Boo Pedro?

A lot of debate over the last few days about what to do with Pedro. Do the fans boo him? Cheer him? Act indifferent? I say they cheer him. I know I will not be there. If I was, I'd stand up and clap. Perfect game tonight for me would be a 1-o victory for the Sox, Petey being pulled in the 8th and the Mets giving up the run in the ninth. I'm actually kind of worried about to night. I remember Roger's first game back in bean town after being shown the door. He pitched with a vengeance. Hopefully that doesn't happen tonight. Oh well. The games about to start. Go SOX!

Bittersweet Victory

Our friends Mitch, Jawan, Jennifer, and John Ed

Had a great time Saturday watching the Sox beat the Braves at Turner Field. I'll have to admit though it was a little bittersweet. I've been a Braves fan since I was old enough to know what was going on. I loved Dale, Glenn Hubbard, Ozzie Virgil, and Bob Horner. And I remember being allowed to stay up late and watch Sid Bream beat the tag at home. My favorite pitcher was Steve Avery and favorite fielder was Mark Lemke. But after the Braves World Series beatings by the Yankees, I started getting into the Sox Yankees rivalry. Then I started pulling for the Sox just to see the Yanks loose. Then I started reading Bill Simmon's articles. I fell in love with the Sox. I loved how the underdog finally won. David finally beat Goliath. And now its Boston for me. I love how they overcame a 3-0 deficit for the greatest comeback in playoff history. I love how they might have lost in the past, but they always went down swinging. I love how their fans almost outnumber their opponents at away games. I love how they start anti-yankee chants at away games in another team's stadium. And I love being a Sox fan. Now that the series is over, I say go Braves again. But always, Go Sox.

Great things that happened:

Papi and my favorite player Kevin Youkilis both hit homeruns.

Papelbon came in and recorded a save.

Beckett looked awesome.

And of course, the Sox won.

Vacation Pics

Here are a few pics from our reunion/ vacation in St. Simons Island. We had a great time at the beach, the waterpark, and the lott cottage. Lots of fun!

Memorial Day

Wanted to share a little of what me and Chrissy enjoyed today. We cooked some really good steak kabobs and corn.


The second picture is of somebody wanting table scraps. Do you think she deserves scraps?

Funny shirt and an etiquette question

Isn't this a great T-shirt? I found it on chowdaheadz.com. There were a few other Yankees shirts that aren't appropriate, but they're still funny. By the way, those of you going to the Sox-Braves game June 17th, chowdaheadz is a great place to get your Red Sox apparel.

I read an article a few days ago by Bill Simmons on ESPN.com. A reader wrote him a question about etiquette at a baseball game. His response was: "You only have eight responsibilities during a baseball game: Take your hat off for the National Anthem; don't take your shirt off; don't bring your baseball glove if you're over 13; don't wear a jersey with your own name on it; don't run onto the field; don't reach into the field of play to grab a pop-up or ground ball if it could adversely affect your team; don't boo one of your own players unless it's absolutely warranted; and don't throw up. That's it. Everything else is up to you. " I've often thought about the glove comment. I have to agree with him. If you're too old to be in little league, you ought to be able to catch the ball with your bare hands. But thats just me. I'd never do it, but I'm not going to stick my nose up at anyone who does. I'd also have to add a few items: don't curse a lot (especially when kids are around); don't spill your beer/coke on others; and don't stand up if your the only person doing it. But thats just me.

Happy Birthday to Us

Me and Chrissy's birthdays were last week. For one day out of the year, she is actually 3 years older than me. I thought about getting her a cane, but I don't think she'd see the humor. She got me a great CD for my birthday by Jack Johnson (pictured above). It is great, mellow music. Good stuff. We ate pizza and threw sod on my birthday. The inlaws got me a meat thermometer and a gift certificate. Thanks guys.

On her birthday (the day before), I got her a cake decorating kit, Emma the movie (the one with Gwyneth Paltrow), and took her to a cool restaurant in Auburn called Cock of the Walk. Almost forgot, Maggie celebrated her birthday with us by eating a good tasty bone. Fun times.

Last Day of School

You would think that today being the last day of school I would be pumped. I am pretty excited about the time off but my joy is less because some of these kids will not be back next year. The kids in these pictures all are a part of the extended care program so I have had a lot of time to get to know them. One, possibly two will be back. I can't believe that these kids who have been so sweet to me and have meant so much to me I will more than likely never see again and never know how their lives go. I trust that God will be with them and protect them as they grow.

Praying With 4 Year Olds

Today I subbed for the K-4 class. At the begining of class we say some pledges and then pray. I asked if anyone had any prayer request and a few hands shot up. The first one wanted me to know that her great great great great grandmother died. The next few also told me about someone that they have never known dying. Then the next request was by someone who wanted us to know that his dog died but that it was okay because he now has a cat that he likes ( this also happened a while ago ). Seeing that this was getting out of hand I stopped tham all and said that for today we only need to pray about things that are happening now. Amazingly enough the next request was about someone that had died years ago. I ended up saying my own prayer just asking for us to have a good day and to live to bring glory to God.

Going to the birds

The last few times we've come through the front door at night, a bird has just about hit us. He's nesting under the overhang of our front porch. I've destroyed his nest the last 3 nights in a row, yet he still comes back and rebuilds. Chrissy wont let me kill it. Any non-fatal ideas? I think there has been some bats under there too.

And another thing; is it illegal to shoot a rifle in your backyard if you live in a neighborhood? The guy down the street sure doesn't think so. The thing that is really scary is that there are houses behind his house and a road. Besides the danger, the noise isn't really considerate. Whatever.

We Finally Won!

I know that the Red Sox have won plenty of games this year but every game that I watch they lose. I was begining to think that I was a jinx, thankfully last night that changed. It was so much fun watching the Yankees get beat. I can't wait to watch the next game.

Spring Fling

Today we went to watch Olivia play tee ball, she was great. It was so much fun watching the kids play. After that we went to our church's Spring Fling. Caroline and Olivia had a great time jumping on the moonwalk, I enjoyed playing in the cake walk and winning a cupcake, and Chad had fun trying to convert all the little kids to being Red Sox fans.

Why won't they listen to me?

Wily Mo: 269 avg., 1 Homerun.

Bronson Arroyo: 3-0, 3.04 ERA. 2 Homeruns (HIT!! He has hit more homeruns than Wily Mo)

Why didn't Theo listen to me?

I saw the Sox D-rays game a few nights ago. I know Coco will be back soon, but I really like seeing Youk hitting leadoff. It was amazing how many pitches he saw. I think he's going to be around for a long time. He'll never be a superstar, but he'll be a asset to any team.

Will Josh Bard learn how to catch the whiffle ball? I hope so. I know it took Belli a long time too.

Go Sox

Easter Weekend

We had a very busy weekend, we celebrated my grandfather's birthday and Easter. We went to our old church Sunday. It was so nice seeing everyone again. I was amazed to see how much the kids have grown, it made me realize how long we've been gone. I had a great time hanging out with my cousin Lily. She is cute, she just turned 3. Chad and I hid the Easter eggs for her. I am sorry to say that we hid one so well no one could find it. We are all hoping that it was one with money or stickers in it. Here is a great picture of Chad teaching Lily a bad habit.

GO FAITH!!!!

Yep,

As Chrissy so wonderfully explained in her last blog, it is baseball time again. Sorry to say, after a year in the big leagues (actually the C League of Oxford Alabama's church softball league), I've had to retire based on lack of performance and moving away. Anyways, I'd like to wish the reigning champion softball team good luck in the upcoming season. May your bats be strong and your defense be stingy. GO FAITH

It's Baseball Time!

For those of you who don't know baseball season started last night, Chad is very excited about this. Football is my favorite sport so I can't say that I am as pumped as he is but baseball is growing on me. I'm just not so sure that it will continue to grow on me if we watch every televised game. Last night we watched part of the game and tonight we watched the Braves-go Braves- and right now we are watching the Padres and Giants - neither team I care about but I am rooting against Bonds, even if he hasn't done roids he's just not a nice guy. Well Chad and I need to go walk Maggie before the championship game starts. Go Gators!

New clock

This is the clock we got as a wedding present from Chrissy's grandmother. Pretty cool huh?

Settling In

We're here! Finally, we've settled into our new house. Instead of going home to a hotel room every day, I come home to our very own house. It's been pretty interesting so far. I've been asked a few times if I'm happy to be out of the hotel. I'll have to say it is nice. It's much quieter out here in the sticks. We go for walks late at night some times and we can look up at the stars. I've got to cook out steaks and burgers a few times too. Didn't Chrissy do a great job picking out our area rug? There are also many new responsibilities. I've got a yard to cut again. I've put my blinds up, installed towel racks in the bathroom, installed pergo flooring, seeded the yard, and a few other home improvements. I'm actually enjoying doing all this grownup stuff. I especially enjoy the grilling out.

In other news: If you scroll back into the archives about 3 or 4 posts, you'll see a long blog about Bronson Arroyo. I commented on how refreshing it is to have a player who doesn't just play for the money. He's loyal to the team. Well, he's now a member of the Cincinatti Reds. I'm definitely bummed about no more corn rows. Things change though. As they say, all's fair in love and baseball. In return for a decent pitcher, we picked up something I'm not sure we need; Another outfielder. I guess Trot Nixon is absolutely terrible against lefties because they always like to have somebody to replace him with when playing a southpaw pitcher. Evidently, we can expect a bunch of strikeouts and a bunch of huge homers from Wily Mo Pena. I've got to admit, he's got a cool name. Papi said he has amazing power. I just hate we had to loose such a great player to get him. Good thing my loyalty is to the team, not the players. Go SOX!

Life in Salem

So far living in the new house is great, even the long commute isn't that bad ( I do wish that I had a CD player in my car though ). Maggie loves being able to go outside and run around the back yard, she also enjoys the walks that she is getting again. I am happy to have more than one room to be in, I was getting very bored at the hotel. Don't get me wrong it was nice living there with free breakfast and dinner and housekeeping, but it is nice being in your own home. Chad is happy to be getting home cooked meals again. The only downside to living in Salem is the fact that our cell phones do not pick up here very often and we do not have a home phone yet. Our laptop has been acting funny lately. It makes a clicking sound and then freezes up, if any of you are computer gurus and have an idea of what it might be let me know. Right now we are having to use Chad's work computer which means I can only get to a computer during the weekend, yuck!

New House Pics

Here's the master bedroom. You can see the beautiful floors that Chad and our Dads put down, I think that they should start there own business.











Here's the living room.











The kitchen.












And the other side of the kitchen.

A New Red Sox Fan?

I don't know if Chad has clenched Andrew's affections for the Red Sox but he sure is trying. I just hope that Mitch and Jawan don't mind since they are Braves fans. Maybe the Sox can be Andrew's second favorite team.

On a different note we close on our new house March 7th. Chad and I are going back to the house today to finish putting down the thresholds and quarter rounds. I will try to take some new pictures and put them up tonight.