was going to post Sunday night however, received some bad news and just couldn't....

There was not a lot to post on Sunday - except for another update on the Covid-19 situation and our family bike ride that we took.  (Here are those updates.)  

The Covid update is from tonight, however, instead of Sunday.   There are over 2.5 million diagnosed world-wide, 177,000 + deaths world-wide.  There are approximately 825,000 diagnosed in the US and just over 45,000 deaths in the US associated with this.   

Isabella is riding her new bike.  We rode on the Marietta Mountain-to-River trail.... and we went further than we normally go.  (Past the big cemetary at the south side of the city.)  

This photo is not great - but is the only one I got while riding... it was hard grabbing my phone and snapping the photo while en-route (and then I got behind!)

Our family bike ride was eagerly in celebration of Isabella riding her new bike without training wheels.  There was a giant hill on the other side of the cemetary and Isabella wouldn't go down it.  (She walked her bike down a moderate hill on the bridge before the cemetary too.)  Otherwise, she is doing fantastic and wants to ride ALL.THE.TIME. 

Mercer is becoing more and more daring on his bike - riding without hands sometimes and testing stunts in the yard. His bike-riding confidence has soared!

Afterwards, Todd and the kids had ice cream.  You could not walk into the store - they had an at-the-door "counter" set up.  

There were a fair amount of people at the square and were appropriately distancing.  



As we are celebrating bicycles, unfortunately, we were faced with the reality of how dangerous it can be as well.



The rug was pulled from under us Sunday night when we received a text that one of Mercer's baseball teammates (on All-Stars and on the travel team) was riding his bike and was hit by a car in his neighborhood and was in critical condition.  About 10 minutes later, we received a text that he didn't make it.

It was just so shocking.  This particular kid had an infectious smile and what everyone seems to remember about him most:  he loved to joke around.  He was 11 years old and he really really loved baseball.  His dad travelled a lot, so I didn't get to know him as well as his mother - but I just can't imagine the pain they're going through. 

Todd coached Blake several seasons + got to know him and the family well through the years the boys were growing up.   Blake had an older brother - age 15 - who was also very much into baseball.  The baseball park said (in their write-up) that Blake literally grew up at the park. 

The community that was built through All-Stars and through the travel/tournament team was a tighter bond, of course, than that of the regular rec league teams each season.  

There are already memorials getting set up at the school where he went (5th grader at an elementary school where his mom is the school nurse)... and there will be memorials at the ballfield / things wil happen when the field reopens.  He is #12 and they're going to do some things with #12 on it moving forward.  

He was one of the 9 kids honored along with Mercer for playing in little league his "whole career" at East Marietta.  (His older brother was too.)  Most of the kids on the All-Stars are the same kids on the travel / tournament team (Spikes).  

The Board of Commissioners (which has a lot of parents from All-Stars / Spikes) asked teammates to make signs that were put in their yard.  










The first sign is what Mercer says about his teammate:  he told good jokes and was a good ball player.  He hasn't said very much about all of this, however, says that he will miss Blake.









Mercer had the idea to write his name like the braves logo on the one sign.  My idea was to turn a baseball into a heart.  Todd's idea was to say that he was a "Spike" forever. 

I like the baseball that someone left.  















This certainly makes us hug our kids a little tighter... and making sure that we're out in the street while the kids are riding bikes.  

We lit a couple of candles in his honor tonight.

It is so, so sad.  What a devestating loss.