Playing their hearts out-Fall ball 2015

This weekend wraps up 2015 Fall Ball for our family. It was a full weekend of state tournaments for the girls, and we couldn't be more proud of the both of them! 

First up was Regan. Her team landed a spot in the Tier playing in Lakeville, which was a much better location compared to Ham Lake or St. Cloud like some of our fellow teams! 

The girls got off to a great start and won 13-0! Regan was fielding and hitting and having a great morning. 

Sadly, the second game was a bit more of a nail biter and in the end, we couldn't pull off the win and lost 9-7. Darn it. So they wrapped up their season with that loss but we still think it was a win of a year. This was a great opening to 10U for Regan, where she has learned so much about the game and has a much better understanding of all the rules (8U has a modified rule set and she made the jump to 10U this fall). She is well prepared for next summer. 

Day 2 of our weekend was Sidney's day to shine. All 8U teams play in Bloomington which is awesome for not only us, but all of the fans too! Like these cuties who cheered on their sisters (and sisters of the friends!).

Sidney spent her entire fastpitch debut year without a hit. 6 games and not one hit (in a game). So Ryan made her a deal...."you get a hit, and I'll give you $60". 

Well, let's just say that if he had to pay her for every hit during state, he'd be out of well over $1000.
That girl hit, and hit, and hit!! She was unstoppable! And oh my goodness proud of herself. Coach even declared her MVP with her hitting skills today!

And only our sweet Sidney would ask for a salad between games instead of a burger or hot dog. It was 10 hours at the fields today and this girl still just wanted fruit and salad (along with a few snow cones to get through the heat)!

The day prior, we managed to get Lincoln to take a super short nap in the stroller.

Parenting fail. 

 I didn't want the same problem today, so I scooped him up and he fell right to sleep in my arms. He laid on my chest for an hour and a half and snoozed in the sun. I relished in the fact that our little man will still sleep in his mama's arms, even though he felt like a heating blanket. 

And when he wasn't sleeping, he played with trucks and bears and anything else he could find stowed away in the bag. As long as I kept him out of the peanut shells laying in the ground, I feel successful. 

These girls won game after game and suddenly, we found ourselves sitting at the championship game.
Say what!? 

Reflecting back tonight, we chuckled at how far this team has come; how we would never imagine being in the state championship during any of their first games. 

But these girls....today they came to play ball and to have fun. 

And in the end, they walked away with a first place medal!!! I'm pretty sure Sidney fell asleep tonight with base running on her mind with her sun kissed cheeks :) 

Our hearts are full with pride for these two ball players of ours. 

Congratulations Sidney and Regan on such a great fall ball season!