Our new boat

Tim took Callahan, Ben and Karrick up to our place in whitewater Wisconsin. I stayed home with with TJ because he had a tournament all weekend. We bought a new (used) boat and Tim got her in the water this weekend. The old boat was a dinosaur from when Tim was a kid and she is resting comfortably in Long Grove, waiting for Tim and Callahan to bring her back to life...piece by piece. It will be some very rewarding father/son bonding time.

TJ's tournament went well, we didn't make the final due to one horrible game (the second game)...Our boys tried to play with their hands tied behind their backs and it didn't work so well. Joke...haha. We went 2-1 and by the third game we were freaking on fire and alive...we slaughtered the team we faced. Top 4 made finals. It went by record (3 teams were 3-0) and then by runs given up...our loss killed us in runs given up. It was our first tournament of the year.. On a brighter note it was a National qualifying tournament and we qualified to play in a National tournamnet in Michigan. This will be our boys 1st overnight tournament and we are all in the process of fundraising

I sure did miss my boys, but enjoyed the one on one time with my TJ

He's just Cute...

This is my baby and just when I thought he couldn't be any cuter...

he puts on a baseball uniform

A big day for our 5th graders

Callahan's Day began with a 5th grade field trip to the DuPage River. When they returned to school around noon, the 5th grade playground was transformed into a Hawaiian Luau. Complete with tents, tables, grills, palm trees, DJ, games and even an erupting Volcano.

Callahan is lucky enough to have a great group of friends...tight since 1st grade...now they are all going off to middle school together

Cal is quite the hula hoop artist

It was hot and the kids loved the volcano that blew cold water

Cake with Cals picture...oh, life is good

Yeah, I tackled the waves.

 When the party ended, all kids went back to their classroom to find their full color yearbook and a GWMS (middle school) t-shirt on their desk as a going away gift.

Callahan was lucky enough to get an extra gift. Every year the PTA awards scholarship money to all the kids taking enrichment classes over the summer. Each year the amt differs...last year Cal received $60. I believe they split up the PTA surplus. I was overwhelmed with this years gift...$230...Cal attends the Illinois Math and Science Academy every summer for the last 3 years

What a great way to send off our budding Middle Schoolers

Classic kid baseball shot

Not a whole lot going on in center field

A whole lot going on at the plate

Ant World

Karrick's computer creation titled "Ant World"

A team, a real team

 

The way Lombard baseball works is, you can't go full time travel until age 13. Until then you have to play in-house and travel part time. We lose kids to other suburbs that travel full-time earlier. TJ has been on Lombard Thunder travel for 3 years now. From day 1 we knew our team would not go full-time due to our coaches deep involvement with the in-house organization. Our boys all turned 13 this year, so the other Lombard travel teams went full-time and no longer play in-house. We lost 4 kids that moved on to other teams, but gained 3 new power houses

TJ had a decision to make and he chose staying on the Thunder; successful, competitive and fun part-time travel team. The clincher is he and his team have to play Senior level in-house ball. The problem?

 All competitve ballplayers are on full-time teams and what's left in the in-house league?

 the player that wants to play ball, but may not have the skills or time commitment a travel team requires. Lombard split up our Thunder team to keep it fair. We went into this with our eyes open and expecting what could be a brutal baseball experience.

To add insult to injury I got a call 2 months ago saying TJ has been drafted to theWhite Sox, but there isn't a coach yet..."we are hoping a few dad's would volunteer" WHAT!? NO COACH? VOLUNTEER?

You have got to be fukking kidding me...My Child goes to HS next year and no coach equates to, no correction of bad habits that can hit a 13yo ball-player in the gut. I think TJ is one of 3 players in 8th grade on our team due to late August birthday, TJ has to play down a level. Basically he never play's with his classmates as he is technically a 7th grader in sport age

Long story short, I wasn't havining it...no coach...wait for a volunteer bullshit. I called TJ's private pitching coach from Dupage Training academy and asked if he had any interest in coaching. Imagine my excitment when he immediately  said YES. Mark was a HS, College and professional Boston Red Sox pitcher (blew out elbow in his 1st Boston season) Mark does not live in Lombard and has no kids that play Lombard ball...no kids at all for that matter.

To donate all his time and energy for free (not paid)  without a child on the team speaks volumns in terms of passion for the game of baseball. Now, I'm going to be blunt....Our team was horriffic! Mark had to start with square one...How to throw and catch a ball properly, the right way to slide...brutal. TJ was extremely frustrated and not w/o tears. "We may lose every game" I told him, "but keep your eye on the prize" "your personal skills will improve, and you are playing travel at the same time"

We got slaughtered the first 5 out of 6 games, everyone was frustrated and morale was low. Mark just kept teaching and incouraging the boys. Guess what? we started losing by a few runs, then we won a game, then like a switch was flipped our boys started playing baseball...real f- ing baseball. Last night our boys were freaking on fire...everyone hit the ball, plays were made! Then Fucking HELL FROZE OVER and we THE "WHITE SOX" SLAUGHTERED THE OTHER TEAM.!!!!

Mark made ballplayers out of this group..real freaking ballplayers!

We are not the Lombard "Bad News Bears" anymore and it's all due to one man's dedication to the game. Mark loves and respects the game of baseball and equally loves to teach kids the game. Our boys are having fun, they walk with their heads up and they are all learning new things.

The old saying "as long as your haveing fun, it doesn't matter if you win or lose" is a bunch of BULLSHIT...no one ever has fun losing all the time. You're suppose to have fun playing, that's different.

TJ and Mark had a special bond. They clicked the minute they met 2 years ago: this little kid with natural pitcing talent (that needed some fine tuning) and this retired play player that loves the game

of baseball

Thank you, Mark

you are a great role model and inspiration to all these kids

working on the deck

Tim and I have been trying to get the deck ready for the summer season. It is such an enormous deck, that we are finding it difficult to get just right. Today was more furniture placement and cleaning. I need to stain the railing and spindles...possibly the most tedious and time consuming task. It feels as though we have 12,000 of them...endless, endless, endless...

We know that we want a pergola as we have ZERO shade until late afternoon. We are leaning towards the one below, also a dinning table and chairs are a must.

It just goes on forever

I have filled quite a few planters and now I need some taller plants/tree things.

I met 2 dear frinds for lunch today and my friend Lisa gave me these

little purple flowers

                                       The hornets, don't get me started on the hornets. We have been on top of it this spring, but new nests pop up every so often. I take no chances and just saturate the nest and surounding area.

Baseball, baseball and a little more baseball

Wow, a busy Saturday for the McGinty's!

TJ had travel practice at 8am followed by a practice game against Elmhurst. Our Thunder boys were on fire, TJ's pitching was HOT! We won needless to say.

 Karrick had a game at 10am then he and Tim caught the end of TJ's game. We grabbed lunch at Buffalo Wild Wing's before heading home for a few hours of sun and fun. Karrick's little buddy came over to play and cool off, while I filled multiple planters with flowers.Then it was off to Glen Ellyn for TJ's White Sox game at 5. (TJ plays on 2 teams). TJ's girlfriends cousin played on the Elmhurst team, so Alina and her entire family were at the game. So happy my TJ didn't crumble under the pressure

It is impossible not to have fun in our back yard

TJ stretching  before going to up to bat. I think someone got his mama's legs...just sayin

My little man rounding third

A beautiful sunset to end a beautiful day

My Hero

Baseball

Hamster boy

We completely forgot about the giant inflatable ball that grandma gave the boys for Christmas. Tonight Cal pulled it out of the box and blew it up. It sure is pretty cool and the boys love it. There are handles in the inside to hang on to while someone flips you across the lawn

the black thumbnail doesn't show up on my black background...there is a short video

Lilac Parade

We could not of asked for a better day for Lombard's annual Lilac parade. It's really a big deal for all us Lombardians, the entire village comes out to line the 2 1/2 mile parade route on Main Street. People stake out their spots as early as Friday night with balnkets or folding chairs. The parade is the finale of the 16 day Lilac fest as we are the lilac village.

Our soldiers received a standing ovation

Dairy Queen sold lilac purple dip cones and dilly bars

Karrick, Callahan and TJ all had friends around. Here Karrick joined in a game of football on the church lawn