The Keene Family

Jim's high school baseball team were state champions in 1996, and they were nominated to be inducted into the local sports hall of fame this year. It was a really impressive ceremony and luncheon with about 200 people attending in support of all the individual athletes and teams who were inducted. We enjoyed going to support Jim and he enjoyed seeing old teammates and coaches at the event.

What a season for Renegades 9U - and for JT! We finished the year with a three-day tournament in Federal Way. It was hot, hot, hot, and dusty. The boys played Friday night, twice on Saturday, and twice on Sunday to take second place in the silver bracket.  Jim does the GameChanger app during the games... a very important job! It earned him a Renegades hat and the coach used the stats for his planning... plus parents and family who are out of town can follow the game remotely. I sit and enjoy the sunshine. ;) One of the older sisters, Makayla, brought all sorts of games and activities for the younger girls to do on Sunday. It was awesome! The sisters club has definitely bonded this year. So have the parents. We love watching JT play baseball and look forward to next year already... which is good, because try outs are this week!

We had such a fun time at the Father's Day barbecue that JT's baseball team got together for. His coach lives on the lake and invited all the families after our games on Sunday - and the weather cooperated. It was 85 degrees and gorgeous all day long. So after two great games (in which JT continues to improve getting his bat on the ball; awesome) we headed to the lake. Everyone signed up to bring a side dish. We brought our boat. We pulled a team full of boys and their siblings and friends around the lake for three hours. It was soooo much fun!

We spent another overnight in the camper at Lake Pleasant RV Park in Bothell as JT had a tournament in Meadowdale over the weekend. What a lovely spot! On Sunday, the weather turned rainy (surprise to everyone) and we got soaked with that fine misty rain that never ends here in the PNW. Fortunately, we had our camper! So during the lunch break in between games, we got toasty warm, dried our jackets and shoes, ate hot food and hot chocolate, and thoroughly enjoyed a dry place to hang out. Travis and Grandpa and Grandma Keene hung out with us too! The kids had fun playing card games in the bed while the adults chatted at the table after lunch. I wore one of JT's hats during the game to fight off the rain but Jim was gifted his own hat by the coach for helping with score/stat keeping every game. Jim loves his new hat!

We spent last weekend camping and watching baseball, and it was just lovely. It was Mother's Day weekend, and we reserved a spot at an RV Park about 15 minutes from the ball field. We drove down Friday evening and were able to get up and have a pancake breakfast before getting JT to the ballpark by 6:55 AM - without getting up in the wee hours.  Haley enjoyed remembering how to keep book during the games. She is pretty good at it!  My mom came to the Saturday games and, when it warmed up and we took our jackets off, I saw that we were very coordinated. How perfect for Mother's Day weekend!  Saturday after their games (1-1), we went back to our camping spot and enjoyed the pool at the resort. Then we grilled hamburgers for dinner in our little patio/grassy area. On Sunday, we got up to do it all again! JT's team played great and went to the Championship game. They lost with a score of 16-15 in extra innings - playing over two hours in 8...

We had such a great time at the USSSA Red, White, & Blue tournament in Lacey this past weekend. The whole weekend was beautiful blue skies (albeit windy and not super warm). There is a Dutch Bros coffee stand near the field... yay. :) JT and his team won the silver bracket and were invited on the field to receive rings and a plaque for the team! It was very exciting. JT had quite a cheering section for Sunday's winning games, which was really fun. Everyone agreed that it was a great day for baseball! Proud baseball momma!

JT had his first baseball tournament on March 31 - just a one-day with four teams. The night before when we set out all his gear, we realized that we hadn't bought new cleats for this year. #parentfail So off we went to Big5 at 8:30 PM for cleats that fit (last year's did NOT - we tried). He looked so sharp walking in! The team has matching bags with their names and numbers embroidered on the back. He's not wearing his jersey here, because his was ordered late (we joined the team late) and didn't arrive in time for this tournament. But doesn't he look handsome? JT went 3/5 at bat over the two games - one HBP, two walks, and two strike outs. Not bad at all for his first outing of the season! Haley read four books on Saturday. :) She did watch the entire first game, but after that, she sat with us and flipped pages. JT had a couple of great slides... And three very good plays from left field where we caught cleanly and threw to exac...