The Outfield

Sometimes the best way to enjoy a night at the ballpark is to go when the Nats are out of town. Perfect weather, a picnic in right field, and watching the Sandlot on the scoreboard...that was way better than watching the Nats lose again ;-)

The Not-So-Dirty Dozen

11 was scary. 11 was the harbinger of middle school and tween-dom and all sorts of unknown quantities. There was health class (which involved homework and some creative spelling for all sorts of STDs) and Owen's own smartphone with text chains. There were uniforms and metal detectors and things that went on your permanent record. There were lockers with combinations and passing periods with crowded hallways. And there were some really big kids.

But Owen rocked it. He got the "Positivity" Award his first month of school. Owen tried out for and got a starring part in the Fall Musical, Willy Wonka, and completely nailed the role of Grandpa Joe. He got all A's. He made the middle school baseball team as a starter. Owen participated in an honor orchestra and went to Space Camp. He ran a soundboard for the Spring Musical by himself. He won the Pelican Cup for the second time. This year, Owen made new friends (including some of the big kids) and got reacquainted with some of his old buddies from Watkins.

And so in the end, 11 turned out to be a pretty amazing year. Hopefully, 12 will be just as good. Happy birthday, little man, we're really proud of you and we love you so, so much!

1. It is never a good time to dab. Ever.
2. First they have to find your strike zone...
3. "Oh my goodness!"
4. Battery packs are game changers.
5. Cousins are amazing things, especially when you've texted smack to them during a Nats-Cubs playoff series and they still try to make you feel better when the Nats eventually lose...
6. This is not a moment, it's the movement.
7. So it turns out that deep down, Snape really wasn't so bad.
8. It's hard to be the bright light in a dim world.
9. You can never have too many Mario games... unless it's Mario 2. Because that's just Doki Doki Panic and really what's the point?
10. Come with me, and you'll be in a world of pure imagination!

Play Ball

 Owen's birthday is always right before school starts and so his party is inevitably the last weekend of summer. As the daughter of a teacher, I'm always amazed at how difficult it is to assemble a quorum of Owen's friends then, as they wrest the last days of freedom from the waning days of summer. This year, Owen had expressed an interest in doing laser tag, but as Allen had already gotten 12 tickets to the Nats play on Sunday thinking that it could be an extended family celebration (it couldn't -- everyone had conflicts) which meant that laser tag could only happen on Saturday -- when only two of Owen's friends would be available.

So instead, Allen bought even more tickets. 12 kids and 4 adults later, we headed to Nats stadium for a Sunday afternoon game against the Marlins. The weather was great, parking went smooth, and there was a free kids' "Nat-light" giveaway. We quickly found our seats, passed out drinks and then Allen & Nora got a round of pretzels for everyone while it was still a respectable 0-0. A few innings later, Nora and I decided to go exploring and by the time we got back it was a less encouraging 3-1 Marlins. By the time Allen and I returned from getting food for everyone in the fifth, it was a downright depressing 5-1 and Owen was suggesting we call it a day. But we persevered... until the seventh inning stretch with the Nats down 10 runs. We headed home for video games, ice cream cake and a very enthusiastic rendition of "Happy Birthday" while the Marlins scored again.

Despite the game itself being terrible, Owen and his friends had a really good time catching up and hanging out before the first day of school. And while we would have preferred it if it was the Nats doing the scoring, it was nice of the Marlins to score one run for every year of Owen's life.

OBX 2018

We weren't sure if we'd be able to make it to the beach this year given John's recent surgery, but he received an "all clear" (or at least a, "you are free to convalesce with your family in an alternative location provided they assume all risk" clear) so we packed up the cars and headed to the Outer Banks. It was an oddly efficient drive with minimal beach traffic, which made us worry that there was some hurricane headed our way that none of us noticed, but apparently the beach gods were just smiling at us. And they continued to smile on us all week.

Last year it rained most days, but this year the weather was near perfect and the ocean was (mostly) like bath water. The only complaint was that the waves were a little off, making it hard to body board and thwarted Allen's attempts at surfing (yep, that's totally what did it). Oh, and there was one spotted shark (and a number of baby sharks fairly close in). Regardless, the weather meant that pretty much everyone was able to enjoy the water more, albeit in a less extreme manner, than in previous years, and so spent the bulk of our days outside basking in the sunshine (when we weren't baking or watching baking competitions).

The only problem with this is that it limited number of sanctioned competitions eligible for points in our the annual Pelican Cup competition. Last year's rains meant numerous board games breaks, which made some of the less physically dominant players competitive. This year, after the boys won the sand castle competition, and Owen won 2 corn hole games plus a marble game, there was really no stopping him (though Allen and Lee were close). Owen was awarded the trophy and in a new tradition, got to demand a group pose signifying their supremacy over there competitors (which made us all really glad that Nora didn't win).

It was a great week. The fresh air seemed to help John's recovery (or at least proved a nice distraction while recuperating) and gave us all bit of respite before returning to real life and the last days of summer.


(To see all the beach pictures, click here.)