Christmas in the Keys

Making the most of our vacation -enjoying the great weather!!

Cat's Visit

So our favorite Pride player and Bradley's girl, Cat Osterman, was in town briefly last week (and by briefly I mean just for a few hours). However, it was great to see Cat and have a few minutes to catch up. Bradley was even able to see her after school before his baseball lessons. We wish Cat the best of luck as she leaves soon to play in Japan and look forward to seeing her in June!

We also got to see our friends the Waltons last weekend in Leesburg. Brooks and Bradley were so excited to learn their teams would be playing against each other on Saturday in pool play. Powerhouse did win their first pool play game against the Patriots but would lose to Brooks and the Gainesville Ghosts 6-3. Bradley, however, did manage to get Brooks out twice in the three innings that he pitched. Powerhouse was down 2-0 at the top of the fourth when we had to switch pitchers. On Sunday, things didn't go our way as we ended up losing to the Orlando Panthers 4-3 in the bottom of the sixth inning - resulting in a 3rd place finish. At least the Gainesville Ghosts ended up beating the Panthers for the tournament title.

Brooks & Bradley are looking forward to their summer together as Tim will be back as head coach of the Pride. I'm so thankful for Sam who is always willing to let Bradley tag along and be a Walton kid. I'd like to make a trip up to Gainesville soon if we can work it out and see a UF softball game - they have a couple of great series lined up.

In other news, Little League started last week and we are off to a 3-0 start - it should be a really good year!

Sorry, no new pictures from the weekend (hoping Sam sends me a couple as she had her camera with her) so you'll have to enjoy this one from a couple of weeks ago.

Baseball, Baseball & More Baseball

Okay, so everyone who knows me can completely understand why I have really enjoyed these past three weekends - because we have played in three consecutive baseball tournaments! Nothing makes me happier than to be at the ballfield!

President's Day weekend we played in the President's Day Pandemonium at the park closest to our house. It was nice to stay in our own beds as the previous two tournaments we played were overnight trips. Not to mention it was GREAT baseball weather - shorts, flip flops & sunglasses required! Pool play has not been our strong suit thus far in the season - we have been struggling on Saturdays. The trend continued this weekend as we lost game one and tied game two. Bradley pitched in our second pool play game and did an amazing job. This gave us the early Sunday morning call at the field with a rematch of our second pool play game against the Miracles. We cruised through this game winning 10-3. That put us in the semi-finals against our first pool play opponent from Saturday, Orlando Panthers. Knowing this was elimination Sunday, our boys came to play and cruised to a run-rule victory over the Panthers and moving us into the Championship Game against the OTown Patriots. Unfortunately, we couldn't get our sticks going in the last game and lost 3-1. Bradley did a great job all weekend but especially on Sunday when he, once again, caught all three of our games! His bat continued to be one of our best - going 5 for 11 with one walk and one strikeout (on a ball that was truly not a strike).

Sometimes Bradley is all me (even though he looks like TR spit him out) which can easily be shown in the photos below as he is so not happy about a second place finish!

This past weekend we headed to Plant City for the War on I-4. Again, our dismal Saturday record continued as we lost both pool play games. The first one we were tied going into the top of the sixth and gave up 5 runs. The second game, Bradley pitched the first three innings and we were tied up when we had to make a pitching change in the fourth (daily pitch limits requirement) and then ended up losing 7-5. On Sunday we opened our day with the Rawlings Gators, beating them easily 17-5. Then we played the Tampa Titans, who beat us in the first game of pool play on Saturday. This time, there was different outcome as we beat them 5-3. For the Championship Game, we faced the SFL Swamp Rats. Bradley took the hill but succumbed to a migraine after facing four batters in the bottom of the first. Looking back on what happened in between the games, he had all the classic signs for an on-coming migraine but he led me to believe that he had gotten dirt in his eye and it was scratched and that was bothering him. Pedro came in to relieve him and pitched good, but our sticks had died and we made a few errors, losing 8-2 to a team that we run-ruled two weeks ago. I hate to lose - especially to a team that we have beaten easily before! Bradley did get a break this weekend, catching only one game on Sunday and playing the outfield in our other game. His bat was on fire going 6 for 11, walking once and no strikeouts!

Next weekend we do it again - on to Leesburg - then a weekend off at home!!

In non-baseball news, Bradley had to make an emergency trip to the dentist last week - calling me Tuesday telling me that one of his permanent teeth was loose. Upon further questioning Tuesday after school, he tells me that it happened on SUNDAY when he was playing ball. Now, I wasn't certain that this was a permanent tooth and thankfully it was not! However, since it had broken off, the dentist did have to pull it out and clean it all up. So while mom & dad had to pay for an emergency dental visit, Bradley came out smelling like a rose with a visit from the tooth fairy.

Cranking Up

Sorry it's been so long but life has been very busy since our last post. November 1st brought the newest addition to our St Cloud Family - baby Landon Roe. We have all had so much fun with him and he's growing so fast. The Powerhouse mom's never miss a chance to spoil him rotten!

This exciting event was followed by the USSSA National Meeting in Daytona Beach. It's always fun to see our USSSA people from around the country each year. Even better was the chance to see our Pride family. Luckily, Wednesday morning I was able to trek back to St Cloud and pick up Bradley for the rest of week. This allowed him to participate in the first ever USSSA Corn Hole Tourney and spend some time with his Pride girls - namely a fun dinner with Cat at Bubba Gump's! TR was also honored with the USSSA Award of Merit during the Friday night award banquet. Still can't believe we managed to keep that one a secret and surprise him.


National Meeting was followed by a quick trip to Virginia for Thanksgiving to visit family. December was also very busy. We had a visit from Jeff, Missy & Alli and were able to meet them for dinner while they were here. We played some baseball and then had lots of Christmas stuff to do. On Christmas Day, we packed it all up & headed to the Keys - where it was FREEZING COLD! We did manage to do a little kayaking and fish a little but it definitely wasn't our usual Keys Christmas weather.

January brought the start of another year when I'm not evern sure where the last one went! We have been blessed to keep our Powerhouse family together and look forward to another great season and many fun times. Powerhouse has a really big tournament in March in Atlanta. We had a Texas Hold'em Poker Fundraiser in January to try and raise enough money to cover our hotel rooms for the weekend. It was a very successful and fun event! All the boys had to stay home, except for Baby Landon who was representing in his Powerhouse attire!

We started off pretty slow this season for baseball - not at all what we expected. At the end of January we made a trip to the West Coast to play in our first tourney of the year. We made an early exit, losing our first game on Sunday morning. So what do you do when you get knocked out early? You go to Hooters for lunch (think of it as an educational field trip as Briar had never been) and then head to the beach. It would have been a shame to miss the opportunity to go to Clearwater Beach when we were so close! For us Florida parents, it was still a little chilly for shorts and such but the boys (and girls - Jamison, Kaitlyn & Kennedy) had no qualms about getting in the frigid water.

TR & I made a quick trip to New Orleans (more cold weather - I'm starting to see a pattern when I travel) for our Midwest/Southern Slow Pitch Divisional Meeting. While we were there, we did get a chance to have lunch with Renee and her sons Sam & Henry. It was great to visit and catch up.

And now we are back into baseball full swing. Last weekend we headed to Riverview to play. This weekend we are home in Osceola and then we head to Plant City, followed by Leesburg. Then one weekend off before our big trip to Atlanta in March.

This weekend the boys started slow on Saturday - losing their first pool play game and in general just not playing well. We did win the second pool play game which seeded us in the second flight for Sunday. Sunday they managed to pull it all together, winning three games and the tournament. Bradley caught every inning of all three games on Sunday! Let's hope they continue their winning ways this weekend. This past weekend's win was dedicated to Poppy, TR's dad, who had open heart surgery last Friday as we all wish him a speedy recovery!

Amazing Summer & Surviving Middle School

So we really did have an amazing summer! Bradley's baseball team competed in the Elite 32 World Series - top 32 10-year old travel baseball teams in the country and we were not first out at 0-5 - we did win one game in bracket play! This was a huge accomplishment for our boys and gave them all a taste of what it takes to play at the top level of travel ball. Needless to say, they will all be working hard for next year!

The Powerhouse then competed in the Global World Series at Disney and placed 3rd. They played a great tournament and only had one bad game which knocked them out of contention for first. After the game, they were able to get their picture taken with their medals & Mickey. I'm not sure where the picture for this went - but I'll try and find one. Special thanks to Liam Dillon (Temecula, CA) and Brooks Walton (Gainesville, FL) for playing with the Powerhouse this week!

In the midst of all of our baseball, we also had the Pride coming back into town for two series at Disney around our fastpitch events. We were blessed to have great weather and no marathon rain delays! For three weeks straight, the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney was our home. Bradley can tell you every nook & cranny of the facility.

August found us hitting the road for Austin, TX for a series with the Chicago Bandits at the Round Rock Express minor league facility. TR & Bradley had some great "family" time and saw a bunch of country as they drove the truck & merchandise trailer to Austin and were waiting for us at the airport when we landed. Bradley & Ace (Jennie Finch's son) had a great time playing together and, of course, acted like they owned the park! This was the second series we attended with a special retirement segment dedicated to Jennie and yes, I teared up again. Hard to believe that she's not going to be playing in the NPF next year!

Bradley definitely had a GREAT summer living it up at the ballfield - from meeting Gator Coach Tim Walton & family (and a weekend trip to stay at the Walton house in Gainesville) to hanging with his Pride girls - I really don't think he would have changed a thing. Special thanks to Sam Walton for taking Bradley to the waterparks and giving everyone a much needed break during a really tough span of home games. Brooks & Bradley were pretty much inseparable and if Bradley wasn't with us - you could bet he was with his "other" family - the Waltons who he insists are much cooler!

Late August found us preparing for school and the NPF Championship series. Bradley was definitely not happy that the first week of school coincided with the series in Sulphur, LA. While TR & I hit the road (actually we flew) we left a very disgruntled middle schooler! He definitely did not think that it was fair he had to miss the Championship series because of school. In Louisiana, we stayed at the L'Auberge du Lac - a great casino property (complete with a lazy river) in Lake Charles. One last retirement special for Jennie (thank goodness since I really didn't need the waterworks!) and a NPF Championship for the Pride! Cat, who had suffered an arm injury in July, came out and pitched a complete game to take the third and final game of the Championship series from the Bandits. She was absolutely amazing - difficult zipper (inside joke) and all!

It was difficult to say goodbye to all of our Pride family members at the end of the season. However, they all signed a helmet for Bradley and wrote some great things about him. Bradley misses his "big sisters" and his girl Cat. Who would have ever thought when we were watching Cat play for Texas and Bradley declared her the best pitcher ever that he would get a chance to hang out with her daily!

Of course, we got back to Florida just in time for the Conference USSSA slow pitch Championship Series followed by our slow pitch World Tournaments (back at Disney!). September was a complete blur. Dot & Tommy came for a visit around a convention he attended and managed to stay a couple of extra days. It was nice to visit with them and they even were able to watch some major slow pitch softball.

We've also managed to survive the first 9 weeks of middle school and everyone is still breathing! With middle school in full swing, we're now getting back to normal and back to the baseball field. Bradley's been playing fall league and we had our first fall travel ball tourney last weekend. Also with the Rays losing in the playoffs that meant Stan could come home - BIG CHEERS - as we are definitely ready for some extra pitching & hitting!

And our Gator fan has jumped on the Bama bandwagon for football season since the Gators seem to have disappeared. This, of course, has been assisted by Bama alums Kelly Kretschman and Charlotte Morgan who brought Bradley back a Bama hat from their recent trip. Look closely, and you'll notice that with the Bama hat, he's wearing his Gator shorts!

Lastly, we were able to go to one of the Magic's preseason games last weekend and see the amazing new Amway Arena - not to mention our new seats which are only 3 rows from the floor and across from the Magic bench. Carson & Bradley had a great time and were able to see Vince Carter (go Tarheels!) and JJ Reddick both light it up.

Oh - and by the way - we've had PERFECT Florida weather - sunny & 85 -no humidity with a light breeze!

Sorry It's Been So Long....

So anyone who knows us, understands that once Pride season hits we are slammed. I really didn't realize it had been so long since I updated the blog and I apologize. To catch you up -

Bradley turned 11 in May - where has the time gone? Being the cool mom that I am, I let him have 5 baseball buddies spend the night after baseball practice that Friday night. We then let two more go to the movies with us the next day - so it was me plus 8 boys seeing Shrek The Final Chapter. (You'll notice that TR declined to accompany us to the movies! BIG CHICKEN) The boys were well behaved and I didn't have any problems.

TR & Miranda managed to grab a day and go fishing and were able to catch some dolphin. We ate them for dinner that night! Then we went out on the boat with friends Speedy and Jason. This was Speedy's first time out on the big water and let's just say green is not her color. I think she'll be sticking to the lake from here on out!

Memorial Day weekend we played in the State Championship tourney. We played awful during pool play - going 0-2 and setting us up for a long Sunday. We arrived at the park at 10 am on Sunday and left at 10:20 Sunday night. I'm very proud to say that our boys played 4 ballgames, sat through two weather delays and finished second! At the end they simply ran out of gas losing the Championship game 8-6.

The Pride season officially kicked off on Memorial Day against the Venezuelan National Team. This series was a tune up for our opening NPF series that was played in Lubbock.

Mom arrived just in time for our trip to Lubbock, Texas for the Pride series against Chicago that we were hosting at Texas Tech University. Everyone worked long and hard to make this a successful event - complete with exhibition games, clinics and the Professional Games. In case you missed it, Bradley is a STAR! The Saturday afternoon game was broadcast on ESPN2 and there are several shots of him in the dugout with his girls. I think TR even made it on TV. It was great to see Jennie & Ace. Bradley & Ace had a great time playing each day during the autograph session. It was a very successful event and we met some great people.

We came back to town just in time for the Pride to play the Canadian National Team at Disney. There's no rest in June with this schedule we had! That was followed up by the baseball team's Global State Championship. The boys didn't fare as well this time, coming in a dismal third place being knocked out of the event by Monsey's team the Orlando Braves.

Since we've been running a little ragged lately, last weekend we actually got home from the field on Sunday at a decent hour (4 pm). We went to the movies to see Toy Story 3. It was GREAT - other than the fact the theater was crowded and we had to sit on the second row.

Little League All-Stars were announced and Bradley made the team. Thanks to the Roes and the Barbers for making sure Bradley gets to Little League practice! The Little League All-Star tourney started on Friday. We won the first game 12-2. Bradley pitched two innings, played first and caught. He also hit two doubles. The next game is today at 6 pm.

For the 4th we kept it low-key. I worked from home in the morning then did laundry, ironing, dishes etc. The weather was cloudy and overcast so we met Speedy and went to the movies (twice in two weeks - this is a record!) and saw A-Team. This was ANOTHER great movie and definitely set up for a sequel. Bradley, of course, never saw the original A-Team. Now that he's seen the movie, I think he'll like the original show.

The travel baseball team has a tough July schedule. We'll be playing in the Elite 32 tourney at Disney beginning next Saturday. This is the 32 best 10 year old teams in the country. This should be a great experience for our boys and will let them know what it takes to play at the next level. The the following week, we will be playing in the Global World Series which is part of the ESPN Rise Games at Disney. Whew - lots of baseball - not to mention the Pride who return to town July 22.

I'll try not to have so much time in between posts. I'll also try and get some pictures to post.

Back-to-Back Champions

It finally got hot here last weekend- just in time for our tournament. The boys went 1-1 in pool play on Saturday - easily defeating the Florida Storm 9-2 and then battling back but running out of time losting to the Elite Performance Cobras 15-10. Bradley pitched in the first game and had a great outing - it was definitely the best I had seen him pitch in a long time. He stayed hot at the plate going 2-3 in both games.

Sunday morning we had the 9 am bracket game as our 1-1 pool play finish put us in the 4th place seed for the event. We faced a tough AAA DP Select team who came out hitting in the first inning, scoring 6 runs in the first inning. Alec didn't give up and was able to hold DP for no hits and no runs after the first inning, pitching all six inning in our 9-6 win.

We immediately played our second pool play game against the #1 seeded Major team, West Orange Wolves. We knew this team was going to hit the ball- our goal was to play good defense. Bradley got the start on the mound for this game and did a great job through 3 innings. He tired in the fourth and Carson came in to close out the game as we went on to win 12-9. This semifinal win gave us a one-game break before the Championship game.

With 3 innings left to pitch, our coaching staff again decided to start Bradley and then follow up with Carson during the Championship game. This one was never really close as we came out hitting and beat the Tampa Titans 16-5 in four innings.

After a long hot day at the fields, it was back to the house for pool, drinks & pizza. We were joined by all but a couple of our players and had a great time. The boys, not having had enough baseball for one weekend, walked right by the pool and proceeded to play some homerun derby in the backyard. They all did eventually get in the pool!

This weekend is the Super NIT event - let's hope for the trifecta!

Here's a couple of pictures from the win last weekend.