Play Ball!

Because I know you've all been wondering, the Boy's team won their league championship 19-15. Go White Sox! The boys were all thrilled:

The little boy in the blue shirt is the younger brother of one of the players and became the team's batboy/mascot/good luck charm. He awesomely wore a Chipper Jones jersey, baseball pants, and a batting helmet to nearly every game and every practice. I'm not sure if the kid owns any non-baseball clothes.



The K and his co-coach, Paul did a great job making baseball fun for the boys while teaching them so much about the fundamentals of batting and fielding. Of course, winning the championship means lots of cool swag. Along with the standard-issue trophy, this is what the moms put together for the players:

Game balls for all the kids.

Lisa, Coach Paul's wife, wrote each player's name, White Sox, and the year on each ball. And, of course she make two sets of stickers, just in case they didn't win the championship game. Right now a dozen kids in Zambia have the other set of stickers. The Boy loves his and brought it to school to share with his classmates today.

Lisa also made these pictures for each player:

Framed pictures of all the players with the nicknames that the coaches
bestowed on them. 

The Boy is the Iron Curtain because of his fielding abilities. He's also the dividing line between the U.S.S.R. and Western Europe during the Cold War.

For the party following the victory, Cloud "The Silver Lining"'s Mom, Kolby made these adorable cupcakes and beautiful cookies:

You'll remember my attempt at baseball cookies was less than successful. Right now you're thinking, "Okay, lazy, what were you doing while these ladies were out Pinteresting their asses off?" Well, okay, I got these:

Party City, baby. 

I bought too much and have so many extra that the Boy better actually play for the White Sox someday.

Lisa also made up goody bags for the boys with the pictures, commemorative balls, and a package of Big League Chew ('member that stuff?). She wasn't able to find Cracker Jacks and was searching everywhere. I lucked into finding some at a Dollar Tree next to Party City. That's where the cashier asked a peculiar question:

Naturally, I failed to realize that three of the players had peanut allergies and we had to do some last minute switches to give those players baseball Pez dispensers that I happened to get because once in a while I do something smart.

It was a late night at the ballpark, which with all the practices and games the last couple of weeks, feels like my second home anyway.

The Iron Curtain with Chipper Jones in foreground.

Of course, the reward for doing well is more work, so the Boy is playing on a travel team this summer and his first game is tonight! In Austell! Which is somewhere in Georgia I've never been! At the rate we're going with these sports I'm going to know my way around every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse, and doghouse in Georgia. (Apologies to Tommy Lee Jones in the Fugitive).

Finally, here's Today's Tip: Party City has all your graduation needs. It even has stuff that you didn't know you need:

Because nothing celebrates your Senior Thesis on Photoionization Dynamics for Non-symmetric Molecules in a High Intensity Laser Field  than dressing up in a yellow morphsuit, Mardi Gras beads, and a fake 'stache. Sigh.