Play Ball!

Tonight, Keree had the great honor of not only getting to sing God Bless America during the opening ceremony of the Grizz lies game (think Minor league baseball) but she also got to start the game! Being that it was a Monday night game and also that it was 116 degrees (without heat index), the crowds were a little light. But if you saw the shaded side of the stadium, it was packed.  My Mom, myself and my Aunt P was able to watch this amazing moment in Keree's life. 

This is the head of promotions walking Keree out to the dirt right behind Home plate. 

 Keree singing God Bless America. I was amazed to look around and see quite a few people wiping tears from there eyes. Not sure if it's because of the song or because of how amazing Keree did. I'm going with, how amazing Keree sang!

The flag is in Center Field, so that is why she has her back to the stands. 

 This is Keree with K urt Cope land getting ready to start the game.

The microphone wasn't working at this point, so Keree had to yell "Play Ball." Which, she threw her arm up and yelled Play Ball. It was so adorable.

 Keree with Izzy, he is the mascot of the Grizz lies baseball team.

The view from our seats. Tonight was also $2 nacho night at the ball park. Since none of us had eaten, we decided to try their pulled pork and buffalo chicken nachos. They were so good and none of us were able to finish our plates.

 One of Keree's many favorite moments of the nights, the running of the eyeballs. Seriously, it is hilarious to watch a bunch of eyeballs bounce around the field.

 Keree got a game-used baseball signed by all the baseball players. She was in heaven. Kurt chuckled and told us how adorable and smart she was because when he handed back her baseball, she gripped it only on the red seams. To top off such a wonderful night, the Home team won 12-6!

Splash Pad, Summer Fun & Drive-in Movie

The new splash pad opened the day after school got out, but we haven't been since it's been way to crowded. So as a way for my Brother to spend sometime with Keree, we said "Let's go to the splash pad and play." He wasn't keen on the idea until we told him "The Girlfriend" could come along. I honestly didn't want to see her but decided if it was the only way for him to spend some quality time with Keree, I guess, I can put up with her. 

We thought that being a Sunday morning that the splash pad wouldn't be that crowded but I'm guessing because of the heat - it was 104 today with out the index, that more people came out early. I have to say that Keree's favorite part of the park was the giant mushroom. The water seemed a little warmer and it really felt like it was just a nice shower.

 I have to say that even with "The Girlfriend" there, we still  had fun. She was honestly trying to make an effort, which was more than she's done in the past five years. After about 1 1/2 hours, we took a short break and let Keree play in one of the tide pools they have on each side. I have to say, I'm not that thrilled with that option, lots of babies with no diapers, eeww. So, we didn't stay that long before returning to the splash park.

 We ended up being there for almost three hours. I have to say my favorite part was the buckets, it was great because you never knew how quickly they were going to fill up and pour down on you. I really wish someone would have gotten a picture of both Keree and I underneath one.

 Once we headed home, it was around 12:30p. So, I spent some time preparing lunch. I made slow-cooker Gyros and some Corn Salad. It took a little longer than expected, so we didn't eat until almost 3p. We called my Aunt P so she could come and visit my Brother for a short time. Of course, she didn't show up until right before 3p. While we waited for the food to cook, Keree, my Mom, my Brother and The Girlfriend spent time playing baseball and washers. The Girlfriend hated being out in the heat but the rest of us were use to it. We stayed hydrated and that's really the key to being out in the heat.

 After everyone ate lunch, The Girlfriend left to visit her family. Keree and my Mom went to lay down for a nap. My Bro, my Aunt P and I sat outside and talked about random stuff. I really thought after 5 hrs she would get the hint we had stuff to do and head out but that wasn't the case. Finally, my Mom had to be rude and told her to leave because we needed to leave. My Brother got my Mom a gift certificate for Mother's Day to go to the Drive-In movies. I hadn't been since I was little and this was Keree's first time. She had no idea what to expect but she was super excited to see Brave.

 We all piled into the back of my Brother's SUV, except for my Mom, who sat in a lawn chair. The minute the movie started, Keree was mesmerized. She said she had waited forever to see Merida and wanted to memorize the movie so she could play it out at home.

 I gotta say that I enjoyed Brave. I know, I've read lots of mixed reviews and the movie is a little on the darker side but that's how the true fairytale is told. It's not all bright, sunny and cute.

 My second favorite part was watching all the vintage ads for the refreshment center. Many of them I remembered when I was little.

 What is great about this Drive-In, is that for the price of admission, you get two movies. So we also got to stay and see Madagascar 3. We all kept thinking Keree would fall asleep during it but she stayed up until the end, which was after 12:30am. When the movie ended, she was lucky enough to be the first one to wish my Brother, Happy Birthday.

3 days till Opening Day

Since this morning, was my Mom's doctor's appointment, I decided to keep Keree home from school. This way I didn't have to pull her out early. Luckily, that meant I was able to sleep in a little longer. I flipped on cartoons, pulled the cover back over my head and got a extra 1/2 hr to sleep which was great with how sluggish and sore I still feel from last weeks sickness. We got to my Mom's doc appointment almost a 1/2 hr early but she still had to wait over an hour and half after her appointment time to get in. Luckily the appointment went as well as can be expected. While my Mom was waiting to be seen, Keree and I hung out in the car. Honestly, I hate to sit in the waiting room there because every time we do, we end up catching something. So we opt for the car. While we were in the car, Keree worked on some spanish lessons with a cd. What is amazing is each of the spanish lessons are broken down into easy to learn sections. We worked on colors and numbers today. I don't remember where I got the books/cds but they were only $1 a piece and Keree has caught on so quickly with them. After we finished them, we then worked on some 1st grade workbooks, I had also picked up. Keree almost finished the reading workbook and only touched a little bit of the math workbook. Of course, since we still had time to wait, we then drug out the Addition flash cards and worked on them. On our way home, I had to stop and pick up some pictures I had printed from the store. I was so mad because they weren't printed right and even though the Manager was working the counter, she told me to come back tomorrow to have them fixed because she didn't know what to do. Seriously, great customer service. Once home, it was past 1p. Keree ate a quick lunch and went down for a nap without fuss, which was great. So I spent my afternoon, trying to catch up on everything I put off from not feeling well. Of course, my day couldn't go completely well. The AT called this afternoon and basically said everything I didn't want to hear. So since today is Monday and it's only 3 more days till my Hometown Baseball team's opening day, I decided on a baseball themed Muffin Tin for dinner. I honestly say this was one of the most fun I have had since Halloween in creating a Muffin tin. So without further ado, I used baseball themed muffin liners turned inside out so you could see the picture. In my first cup, I took 2 piece of cheese and created my own Cards baseball player, which ball player he is, well that's a toss-up. Keree said it was Wainwright. I free-handed the ballplayer cut out with a knife because I don't own a cookie cutter shaped like that. I then drew all the small details on with edible markers. Next up is an ice cream baseball. I used vanilla ice cream for the ball and then cut little pieces of red licorice for the stitching detail. In the final cup of that row was a cherry flavored cupcake, I got at the grocery store with a Cards hat on it. It was just so cute and totally fit the theme. In the second row, the first cup contains a Home plate. All I did for this is cut the bread with a knife into the shape. It looked so plain but honestly a home plate is boring looking. In the next cup is some ballpark peanuts. Keree isn't a fan of nuts, so they are really only there for show. In the final cup is some chopped tomatoes on red toothpicks. I also placed the other cupcake pick I got in with the tomatoes. The final piece that pulls it all together is the hot dog baseball bat. I just simply cut pieces off the hot dog to make it look like a bat, then I used edible markers to write slugger on it. Of course for some reason my u smeared. The rest of our evening was spent working on crafty stuff, we have a huge show in a little over 2 weeks and I feel so far behind in everything.

Errands

Well today, Keree didn't have school, they were off for something called school improvement day? Since the roads were finally clear, we ventured out and took my Mom to her appointment. Because the place was so crowded, Keree and I opted to sitting in the car, while she was inside. We drew, watched the traffic and talked about how much snow is still on the ground. When we got home, we took an early nap because this evening my Brother is heading into town for the weekend. We are all excited because this weekend we get to use our Christmas present, which was passes to the Cards Winter Warm-up. More than anything, I think we are excited just to spend time together as a family of 4. Keree misses her Uncle so much that it almost makes me want to sell everything and move closer to him. Once my Brother got home, we spent our evening helping pack everything we are taking this weekend, making a plan on who's autographs we were getting and just spending time together.