"Singing"

I *Heart* Cleveland

Mike & I decided late last year that we didn't want to do anything too extravagant for our fifth wedding anniversary, but that we did want to mark the occasion by getting away for a little bit. I was really pushing to go to a cabin in Hocking Hills, but I just couldn't get him on board. So I settled for something I knew we'd both enjoy--a Cleveland Indians game. And luckily, they had a home series on the appropriate weekend! So I had us all booked & paid for by the end of December, and we had to endure a 6-month wait.

Finally, the fourth of June arrived, and we dropped the boys with PooPoo for the afternoon & overnight. I was a bit worried when we could see Aiden through the front screen door collapse on the floor in full meltdown mode as we drove away, but we pressed on. We arrived in Cleveland & checked into our hotel. I wasn't too excited about us being on the 12th floor, but the view was pretty sweet. Then we headed to Panini Bar & Grille just outside of Jacobs Field. Mike had a sandwich complete with french fries on it, and I enjoyed a big ole piece of pizza. We both had very large beers, reminiscent of OSU tailgaiting. :)

Then it was on to the Jake, where we met up with my sister & dad who had tickets to the same game. We took some goofy pictures while trying to stay cool in the 93-degree heat, and before we knew it, the gates were opened.

This is where things started to get interesting; as soon as we passed through the turnstiles, an promotional staff member asked if I wanted to be involved in one of their promotions. I said sure, what the hey? So he took down all my information, and told me that if the Tribe struck out 8 Texas batters, I would win a gift card to Circle K. In return, all we (me, Mike, Abby, and Dad) had to do was dance around and look excited for 40 seconds so they had a clip to play on the scoreboard when they announced the promotion. So we did the dance, and felt absolutely ridiculous. After we'd been sitting in our seats for awhile, and as it was getting closer to game time, suddenly there we all were on the GIANT screen, dancing like idiots while the announcer said my name over the speaker. SURREAL EMBARASSMENT doesn't begin to cover it. Oh well.

So to fast forward a bit, we didn't get 8 strikeouts, so no $100 gift card for me. And the Indians lost the game, which was a bummer. But we had GREAT seats (we could even put our feet up!), and the post-game fireworks were great.

I just want to stop for a minute and say how much I enjoy Cleveland. The city has so much character; we're used to the tidy gridded layout of Columbus, so the messy, winding roads of Cleveland's downtown are a mess and make no sense--and are completely awesome. I just love the feel of the city in general.

So we had a great anniversary weekend, but it was nice to get back to the boys, too. Maybe for our ten-year, we'll do a second honeymoon in the Bahamas--or maybe we'll just head back up north :)

Five Years Ago Today...

...Mike & I said "I do." :)



I'll save you the mushy stuff, other than you know when they say it gets better everyday?

Totally true. :)

Our Long Weekend: The Good, the Bad, and the UGLY

So for the most part, we had a pretty good Memorial Day weekend. Saturday was the coolest day, at around 85ish degrees. Mimi was kind enough to watch the boys for us so Mike & I could grab lunch and then see Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. It was okay; different by far from the first three movies, and there was a subplot that I found unnecessary and annoying, but overall it was still enjoyable. One thing I was NOT thrilled about was the group of teeny-boppers that would make fun of a mentally disabled many every time he laughed at an inappropriate moment. I've never been closer to telling someone off in my life. :(

On Sunday, we headed up to my folks' house for a visit. Despite the climbing temperatures, we had a great time, especially since we got to visit with my grandparents as well!

Aiden had a great time running through the sprinkler.

And Nolan was perfectly content to cool off by sitting in his own bucket of water. :)

Monday was an odd day. It didn't start out well with the announcement that Jim Tressel had resigned as head football coach for the Buckeyes. It's amazing the damage that dumb decisions by immature "star" athletes can cause. Their actions ruined an amazing career, and have tarnished my favorite team. It's gonna take awhile to get over, but I took my frustrations out by pulling weeds in my flower beds in the 90-degree heat. Mike & Aiden worked on building the boys' swing set.

It's almost complete, save for attaching the slide once we get the correct screws (you'd think they'd QC those kits).

Then my guys graciously held still long enough for me to get a photo of them together, which lately is no tiny feat:


I CANNOT BELIEVE how big Nolan is getting. Just this week alone, he a) got his first two teeth! b) figured out how to get out of the bumbo chair, and c) learned how to clap on demand! See the video below for the proof...

A glimpse of future rough-housing

Something tells me that it will probably be a bit rougher than this...