Boys of Summer

...And I can tell you
my love for you will still be strong
after the boys of summer have gone.
(Boys of Summer, Don Henley)

In honor of Don Henley's birthday today, I thought I should share some last pictures of my boys of summer!

Here is a scrapbook of the Fond du Lac tournament from this past weekend:

The all-important coin flip. Our team only got to be the HOME team 4 times all summer -- and they won each time!

Somehow captured Carter in the middle of a bunt that obviously fouled off to the right.

Carter stands in ready position in right field.

Father and son watch the action from the dugout.

Our second game Saturday was a doozy. The boys scored 8 runs in extra innings to win 9-2! Whoo-hoo!

The 11U Rapids Rage boys do their "break down" after the 9-2 win. They went into Sunday with a 2-0 record for the first time this season.

In their first game Sunday, Carter gets ready at third to head home.

Carter scores at home. Lots of scoring in that first game. We kicked some Antigo butt!

Did I mention lots of scoring? Yes, you are seeing things correctly. For once we were on the giving end of a 12-run rule. Whoo-hoo! Going into the championship game with a 3-0 record!

Carter grounds out during the championship game, which was a tight battle with the 3-0 team from Madison. They beat us in extra innings, 5-4.

Coach Birkhauser hands Carter his second-place trophy.

The team was disappointed but still smiles with their trophies -- knowing this was the best tournament of the season!! Too bad it was the last!

Assistant coach "Dad" poses with Carter, who was pretty disappointed at the final loss, but is very excited to do this again next year!

Me, too! I already miss my Boys of Summer!