End of the Softball Season - Rosie's Team

We had our best season yet - we won our league!!!  Our record was 7-2!!! We beat St. Paul in our final game, and it was a nail-biter.  We were tied 11-11 in the bottom of the 5th & had been playing for 1 hr 40 minutes (max is 1 hr, 45 minutes), so we got 7 runs (maximum per inning).  We had to hold them or tie, and we won 18-14.  It was so hot, but my pitcher (Maddie) battled through 6 innings.  We hit like crazy - they hit well too but not as solidly as us.  Maddie had some walks which hurt but overall, we were the better team!  Yeah Chargers!  So excited & happy for them!  Well deserved!

My shortshop, Mary Kate, is moving to Dallas & we will miss her.  She was very good & a strong hitter.  She actually jammed her finger catching a tough pop fly & still managed to play on!  We only had 7 players for our final game, but they were quite the team.  They talked to each other & really worked together.  I will miss softball until next year....

End of Softball Season - Anna's Team

Anna's softball team is still "petball" which means no umpire, 6 swings per hitter, no walks or strikeouts (you get it).  We still keep score even if there isn't technically a "winner!"  I would say that we won the majority of the games.  The last game was GREAT - they got three outs each inning - real outs!  Anne LaMartina is a great coach, so patient & complimentary.  She knows which girls she can "get on" about missing a ball & which ones to be less "stern."  I hope to be assistant coach next year with her - this season just did not work out for me.  Go St. MM Chargers!

Only part of the team - vacations take over in July.

The infamous bridge for the other team - shows good sportsmanship & is just plain fun!

4th of July Celebration

We hosted the 4th of July Celebration at our house this year so we could walk to Old Warson Country Club in 5 minutes for the fireworks.  It worked out perfectly even if we did get slightly rained on!  Food was great - Robert helped me grill the kabobs, Tera made fried okra (beyond yummy), and everyone else brought more than enough food.  We finised it off with my homemade key lime pie (to celebrate Pete's birthday early!)  Unfortunately, Pete was on call the whole week but made it for dinnertime!  He was not happy but what can you do???

My cuties!!  Did not snap too many pics because I was busy getting food ready. We had a great time with our friends though.  So glad everyone came over - it had been too long since we hosted a party!

Thank you Gombas', King's & Alexanders for a great 4th of July!

Red, White & Blue - too funny - couldn't pass up this picture!

2010 Race for the Cure

Another amazing year for St. Louis' Race for the Cure!!  Lauren, my awesome niece, talked me into running the 5K with her.  Well, I work out 2-3 times a week doing a "fit camp" - some running, sprinting, weights, etc., but I had not trained well for a specific race.  That didn't stop me! Ha Ha!  VERY warm day on Saturday, June 12th!!  I was not ready for the heat & humidity, but we made it!!  Thank you Lauren - it was a rewarding run & so inspirational!

Group picture in our pink gear!!  Love the pink!!

Another cute one!!  Rosie went with me since Anna had a softball game.  She had no problem waking up early and had a lot of questions about breast cancer.  She said she is so happy Grandma Carollo is a survivor & said she doesn't want to miss a year doing the walk/run!  Love you Rosie & love you Mom! 

Brentwood Swim Team

Our first season on the Brentwood Gators Swim Team, and Rosie & Anna love it!  They are doing awesome - Pete & I cannot believe how great they swim each week.  It started the first week of June (when they officially ended school), and they practice every morning from 8-9:15.  Rosie is now swimming against the fastest swimmers in the 9-10 year old group, and her butterfly ROCKS!  She looks beautiful swimming any stroke - very smooth, fast & perfect.  Anna is a freestyle maniac - she flies!  Her butterfly has improved immensely, and her backstroke is as fast her freestyle.  She just needs to work on her dive, and she'll beat anyone.  She still wins, but she has ground to make up after her half-belly flop into the pool. 

Our friends have wanted them to swim for a few years, but the girls hesitated (plus I had issues with getting them there with daycamps & me working).  It worked out this year as we have a "nanny" all summer - so much easier for all of us!

We just finised our 6th swim meet, and conference finals are on Saturday (tomorrow).  It's been busy for all of us, but we are excited to hopefully win the conference. We definitely have the potential & it is at our pool!

Here are a few pics & many more to follow after Saturday!  Go Gators!

Anna doing her backstroke - ahead of the others!

Bug eyes!  My mom laughs at how many times Anna "adjusts" her goggles!

Breastroke - major concentration!

Ready to go - my favorite part!

Beyond disappointing

I have been coaching for years now, and tonight I witnessed a setback that still has me disturbed.  We are in 2010, but I heard someone sound like it was 1910.  There was a conflict at our softball field - a makeup game for 3rd grade boys & our scheduled game for 4th grade girls.  After some discussion & calls, the boys knew we had preference since we had the scheduled game.  It was a beautiful night as well - the humidity left for a few days & a great night for baseball or softball!  The boys were packing up, but another gentleman said he was "2nd in Command" and declared the boys would get the field because they "hit harder than the girls" and "he was making the decision."

I almost had an uprising with many of the parents, so he said "we won't have this & the game is canceled."  I told him that I wouldn't argue right here about girls being inferior to boys, but we would play in the grass.  We were all there, and it is so hard to makeup these games.  The other coach agreed, but it was beyond degrading & frustrating.  What a terrible message for both the boys & the girls.  We work so hard on empowering these young women, and they heard a terrible message.  Needless to say, parents are writing letters as I am.  The worst is that he had a daughter on our opposing team - does he really believe what he said?  I just can't understand it, and I am so disappointed.

By the way, we won 18-11!

Softball Update

Saturday morning, 10am, softball game at Brentwood field (a field as in grass field not a true diamond).  The little kids get the worst fields, but they don't care.  Anna is doing great & almost threw a girl out from short stop on Saturday.  The team did great, and she loves playing.  Awesome hits from everyone - especially Anna!  Go Chargers!

They can only take one base per hit, so it is slow moving. They are learning the game though!

Just finished a very hot game with the 4th grade girls, and we lost 15-20 (ugh!)  Our defense was lacking today, but as you can see, both teams pounded the ball.  Rosie had 2 triples!!!!  She did great, but we made way too many errors in the field.  I know what we need to focus on now at practice....  Record is now 4-2 - I can't believe we have been playing since April & have only had 6 games - way too many rainouts.  Trying my best to reschedule games, but these teams are not as diehard as us!