I grew up in Marcola on 160 acres with my parents and two brothers. We had plenty of space to play, and we did! Building a backyard wiffle ball field out chicken wire and small tree trunks, it was a child's dream. Dad threw us batting practice when he was around and we played the world series, one-on-one when it was just me and my younger brother Tarik. When we moved to town to attend public school, we traded the grassy field for a paved driveway. The home run fence became the garage and the side of the house. Tarik and I talked about building another field some day, a dream field with dugouts and foul posts, a warning track and green, green grass. 

Tragically, my brother Tarik passed away at the young age of 20 and I found myself often reminiscing about our childhood together. When I acquired this beautiful property in 2006, I began longing to build that emerald green field. Before I even started remodeling the main house, I re-created the wiffle ball field from my childhood. Three years later, when the backstop posts started to rot and my wife was pregnant with our first child, Quinn, a couple high school team mates, friends and I tore down the existing field and built what we now call Vida Yards. I hope that this field brings the same joy and excitement that our backyard wiffle ball fields have always brought to us.