Last night we took Brooke to her first Orioles game.  A lot of forces in the universe aligned to let us attend, or possibly God had it in our plans to be there! )  We were given a choice of some awesome seats for one of a few nights & we chose Thursday since my good friend Angelica would be singing the national anthem.  These seats rocked!  Thank you so much friends who let us attend – the joy on Emma & Brooke’s faces as they saw the game up close & got to experience the Oriole bird will never be erased from my memory!  Thank you, thank you!  Here’s my favorite shot of the night – sorry fans, no O’s players yet, but come back later for those shots.

My girls & their daddy…

Josh is explaining something about the game to Brooke & Emma is checking her Shrek watch to see if it’s time for Angelica to sing yet.  I don’t know who that other dude is.

O-M-G!  Did you know today is supposed to be day 100 of the 365 project, if you started on January 1st & posted faithfully up until now?  Well, obviously I haven’t been very faithful!  I’m going to try to catch up on the remaining days I was gone in Ethiopia, to add to my 365 posts, while adding on this end too.  It’s gonna be very confusing for all involved.  Don’t try to understand it.  As long as I have “Image 365″ by the end, then it all worked out.  *sigh*

This is image 69, actually taken yesterday, so I’ll be posting again later tonight.  My husband Josh & I have a tradition of going to the Baltimore Orioles Opening Day every year, and we were able to keep that tradition going this year.  I can’t say as much about the O’s having a tradition of winning, but for that discussion I’ll direct you to my brother-in-law’s sports blog:  Section 336.

These are my husband’s hands during the game.  I don’t remember the exact moment this was taken, but let’s just say it wasn’t an easy win or loss for either side.  There was some stress involved.  But I was glad to share in this day with him again, and grateful that my father & brother-in-law joined us this year.  Thanks for letting me in on your boys talk, guys!

*if you want to see a few more photos from this day, head on over to my Facebook page & check ‘em out*

**highlights of the game:  lady getting beamed in the head with a foul ball by Ludo (hope she’s okay), drunk guy jumping on to the field, and Gonzalez losing the game.  I didn’t say they were positive highlights**

About three weeks ago, Beverly and I had the great honor of seeing a fine young man named Drew celebrate his graduation from the United States Naval Academy.  Drew’s mom was my daughter’s preschool teacher this year and Emma just loved her.  When she asked if I’d be there to document this occasion for her son, I was honored.

Now all of you know I’m no graduate of the USNA, but I’ve known some, and those men and women work HARD to get where they are.  They are some of our nation’s finest representatives,  and the promise they make to serve and protect us are nothing short of heroic.  But just as they work hard, they deserve to party hard too.  Bev & I had such a fun time watching Drew relax with his family & friends,  play some cornhole &  beer whiffle ball, and eat his heart out…he had certainly earned it.

Drew, we wish you the best in your future endeavors.  Enjoy your short time off, and don’t forget to call your mom often, because I know she’s gonna miss you!

The Navy Ram

Cornhole

This is what Drew will be training for

Drew’s brother playing some cornhole

This gift was an Orioles hat Drew’s friend took from him 4 years ago when he entered the Academy

He was surprised they’d kept it all these years

A loving father

(Disclaimer:  These photos were taken with my iPhone because I didn’t want to lug my nice 40D out in possibly torrential downpours)

Yesterday we continued our tradition of attending the Baltimore Orioles‘ Opening Day.  We went with our friends Steve & Heather and each of us were excite because our lovely mothers had our children for most of the day!  We were also excited because the O’s played the Yankees and it’s apparently a big rivalry.  Not that the Orioles skill level matches the Yankees, just that the Yankees fans live so close that they always come down and crowd our stadium.  Well, we showed them yesterday just who’s house they were in…OUR HOUSE!  The Orioles won 10 to 5…amazing!  We had a great time with Heather & Steve.  Here’s a little about what happened….

On our way in, dodging many bar-goers, we were stopped at a light and this huge Gecko kept looking at Heather through her window.  So we amused him/her and took it’s picture.

We ferociously booed the Yankees‘ Mark Teixeira.  I mean that poor guy got booed from the time he left the dugout until he finished striking out at bat!  Josh informed that he had apparently teased the Orioles by saying he may play for his hometown team and then went to the Yankees instead for more money.  What now, Teixeira!

Every year we comment on how we love Opening Day, but we hate how many crazy drunks we run in to.  Steve had the wonderful opportunity to sit next to “Mark.”  We saw him with a few drinks, but didn’t realize why he was so wasted until he told Steve that his “coke” wasn’t really Coca-Cola…it was another mixture!  Thankfully he was seated next to Steve who helped him not set a Yankees hat on fire…twice! We didn’t take a photo of him, but you can barely see the side of him in this photo of Heather & Steve.

Then there was the ever-so-loud, slightly drunk, woman next to me who kept shouting, “Give me my money back, O’s!  Do something.  Show me why I spent my money!”  Hopefully she feels her money was well spent!  Here’s a view of Josh hiding under his hood, and Heather, being silly behind him.

And last, but not least, a photo of Josh and ME! I know…those are rare!  I begged Josh for one so we’d have evidence that we actually were there.  Now, I know, it does look like I’m choking my husband, but that’s not at all what happened.  He kept shaking his head around so Steve wouldn’t be able to take a picture, so I had to hold his head still.  End of story.

Great win, Orioles!  Let’s see what you do today!