Cowboys and Indians

The boys wanted to play cowboys and indians, so we got out the Teepee and the tent, and Elliot dressed in his Indian stuff that he got for his birthday and they proceeded to chase each other all across the cul-de-sac.

The Cowboys

The Indians

YMCA Sharks

Evan's 3rd game was tonight and he finally made contact. The previous 2 games he had only gotten to bat once per game, but this one was a full game that moved quickly and he got to bat 3 times. He made contact on all 3. The first one was a liner to the first baseman who scooped it up and put Evan out at first, but the second one was a stand up double to right field, and eventually came around to score.

We played a very good fielding team. They were catching balls on the fly left and right. They had a double play, and unfortunately for us, a triple play!! That's where Evan's last at bat comes in. With runners on first and second and nobody out, Evan hit a pop fly to the shortstop. The runners broke on contact and did not heed our screaming to return to their bases. Immediately after catching the fly, the shortstop tagged the runner who was off of second and threw to second base where the runner from first was tagged. Triple Play!!

No matter, the boys were all ecstatic! They all hit very well and fielded pretty well, too. To celebrate, Evan's big night, our family went out for ice cream after the game. We are all so proud of Evan. He's having so much fun, and I must admit I am, too. I'll also admit that I got a little teary eyed when he got his first hit. He had been wanting to hit that ball so bad in a game. He does great at practice, but I guess nerves get to him during the game. So, when he got the hit, he was beaming with joy, as was I. And wouldn't you know it, that we forgot the camera. Oh well, part of me is glad because I was able to experience the joy of the moment without having to make sure the camera was trained on him, but of course, we'll never have a visual record of his first hit. Oh well, there will be many more.

This is the team logo that Evan Drew! I think it's excellent. He gave it to one of the coaches, but not before I scanned it for posterity. We could put it on hats, shirts, or even bumper stickers!! OK, so I'm going a bit overboard. Anyway, I thought I'd add a little color to it, so below you'll see the enhanced version.

Fun on Father's Day

The Williams Family Portrait.

Dad with the present we made for him. We took his Eagle Scout Badge and put it in a display frame along with the newspaper clipping of when he was awarded the badge and pictures of him as a Boy Scout and Eagle Scout.

I got a Biggio Shirt and a book called "I Love My Daddy." What great gifts!!

All the Williams Boys.

Evan's First Official Baseball Game

Kingwood, TX (AP) - Today the Kingwood YMCA baseball season kicked off with a bang at Elm Grove Elementary Field. The YMCA Sharks, anchored by rookie short stop Evan Williams, provided all of the scoring in this rain-shortened match. The Sharks managed to score all 5 of their runs in the top of the 1st inning with two outs.

Rookie phenom Evan Williams went 0 for 1 at the plate but displayed some very aggressive swings. When he does connect with a pitch, it's going to go a long way. Williams flashed some pretty impressive leather on defense. He quickly scooped up the only ball that came his way to hold the batter to an infield single. Evan wisely threw the ball to the pitcher after realizing the runner was already safe at first base.

In the top of the second inning, lightning in them thar hills called for a 15 minute delay, and when more lightning flashed across the skies, the game was declared a rainout.

Fun was had by all, and here are some pictures of the grand occasion.

YMCA Baseball

Evan's first practice for YMCA baseball was yesterday and he had a blast. They practiced fielding ground balls, running hard to first base, fielding grounders and throwing to first base, and of course, hitting. This is a coach pitch level, but for this first practice they had the boys hitting off of a tee. After the practice was over, the coaches practiced pitching since it would be coach pitch, and Evan stayed to hit and he did great. This will be a great experience and Evan will have a lot of fun. Here are some pictures of the day.

Arboretum and Botanical Gardens

Gina came with us to the Arboretum today and we saw many beautiful flowers and plants. There were fountains, rock gardens, vine gardens and ponds with fish. The boys were really impressed with the plants that were replicas of the ones that grew during the Jurassic period. It was very beautiful and inspiring--I'm ready to plant a garden!! After the garden walk we went to playground and had a picnic and played. It was a lovely morning.

BLUEBERRIES ARE IN SEASON!!

The boys and I (Kim) went blueberry picking this morning at a farm nearby. It has 15 acres of 28 different varieties to choose from. We went early in the morning so it wasn't too hot and the boys LOVED it! We picked about 5 1/2 lbs, so I guess we'll be making lots of muffins and pancakes this weekend. Anyone hungry?!!

Some Things Never Change

They took the kid out of Darth Vader, but they couldn't take Darth Vader out of the kid.

Corpus Christi Vacation 2007

Kim and the Boys enjoying Whataburger Field, home of the Corpus Christi Hooks (Houston Astros Minor League baseball club.)

Isn't this the cutest picture in the entire world?? In the Hangar Bay of the USS Lexington, Drew climbed the steps and all the boys followed him and - honestly - without prompting from me, they took this picture as you see it. Evan said he wanted to salute and I said OK, and Elliot and Drew lined up next to him and copied him. Notice that Elliot is doing the Cub Scout Salute! He is so adorable and he is just itching to join the Cub Scouts!!

On the Flight Deck of the USS Lexington standing in front of my favorite airplane, the F-14 Tomcat. This particular one has special meaning to me because mom and dad bought me a book about airplanes when I was in High School and they had a picture of one of these "Jolly Roger" F-14's in it and I thought it was the coolest thing in the world. Imagine my surprise during our first visit last year to see this beauty adorning the flight deck. Truly incredible. If you have even the slightest interest in history, you must visit the USS Lexington.

A fellow Hooks fan agreed to take a family picture of us at the game. Thanks! It turned out to be the only picture of the entire vacation with all of us in it .

We have a ton of pictures. Go here to view them all and you can even order prints if you'd like: http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=391291180495436790/l=254318351/g=94935808/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Cub Scout Bridging Ceremony

The Bridging Ceremony is where each rank "crosses over" to begin working on the next rank up. First Graders are Tiger Scouts, and upon completion of their first grade year (going into the second grade) they are ready to begin working to become Wolf Scouts. Third graders are Bears, fourth graders are 1st year Webelos and fifth graders are 2nd year Webelos. The bridging ceremony had them standing on one side of a bridge as one rank and as they crossed over, they stepped into the next rank. It was very nice.

Evan earned his Tiger Badge, and I was able to pin it on him before their bridging ceremony.

For bridging, the boys removed thier Tiger neckerchief (orange and blue), slide and hat (leaving the rank of Tiger on one side of the bridge) and they were presented with their new Wolf neckerchief (blue and gold), slide and guidebook on the other side of the bridge. We'll have to get Evan a Wolf Cap. Maybe we can find my old Cub Scout cap (that was actually Mike's.)

After Evan received his Wolf stuff, he said he was giving his Tiger things to Elliot, but not before Drew could quickly lay claim to them!

Elliot and Drew being silly at the park after the ceremony.