Holy Cow!!!!

On June 29, I had the pleasure of heading into the city for a Cubs game.

I always start getting excited when we get to the skyway.

We were cruising right along until we hit a little traffic on Lakeshore Drive.
My friend Tom was a little excited when we passed Soldier Field.
He called it the mother ship.
He is the biggest Bears fan you will ever meet.
I'm pretty sure he wished we were really going there.

We passed Navy Pier
We finally made it to Wrigleyville.
Not a bad trip at all. Only took us an hour to get there.
We met some friends at the Cubby Bear.
I'd never been there before. We had so much fun.
My wonderful friends bought me a jersey. I love it!

We had a couple cocktails and appetizers.
I was saving my appetite for a hot dog at Wrigley.
Then it was time to head across the street.

We made our way inside and got our free can koosies.
We saw the poster of Jeff and I wished he was still playing at Notre Dame.

Here's my awesome friends Tom, Marge, Katy and I in our seats.
My hubby had a golf outing that day and couldn't go with us.
These were the kind of seats you dream of. Nine rows up behind homeplate.
It was the perfect weather night. Not too hot and definitely not cold.

The band came and played for us.

The guys from Mike and Mike in the Morning threw out the first pitches.

Tom said big Mike used to play for Notre Dame.

It was time to play ball.

It was a full house.

Ryan Dempster was the starting pitcher and he threw an amazing game.

Tom said the pitcher for the Giants was really good too.

Not as good as Dempster this night.

The Cubs were up 1-0 for most of the game.

For some reason, the powers that be decided we needed a pitching change in the 9th inning and in came Marmol. The Giants scored and the game was tied.

Batting for the first time in the game in the 9th was Aramis Ramirez and he connects.

The Cubs win and we get to sing Go Cubs Go!!

There was as much excitement on the field as there was in the stands.

I'm pretty sure Mr. Baseball himself was smiling when we left.

Now, let me tell you the story that made the above story possible.

Four years ago, I met a pretty awesome family at preschool. Their daughter was starting class with us. She was a cute as a button and she had a little brother who was pretty cute too.

Fast forward to year two. I find out that this little guy is a White Sox fan. As you all know, I am a Cubs fan. We start a banter between us that lasts to this day. I would ride him about the Sox and pretend that he was a Cubs fan. Even at three years old, he would always have a comeback. At his sisters preschool graduation that year, he comes up to me with an envelope in his hands and throws it at me saying "Here's your stupid Cubs tickets" and walks away. I laughed and then almost passed out when I opened the envelope. There inside was four tickets with a parking pass to a Cubs game. The seats were right behind homeplate nine rows up. Holy cow, how did I get so lucky? How could the pleasure of having these kids in my life make me worthy of such an extravagant gift? This would be my first Cubs game. I had wanted to go all my life and never gotten there and now I would. All I could think of was that there would never be a way to thank them that would ever live up to the honor they have given me.

I went to that game with my husband and my sister and brother-in-law and it was amazing. It rained for half the game and the Cubs lost, but I will never ever forget that game. It was definitely one of the ten best days of my life. The next year, I got the same gift. Different seats and the Cubs again lost, but the weather was beautiful.

Fast forward to this past school year. Our banter continued and I loved it. My little guy has matured into quite the young man. I know that might sound silly being he was a preschooler, but he is just a neat kid. He has a great sense of humor and knows lots of things about lots of sports. Lucky for us, our only rivalry was in baseball. We both liked the Bears and the Blackhawks. But we had the most fun with our baseball banter. During one of our last days of school, he brought me two little Cubs helmets. He said is dad told him to give them to me. He said I could eat ice cream out of them.

June 6 was preschool graduation. This day always pulls at my heartstrings a little anyway, but this year had a most special moment for me. The ceremony was over and there was lots of laughter and picture taking happening. Up walks my little baseball buddy with a gift bag in his hand. His mom and dad are with him. They asked if I would open the gift then. Inside are the 9th row awesome seats with the parking pass but there was something else. There was an official major league baseball inside a case signed by my little friend. Talk about a moment that melted my heart. That ball now sits in my computer room on a shelf with the little helmets and a picture of Ryan Theriot in a Cubs frame from my first game. I will treasure it forever.

Let me tell you why I love working in a preschool. I get to meet some of the most amazing children and families. I get to be a part of their lives for a few years. Sometimes I'm lucky enough to have many siblings and they remain a part of my life for years. This year, I was invited to four former students high school graduation open houses. I think that is amazing.

But the truly amazing thing is that sometimes, you meet some truly awesome families who leave an imprint on your heart that you will carry with you forever. This story stems from one of those families. I can't imagine changing that shelf. It makes me smile every time I look at it. And every time I look at it, I will remember that sweet little man who loved the White Sox and I think maybe loved me too. I can promise you that I love him!

You Capture / Water

Last week, I thought that this was going to be a boring capture for me. The pool wasn't warm enough for the kids to go in yet and I couldn't really think of much else.

I was wrong. I think a got a few good ones.

We started out the weekend with my cousins open house.

They have the most awesome new fish tank.

Natalie and Lizzy were so excited because Nemo was in there.

I took a walk at a park near us and forgot about the water there.

I totally forgot that I would would be driving down Lakeshore Drive yesterday for the Cubs game. I only got a few shots because traffic was moving quickly and some of the shots weren't that good. But I did get Buckingham Fountain.

I got some of the boats on the lake too.

The water looked so blue yesterday.

It turned to be the little capture that could.

Even though I thought I didn't have a shot.

Head over to Beth's and see all the rest of the water over there.

I'm So Excited and I Just Can't Hide It!

It's going to be one of those dream come true days.

Derek Lee won't be there.

Ryan Theriot won't be there either.
But I am going to be at Wrigley Field for a night game.
I've never been to a night game before and the weather is supposed to be perfect.

I will be sitting in this seat watching the Chicago Cubs.

I'll be there with three awesome friends.

Some people wouldn't think this is a big deal, but it really is a huge deal for me. I grew up loving the Cubs and I've never waivered even when they have a bad game (or year).

With any luck, I'll even get to go here.

Never been and I'd love to see it.

I'll be back with lots of pictures for you on Thursday

and the story behind how I got these awesome tickets.

You Capture / Bathrooms & Purple

You Capture this week is bathrooms and purple.

My daughter's pretty shower curtain covered both topics.

I have some of my favorite vacation pictures framed in my bathroom.
Sometimes when I'm relaxing in the tub, I pretend that I am still there on vacation.

My mom has these violets at her house.

She also has these cool flowers.

Lizzy calls them big purple ball flowers.

I don't know what they are really called.

Now it's time for you to head over to Beth's and see the other captures.

Oh The Sweetness

We took the grandkids and went to my mom and stepdad's house.

It was grandpa Eddie's 89th birthday.

They love when the kids come to visit.

Lizzy and grandpa on the swing.

Jack stopped moving for 10 seconds to give grandpa a hug.

Natalie is our hugger and was happy to share one with grandpa.

Jack spent a lot of time trying to figure out the hose caddy.

Lizzy was in love with these flowers.
She kept calling them big purple ball flowers.

Natalie was loving jumping off the porch.

Grandma Lou wasn't to sure about it.

I took a whole bunch of these group shots.

This was the best one I got.

It's hard to focus on moving targets.

We all had a fun time visiting.

Happy Birthday Eddie!

Can't wait to celebrate 90 with you next year.

Goodnight Moon

It's 1:31 a.m. and I just finished a post over at the Sisterhood.

I also just came in from taking pictures of the moon.

I've been out there the last few nights.

It has been so beautiful.

I love taking pictures of the moon. Many of you know that already.

I just wanted to share a few with you.

If you wake up at 3:27 a.m. to use the bathroom, you can catch a shot like this when the moon isn't in the trees. This might be my favorite.
This one was taken in the front yard.

This one was taken in the driveway.

Last but not least, this one was taken in the back yard.

Okay, I want to be up early to go to the farmers market, so I need to get to sleep.

Hope you all have a great weekend and enjoyed the pictures.

Enough Drama

An old man once said, "There comes a time in your life, when you walk away from all the drama and people who create it. You surround yourself with people who make you laugh. Forget the bad, and focus on the good. Love the people who treat you right, pray for the ones who don't. Life is too short to be anything but happy. Falling down is a part of life, getting back up is living."

A friend had this posted on her Facebook profile. It spoke to me. This is what I need to do in my life. I am 56 years old and I'm tired of the drama that goes on every day around me. I'm tired of the people who think they are better than me. I'm tired of the people who think they are always right about everything. I'm tired of the people who can only feel good about themselves by tearing down someone else. I'm tired of the people who always put me last on their list. I am just tired.

I have never been one to whine, complain and point fingers on my blog. Too many people already do that. I'm sorry to be doing that now. I've broken my own rule. But sometimes, it's important to stand up for yourself.

A line that Ado Annie had in Oklahoma keeps popping into my head. She said " I'm not saying I'm better than anybody else, but I'll be damned if I ain't just as good." Ditto for me!!

You Capture / Flowers

I found flowers this week in the yards of my daughter and myself.

I also found them in some of the beautiful bouquets from the last days of school.

I bet you can find some beauties over at Beth's.

This Was Kind of Weird....

So, I'm leaving for the store and my hubby comes out of the pole barn with a piece of paper in his hand. He says "You can use this on your blog". This was weird because most days he doesn't even acknowledge that I have a blog let alone give me something for it. Here is what he wrote on the paper....

Life gets more precious when there's less of it to waste.

Bonnie Raitt on getting old

I am a nut for quotes. I love them. I have them written all over the place. I have a file of them on the computer. I have them on the walls. I have them on my desk at work. This might just be my new favorite, but what made him give it to me? It's just so not him.

Any ideas? Or do you have any good quotes for me?

You Capture/Games

We were kind of limited on games this week, so you'll have to bear with me as I stretch the assignment a little.

First, we have Lizzy and poppa chasing Natalie and Jack.

That got some pretty good laughs going.

It was preschool olympics. I have lots more pictures, but I can't put all the other kids up here without their parents permission. This is Natalie working her way through the obstacle course.

I don't know if this qualifies as a game, but the girls got to go in their new pool for the first time.
They had a blast.

If you head over to Beth's, you may just find some real games.