The Bleacher Years

I've heard it said that this phase of parenthood is known as the "bleacher years", when you are cheering your kids on from the sidelines. It seems pretty accurate, considering any free time lately is spent at a ballfield or in a gym. It may be better termed as the "bag chair years" since we are constantly setting up and putting away our chairs at whatever sporting event we find ourselves at. It makes for long days and early alarms, but we wouldn't trade it for anything.  

Two weekends ago, on the 13th, we spent a full Saturday watching five ballgames combined between the two kids. Emmy's Yadkin Ignite team played in their second Top Gun Tournament, and as we waited to hear the location and times, we hoped it would not conflict with Eli's game that was also scheduled for that day. Things worked out as close to perfect as they could: Emmy played at 9AM and 10AM in Summerfield, Eli at 12PM in Walkertown about 30 minutes away, and then Emmy back in Summerfield at 2PM and 4:30PM. Boomer and I drove separate cars, since we knew he and Emmy might have to leave Walkertown before Eli's game ended. Both sets of grandparents came to Summerfield in the morning, and as soon as Emmy's second game was over, we had a train of four cars making the drive to Walkertown to watch Eli. Both Emmy and Eli had a big cheering section. There's no doubt these two have the best grandparents around! Emmy's team went 1-1 in the morning games, which positioned them in the silver bracket. Emmy played outfield during the morning games, and then she played 1st Base in the two afternoon games. Her strong defensive performance in the 2PM semi-final game earned her the award of MVP (selected by the umpire!) Sadly I missed most of that game as Eli and I made our way back to Summerfield, but thank goodness for GameChanger, I was able to follow along and then watch videos later. The championship game was a competitive match-up against the Carolina Angels from Lewisville, but Yadkin Ignite won and got the hardware! We were leaving the ballfield a little after 6PM and capped off the evening with a birthday party for Emmy's friend Eva. If Yadkin Ignite had not made it to the championship game, we would have gotten to the party sooner, but we made it in time for the bonfire and s'mores. Eva is Emmy's friend from her Walkertown team, and it is special to see the friendships that are developing from sports. 

Emmy and Eli have continued with games for their Walkertown teams. Emmy's team has a 3-0-1 record, and Eli's team is 3-0. They both are enjoying the fall season. We have also had fun supporting their cousins, watching Trivett play football and Zander and Maddox play soccer. Our bag chairs are getting a lot of use lately!

Here are a few other photos from our week. Boomer was celebrated in Kids Street during our once-a-month rotation of serving. On Sunday evenings, we return for Awana, and the kids enjoy the activities and bible study (and sometimes the sweet treats!) On a recent WSFCS Teacher Workday, Grammy took the kids to 4th of July Park for some playtime in the creek, and she also helped Eli complete his "All About Me" book. It was very helpful to have that assignment checked off with Grammy's help. September has passed by in a blink!