I always said, "I will never, NEVER be a travel sports kinda mom." Well, here I am completely eating my words. Not only is Luke in travel soccer but now also, travel baseball. Woah. Here we are with a kiddo who loves all thing sports. The rec leagues have been SO fun. Ben was able to coach all of Luke's soccer and baseball games. Our teams grew up together yet now, things were changing. Luke's buddies were deciding to tryout for travel and Luke was beginning to feel more frustrated after games and practices and so, our travel days began.
Ben had picked a travel bball team for Luke to tryout. It was a full weekend experience. Luke had a private tryout on Friday night and then a full group tryout Saturday and Sunday. Above, Luke is being watched by 5 coaches as he pitches. I guess it's a good time to start building the skill of having pressure!
We were at Jimmy John's field for his tryouts. We were in the stands with our kiddos, very socially distanced from everyone else. It was a pretty cool experience to watch Luke on the big field from the stands.
Drew wishing the concessions were open. :)
Tryouts were complete. We got a phone call 2 days later from Coach offering Luke one of the four open slots on the team!! Ben and I loved hearing all of the kind words he had to say about Luke. Luke, we are so proud of you for so many things. Today, we are proud of you for being a risk-taker, your bravery, and leaning on your confidence. Luke didn't know anyone on the team walking into tryouts. He had to make friends, connect with the other teammates, and woo the coaches quickly. Great job, kiddo!! These are skills that will take you far in life.
After the last tryout, Elle and Drew wanted to run the bases with Luke under the lights!
And so the training begins...
Ben taking the boys on their annual summer trip to the donut shop downtown.
We have loved spending time downtown during this summer. There is a river that cuts through downtown, The Paint Creek River. With all of the pools being closed due to COVID, we have been swimming in this river a lot!! Here we are with Joey and Issaac.
Drew practicing with Dad.
And he's pooped. Sweet boy.
Drew wrote this letter and gave it to me. It says... I love my whole family.
Can this kid be any cuter?
He will still fall asleep all on his own without any prompting.
Gigi and Aunt Cathy came over for a visit outside! Lots of hugs with Gigi. I believe this was her last trip to our house...
Elle started a new thing during this Spring/Summer. She opened up Ellie's Cafe! In our basement, we have a little bar area that she has converted into her own little business. I go grocery shopping online and then pick it up at the store. As I shop online, she will add different beverages to my grocery order and pay me for them. Such a business gal! Then she will have different drinks she serves throughout the week from Ellie's Cafe!
OMG. You almost have Gigi, Luke!
Luke playing Little League to finish out the season...
Luke catching...
We went up to TC for a weekend!
This is a story that will live on in the favorite Cooley stories to retell. The kids wanted to put a worm on so they could catch a fish. Dad C. told me, " Oh, don't worry about it Court. They will never catch a fish off the dock." 15 minutes later, I was sitting with Drew at the end of the dock. All Drew had on his pole was a hook. That was it!!! And all of a sudden, Drew yells, "Mom!! I caught a fish!!!" We couldn't believe it! Drew and I were laughing so hard as we reeled it in. Of course, we yelled up to the house that Drew caught a fish. No one could believe it...especially Papa.
Drew caught the first and still the only fish off of the dock!
Life is more fun with Papa around!
One afternoon, we made a town with sidewalk chalk to ride their scooters around.
Bath time with Papa in the bay!
Due to COVID, TC closed down the main street of town. They painted the road with bright colors and restaurants used this extra space for outside seating. The kids loved scooting around!
The last day on the jet skis for the season!
More fun on the Blue Jays!
These are baseball's best buddies!! Kennedy, Elle, Drew, and Drew. They have played at every game together for many seasons.
Drew loves building with his Magnatiles!
AND the final game of Little League for Luke and Ben's final game coaching Luke.
We had so many fun memories with this crew!
Jeff, Ben, Brian, and Cliff. These 4 have had so much fun coaching together over the seasons. I think they may have had more fun than the players!
And Luke is ready to move on from Little League to travel!
Getting all of our technology in gear for the start of the new school year! Ben and kids are all starting virtually for the start of the 2020 school year!
