Reflections

It has been a heck of a week. We got a phone call early last Sunday morning from Jamie's father informing us that Jamie's grandma passed away in the middle of the night. It was rather unexpected and sudden. We drove to Denton on Wednesday after Elise's recital to be there for the viewing. Then we came back home Thursday for a playoff game. Friday we attended Elise's graduation in the morning, the graveside funeral service in the afternoon, and our final game here at Friendswood High School in the evening.

It feels like every time we turned around this week, we were saying goodbye to someone. And it's been hard. We are leaving the preschool where Elise has attended since she was 3 months old. I've watched her grow up with the same classmates for nearly 5 years now, and even though the move to Kindergarten is going to be a great one, I know I'll miss the teachers and kids from preschool. We thanked Elise's dance teacher and said goodbye to her as well. Jamie's been out of school all week due to the death of his grandmother and our traveling to the viewing and attending the funeral - so he never got to say goodbye to his students. He went into the classroom early yesterday morning to leave notes for his substitute and found written notes from students all over his chalk board. They had written messages such as, "We miss you!" and "Don't go!". I know that was hard for him to see.

Then yesterday we said goodbye to Jamie's grandma. I read a poem at her service, and Jamie's cousin spoke briefly. It was a tough afternoon, obviously. I only met her once, but I'll never forget how accepting she was of me and Elise into her family. She picked Elise up and put her on her lap, and you would never have known that Elise wasn't her biological great grandchild. I really appreciated her, and I know she will be missed.

By the time we got to the game last night, we were just so emotionally drained that our loss to Nederland and elimination from the playoffs just left us feeling numb. Our kids played really well, and we just ran into a better team. It happens. But yet another round of goodbyes was so hard. This group of seniors is extra special to Jamie, because they were freshmen during his first year in Friendswood and he's been with them all 4 years of their high school career. They arrived together, and now they will leave together.

Some pictures from our last series here at FHS :(

Game 1









Game 2











Jamie leaving Friendswood has been harder than we thought. I think he's getting more sentimental as he gets older. He used to have no problem picking up, moving to a new town, and starting a new job. I think it was an adventure to him. But Friendswood has been so good to him - this is where he was working when we met & married. His life has totally changed since he arrived here. Not to mention the trips to state in football and baseball! Plus all the great kids he's met both in the classroom and on the field. Being a Friendswood graduate myself, I am obviously attached as well. It's going to be so strange to cheer for another school next year.

So, that's it - several big chapters of our lives are coming to a close. I know most of the change is going to be positive, but Jamie and I don't do change all that well. Our lives are going to be a bit upside down for the next few months until we get Elise started at her new school and Jamie at his new job. We need to get settled into our new arrangements and get into a routine. Then I think we'll be just fine. It's just the anticipation of the unknown that is hard in the interim.

We did it!

I am behind, but trying to catch up!!

We ended up defeating TX City in the regional quarterfinal playoff last Saturday. It was a great game and a decisive victory with a final score of 18-5! Here are a few pictures.

You win some, you lose some.

We are currently in the middle of our third playoff series (the regional quarterfinal). We won Thursday night's game in extra innings - 10 to be exact - by a score of 9-3. Tonight we lost game 2, unfortunately. Both games have been close right down to the very last inning. We will play the 3rd and deciding game tomorrow.

Pictures from Thursday:

Ready to cheer on the Mustangs!



Cody running to home after hitting a grand slam in the 10th inning!







Pictures from Friday:

Our 2 cutest fans



Twinkies!

A narrow escape

Tonight was one of those nights where you realize you were outplayed and VERY lucky to have won the game. We beat Houston Davis in extra innings tonight by a score of 2-1. It wasn't pretty, but as I always say - a win is a win. If the pictures appear a bit blurry, it's probably because my hands were shaking!





Jamie & Kevin

Some action shots of my love

Okay, I am really going to bed after this! But I just adore a man in uniform! He can coach me anytime! ;)

It's that time again

Mustang baseball playoff time!



We had a great first round against Terry High School, winning the bi-district title in 2 games last Thursday and Friday nights. Read about Thursday's game here.

Normally playoffs are a best 2 out of 3 series, but round 2 will be a bit different this year due to the suspension of UIL sports over the swine flu scare (insert eye rolling here). UIL has dictated that all 2nd round playoffs will be 1 game that must be played by Tuesday night - winner takes all - in order to get caught back up to the proper schedule. The normal 2 out of 3 series format will then resume with the 3rd round games, which will begin later in the week.

Our 2nd round game will be Monday night in Manvel vs. Houston Davis High School. With a 1 game playoff no one can afford to have an off day, so we will be ready on Monday!

The Last Game

Jamie coached his last Friendswood Mustang baseball game last night. Here they are - Jamie's last team at Friendswood High School (and district champions at that!):



Some other pictures from last night (my hottie is #10) :)











Of course we will be going along with the varsity for playoffs, so we aren't totally finished yet, but I know it felt sentimental for Jamie to finish the season with his JV team. One of the parents came to me and told me how much they are going to miss Jamie. It made me feel good to hear that.

So, let the playoff excitement begin! We are waiting to hear who we will play in the first round. Go Mustangs!

What a ride

Our baseball season concluded yesterday with a state semi-final loss to the eventual state champion, Corpus Christi Calallen High School. While we do feel a pang of disappointment, it is simply impossible to look at this season as anything but a total success. We had a great group of kids who loved to play together and achieved above and beyond what anyone would have guessed possible at the start of the season. It was a privilege to watch from the stands and cheer them on all the way to Round Rock. We faced a very seasoned Calallen program (this was their 11th trip to the state tournament), and our nerves got the best of us in the first inning. We dug ourselves a 0-5 hole, and played from behind for the remainder of the game. Had we been able to erase that first inning, I feel like it could have been a very different game. Still, I am very proud of our team.

Congratulations to the state semi-finalist 2008 Friendswood Mustang Baseball team.

News coverage of our exciting win

We get really great coverage from The Galveston Daily News. You can read 2 great articles about our win here and here.

We were also covered by Channel 13 here in Houston last night. We all went out to Chili's for margaritas to celebrate, and they turned the TV to the news for us. We could see the story, but there wasn't any sound turned on in the restaurant. I've been trying all day to find it online somewhere, but no luck so far. We were cheering like crazy at the bar as the story ran, and apparently another restaurant patron heard us. Our waiter came by later and told us that someone else had picked up our entire tab!!! He left us a business card - he's a sports photographer. How cool is that??

There was also an article in today's Houston Chronicle. It can be read here.

STATE BOUND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In a game that lasted nearly 5 hours and 13 innings, the Friendswood Mustang baseball team made school history last night, advancing to the state baseball tournament for the first time ever! To say that the game was thrilling is an understatement. I heard our defensive coordinator approach Jamie after the game and say, "Crock, if you missed that game, then you missed something in life." There were so many ups and downs that I lost track! We started strong with an 8-1 lead, but Lamar Consolidated slowly chipped away at our lead until they tied the game in the 6th inning at 8-8. A scoreless 7th inning led us into extra innings. Each time an inning would go by without a run scored, it became more and more tense. The heat was unbelievable. In the stands we were exhausted, and we couldn't even begin to imagine how the kids were feeling down on the field where they were in direct sunlight.

Our kids were so incredibly tough. They really dug deep and showed character to remain composed and focused. I'm so proud of everyone. I'm thrilled for Charlie, Scott, and Jamie - and all of the players too of course. I am also feeling incredibly blessed right now. In 1994 I had the privilege of being a player on a state championship volleyball team. Now 14 years later, my husband is going to the state tournament as a coach. Most athletes never even get to win a District title, much less go to a state tournament. For our family to be twice blessed is amazing, and we are not taking that for granted. We know this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and we are enjoying every moment.

A few words about the earlier games in the series with Lamar Consolidated: We won game one in a close game by a score of 4-3. But we knew this incredibly talented LC team would not go down without a fight. They came back very strong on Friday night and defeated us by a score of 1-8. That set the stage for the long battle yesterday. The coaches have all said that LC's team is the best they've ever played against. I think if we are all honest with ourselves, we have to admit that at any moment this series could have gone either way. I'm so glad that we persevered!!!

Of course, I took about a million pictures this weekend. I've done another new slideshow to show them off, and I will have it up at the top of the page shortly. There is also tons of media on the game, and I'm working on putting that all together in a post as well.

GO MUSTANGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Website Links Added

I added some links over on the right hand side of the page. There is a slide show from this weekend (a lot of cool action shots) on the Houston 5A Baseball website that is worth checking out. I also put up links to the baseball & football sites for FHS. The schedules, pics, and other info can be found on those sites. I will probably add more favorite sites over time as I find good ones.

A good article

There was a neat article about our win in the Galveston Daily News. Click here to read.

Our road trip to an exciting victory!

Our family took a fun road trip to Brenham this weekend to cheer on the Mustangs in the regional semi-final against the Austin McCallum Knights. The trip began with a send-off for the team on Friday morning. Elise and I went along to cheer, of course! After the send-off we had a few more things to do, then we got on the road to Brenham.

We arrived, met the guys at the hotel, and rested for a few hours before it was time to head to the field for game 1. It was an exciting game, and we came out on top with a solid win of 10-4. We had planned on accompanying the team for dinner afterwards, but Elise was exhausted, so I took her back to the hotel and she crashed!

Game 2 was more of a nail-biter, but thanks to a grand slam by Alex Anastas, we were victorious again by a score of 9-4. With this win, we advance to the regional final against Lamar Consolidated. It will be a tough series this coming week - the junior class of LC's team won the Little League World Series when they were 11/12 years old. But the Mustangs are up to the challenge, and I have confidence in their ability to win and advance to the State Tournament in Round Rock.

This has been such an exciting post season! It's been a total blast, and I look forward to the fun continuing.

Baseball Banquet

Tonight we attended the annual Mustang Baseball Banquet. It's a nice evening to recognize the kids for their hard work and enjoy a good meal together. This was Elise's first banquet and she was SO GOOD. I was a little worried that she might be too loud or talk at inappropriate times, but she behaved perfectly. We got several compliments about how well-behaved and quiet she was. I am so proud. Trust me - quiet is not a word that is often used to describe my angel!

My love with his team

Our girl with her Coach

And one more, because I think my love looks so handsome in a shirt and tie

Ladder Golf

I had never heard of ladder golf before last night. Charlie (our head baseball coach) bought a set for his PE classes, and the guys were trying it out. We had a great night. The wives worked pretty hard on planning out when and where we should play our next series, then we worked equally hard on convincing the guys to go with our ideas. LOL

The game is pretty neat. The ladder is made of PVC pipe, and then there are ropes with golf balls on each side. You toss them and try to get them to hang around the rungs on the ladder. Each rung is worth a certain amount of points. More info on ladder golf can be found here.

The steaks were really good. Charlie did a great job preparing them. The kids also had a great time playing. And of course I took a few pics of ladder golf.

And Elise was a total ham for the camera!

The playoff run continues!!!

I am so excited to report that the Mustangs defeated Bay City in the regional quarter-finals this past Thursday and Friday. Thursday night's game was awesome. There is a "run rule" in high school baseball which states that after 5 innings, if one team is leading by 10 or more runs, they call the game. The game ended after the 5th inning on Thursday with a score of 11-0. Our pitching was amazing, and everyone was hitting the ball really well.

Friday's game proved to be tougher (the 4th inning in particular where they scored all of their runs to tie the game at 6-6), but we were victorious by a score of 7-6, thanks to a run in the 6th inning.

With this win, we advance to the regional semi-final playoff. From what we've been told, only 3 teams in Friendswood Mustang baseball history have advanced this far. It's an exciting time for the team! We will be playing Austin McCallum this coming week. The details of when and where are not ironed out yet, but it will be quite a drive to meet in the middle. So, we are preparing for a road trip! Since I do not have to work this coming Friday, I am planning to take Elise with me. She is going to be so excited. We are getting together to grill steaks with the coaching staff and their families tonight to discuss all the possibilities of where we could play our next series. I'm hoping they will decide on a Friday/Saturday playoff due to the distance we will be traveling.

I haven't been looking ahead much, because baseball is such a superstitious sport. But just to take a glimpse at what could be ahead should we win the regional semi-final...next would be the regional final. The winner of the regional final will advance to STATE! *keeping our fingers crossed* Regardless of what happens, there are currently only 16 teams in the state of Texas at the 4A level still playing baseball, and we are one of them. That is something to be very proud of.

Here are a few pictures that I got this week. This first one was taken after Thursday's game:

I took this one on Thursday before the game (and Jamie is embarrassed that I'm posting it)...but it's the shot I've been wanting to get all along! Gotta love those baseball pants! LOL

Here is the team huddling before Friday's game:

During the announcing of the players:

And my love and I after the game: