Baseball trip to Galveston/Houston

We had to get cuts to get ready for the last baseball tournament of the season.  We tried the barber shop in Keller because Mason wanted "baseball" hair. 

He was pretty pumped.  

And since it is summer and his hair could be cut every week because it grows so fast, I didn't have a problem with it. 

We finally got pictures from a tournament a couple of weeks ago.  She got a couple of Mason.  He went 1-2 that game with a walk.  This was his double.  She got it right after he had hit the ball. 

Check out that black eye.  Ha.

Our tournament play in Houston was Saturday and Sunday, but we had to be down there by Friday.  Since Thursday was the 4th and we weren't working, we decided (as well as most others) to go down Thursday.  Then we thought, why not go down after John gets off work Wednesday?!  So our family actually got a hotel room in Galveston Wednesday night.  Several people had recommended Hotel Galvez and it did NOT disappoint!

It was right on the ocean and they painted this American flag in the courtyard. 

View from our room. (that is Pleasure Pier in the background)

We got there and decided to check out the ocean.  People had told us how disappointed we would be compared to the Panhandle, so I guess we were expecting the worst.  It was fine!  It was a beach 5 hours away from our house.  It wasn't white sandy beaches or crystal clear water, but for a long weekend, this works well.   

We went back to the hotel and swam a bit.  Boys experienced their first swim up bar.  Ha.

Living the life...eating a slider at a fancy bar in a fancy hotel at 9:30pm. 

We woke up, had breakfast, and went to the beach. 

It was cloudy and super rough. 

But they did not care.  The water is pretty shallow really far out. 

So John sat there worried to death about them.  Here he is yelling to come back towards us. 

We went to Murdoch's on the beach for alcoholic and non-alcoholic frozen drinks. 

One of our teammates and his Mom arrived, so we all went to the hotel pool for a bit.
The guys are just living' the life. 

And then we all went back to the beach to meet another teammate's family.  

You can see how overcast and cloudy it was....

But the Brower family got fried.  Like so sunburned.  We put on sunscreen early, but I guess just didn't reapply fast enough.  Crazy. 

When you have to come in for more sunscreen....

Brody and Chase playing in the sand. 

We were able to go back to the hotel to jump in the pool (you know, to "shower") and change clothes before meeting the rest of the team at Kemah Boardwalk.  It was closer to Houston. 

There were soooooo many people at the boardwalk.  I mean the lines were unreal.  We had a three hour wait at Bubba Gump Shrimp too and still only got to ride 3 rides.  It also took everyone coming in from Houston almost 3 hours to get there!  Insane.  Tooooooo many people!

So we sat down at 9:30 to start ordering and may have even missed the fireworks.....look at that tired and sunburned guy. 

John and I may have thought Kemah wasn't much fun but this kid had a blast with all his friends....which is why we were there in the first place!

Poor BroBro.  Ha

And if anyone is wondering.....Emma has been just fine back in Memphis with Pops. 

Friday, we lounged around at the pool with the team.  

Brody still thinks he is part of the team.....he is on Kaleb's back in this picture. 

Got some rest and then got ready for the Astros game!

Dinner

Their stadium has a retractable roof.  It is closed for all games in July and August which is what the new Rangers stadium will be like. It was pretty neat. 

The stadium itself is so nice with the best restaurants inside!

As you can see by Chase's jersey.....they were playing the Angels and the boys were excited about Mike Trout. 

They opened the roof after the game for fireworks.  Pretty cool to see. 

We had such a great time. 

Breakfast with this crazy crew Saturday morning before games. 

Needed more gatorades and waters. It was super hot and super humid.....so much fun to play baseball in.  Ha.

John got to help all weekend. 

Mason had a great tournament. 

 Mason went 2-3 with a walk.  He has been hitting so good lately.  Of course I didn't get the hit where he crushed the ball over center fielder's head, but here is one of them. 

Smiling after scoring.
(I think coach actually said, "Mason, smile")

Chatting with outfield. I would love to know what they are talking about. 

Infield chat with coach and pitcher. 

Thats a win. 

We had to wake up EARLY Sunday morning to start playing.  

These three love going to the games because they play the entire time. 

And another win.....which meant we had to stay to keep playing.  

We were out there for a looooong time. 

Love #8.

We came up short in the semi-finals.  I think they were exhausted.  I mean it was so hot. They played so well all weekend though and we were all so proud.  It was a ton of fun on and off the field.  This has been a great year for Mason and we have enjoyed watching him learn and grow. Excited to see what we can do in the fall!

Then we had to drive home which took longer than 4 hours because of an unbelievable amount of traffic on 45.  But it was all worth it!

And that's a wrap on baseball season.....well until practice for fall starts in 3 weeks.