Just when we thought baseball/softball were over, they weren't. We reluctantly let Sam try-out for the
GVGSA All-Star softball team. We actually sent her with a friend to try-outs and thought, well, we will wait to get worried about all the details that go into being on an All-Star IF she makes it. I was on a business trip when I got the email that she had made it so there was a lot of texting back and forth between me and Todd and the coaches on all the details, specifically:
This takes up how much of our summer?!
It costs what?!
Traveling where?!
That many practices!!!!
Basically we thought about it for 24 hours and declined the offer. After all, this would be our first summer in three years where Samantha was not dancing flamenco so we had more flexibility in our summer schedule.
Fast forward to the next 24 hours and her name was on the roster. We caved. Samantha knew she had made it, she REALLY wanted to do it, the families that made the team were super fun AND we were promised that the experience would be worth it for our entire family.
Practices began right away, three times a week, and luckily for Thatcher there was a younger sibling that had the same affirmation for Pokeman cards as him because he was about to log an awful lot of time at his sister's practices and games.
Kick-off pizza party for the GVGSA Thunder!
Hours and hours of practices.
The nice coaches would even let Thatcher practice a bit since he was the number one ball shagger during practices. He deserved something!
First game in San Luis Obispo!
We were so nervous for Sam. The level of play is 10x's better from the regular season. There was a lot of coach-pitching going on in the regular season because there were no walks. In All-Stars, the teams all had pitchers who can throw strikes and all have players who can hit them so it was very rare a coach would come in and pitch. Oh and this time stealing a base was a lot harder because these girls CAN THROW YOU OUT so you better get down and slide.
Snack break between back to back games.
The hotel stays with friends were the best part of the season. Especially when you kick off the tournament winning both games and in first place which by the way I learned very quickly that our undefeated regular season was not going to be happening after we started to see some of the level of play.
And yes, this was our room for FOUR of us. Can't say I would ever stay here again. Once is enough.
Everything is pink, EVERYTHING!
Thankfully, the pool area was actually really cool and we all had a lot of fun. But the themed rooms, not so into.
Softball dads.
For dinner, stepping into this restaurant was like going back in time.
Softball moms.
After-dinner dancing to what sounded like something from the big band era.
Video: Check us out, dancing to the oldies!
This is how we all felt the next day at breakfast.
Nothing a good breakfast can't fix which was followed by another win sending the team into their first championship game for their very first tournament. The confidence was growing amongst the team, that's for sure.
We had a break before the big game and while Samantha was off with the team exploring downtown San Luis, the three of us explored the backroads towards the water.
Thatcher was super into the drive and the scenery!
Video: Thatcher loving our drive.
Meanwhile the girls were downtown having lunch and getting a must do tourist shot in SLO at Bubblegum Alley.
Thatcher was happy to have some one on one time with us.
That's a beer wristband that activates the beer taps so you can pour your own beers. Thatcher did not have beer but liked the wristband. ;)
Thatcher's turn!
Heading back to watch the championship game.
And just like that, we lost. Gulp.
Second place is certainly awesome but it was a good learning experience for those all-stars that were on our regular season team that had never experienced a loss. And there was a lot more of that coming ;)
And as luck would have it, right when Sam's All Star season started, Thatcher's regular season ended and guess who was invited on the Shetland All Star team?!
Thatcher was SO excited about this and without really knowing what this meant for us cost, travel and time-wise we instantly were ready to let him try-out. Well, long story short, the Pony organization was not able to get a coach to commit to a traditional All-Star schedule so basically those invited to try-out all made it and it was basically a month or so of practices and scrimmages with no opponents. Not quite what we were expecting but probably ended up better in the long run for us to be able to support Sam's commitment. And FINALLY his best buddy, Jack, was on a team with him again - not since T-ball had they had this experience.
Celebrating a win in Arroyo Grande.
Which was quickly followed by a loss.
More practice.
Coach Toni Thunder-izing some of the girls' hair.
Even Thatcher got in on the action.
We waited and waited and waited for their hair to turn turquoise on the ends but each time we checked it still hadn't made a color change. So we ignored the timing and left the dye in a bit longer.
Next time we need to read the directions more carefully because instead of using the dye, we used the bleach for non-blondes to lighten up their hair BEFORE the dye. So basically, Samantha's already blonde hair was fried. I vetoed Thatcher getting any of the dye because his blonde streak actually looked good!
Take two.
Success! Although at this point Sam's hair was really REALLY crispy. And sadly, I had JUST gotten her hair trimmed. Oh well, it's the softball thing to do.
I made her sleep with a leave-in conditioning mask to try and recover whatever life was left in the end of her hair.
Game time!
CaraVANing (get it, VAN - you are laughing, right?) to good ole' Lompoc.
We did a lot of YELPing to find decent places to eat in all the towns.
Pre-game pep talk which worked for the win!
Must have been the hair!
Or perhaps Thatcher was their good luck charm?!
There can be A LOT of downtime in-between games so we always made sure to make the best out of our breaks.
All recharged and warming up for the next game.
Thatcher also warmed up JUST in case they'd ever throw him in to pitch ;)
Todd multi-tasking watching the UCSB baseball game vs. Louisville to make it to the College World Series. The Gauchos may have had the best day ever with their
exciting win but the Thunder were eliminated after a couple of losses from their tournament.
Can't forget about this little guy. He kept up with practices and scrimmages during the week.
But then back on the road with his sister on the weekend. This time in Morro Bay.
Finding Dory was all over Morro Bay since it was where the movie took place.
Video: Watching the sea life
Flagging down the trolley.
It was just the moms for the first night of the tournament until the dads met up with us the following day.
Night. Night.
It's just a tad bit foggy in Morro Bay.
But when it cleared, it was beautiful!
Morro Bay Rock
The hotel was right next to a natural preserve that was full of birds and their nests.
Game time.
Celebrating a win at lunch!
During warm-ups the stereo was always blasting getting the girls pumped up.
End of another game win.
Happy Hour time!
Dinner as the sun set.
We had one LONG table for dinner this night.
Celebrating Father's Day on our last day in Morro Bay
The Mochi's
We were missing the rest of the Hastings all season. Coach Jules' husband is the UCSB Assistant Athletic Director so he spent several weeks with the Gauchos at the College World Series.
Breakfast with seals or maybe they were sea lions, or otters?! I forget now.
We spotted a deer from afar.
A whole deer family actually!
Dads pondering what they are doing at a softball tournament on Father's Day.
You quickly realize that WHO is on your team when traveling ranks very high in deciding whether or not to commit to something this involved. Super fun families on our team for sure!
The coach is also an equally important factor ;)
Game time.
Lots of wins which meant we were headed into the championship game. We had been in this place before so we knew the final game wouldn't be a slam dunk or I should say home run. hee hee.
Fueling up.
THEY DID IT!
So SO exciting especially since the girls had been working so hard.
Trying to dump water on Coach Jules.
Heading back to SB with a very happy team!
Thatcher was still chugging along with his team.
MORE hair dye and a sleepover before the next game weekend.
We sat out this particular day to partake in the Summer Solstice activities in town and sent Samantha with Coach Toni up to Santa Maria.
We kept close to our phones for updates.
In between game fun!
I'd say they were pretty spoiled by Toni.
Santa Maria was looking good for the team.
We headed up for the next day of games and they won the first game but then they lost which placed them in 3rd BUT they ended up qualifying for the State Championship games. YAY but wait, what?! This tacked on ANOTHER weekend of games in San Diego.
Games were more bearable for Thatcher as his buddy Boston was back in town from Hawaii to tag along watching his sister play too.
Some sort of drawing contest was going on.
Charlotte won!
She wasn't too thrilled with her payment.
These two had no time for that contest.
A little tour of Los Alamos.
Hoping those drawing contest dollar bills would win us the lottery!
Time to head home to put this kid in the bath!
Thatcher powered through his short but sweet All Star season.
A final photo with his teammates and coaches.
Ready for our home city tournament, GOLETA!
Thatcher ready for the snack shack.
The Thunder did a great job and almost, ALMOST took the championship.
Second place will always do!
Twinsies.
Coach Jules couldn't help herself and put together some baseball in the parking lot for the kids.
The van came in mighty handy for a softball family.
Continuing the party at the Mochi's
Sleepover!
Breakfast!
End of Season party at La Cumbre Country Club.
I'm sure the lifeguard thought Thatcher couldn't swim with all the noodles.
Our coaches surprised the girls with their own hair flair.
Surprising Coach Jules with....
A new red wagon for all her sports gear.
Prepping for the last weekend of softball, heading to the State Championships with the ultimate minivan flair.
Carpool caravan to San Diego!
Notice the, "Thatcher is osum" (awesome)
Somehow we lucked out kid-free this time.
Video: Watersliding
Time to get down to business and play softball or in Thatcher's case, begin the junk-a-thon at the snack shack.
San Diego wasn't too far from my parents so they got to see Sam play. Unfortunately, the first game was against the top-seeded team and well, you can guess how that turned out. BUT, they actually held the team 0-0 for several innings but a few errors happened and it was hard to recover. They beat us pretty bad but this is the team that ended up winning the entire tournament so what are you going to do...
We downgraded from the Hyatt on day two to be closer to the fields and well, you can't be paying resort prices when you will be spending the majority of your time on a softball field.
Dressed up and ready for the Opening Ceremonies at Qualcomm Stadium.
These two were still hanging in there tagging along.
The girls all paraded around the field and some even made it on the jumbotron.
Navy Seals were jumping out of planes during the National Anthem.
It was super cool!
We were entertained the entire time with all sorts of talent.
Video: Scenes from the Opening Ceremonies
We were all fired up and ready for the games the next day.
Fruit Loops are a hotel stay staple for this kid.
It was HOT where we were. It was a bit inland from San Diego. The girls were walking around with bags of ice to keep cool. Our game was delayed and we had to win or else we'd be eliminated.
Hot but still happy.
AND...... we lost. It was SO close! But alas, the softball dads were pulling their wagons for the last time of the season.
Instead of making the long trek to Santa Barbara, we broke up the trip and met my parents for dinner and stayed with them for the night.
Grandma cut the Thunder out of Sam's hair.
We drove home, Thatcher in his GVGSA shirt and our car headed towards the car wash to remove the HONK for Thunder paint. We made it through!
Video: Highlights from the season!
