In early April 2005 Beth's friend, Stephanie, from high school and college came out to visit the wonderful city of San Francisco with her husband, Jon. Though only a short visit from their home in Tempe, AZ, Beth & Ben packed as much as possible into their weekend. It was perfect spring weather, and we all had a great time hanging out and seeing the sights.

On June 3, at 3:00AM, Ben & Beth's Sister in Law, Laura, gave birth to Ava Nicole. Of course she's adorable, as you can see, and everyone's just extremely happy that both Mother and Baby are healthy.

Here's the whole group together. Bryce is very happy to be a big brother.

From babies to sports. A common transition, obviously. Ben is on a co-ed softball team that plays on Tuesday evenings. The team, "Last Call," is an unofficial Shell team. Here's one of the fields, with Mt. Diablo in the background. This evening was a rare win for "Last Call," 18-7.

Ben's teammate, Jason, left fielder, makes a running catch during the game. No pictures of Ben just yet, but hopefully soon. A picture of Ben in this situation would probably be of his butt whilst chasing the ball.

Ben's other more strenuous sporting event occurs on Friday evenings, when Bocce (kiss) Ball is played. Here's a very common sight in the Bocce Ball pit....... measuring who is closest to the Palino (sp?). The rules of Bocce are very simple, but too lengthy to get into here. Ben's co-worker, Scott (who 'recruited' Ben), is the one squatting with the measuring tape in the shadow. Notice that even Beth is getting into the measuring fiasco.

The setting for Bocce is in Martinez, the same town that Beth works in, and is supposedly the Bocce capital of the U.S. Their are about 18 pits at the park/marina where the game is played. Ben's team is called "Catch the Spirit." For the first few weeks the spirit was not caught, and the teams record was 1-7. At this point, the spirit was caught and as of June 10, the teams record is 10-8. A few good Bocce weeks indeed.

On July 18, 2005, Ben rounded up some friends from the softball team to watch the Atlanta Braves vs. the San Francisco Giants. Unfortunately, Beth was in Houston for training and couldn't go. The seats were free from Ben's work, and they were great! As you can see, on the right field line with McCovey Cove in clear view further to the right.