The McCoys

Yesterday marked the end of the Giants baseball season. Shane coached Utah's team to a 7-1 season, which ended on a high point yesterday with a win. We had a make-up game because games were rained out last week. Our team was down until the final inning and came back strong with two homeruns, with bases loaded both times. The last one Shane said he wouldn't have really counted because it was the final play and he normally wouldn't have run the final two kids, but even without those two runs, we were up 12-10, with 6 runs scored in the final inning. They hadn't played for a while, so the kids were a little out of practice after two weeks off.

After the game, we had a picnic for the players and their families. We supplied the hotdogs and drinks, and everyone brought a dish to share. It was a great way to celebrate the great job that the kids did playing this year. They all had such a good time and a great experience learning how to play ball. All the parents were very excited with the coaching job that Shane did, and several were asking if he'd be coaching again next year, because they want their child on his team. Unfortunetely, he'll be away at tech school in TX, so won't be able to coach next summer.

We're going to sign up Utah for a fall indoor baseball league in Middleton, WI. They play games for 12 weeks. If he likes that, we'll sign him up for the winter league as well, and he can continue getting some practice before next summer season. He really likes to play ball.

The Giants, minus one player.

Waunafest Parade

Today we went to the Waunafest parade in Waunakee so Utah could walk in the parade with karate. Ciera invited a friend to hang out with. The parade was very long and it was hot under the sun today, but Utah made it through the entire parade and had fun. Afterwards the kids went to the carnival area to play a couple games and get a snack.

International Crane Foundation

Today the kids and I went to the International Crane Foundation to give Shane some time to study in peace. It's located in Baraboo, Wisconsin, pretty close to the Dells and only five miles away from the outlet malls we go to occassionally in Lake Delton. We were actually very close to it last weekend. We're planning a trip to the Milwaukee Zoo soon, and since we got a Zoo Pass we can visit both locations (as well as many other zoos that participate in the reciprocal program) as often as we want to over the next year.

We had a good time exploring the exhibits and seeing the many varieties of cranes that are kept at the ICF. We are fortunate to see cranes in the wild in Wisconsin, but never as close up as we were able to see today. There is an exhibit of Whooping Cranes that is especially good and a realistic habitat that is comfortable for the birds and good for capturing pictures without fences blocking the images.

We also took a little nature hike and saw some really beautiful wildflowers and lots of wild raspberries. Ciera was taking lots of pictures and I got a couple of them as well, being so loving to each other it just made my heart melt. If only they could always behave like that to each other!