Team Preparation & Arrival

Our little prairie community has been preparing for months to host the State Babe Ruth baseball tournament. Countless hours have gone into the detailed planning and preparations. Each team is split between different host families in local homes.

The baseball team we are hosting arrived tonight, pulling up into our driveway in their yellow school bus after their 200 mile drive. They arrived just in time to eat massive amounts of lasagna and drink 1 1/2 gallons of milk–and that was just half the team. The other half is staying at our neighbor’s home just across the way. Tonight after a tour of the baseball field, we had a team building exercise.

Actually it was my idea that we should have a sign made by the boys hanging from our deck tomorrow morning when the team takes the field in the first game of the state tournament. Nathan and Elissa went to the lumberyard and brought home the team colors of blue and yellow in spray paint and I found an old white sheet. The boys had a fun time making the sign and we had just as much fun watching them.

There will no mistaking that the Velva Aggies will be well supported tomorrow. The boys each added their numbers to the sheet. Tonight it is drying in the garage and Nathan will fasten it to our deck railing early tomorrow.

Our neighbors drove over on their golf cart and Miss E got to take it for a spin during the sign making exercise.

Want to take a peek into where the boys are staying?

I gave Nathan an option of about four paint colors when we were finishing it and he chose Benjamin Moore “Colorado Gray” which turned into much more blue than gray but with the wood tones and brown accents it is a good combination.

The space is our walk out basement. I love the area because of the day light windows but it is an area I rarely photograph. But taking these pictures was a good reminder I need to decorate. There is one picture on the wall.

This picture is for my friend, Beth, who helped me pick out some curtains off the rack in Fargo a couple weeks ago to cover our sliding door and another window. Other than a few bathroom curtains and valances my mom made for the kids’ bedrooms, we have no curtains in the entire house. No one looks in our windows and I love our wood work. Truth is, it just hasn’t gotten done. But the need was high with boys coming to stay so we found these curtains for the basement which match “Colorado Gray”. They are a little short but will do fine for the basement.

A closer look.

We have three mattresses (taken from extra upstairs beds and our camper) on the floor at one of the basement. The boys each brought a sleeping bag and pillow but having sheets and blankets is a nice option I decided. I also grabbed every last extra old towel from the camper. Between showers and the pool, we need plenty of towels for a baseball team.

There are two beds ready to go at the other end of the basement in the bedroom, termed “Mayme’s bedroom” by our kids. This window really needs some window treatment attention. The white roller shade is not giving it much love. A new project post baseball tournament for me will be “basement love and attention”. 

I have three laundry hampers out in the bathroom for dirty towels and uniforms for the boys. Plus they are also using the main floor bathroom. This bathroom paint color is my favorite. I wish I would have used more of it in the house, Benjamin Moore “caliente”.

There is no glass yet in the hickory cabinets but the basement kitchenette is stocked with snacks for the boys. I tried buy and bake all the things Hunter would want to eat. We are stocked with junk food that I normally never buy him but that he wants me to and would be thrilled to find when visiting someone else’s house.

I made Chex Mix with extra chocolate chips, raisins and mixed nuts. I baked 7 Layer Bars, Mint Brownies and have Chocolate Chip Cookies and Caramel Bars planned for later in the weekend. Plus we have bags of chips, fruit roll ups, granola bars, pop-tarts, ingredients for s’mores over the fire pit and a bowl of fruit. The fruit is for the boys to tell their mothers that I had fruit for them. I doubt they will eat it over chips and pop-tarts.

The fridge is full of Gatorade, juice, water and milk.

The cooler is full of sugared pop. This is the first time I have ever bought Mountain Dew and seeing how the boys drink it, I might be buying another 24 case of it tomorrow.

After an intense 45 minutes of “Rock Band” on the Wii, it was lights out tonight for the boys. They have a young but disciplined coach who they greatly respect and follow. He asked for 10:15PM lights out and they boys listened. As I walked up the stairs after saying good night, one boy said “Good night Mom!” and another yelled “Yeah, Good Night Den Mother!”

I could not help but smile and it really, really made me miss our son who will be back within 24 hours. Now I, Den Mother, am off to have my own lights out curfew.