Memorial Day Weekend (week 388)

What a week.  Thank goodness we had a three-day weekend for Memorial Day, because it has been busy in Long Beach. From dramatic playoff baseball games to Patrick Henry Open House, it seems like there has been one or two things going-on every day lately.  I asked my mom on Friday night before heading off to practice for the U7 All Stars "whether I am ever going to just be able to stay home for a night".  Of course, the nights that I stay home I always ask if I can go over to Jackson's house, play baseball in the backyard, or that I am bored.

We spent Memorial Day making pancakes, playing at the beach, attending the Lakewood Memorial Day Service at De Valle Park, swimming and barbecuing.  Chris and I aren't the best at ceremonies...too much sitting and talking for us...but the Memorial Day Service at the plane memorial was interesting.  I am starting to understand more about the holidays that we celebrate and the meaning of "ceremony" to recognize people that have given their lives so that we can enjoy ours.  I couldn't believe that over 1,000,000 Americans have died in wars to defend America.  I was also very confused about why we have to fight wars, and worried that someday my Dad would have to go to a war to defend our country.

Speaking of another obsession of mine, we lost our first game in about a month this week in the quarter finals of the ELB playoffs.  We had been anticipating a rematch with the Phillies after having won 5 straight games.  The last time we played them I got so worked up that I couldn't throw strikes.  This time, we didn't talk about the game at all.  Great Grandma Betty, Grandpa John, and Grammy all came to the game.  I pitched well, but hit my pitch count limit in the second inning and had to give up the ball.  We were leading 5-3, but ended up losing the game 9-6 after some controversy and a lot of errors. I was 1-1 at the plate with an RBI single in the 1st inning.  We also had a kid leave the game, which resulted in our third and final out of the 6th inning.

Immediately after the game, we had Open House.  I showed-off my 1st grade classroom (Seniora Flores), to my dad who usually doesn't get to see my classroom.  My mom volunteers so she knows the drill but it was my Dad's first time since Back to School Night to see the classroom with all my work.  Sr. Flores told my Dad that I was a very good student.  The problem was that my Dad doesn't understand any Spanish so I had to talk to Sr. Flores and explain it to him in English.  It was funny seeing my Dad not know what was going on and me having to explain it to him. 

All Stars officially started this week as well.  We played the Memorial Day Tournament in Fountain Valley.  Given that we were still in ELB Playoffs with games the previous and following weeks, I was limited to just two innings of pitching by the league.  I threw two scoreless innings with three strikeouts and no walks against the team from  Los Alamitos that beat us 10-2.  On the other hand, I went 0-4 at the plate with four strikeouts, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch.  My hitting slump continues and I seem to get hit more than I hit the ball these days.  We ended up 2-1 in the tournament but lost-out in a 3-way tie (to a team that we beat 8-4) on run differential to move on to the finals on Monday.  My parents were pretty happy that we got to spend the day at the Block Party instead of another day in Fountain Valley on the baseball field.

In my spare time, my favorite past time is playing Minecraft or watching videos about things people have created in Minecraft.  The parent jury is still out about the game since everyone is playing it and we can't seem to get enough.  The cool thing about it is that it is like virtual Legos, creativity, and building.  The bad thing is that one can get lost in the game for hours and as a result, never wants to build or create anything in the real world. I am sure it is like anything else--good in moderation.