Little League Love

Tomorrow is opening day for Little League and as I sat outside watching Crew's t-ball practice last night, I was reminded how much I love baseball season. 

There's just something about being a part of Little League in a small town. 

We run into friends and neighbors on the fields. 

Games fill up our Saturdays, but I love having a reason to pack up our chairs, umbrella and baseball gear.

We are so grateful for the parents who volunteer as coaches and how much they teach our sons and how patient they are with them. 

Most practices are held while the sun is setting and I'm a sucker for golden light. 

And there's no better place to be than outside on the playing field on warm spring days in California. 

As I watched Crew learn the fundamentals of baseball, I was taken back to last spring when we cheered on Nash. That's about where I left off in my delayed documentation so since I'm back in baseball mode, I'm going to rewind to last spring.

Nash returned to the field with the same coach and most of the same teammates he had from the previous year.

He had a cheering section at each of his 17(!) games. 

Sometimes the cheering section got a little distracted from the game.

About halfway through the season, Nash's rookie team switched from coach pitch to machine pitch. Nash really liked the consistency of the speed and height of the balls from the machine. 

He played a few rotations as catcher.

He may have enjoyed his time in the dugout with his buddies more than being on the field. The boys cheered on each batter at each and every game.

The beloved trophy and team party at the indoor trampoline arena almost swayed Nash to play another season.

But in the end, Nash decided to retire from baseball. 

I'm a little sad that it's the end of the road for Nash while he searches for something he's more passionate about, but I'm especially happy that it's the beginning of Crew's journey and we won't miss out on Little League this spring. Bring on baseball season!