Gina, on the other hand, is quite the athlete. The St. Patrick School junior varsity (5th and 6th grades) softball team won the Dallas Parochial League championship in a nailbiter at the Dr. Pepper Youth Stadium on the grounds of the Ballpark in Arlington, where the Rangers play. As you can see, the little ballpark (top picture -- that's Gina at the plate) is architecturally styled like the big one (background in the bottom picture -- Gina's the 3rd from the left on the back row, looking at the camera). It was a real treat to play out there, even though it wasn't close to home for either team.

Softball isn't Gina's only sport, she also plays basketball and volleyball for St. Patrick, and this year started "club volleyball," which is the indoor equivalent of "select soccer." I actually coached her school volleyball team, which won the regular season in its division but lost in the semifinals of the playoffs. She's shot up in height in the last year: at 5'6", she towers over her mother, and her feet are bigger than Anne Marie's too. She seems to enjoy sports generally, she's pretty athletic, and her coaches all say that she's very coachable. I don't know what she'll end up focusing on, since her favorite sport has always been the one she's playing at the time, but as long as it's one that they give college scholarships for, I'm all for it. (Hey, the less I pay for college, the more money Anne Marie will have to spend on weddings.)