My Big Fat Fabulous Birthday

I love birthdays.

Birthdays are my favorite.


I celebrated my 54th birthday last Saturday, and YES, by golly, I'm telling you how old I am, because I'm DAMN proud of EACH and EVERY year that I've lived on this earth, and I'm not about to hide my age - or my wrinkles - that I have EARNED, thank you very much.

Ahem.


And although I've enjoyed EACH and EVERY one of those birthdays, I have to say that THIS birthday celebration, spent at home with my family, was extra special. Which is a pretty bold statement to make, considering that I have spent my birthdays past in such fabulous places as Rome (2009) and Paris (2015).

Perhaps this birthday was the Best. Birthday. Ever. because of the FABULOUS birthday present that Hubby presented me with…more on that later…but if you pay attention, I'll sprinkle some one or two clues throughout this and perhaps you can guess what he got me.

Or perhaps not.

We'll see. Hee.


Since celebrating a birthday is too FABULOUS to condense into a mere 24 hours, I decided to celebrate an entire birthday WEEKEND - because 72 hours is what is needed to pack in all the fun and fabulousness.


So, Friday night was spent at a Kansas City Royals game - because as I've said before, it's pretty much tradition from when I was 7 years old - spending my birthday at the ballpark. Although you'll be pleased to know that I no longer don my baseball glove when I head to the ballpark, in hopes of catching a fly ball. I always sorta' looked like a dork when I did that before, so those days are gone. And as I've said before, I have been a huge, HUGE, baseball fan as far back as I can remember (Hey look!! There's a clue!!).


It wasn't just ANY baseball game, though…it was the annual celebrity Big Slick weekend, where a bunch of big celebrities head to town to raise money for a local children's hospital here in town. We're talking Paul Rudd, Eric Stonestreet, Kevin Pollak, Jason Sudeikis, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, among others (What a hunk - and why did they have to kill Denny off on "Grey's Anatomy"??!! Gah. My heart died a little that day and the show was never the same. But I digress.)


Here's Paul Rudd (a Kansas City native, by the way) sporting a Kansas City Royals World Series ring…which brings us to Clue #2.

So, we watched a FABULOUS softball game with the celebs, and then afterwards, watched a FABULOUS game with the Royals, who trounced the Detroit Tigers, 10-3. Squee!


Saturday, the day of my ACTUAL birthday, I woke up and got in an early 7-mile training run. I wore a new bright and colorful running skirt for the occasion, as it was important to appear FABULOUS while drowning in sweat.


Can you see me now??!!


However, it became quickly evident that although I may have LOOKED fabulous, I must have smelled like rotting fruit, as every horse fly in five counties quickly surrounded and swarmed me while running. That might be okay if not for the fact that I run with my mouth open - which meant that I almost, ALMOST swallowed a few of those flies. Gah.


Thankfully, no flies were harmed during the run, and my youngest Daughter then treated me to a FABULOUS brunch at a little restaurant here in town. Gluten-free eggs benedict were on the menu, and I pretty much licked my plate clean. Hey - 7 miles will do that. And when the waitress heard it was my birthday, she presented me with a complimentary gluten-free chocolate cupcake, because EVERYONE should have a chocolate cupcake for brunch!!!


Um, YUM!



Saturday afternoon was spent chillaxin' at the house, acknowledging birthday wishes on Facebook, chatting with my Mom on the phone (she's in Florida), chatting with one of my sons on the phone (he's in St. Louis), and chatting with another son on the phone (he's at work).

That evening, Hubby and I headed down to the Westport area of Kansas City, to dine at a very small, but very delicious, restaurant, called Room 39. We did the tasting menu, which was TO DIE FOR. Seriously, four courses of FABULOUSNESS and deliciousness that was fresh, tasty and absolutely stunning in the presentation. And to finish, I indulged in an Expresso Martini, a concoction of 360 vodka, expresso, Bailey's, Kahlua - but mostly vodka.


Cheers!!!


I'm not sure what happened after dinner…I'm blaming it on the 360…but I'm sure it was all good. ;)


Sunday was Father's Day, and we were having a big party at the house to celebrate both holidays - because I've always been generous like that, sharing my birthday with Father's Day. I spent the first part of the day getting everything set up to PARTY - and by 3:00 pm, the kids, grandkids, nieces, and other family had arrived.

Being a FABULOUSLY hot day, Hubby took everyone out for a boat ride on the lake, while others kayaked or swam. We had the Royals game on the boob tube, and in true Royals fashion, they eked out a win, 2-1, in 13 innings.


Captain, my Captain



Soon, it was time for cake and presents - the BEST part!!! Boy, my family knows me well, as I received some really cool stuff:


FABULOUSLY cool coasters, portraying my love of Kansas City and baseball!!!




a FABULOUSLY stylish Kansas City Royals scarf, so I will be FABULOUSLY dressed at my next game!!!




a FABULOUS exquisite Pandora bracelet, complete with a Mickey Mouse charm and wings, to represent my running!!!



Soon, boo, everyone had left, and Hubby then presented me with his gift…and here is when I pretty much died, DIED, I'm telling you.

Inside a card is a piece of paper, folded up, with this poem on one side:




And on the other side of the paper, there was this:



You guys.

That's a World Series ring.

THAT'S A WORLD SERIES RING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was stunned. I was shocked. I was speechless.

For a second.

After I processed it, I was pretty much like someone who just won the lottery, but can't quite believe it.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS??!!" I squealed.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!!" I squealed again.

"IS THIS A JOKE??!! PLEASE DON'T TELL ME THIS IS A JOKE!!!" I begged…as I literally broke out in goosebumps.

It's not a joke. My ring is on order, and I will receive it sometime this summer. No, it's not this exact ring, as that's the big honkin' men's version, and I would never be able to wear something that big. My ring will be the more dainty, but still FABULOUS, women's version.


And this is why this birthday was so amazing.

I loved spending time with the family. I loved the Facebook wishes. I loved the party and picnic on Father's Day. I love the fact that I have an amazing Hubby who totally gets it; totally gets that I am the biggest Kansas City Royals geek out there, and this gift was truly winning the lottery for me. I've stuck with my team for 40+ years, through the bad years (of which there were many), and the good years (of which there were few)…and my loyalty has never wavered.

Sigh.

Life is fabulous.

Peace.

The Color Run 5k: A Review

On a normal day, if my 15-year old daughter were to rub her psychedelic chalk-covered hands all over my face and neck, leaving me looking like a Salvador Dali painting on acid - I'd pretty much slap her upside the head, and then ground her for a week.


Yeah…that is totally me.

But…when one is running the psychedelic-infused Color Run 5k with said daughter - you just go with the flow, and then try to exact a bit of revenge with your OWN psychedelic chalk-covered hands.

Mwahahahahahahahaha.

All is fair in love and war…or in this case, at the Color Run.


The "Happiest 5k on the Planet", aka "The Color Run", blew into Kansas City yesterday morning…and how could I NOT sign up for a race that promotes "healthiness, happiness and individuality"???!!! Several months ago, when I looked into signing Hubby, my regular running buddy, and I up to run this, the conversation in my house went like this:

Me: "Hey - the Color Run is coming! Wanna' do it with me?"
Him: "Color Run? Never heard of it."
Me: "It's really fun. You run while people throw colored chalk dust on you."
Him: Totally silent at this point, but he had this weird expression on his face that looked like this:



Needless to say, Hubby was NOT on board with doing The Color Run, so I had to find my next victim running parter. It didn't take me long to figure out that anything involving "individualism" is PERFECT for my opinionated, strong-willed Daughter - so here we were…signed up to participate in our very first 5k as a Mother/Daughter Duo.

Of course, when she heard she'd be getting up early on a Saturday morning to run a race with her Mom, you can only IMAGINE the excitement.


Yeah.


Saturday morning dawned cool and cloudy…with a slight northerly breeze in the air. We wanted to leave the house at 6:30 a.m. (for an 8:00 a.m. race start), so I waited until the last possible second to wake up Daughter. She, uh, tends to be…um…a tad bit…grumpy…if woken too soon.




Although Hubby wanted nothing to do with getting messy, he was more than willing to drive us to the race and cheer us on from the sidelines. While he drove us, I spent time going over the race strategy with Daughter, who, I'm SURE, was attentively listening to me behind her dark sunglasses from the back seat. I know that she wouldn't have been using this time to sleep, or anything….

Ahem.

We arrived at Arrowhead Stadium by 7:00 a.m., and HOLY TRAFFIC JAM, BATMAN…you would have thought that the Kansas City Chiefs were playing a Super Bowl game that morning…cars were stretched out for miles, attempting to get into the stadium for parking. It was crazy. I knew this was a popular race, but I was still taken aback by the number of participants….I never heard a final number, but I DO know that my race bib number was six digits. Yowza.


The Race Gods were smiling down on us, as we managed to snag a second-row parking spot, which actually sounds pretty dumb to be all excited about when you're getting ready to RUN for 3 miles, but hey.

This is a "wave" race - meaning they send out so many runners per wave - and I was determined to be in the first wave. Not sure why that was so important, as it's not a timed race or anything - but I wanted Daughter and I to be able to run without 20,000 other runners breathing down our necks…and if we were out first, we could quickly get up ahead and leave the other runners in our dust. (Hee hee…see what I did there? "Dust" - as in "colored dust"!!!)

Fortunately, arriving an hour before the start pretty much guaranteed that we were literally at the starting tape:


Yup - nothing but empty pavement before us…SWEEEEET!!!


We killed time by dancing to the obnoxiously-loud music blaring from the speakers, as well as taking silly selfies:




Before we knew it, it was 8:00 a.m. - we were OFF!


The course basically wound around the parking lot at Arrowhead Stadium, and it didn't take us long to settle into a good, comfortable pace. Within the first quarter of a mile, we were greeted by a Drum Line, and because percussion along race courses is ALWAYS cool, I stopped to take a quick photo:


Race directors take note…more drum, please.



It was about here that I had a bit of a race snafu.

I was wearing a neon orange hat - not so much to protect my hair from the colored dust - but to keep the rain off my sunglasses. There had been a bit of a 'spit' - or mist - that morning, and I hate nothing more than getting rain-soaked glasses. Gah. Well…remember that northerly breeze I mentioned earlier??? Every so often, that "breeze" turned into a major gust of wind (there was a cold front blowing in, apparently), and unfortunately, my hat became a victim. One minute it was there - and the next - it was gone.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! NOT MY HAT!!!!!!

(I only have about a hundred hats, but still…)


Daughter came to my rescue, and quickly retrieved my hat…she then even volunteered to wear it, tucking her pony tail through it so it wouldn't go sailing off in the distance again.

My hero.

And this will explain why you'll see the orange hat on MY head for some of the photos, and on DAUGHTER's head for others. Your eyes aren't playing tricks on you.


Soon, we were approaching our first color station - ORANGE!!!!

Daughter and I tentatively approached the line of volunteers on either side of us, and then screaming like banshees, we ran through, waving our arms in the air like fools, and laughed and giggled the entire way as we were getting bombarded with oodles and gazoodles of orange-colored cornstarch.

Ahhh…good times.


And I took NO pictures! Gah.

Not to fear, though, because about a half-mile later, we were approaching our second color station, YELLOW!!!




We repeated the same process as before, running through and screaming, laughing and giggling like crazy, through a golden cloudy haze…


And it was here that I realized something had to change. I was reluctant to take my phone out and take too many pictures - ESPECIALLY when we ran through the clouds - as I didn't want to potentially damage it. But…I was missing some good blog material here, darn it!!! Fortunately, it was about this time that Hubby appeared like magic on the sidelines, and he agreed to take over my phone and photography duty. From now on, Daughter and I had our own personal photographer to document our adventure.

He got right to work in his new important role, taking a photo of us as we finished the Yellow station:



And another one:




After this brief break, Daughter and I hit it again, hurrying along until the next station, but not before grabbing some water at the (one) water station along the course. Soon, we were entering Smurf-land, aka BLUE!!!



By now, we'd perfected our strategy. I'd send Daughter a bit ahead, so we wouldn't "block" each other from the dust. And we would turn and spin our way through the dust cloud, so we'd get color both coming and going. We looked like drunken sailors, but it worked, as far as spreading the color to the front AND back of our shirts. We saw other folks start adopting this strategy as well, so we were knew we were on to something.


Before we knew it, we were approaching the last color zone, PINK:



I lost Daughter in this picture…she must have gotten a bit too far ahead.

But that was short-lived, because before we knew it, we were approaching the Finish Line, and she insisted that we hold hands as we ran through it together:






Did you catch that?

I'll repeat it.

She INSISTED THAT WE HOLD HANDS.

Be still, my heart.


After finishing, you get handed a cool medal and some color packets & glitter. We then made our way down to the stage area in the parking lot for the After Party, and here's where the REAL fun is.

See, we were a bit "colored" up - but not too bad.

That was about to change.

After hundreds of runners gathered near the stage, the deejay did a countdown - and then everyone threw their colored dust, from their color packets, up in the air - and when the cloud cleared, we. were. covered.





Of course, Daughter decided to dip into her colored packet before the "official" drop, and decorate my face and neck a little with her pink powder. I looked like a clown.

So, I retaliated with a bit of my yellow powder on HER face.



We had powder EVERYWHERE. On the front of our legs. On the back of our legs. In our ears. In our mouths. And even up my nose, which made blowing my nose very interesting later that day.




Soon, we decided to head home…fortunately, Hubby had spread some old beach towels on the seats in the car, so we didn't totally colorize the upholstery.

When we got home, we spent a few minutes taking some more photos to document our experience:



I'm thinking, that no matter how cool she tries to be, or nonchalant, that she had some fun today. Call it Mother's Intuition…but she definitely had fun.


Finally, we turned the leaf blower on Daughter to blow off some of the dust. Seriously.


Bring it on.


I'm sure our neighbors thought we were crazy, but what else is new??


OUR TIPS FOR A HAPPY & HASSLE-FREE COLOR RUN:

1. Wear sunglasses (to protect your eyes from the dust).
2. Wear old tennis shoes.
3. Everything washes out fine in the laundry - so don't worry about stains.
4. Bring old towels to sit on in the car for the way home.
5. Everything washed out fine as far as our hair goes, too. No issues.
6. Try to get in one of the earlier waves if you can - less crowded!
7. Go with an open mind and good attitude.
8. HAVE FUN!!!!


Oh, one last pic - check out the swag! Besides a t-shirt (which is amazingly soft, by the way), you get a headband, tattoos, and a medal!!!



It's funny, because on the way to the race, I was telling Hubby that this would probably be a "one and done" race for me…but now, looking back, I would do this race again in a heartbeat!

Besides the fun that the Color Run promises, I wouldn't trade the memories I made with my Daughter for ANYTHING.

Legends Never Die

Sometimes in life, when you least expect it, something so amazing happens that it will become the stuff of future family lore…the story that gets told around the family dinners and passed on to future generations. You all know what I'm talking about, as I am sure that EVERY family has such stories and tales…usually, the tale gets bigger and bigger every time it's told, exaggerated beyond belief, until eventually it becomes legend.

Such is the story that unfolded on Monday of this week, while we we were innocently attending a baseball game here in Fort Myers. Minding our own business, really, not realizing that a memory was about to be made that will never be forgotten. Oh, I'm sure it will get "stretched" a bit in the future…it will get bigger and bigger as it's retold…and that's okay. Because we were there, and we saw it happen.

To set the scene…Hubby and I, along with our two youngest, headed over to Jet Blue Park, the Spring Training home of the 2013 World Series Champions, the Boston Red Sox. We try to attend a Red Sox game every March when we visit Fort Myers for Spring Break, and this year was no exception - except that about 20,000 other people ALL had the same idea, being that the Red Sox are the defending World Champions and everyone else wants to jump on their bandwagon.


In case you had a brain fart and FORGOT who won the 2013 World Series, there were plenty of reminders everywhere at the ballpark...


Several months ago, I had managed to snag some halfway-decent tickets to Monday's game against the Tampa Bay Rays…our seats were down the right-field line, about three rows back from the field. We arrived at the game about two hours before game time…which is God-awfully early, I agree, but necessary during a Spring Training game, when fans will begin streaming in THREE hours before game time.

Spring Training is very laid back…the players are much more at ease, especially when mingling with the fans. They'll usually take more time to interact with the crowd, giving out autographs, photos, and baseball tips. We decided we would just chill out before the game, soaking in the sun, the laid-back atmosphere, and the beauty of the ballpark. Jet Blue Park is only about two years old, and is a state of the art facility. It's called "Fenway South" - as it's a replica of Fenway Park, up in Boston….


In case you had a brain fart and FORGOT that Jet Blue Park is known as "Fenway South", there were reminders everywhere at the ballpark…they seem to be pretty good at these reminders, it appears….


There's even a replica of the Green Monster out in left field:


It's pretty awesome…last year, we sat on top of that…but it was a little high for me...


We spent some time initially exploring the area that has a tribute to some of Boston's greatest players, as well as a tribute to Jackie Robinson:


Carl "Yaz" Yastrzemski…played his entire 23-year career with the Red Sox…one of my favorite players of all time...



Jackie Robinson…truly a legend, and someone I wish I had been able to see play…



We eventually made our way into the stadium and found our seats…it was nice just chilling out, listening to some great music on the loudspeakers, and watching the Tampa Bay Rays take batting practice. Sitting where we were, it soon became very evident that an awful lot of balls were being smacked into the section of seats right beside us…there was a group of young men hanging out in this section with their baseball gloves, all eager to scoop up a foul ball as a free souvenir. After watching this for a few minutes, I leaned over to our son, Taylor, and daughter, Mikayla, and casually said, "Hey! You guys should be over there - you might catch something, too!"

I didn't really think they would take me up on this…as both are somewhat shy and hesitant…but seeing that the stadium was still pretty empty, and that no one would mind if they moved over a section to scoop up errant foul balls, they soon got to their feet and moved over to the next section. Apparently, Hubby had missed my suggestion, as he soon realized the kids had gone, and seeing where they'd went, he voiced his concerns:

Hubby, in shock: "Wait, what??!! What the heck are the kids doing over there???!!!"

Me: "They're going to try to catch a foul ball."

Hubby, in disbelief: "EEK! MIKAYLA is going to catch a foul ball???!!! Hardly - she's more likely to break her neck!!!!"

Which is somewhat true. She IS a bit of a Klutz…and not exactly athletic, AT ALL. She's more likely to catch a cold, actually, than catch a baseball. But, still…

Me: "Oh, leave her alone. Let her have some fun. Besides, it's not like she'll catch anything. Taylor's over there, too, and he'll make sure to catch anything before it can do any damage to her."

Which is true. Taylor played baseball for many, many years, including playing on the varsity team at high school. And he's 6'5" tall. If a ball was anywhere CLOSE to hitting Mikayla, Taylor can reach over with his long arm and defend her nose or her face. He's got quite a stretch.

Not quite happy with this, Hubby studies the scene a few minutes longer, and notices that Taylor is in Row 1, along with 10 other young men about his age, up against the barrier between the seats and the field…while Mikayla is standing a few rows behind Taylor….

Hubby: "Why is Mikayla standing so far back???!! Why isn't she with everyone else, in the first row??"

Me: "Well, she's waiting for the bounce. Besides, this is GOOD that she's not in the first row. It's less likely she'll get smacked with a ball in her face, because Taylor will snatch anything that's even close to her, with her being behind him."

This is true. At least logically, this sounded very true. Little did I know that this was NOT going to happen.

Sure enough.

No sooner had I said that, when we heard a crack of the bat…and saw a screaming line drive heading right towards us…or at least the next section over.

Hubby and I immediately sat up straight, and I remember saying out loud, "Uh oh. Here we go."

As we watched the ball sail over our heads, heading towards the kids, I was holding my breath. What would happen? Would Mikayla's nose get smashed with a baseball, giving her a 4th broken nose??? Which would mean I would NEVER hear the end of it from Hubby??!! Or would Taylor reach up with his incredible height and save the day???

As the ball arc'd downwards towards the group of eager young men, all straining to jump up and catch it, one of them must have tipped it - so it sailed over their heads, took a bounce right by Mikayla, who then shot out one hand and grabbed the ball. On it's first bounce. She was off balance as she grabbed it, and tilted alarmingly over, appearing to almost topple over the seats, but she caught herself…and quickly righted herself, holding the ball up triumphantly with one arm...

…as the group of young men in Row #1 - including her brother - looked at her in disbelief...

…as the small crowd sitting in various sections close to this section gave her a round of applause - the young 14-year old girl, beating out the 20-year old men, the majority of whom had on GLOVES, mind you, in the hunt for the souvenir…

…and as her parents watched in a state of shock, mixed with a huge swelling of pride.

THAT'S OUR GIRL!!!!!!! I wanted to shout, and blast over the loudspeakers.

THAT'S OUR GIRL, AND I THINK THIS IS THE FIRST BASEBALL SHE'S EVER CAUGHT IN HER LIFE!!!!!



Well. The smile on Mikayla's face was pretty much permanently plastered there the rest of the afternoon…it got even better when she gathered up the courage and had Tampa Bay shortstop Sean Rodriguez autograph her ball.

Such is the stuff of lore…the day that our daughter caught a ball at the baseball game.

Beating out men…with gloves. Beating out her 6'5" brother.

And not breaking her neck in the process.

Priceless.

As American As Baseball, Root Beer, Puppies and Naps

There is a reason that baseball rolls around every year when it does…during the spring…when promises of warmth, sunshine and flowers coincides with promises of batting championships and league pennants and World Series rings.

The bleakness of winter is, for the most part, behind us…and the boys of summer dust off their bats, rosin up their gloves, and take the fields, as anxious as the fans to dive headfirst into a new season….

After arriving in beautiful and sunny Fort Myers yesterday afternoon, we couldn't wait to don our own baseball hats and head off to our first Spring Training game today - a match-up between the Minnesota Twins and the Philadelphia Phillies.

Am I fan of either team?

Heck, no.

But, I AM a fan of baseball…so it was actually rather relaxing to head to a game and not worry about who was going to win.

We arrived at the ballpark about two hours before game time, thinking this would allow us to beat the crowds. Oh, silly us. We forget how passionate Spring Training fans are…upon arrival, it became apparent that not even a FOUR-hour head start would have helped.

Outside Hammond Stadium, my son and daughter pose for their traditional pic:



It's traditional, because these two kids have posed like this outside baseball stadiums for years and years. Instinct, I guess.


One of the joys of Spring Training is the intimacy…the players are up-close and personable, including batting practice. We were able to walk right up and enjoy the Twins taking a few swings:



This is actually right outside the stadium, on a separate field…but it's something you would NEVER find in a major-league ballpark during the regular season.


After watching some of the guys take some swings, we meandered into the stadium, where we quickly found our seats. We were ten rows behind the Phillies' dugout, and we had an awesome view of their batting practice, as well:




Since we had some time to kill before the game, Daughter and I did a selfie:




But, wait a minute…there's a problem. A "good" selfie (but really, IS there such a thing? I digress, however) should include the background of where you're at, so you'll remember the event. We had not taken our selfie with the ballpark in the back - so we decided to take another one. We had just stood up to take it when an elderly gentleman behind us asked if he could help us and take the picture for us. Not wanting to seem rude, we shrugged and handed him our camera. I thought it was hysterically funny when I got home and discovered he'd held his finger down on the camera shutter forever, so we came home with a TON of photos:



That's just some of them. I think there were three more pages of photos. Gah.

They weren't too bad, but my baseball hat cast a rather dark shadow on my face…which could actually be a good thing. Hee hee.




Son and Hubby take their batting practice a bit more serious…no "selfies" for them - they were intently watching the field:




Soon, it was time for the National Anthem. A little girl, who couldn't have been more than 10 years old, walked out on the field with a microphone, began singing the anthem, and proceeded to KNOCK IT OUT OF THE PARK. Seriously, her voice sounded like a 35-year old operatic singer - the crowd was blown away and gave her a resounding standing ovation that lasted a few minutes. What a moment.

Then, Play Ball!




It soon became very evident that this was going to be a pitcher's duel…with little-to-no offense. By the fourth inning, I think there was a total of three hits. Gah. I hate scoreless games. I like a bit of action. I want to see singles and doubles and homers and stolen bases. Instead, all we saw were outs.

Speaking of action, every now and then a breeze would kick up, as evidenced by the flags in left field:



Hey. After air-conditioning, swimming pools and sunscreen, breezes are the fourth-best invention EVER in the state of Florida. We learn to appreciate them, especially while baking in the sun in the grandstands of a baseball park. Because, sure enough, it began to get even hotter, and I discovered this unwelcome sight:



Ack. No breeze. A Floridian's worst nightmare. Perhaps a cold drink is needed.


I do have to admit that the World's Best Root Beer can be found at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers. We discovered this little gem when we first began coming to these games a few years back - and it may or may not be the reason we keep coming back to the Twins games:



I've seriously never found a better Root Beer - it's cold, refreshing and just the right sweetness…and it's gluten-free, to boot, as it proudly says right on the lid. Woot!


All good things must come to an end…the game ended in a 1-1 tie (and yes, ties are allowed in Spring Training), so we jumped in the car and decided to pay a surprise visit to my parents. And the fact that we timed our visit perfectly with dinner was a pure coincidence. Really.

It's a good day when you see your son passed out on Grandma's floor, with their dog, Snickers, cuddled up next to him with her favorite toy:



Seriously. How cute is that? Baseball…puppies…naps…does life get any better???!!

Peace.