Game #1 - Diamondbacks vs White Sox

Our flight into Phoenix was uneventful - my favorite kind of flight. When we got into town, we had about two hours to kill. So we headed to our hotel for a little rest. After hanging out, we left for the game. This ballpark is on the other side of Phoenix.

If you've ever been to Phoenix, you'd know that this town grew up WAY faster than its infrastructure did. So their interstate system just can't handle the amount of cars they get during rush hour. Which of course is when we were trying to cross town. After an hour and a half car ride to Columbus and a four and a half hour flight, the last thing we wanted was another hour and 15 minutes car ride. Oh well...

We still got to the game with plenty of time to spare. The spring training home of the D'backs is brand new this year and the park is beautiful. I'm sure that our $10 burger/fries were playing for part of that. They also had one of the most "interesting" ballpark treats I've ever seen. It was a skewer with alternating marshmallows and strawberries, always with a strawberry on top. But then they drizzled white chocolate over it. Especially on the top. Picture it in your mind. Yeah, that's pretty much what it looked like.

The Sox were winning 5-3 at the top of the 9th. We left a bit early to beat the crowd out of the parking lot. I couldn't handle another long car ride.

Here's some pics of the game:












On Friday we will see the Reds vs Rangers in the afternoon and the Giants vs Padres in the evening. It'll be a long but fun day.


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Hello from 35,000 ft

As I'm typing this, Ryan and I are at about 35,000 ft over Oklahoma (or at least that's my best guess). As we were getting on the plane, Ryan said, "I'm still not sure this is real". I guess we did a good job with the surprise part.



During our flight, Ryan has taken 2 tests and done 2 homework sheets. Did I mention his mean teachers who are making him do homework while we're gone? There's still at least 8 sheets of homework for him to do during our trip. I guess better to be on vacation and have homework than to be in school and doing it!




Tonight we are going to see the White Sox play the Diamondbacks. The game is at 6:40pm MST. We'll see how bad the jet lag hits Ryan. Ok, and me too!

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And we're off...

This morning worked out perfect. Ryan got up just like normal, got dressed, brushed teeth and had breakfast. He got his jacket and backpack then started to walk out the door to get on the bus.

He's known that there was a surprise coming and has been bugging us to find out what it is. He thought it was going to be a new game for his DS or an xBox.

So as he's walking out the door, Suzy said "oh yeah, we're going to give you your surprise this morning." You should have seen him spin around. I had a folder prepared with an itinerary of all the events for the weekend.





It took him a minute to really grasp what was going on. He didn't process that we were leaving today. When he did, he flipped out and did a little dance.




I had him all packed so we jumped in the car and drove to the Columbus airport. He was very intrigued about the whole security process (and why we had to take off our shoes).




So now we are waiting for our flight. Next posting will be from Phoenix!

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Bags are packed

Ok, the bags are packed. And tomorrow morning Ryan will get up and ready for school just like any other day. Except he's not going to school. He'll be getting an itinerary for the next 5 days.





I'll try to update as much as I can.


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A trip he won't forget

It's crazy for me to think that, in a few days, I will be the parent of a 10 year old. I swear it was just yesterday that Suzy and I got to see Ryan's face for the first time. Ten years later, we couldn't be happier with him.

Any of you that know Ryan or have heard us talk about him know one thing - he loves sports. He plays lots of sports and loves them all. But the one sport that he really like to watch is baseball. And he loves the Reds. Of course, so do I. (Side note - when we named Erin, Suzy didn't realize I had an ulterior motive. Our family now consists of Ryan, Erin, David and Suzy. Look at what those first letters spell. How did THAT happen?!? Hmmm. LOL)

So with Ryan's 10th birthday happening in March, we knew we needed to do something big. But what could we do for a 10 year old, who likes baseball and has a birthday in March? Too bad there isn't someplace we could go to see a bunch of baseball all at once. It would be great if there was beautiful weather as well. Oh wait...

So on Thursday, Ryan will get up and get ready for school like any other school day. Except, he's not going to school. He's going to Spring Training. He and I are driving up to Columbus, getting on a plane and flying to Phoenix. We'll be spending 4 days there and will see 6 games (3 Reds games).

The best part - he has no clue.

I'll be blogging our adventures the next few days. Stay tuned...