New York Day 12

Dax's team didn't play until 2 o'clock, so the coaches organized a trip to a bat making factory. It was really cool to see how a bat goes from a log to a finished bat. We saw them cut down the billet, turn the bat on a lathe, and then sand the bat. They customized the bat with a laser and painted it, too. Then it was ready to be used. We were so glad that they let families come and learn, too.

We learned so much about how these wood bats are made.

Dax really hates when I make him take pictures.

SO MANY bats!

Mark was excited to try a MLB wood bat.

This bat isn't quite finished.

The Barons!

We also went to the factory where they paint and dye the bats.

We watched them create lots of different designs.

These bats are signed by Mariano Rivera.

Since we had Dax checked out already, we took him back to the house for lunch. The boys played and watched a little TV, even though we wanted Dax to sleep, and then we took him back to prep for the game. The early game went well with the Barons winning 8-4.

Our little home was a fun place to hang out.

We loved where we stayed!

The grounds outside out airbnb were lovely.

Mom loves flowers!

There was also a trail to walk to a little stream.

The late game was against one of those awful teams that you hate. Their fans were nasty. Their players were jerks. Their coach was a clown of a cheerleader. Worse, they had three guys over six feet tall. We had a 6-1 lead at one point, and it looked like we might win, but since it's pool play, we didn't stick with our best pitching. We ended up losing 7-6, but mostly it only hurt because you hate teams like that. 

The night did end on a positive note. On our way home we saw some lights in the field. We stopped to look at the entire field was full of fireflies. It was so neat to watch them light up. We had never seen them before and can't wait to show Dax.

We watched a lot of baseball games!

Dax played great in the outfield.

Dax is a great base runner.

He is so speedy!