Mark Fall Baseball

Mark loves baseball! Mom hates washing his uniform!

Mark's Fall baseball team was really fun. This is because a lot of the kids graduated on to the high school team. With these kids gone, Mark's team could play in the correct age level (they'd been playing up for the last 4 years), and they added some new kids. One of those was one of Mark's best friends, William. They were so grateful to be playing together.

Mark and William are best buddies.

Mark's team was much more competitive with their age group, too. They actually placed in a tournament for the first time. They won all four of their pool games, and then played in the game for third and fourth. Though they lost that game, they played great. It was fun to play a Saturday night game under the lights. Everybody was really excited for fourth place. The team's overall record was pretty awesome, too. They finished with 12 wins and only 4 losses, and were a dominant force in their league.

Mark is a great second baseman.

Mark never gets caught on the base path.

He is smart and speedy. 

Mark had no strikeouts and one walk. He is definitely a contact hitter.

We are proud of Mark and especially the good sport he is on the field. 

Mark took a larger roll on the team. He batted leadoff and was the team's primary pitcher. He rarely gave up earned runs (though there were more unearned runs than he'd have liked). In Mark's final tournament in Hurricane, Dad got to coach first base. Mark went a sparkling 9 for 11 at the plate, and played great in the field. He won the game he started, and helped keep another game close in the late innings. Mark is really an amazing basebal player!

Mark was strong pitcher this season. It was fun (and stressful) to watch him pitch.

Mark has gained a lot of confidence this season. 

And he is also a true teenager with these types of pictures!

Dax Fall Baseball

A friend from Dax's city league team invited us to try out with a competition team named The Curve to play Fall baseball. We weren't too sure about it, but we went to the try out. Only Dax and his friend were there, and the coach started out by saying, "Well, the team is full. We have already agreed to take this other kid, but since you're here, we'll do a little mock tryout."

After Dax showed off in the tryout, the Coach said, "Now I have to rethink everything. We can't leave Dax off this team." As a newcomer to the team, Dax had to prove himself. He started off batting sixth and playing in left field. Though he got a few opportunities to pitch, he mostly bounced around the middle of the order and the left side of the field. We were worried that Dax was getting worn out on baseball as he didn't seem as happy, but he did like the fancy new uniforms, bags, and cleats!

Dax catches every so often. 

Dax plays right and left field. Sometimes he plays third base. 

Dax pitched a little bit, too.

Dax was a great hitter. 

Everything changed for Dax during the final tournament of the season. We traveled to Hurricane where Mark's team was also competing. Through all four games, Dax played amazing defense. He was excited to be in right field because a lot more balls are hit there, and that's where Mark plays. He threw a guy out from right field, and made several catches including running down a ball in center field because the sun blocked the center fielder's vision. He also tore the cover off the ball. Dax got hits in 13 of 14 at bats. In fact, the only time he got out was on his hardest hit ball. He hit a towering fly ball to left field that the fielder caught running backward. At the end of the tournament, his coach gave him one of the two tournament balls because Dax hit so well. The ball has "Dax Slamfest" written on it. This really raised Dax's spirits, and it was fun to watch the team rally around him. Now Dax can't wait for another year of baseball with The Curve!

Dax got on base quite often, especially in his last tournament. 

Dax is super fast! He can steal every time!

This is Dax's team, The Curve! 

The boys took a bunch of pictures at the end of the tournament.

Dax was so excited to get one of the two tournament balls for being such a great hitter

Fall Leaf Drive 2019

Mom loves Fall! It is her favorite!

Mom loves fall drives, so she took two this year, one with the boys, and one without them. We made the first drive to Big Springs Park up Provo Canyon. We picked up subs and took along some chips, fruits, and vegetables. This drive was actually part of Mom's birthday present.

Though it was a little cold, we had our jackets, and the boys played catch with both the baseball and the football after our picnic. We decided to take a little walk, too. The leaves were perfectly brilliant. There were just the right amounts of reds and oranges. Each of our boys took a photograph to go along with the Reflections theme "Look Within." It was a really great evening.

Mom and Dad loved this spot in Big Springs Park.

Mom and her boys, who were freezing. 

It was a great picnic dinner. 

The Alpine Loop had lots of oranges and reds.

Mom and Dad are celebrating 17 years together!

The colors by Bridle Veil Falls were beautiful, too.

A few days later, Mom couldn't stay away from the leaves, so she drove up to Big Springs Park to see if it had changed to the reds and oranges of the Alpine Loop. It had! She called this a "business trip" and sharee on Instagram this beautiful spot. The mountains really looked like they were on fire this year. It was beautiful.

The entire mountain looked like this. It was so cool!

Mom loved the pathway littered with leaves. 

The view from Big Springs Park.

Look how bright the reds are. This photo is not edited at all. 

Mom loves the leaves in Fall, but she doesn't wander too far from the car when she's by herself.

September Fun

September is always a month full of soccer and baseball. It definitely keeps up busy, but we still had plenty of fun. Here are a few memories of fun from this month.

On Labor Day we decided to hike to Horseshoe Falls. It was a tough hike, and the trail was busy and full of dogs. We had a great time and enjoyed the waterfall, but most of the boys (and Mom) said that once was enough for this hike.

We love going on hikes together.

This trail was a steep climb!

Everyone was in a pretty good mood despite the steepness. 

The waterfall was super pretty!

Mom thinks it may have been worth it, but she's not sure!

The boys all went closer to the falls.

Dad is such a great helper on these types of adventures.

We did love crossing all the cute bridges. 

Then somehow the boys convinced Mom to take them fishing afterward. What was she thinking?

Dax is playing on a competitive baseball team this Fall, and one of the special things their team was able to do was be on the field at the Owlz game. Dax often plays left field, so he ran out next to the Owlz left fielder and stood on the field during the National Anthem. We all attended the Owlz game and had a great time even though the Owlz were getting pounded. The boys also got to participate in the between inning activities and Dax raced his friend Parker. Dax won by a mile and won a gift certificate to a new restaurant. It was a really fun evening!

Seth got a ball from one of the players.

Dax ran out onto the field with Jose Reyes, the Owlz Left fielder.

Dax was very excited to participate in this program.

The players were so nice and talked to the boys. They even shared their sunflower seeds with them.

Dax racing Parker down to homeplate. Then he had to put on a helmet and carry a truck back.

Dax was way ahead. 

We had so much fun watching Dax and the Owlz.

Dax's team. 

We were invited to take a painting class at a local studio here in Lehi. We wrote all about it on the other website, but we loved our crab paintings. Look how great Randy's turned out.

We loved painting together. 

Mark had a baseball tournament in Logan, so Seth, Mom and Mark headed up to the fields early Friday morning. Mark played well, and we were done by lunchtime. So we stopped at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge to complete a science term paper for Mark. He loves adventures like this, and we had a great afternoon exploring. Meanwhile, Randy and Dax used that gift certificate that Dax won at the Owlz game to go out and eat since we weren't home for dinner.

Seth is such a good sport to troop around everywhere for baseball. 

Mark loves birds and animals. 

He spotted this frog swimming. It was so cool!

We saw a billion pheasants this trip. It was fun!

And the rest of our September was a blast. Here are a few more highlights of our month.

Dax earned his Webelos award in Cub Scouts.

Dax has the best scout leaders right now. We are so blessed. 

Mom won the game at her SCC meeting. She beat all the principals and SCC members. She won a blanket and water bottle. It was awesome!

Seth had his heart checkup and everything looked perfect. We were so happy!

Dax ran 29 laps in the Hawk Walk at Highland. That is almost 6 miles in one hour. Each lap was 1/5 of a mile. He is such a great runner!