Last weekend, Rob played in a softball tournament in Cottonwood, so the kids and I tagged along. I spent a lot of time in the Verde Valley when I was a kid, but I haven't been there in years, so it was fun to go back. Plus, the weather was much nicer then Phoenix!
Robbie made friends with this little boy right away. We have no idea what his name is. But that's how kids make friends - they just play and have fun. These little guys ran around with sticks as lightsabers, shared candy, colored, played with trucks... they kept busy!
This was an all-day tournament, so we had lots of time to explore. The park was right next to the Verde River, so the kids and I went for a few walks along the banks. It was really pretty.
Erin got to play a little bit of catch between games. Here she is with Rob on one of the fields. You can see the town of Jerome on the hills in the background.
It felt good to be outside all day! There was a breeze and it was overcast off and on, and it was just really nice out. The kids took full advantage. There was a playground, plenty of room to run around, june bugs to check out, dirt to play in...
We had a little down time thanks to electronics. I did finally figure out how to French braid Erin's hair, so that was an accomplishment. I've tried before with disasterous results - much wailing and gnashing of teeth (and Erin didn't enjoy it either). But I can cross that off my list now.
Toward the end of the day, we were all getting pretty tired - and we weren't the ones running around playing softball! The team Rob played on hit lots of home runs, and in te last couple of games, we learned that if kids bring a home run ball in to the scoring table, they get a Tootsie Pop! This brought a new level of excitement. I'm not sure how many home run balls they got all together, but we had plenty of Tootsie Pops that afternoon!
Rob's team was undefeated and they won the tournament. Rob didn't hit as well as he would've liked, but he made some good plays and it was a good day.
We drove up to Jerome afterward, just to take a look around. We didn't really stay, since it was Saturday night and the hipster artsy scene was making it a little crowded. The kids were impressed with the roads and the precarious houses on stilts.
We were amused that Cottonwood has a Sizzler, so we ate there for the novelty of it. And no, it hasn't improved since the last time I ate at one 15-20 years ago. But at that point we were all starving, and mediocre was pretty good. Top that off with a dessert bar and things were great!
