Friday night we went to the library. I’ve only taken my kids to the library once, altogether, and it was only once because it was so very much work for me and not terribly enjoyable. Mostly because Wes won’t stay in one place to read books. He’d rather explore. But with John there, too, I thought we could handle it together.

All day long Carissa kept saying “We going to WHY-bay-ee!” She and Wes both remembered that last time we went, they read Curious George books. Amazingly. It was last year sometime.

So, finally, John was done with work and we took the kids to Wendy’s for dinner. Then, finally finally, we pulled up to the library–to find it closed. Turns out they close early on Fridays.

Carissa was disappointed (as was I) so I suggested we take the kids to the library in the next town over. We realized they’re open till 9 pm, and that the university’s library (with a children’s section) is open till midnight, or something.

So off we went. And it was a nice evening. The breezy spring weather was perfect for an outing, and Carissa loved the attention of picking books and having Dad read them to her.

Wes wouldn’t sit still for even one book, but preferred to walk around and touch things. I followed him around while John read to Carissa.

Elizabeth went everywhere with me.

John and I each took some time to wander to the grown-up section and browse books for us. I opened one book and discovered some friendly uplifting notes. I thought that was a creative service project idea.

In the end, I checked out a few items (we have a card for this library, too). The next day Carissa was already saying she wanted to go back.

This summer I signed Wes up for VIP Special Needs T-Ball. It’s just six games (no practices) and it’s for kids ages 5-22. For $15, including a t-shirt, trophy, and time for Wes to run around and hit balls, I thought it’d be worth it. It’s Wesley’s first experience with an “organized” sport.

The best part is all the volunteers. The teams are completely made up of kids with special needs–some physical, some mental. I just love that so many people are interested in spending an hour helping people who need help to participate in something like t-ball. As soon as we arrived some buddies grabbed Wes and took him over for batting practice. Wes was all smiles. He had a blast.

Someone’s mitt caught Wesley’s eye, and the family played catch with him a little bit. That was nice. The mitt was huge.

Meanwhile, Carissa sat on a blanket and nibbled chocolate chip cookies that she insisted on bringing from home and holding (the bag was open and cookies were being nibbled before we even left the garage).

And she took some pictures of herself, the sky, and many blurry things.

Elizabeth hung out.

Wes is on the Yankees team. His coach’s name is Bridger, and he’s great. He even confided in Wes that they’re going to name their next son Wesley. The games are split by age, so Wes is on the younger team.

Wes gave his buddies (and his dad) a terrific workout by running all over the field and letting them chase him. He had a fantastic time until about 40 minutes in, when he was clearly pooped and just sat on the field. But overall he enjoyed t-ball. In this picture Wes is on the right in the navy blue shirt, standing next to his coach Bridger, who I think is trying to tell him not to run away while they wait for the next kid to hit the ball.

This is a video of Wesley’s first turn at-bat. This is what the whole game went like. Hurray for volunteers! Hurray for programs for kids with special needs!