Weddingsi look out from the dugout and i see no one, yet this field is not empty.
can you see it?
from behind the fence i hear proud parents cheering for their daughter.
are you one of them?
the dugout where i now sit is filled with the giggles of team mates, too young to be distracted by the importance of this game. they are here to play.
can you hear them?
under my feet i feel the vibration of the ground as the game reaches it's crescendo and the crowd erupts when the winning run is scored.
can you feel it?
no, this field is not fallow, the spirit of the game continues to grow here.
the sharks 2008 season is now in the books, but long after the sunflower seeds are swept away and the chalk lines have faded into the earth, these memories will remain.
at the beginning of the season kim and i decided to document, as much as we could, rain's first venture into organized sports and the team mates she would share this season of memories with. when april wasn't impersonating THE GUY ON THE TRAIN WITH PEE WEE she chipped in too.
in no time at all we found ourselves swimming with the sharks and reeling in some amazing moments. catch and release didn't apply to these fishies. insert the "we're gonna need a bigger boat" jokes here.
unbeknownst to the parents, i put together a slideshow of the girls and presented each of them with a disk after the sharks last game of the season. we wanted every parent to have something none of us have. something more than just the standard issue team photo and player button the we've all been force fed our whole life. those were not going to be the only option this year. we wanted everyone to be able to truly relive the entire season and remember the moments we all shared from practice to practice, game to game. i am so glad we did this. i know rain will be too someday.
there were so many images i had to split them into two seperate videos for this blog post. if you have the time please watch them both and share in the joy that we were fortunate enough to witness this season.
these girls had an awesome time and not only developed their softball skills, but some great friendships as well.
closing ceremonies are saturday and rain is anticipating bringing her very first trophy home. the whole ohana is so proud of her.
the countdown to opening day next season starts... now.
we already miss our little sharks.
(in alphabetical order) here are the 2008 sharks!
abby (aka abby patty)
alexia
asia
brooke
isabelle
kenzie
lauren
leeanne
mikayla
some random girl that ran out onto the field (and lauren again)
and batting cleanup, zoey!
before i sign off i just want to send a huge thank you to all the girls and their family and friends. we had so much fun doing this. thank you for sharing these happy moments with us. it was our pleasure to capture these memories for you. you will all be missed. God Bless. see you next season!
i'm rain, and i approved this message.
edit to post:
some of you may have seen this image pop up during the 1st slideshow. this jersey not only belongs to boston merila (brooke's brother), it represents one of the most inspirational ohanas we know. no, boston wasn't on the sharks, but over the season we got to see him and his little brother brody quite a bit. together with brooke, they are the dynamic three-o. such a fun bunch. i wish i had half of their energy. honestly, i don't know how wendy (their mom) keeps up.
at some point during the season we realized this family is even more amazing than we thought. brooke's dad is Mark Merila. for those of us in san diego, you may already know him, or at least feel like you do. he's the bullpen catcher for the SAN DIEGO PADRES.
please take a moment to READ ABOUT MARK & then we ask that you join us in praying for him and his ohana. we are so blessed to have met this awesome family.
the merila's have inspired us more than they know.
