden sprinted and knocked it down falling to the ground. He rolled the ball Stock's direction where he only had time to pick it up and fall onto the base with the ball for the out! It was some remarkable teamwork! |
We played Vegas' top 2 teams and did pretty well considering they had 20+ games under their belt compared to our one freezing cold outdoor practice. We lost them both but we hung right with them.
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| Stock was the potential tying run against the team that ended up in the championship game. You can see his disappointment when he hit a line drive to 1st base for the last out of the game. There were tears even though there's no crying in baseball! |
Day two of baseball was a little warmer. We played at some fun fields where they have built replicas of some of the Major League fields. We got Yankee Stadium. This is the best I got since I only had my phone camera.
There was less wind and more sun until the night game which got considerably colder.
You may notice Mason snuggled up on Russell's shoulder. He spent the whole weekend sick. It was kind of nice to not have to chase him but he was so fevered that I was a little concerned for awhile.
Not even the Motrin was bringing it down. Luckily, the priesthood is always there and his dad and another from the team were able to give him a blessing. That's when he started improving.
It was a fun weekend regardless of the sloppy baseball, cold weather and illness. We had a great time together as a family and with our baseball team family. And, as you know, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Next trip, St. George where we are determined to play to our team's potential. I can hardly wait!
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