Elizabethtown, KY: Youth World Series

 

This was for sure a highlight for our family this summer! We had a blast with our Elite family cheering on our boys in Elizabethtown, KY! We arrived on a Thursday and played through Monday afternoon. A LOT of baseball was played AND A LOT of fun in between.

GO 2-4!! Although the boys didn't win the tourney they DID make it to the semi-final game where they took the loss on Monday afternoon. Overall, the boys played great and for Luke, it was probably his BEST tourney of the summer! This kiddo practiced hard, put the work in, and brought it. After months of being the lead off hitter for every game, he was brought to the bottom of the batting order because of his performance during games. However, Luke put in the time and work and was back to the top of the batting order by the Oxford tourney (the previous one). This is our why. Why do we encourage sports? Why do we commit when it is such a commitment? Why? Because our kids love it and because it tucks in so many life lessons that are transferrable to all parts of life. Luke put this one deep in your pocket. Life has it's ebbs and flows. When you're "down", work hard. Keep working. Remember you can do hard things. Remember you're not alone. And let this accomplishment be momentum for the next "down and hard" thing. We are so proud of you, Luke.

Luke about to hit a double!

Ben and the girls loved being able to handle the scoreboard!

Luke loves all his boys but Luke and Johnny are inseparable.  

Warming up!

Michigan Elite 11U, Summer 2022

Now these two adorable stinkers are just the best and are also inseparable! Drew and James (Johnny's younger bro) have he BEST time together. We never really know what they are up to but they are always having a blast. 

We had fun exploring Louisville and of course, the team and families hit up the Louisville Slugger Factory while we were there!

Getting the game plan before entering...

Drew chose to hold Babe Ruth's bat!

Ellie also chose to hold Babe Ruth's bat!

Luke chose Ken Griffey Jr.'s bat!

Super cool experience!

Luke ended up feeling a bit sick from playing in the heat all day, so we ditched dinner with everybody and made a quick stop to Churchill Downs to check it out! SO fancy and cool. What surprised me was how nothing was around it. The whole arena is just kinda plopped in neighborhoods outside of the city. 

We got Luke all tucked in at the hotel (He was asleep for the night at like 6!) and the 4 of us went to the best authentic Mexican restaurant. SO good! 

We had our downtime too... John, Luke and Chase playing all the video games in our room.

And of course, lots of swimming every night after the heat from the day!

This crew up ready to roll with a wake up time at 5:45!

And here we go...Red jerseys for Championship (usually Sunday) but today on Monday! The team wears their reds just like Tiger Woods wears red on championship Sundays.

All of the Elite siblings (cheer squad) singing all of their cheers!

Thank you for a great tourney, Coach!

As we drove out of KY, Ben wanted to try KFC in KY. OMG. He LOVED it and claims that it's better than the KFC in MI. I haven't even had KFC ever, I don't think.

We surprised the kids on the ride home and stopped for the night in Sandusky! The next morning, wake up! We're going to Cedar Point Waterpark!

This adventure was a Christmas gift from Uncle Tom and Aunt Cathy! Thank you so much you guys for the BEST time!

Ellie, Ben, and Luke were all so brave and rode the drop slides. It's when you stand in an enclosed tube by yourself. A speaker counts down from 3 and the floor you're standing on, opens , and down the chute you go! Drew and I were watching them go on from the live screens below.