We saw a FINCH and a CAT!!!!!!!!!

Okay, so it wasn't a fuzzy, warm, shedding, litter-box using, hairball hacking, make you sneeze kind of cat. It was CAT OSTERMAN, pitcher for Team USA softball. And it wasn't an annoying, chirping, seed-eating feathery disaster of a finch either. It was JENNIE FINCH, pitcher and first baseman for Team USA softball. My daughter and our whole family are huge fans of these two players. Let me tell you, it was an amazing day. My daughter was amazed. We were all amazed!

Team USA played in Oklahoma City last weekend for the World Cup. They played countries like Australia, Canada, Japan, and the Netherlands. We went on Saturday, July 18th, PINK OUT for Cancer day. We all got free breast cancer Team USA hats. All of Team USA wore their PINK OUT uniforms in support of breast cancer research. It was a very awesome experience to say the least.

The crowd was just in one of those moods. Where there's so much adrenaline in the crowd you can just feel it. If the crowd were a softball, it would've burst at it's very red seams from an overload of adrenaline and anxiety. You could just feel it, in the air, in the screams, in the sweaty faces of the crowd. You could hear it in the voices that rang out loudly, "U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A" over and over again. You could hear the excitement and pride in the voices as Jenny Finch and Cat Osterman stepped to the plate. The crowd wanted to see something amazing, and we were definitely not let down! USA beat Canada 15 to 0 in 4 innings. Then later that night USA beat Japan 6 to 1.

Team USA took the title in the end to no great surprise. It was a victory. A sweet, sweet one.

Here's some pictures from our trip. This one is of some USA girls when they were warming up for the first game Saturday.


Here's the two girls (in my opinion) that could steal the show from any team, any group of players, ANY DAY! They are by far my 8-year-old's role models. And, I have no problem with that whatsoever. They are wonderful players as well as wonderful role models for young girls across the US playing the great game of softball. (They are the "cat" and the "finch" - Cat Osterman and Jennie Finch)



I thought this was great. They even made first base pink in support of the cause!



Here's a close-up of Jennie in her pink USA uniform. They looked great. Very inspiring.



After USA beat Canada (actually, thumped Canada), we headed to the ASA Softball Hall of Fame. It was great. It's a really great place to take young players for inspiration. Then we headed on over to I Love This Bar and Grill (Toby Keith's restaurant). The food was great, the service was great, and the prices were pretty average. I got a fried bologna sandwich (yeah, I know what you're thinking. I don't eat calf fries. Everyone ate them except me. Sorry!).
Here's Rae eating some St. Louis-style ribs. My hubby tied her napkin around her neck because she eats ribs like a lion eats it's prey! Scary! The girl gets ribs wherever we go!



Here's Jennie again in her regular USA uniform.



Here's the starters lined up in front of the dug out before the game.



Here's Cat throwing some heat to the Japanese players. (Please note Cat is #8 - same as my girl. We actually didn't pick #8 for that reason, but still...she loves Cat!)



To show you how fast Cat can throw, check this out. Her feet are off the ground during her wind up. Amazing!



Here's the look of intensity. And determination. Would you wanna be standing at the plate looking at that face? I think not!



Here's another close up of Jennie. My SIL was taking these pics for my hubby and my nephew. When you look at her, you know why. She's, ummm, photogenic and, ummm, the boys love her! My nephew and my husband were wiping drool from the corners of their hormonal mouths all day!



Here's another great player. Natasha Watley, short stop. She cranked one over the fence during the USA/Canada game and it was a GRAND SLAM baby! Only seeing it in person could you imagine the thrills and chills that it produced!



Another milestone happened while we were at the game. Raegan had made a Team USA sign and held it up during the USA/Japan game. She actually made it onto the HUGE Jumbotron at the field. So all of those thousands of people saw my baby holding her sign and screaming for Team USA! It was incredible!



We were a little disappointed at the end of the day. Team USA didn't sign any autographs and we really wanted some. But, hey, my girl did get her picture taken with two of the players from the Japanese team. They were hilarious. They had more energy than I've ever seen on a ball field. Here's two of the players with my daughter.

Here's Rae and Japan's right fielder, #1 Kasumi Karino.



Here's her with Japan's second baseman, #6 Naoko Matsumoto. She was really pretty and sweet.



The day was a blast. Me, my hubby, my 8-year-old softball-obsessed daughter, my SIL, and my nephew all had a wonderful time and can't wait to go again next year! We'd buy our tickets if they went on sale tomorrow. That's how great it was!

The day ended with us getting home around 1 AM or so. It was a long day but so worth it. Raegan will never forget it. I will never forget it.