The Storm - 8U Flower Mound City Champs

What an exciting baseball season this has been for Tate – ok, and his family as well. His team, the Storm, not only finished the regular season undefeated but won the 8U city tournament. They played the #2 team in the division, the Cardinals, in the final game and won 16 - 12. Go Storm!

This has been one of my favorite seasons so far not only due to the wins (yes - I admit it - I'm extremely competitive.) but also because I didn't realize that 8 year olds could play great baseball. Hang on ...I know what you are saying...You are a mom of one of those 8 year olds what else would you say. That is a very true statement, but as our coach indicated at the beginning of this season - 8U baseball is great because the kids have gotten the hang of the rules, understand the game somewhat and have begun to show the skills of real players. (Oh, and did I mention, 8U is still coach pitch which helps.) No more "pickin daisy" moments for these boys! Ok, that was a mom statement because we did have some "blooper" worthy moments where we had to remind ourselves that they are still 8 years old.

It was great though to see the hours the boys and their coaches dedicated to this team pay off. We have a great group of dedicated dads that are awesome (and love to win too!) - thanks Coach Steve and crew! Here's another amazing fact, a lot of these kids have been playing together since they were 4 years old. Nice lesson for the boys to begin learning...hard work and dedication does pay off.

Congrats to the Storm players and parents! Parents...we made it through another successful season. I don't know about you but my blood pressure needs a break and my hair dresser has some work before her to get rid of many, newly acquired gray hairs.

I now understand why my parents always told me it was more nerve racking to watch your kids activities then to actually participate yourself. Mom, I only wish baseball parks had rafter seating. You’d be proud though, I have mastered the skill of pacing. :>)

Quick note: Thanks to Wendy Kall for the photos I "borrowed" from her blog.

Keiser Family Vacation

I know...I know... The blog hasn't been updated in a long time! But, who am I kidding - no one but me really cares - right? :>) So here comes the list of my excuses... Nah, I'm not going to bore you with that mess, I'm just going to get straight to the most recent updates.

In March, the Keisers (all of us) decided to take a family vacation. I can laugh now as I imagine what everyone was thinking when I suggested that we really should get the kids together for a vacation and especially now since the boys Spring Breaks aligned this year. Here were my thoughts…. Mom and Dad, although eager at any opportunity for us all to be in one place weren't going to be able to get away from us. Ha! We would be able to hold them hostage and they couldn't return to their (quiet) house after spending just one evening away. And Steve, the one who loves his family but often seeks solace in "needing to get back to work" wasn't going to be able to escape being all together in one condo. And then there was Tammy... well, I think she was praying all during the planning phase that maybe, just maybe, the trip would get diverted to the beach. No such luck! The boys and the "princess" …they were just all excited to be together. So, that left Erik and I who quite frankly (mentally) had our bags packed from the time that the idea hit my head. We love Utah and, of course, spending time with the family!

And, yes, you read that correctly. We ALL stayed in one condo - a three bedroom condo - together in Park Cities, Utah! That's 6 adults and 4 very loud kids. I told you...no escaping for anyone. Let me just say - bless the invention of wine!!!

We (hmmm...wonder if I'm only speaking for myself) had the best time. Tate, Erik, Steve and I were the only ones that had previous ski experience so as you can imagine the Keiser attitudes, frustrations, and "I don't need help from anyone else" personalities were running high. Tammy, although upon arrival was still hoping the plane would land on a tropical island, was a trooper and skiing in no time. We even had the three year old - Princess P - up on skis and heading down the mountain like a champ. Have I told you yet how much fun "we" had?!?! How about the fact that I love skiing in Utah. I now realize it gets even better when you bring your family along.

I'm not going to bore you with any of the stories from the trip but let me just add this one last piece of information. Along with the skiing and snow related activities, we visited the site of the 2002 Winter Olympics - Salt Lake City Olympic Park (pictures in a separate blog post) and shopped a little - ok, Mom, Dad and Tammy. We even had a moose sighting while we were there – a vacation thrill especially for Erik. Have I said this yet? What a beautiful area!

Enjoy the photos … I know they make me smile every time and look forward to the next family trip. Guess we owe Tammy a trip to someplace warm. Maybe we'll board a big ship.....stay tuned!