Rockies Game Without Children

These are the seats we get when we get to attend a baseball game without children...

And this is what a ballpark looks like when everyone has been evacuated due to inclement weather... except my husband who thinks the rain is refreshing and wants to watch the grounds crew battle the wind...

 

All The Way

For posterity sake...

and an addendum as of November 2, 2016

Double 1000 Words

1000 Words

... and... 

1000 More Words

Go, Cubs, go!

So... tonight is GAME SEVEN of the World Series... which is ALWAYS a big deal.

Game seven means that this is the last game, and winner takes all.

Game seven means that the teams are tied 3-3, and everything comes down to this last and final game.

Game seven is a big deal.

Game seven tonight is an especially big deal because THE CUBS are in the World Series.

The CUBS have forced a Game Seven of the World Series!

The Cubs have not won the World Series since 1908.

The Cubs have not played in the World Series since 1945.

This Game Seven is a BIG DEAL!!!

Cheering for the Cubs in this World Series is not my just jumping on band wagon... I have been a Cubs fan for a long time, I'm just not allowed to talk about it vert often.

 My Daddy grew up just north of Chicago and cheered for the Cubs as a boy.  

I recall a few stories about jumping a fence or two to watch the Cubs play.  

I recall another story about my dad (the golden boy) SKIPPING SCHOOL to stand in line for tickets for one of the World Series game in Chicago in 1945.  He got ten feet from the window when they announced tickets were sold out.

I remember those stories and have always liked the Cubs.

My grandparents and my brother attended Northwestern University... and became Cubs fans during their time in Evanston.

When I was six years old, I was on WGN radio and got to sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," and, of course, I sang the words, "... root, root, root, for the CUBBIES."

I like the Cubs.

When I married Hubby, I was informed that I was now a Cardinals fan... and the Cubs were our rivals.

That was fine, for the most part.  I love Hubby, so I was happy to become a Cardinals convert (and Hubby was happy to become a Michigan football fan), but when the Cubs were not playing the Cardinals, I still liked the Cubs.

Now, the Cubs are in the World Series,

the Cubs are not playing the Cardinals,

the Cubs have not won the World Series since 1908,

 AND

the Cubs have forced a GAME SEVEN. 

So...

Baseball season’s underway

Well you better get ready for a brand new day

Hey, Chicago, what do you say

The Cubs are gonna win today.

They’re singing …

Go, Cubs, go

Go, Cubs, go

Hey, Chicago, what do you say

The Cubs are gonna win today

Go, Cubs, go

Go, Cubs, go

Hey, Chicago, what do you say

The Cubs are gonna win today.

They got the power, they got the speed

To be the best in the National League

Well this is the year and the Cubs are real

So come on down to Wrigley Field.

We’re singing now …

Go, Cubs, go

Go, Cubs, go

Hey, Chicago, what do you say

The Cubs are gonna win today

Go, Cubs, go

Go, Cubs, go

Hey, Chicago, what do you say

The Cubs are gonna win today.

Baseball time is here again

You can catch it all on WGN

So stamp your feet and clap your hands

Chicago Cubs got the greatest fans.

You’re singing now …

Go, Cubs, go

Go, Cubs, go

Hey, Chicago, what do you say

The Cubs are gonna win today

Go, Cubs, go

Go, Cubs, go

Hey, Chicago, what do you say

The Cubs are gonna win today.

 

Treasuring the Present: October

October is one of my absolute favorite months.

These are just a few of the reasons why:

• Autumn weather -- crisp and chilly
• COLLEGE FOOTBALL -- the heart of the season
• Baseball playoffs (usually including the St. Louis Cardinals)
• By October, the school year maybe hasn't calmed down... but at least there is a routine
• Hunting season -- it makes Hubby so happy, and, Lord Willing, we get meat for our freezer
• Canning season... I'm not sure how this will work this year with our baby girl, but, traditionally, October is canning season for me
• Usually the first snow in the mountains
• With our precious baby girl this year the season that has always been oen of my favorites, is now even better -- her first football game, her first pumpkin, her first Michigan games (on tv), her first Cardinals playoff season, all culminating in her first Halloween
• The commencement of the Holiday season

I LOVE October!

Our Little Cardinal

We are raising a little cardinal fan -- my husband is making sure of that.

Tracey Ann has now attended two Cardinals games -- one with a bunch of family at "Cardinal Nation", and one in Busch Stadium, in Grandpa's season ticket seats, with her mama, daddy, and grandpa.

Grandma Miller wanted to make sure she and Tracey Ann had matching outfits... although Grandma didn't wear a matching hairbow.

The whole crew that had dinner together at Cardinal Nation -- it was a lot of fun.  In the picture are the three of us, Chris's parents, both siblings and their spouses, our brother-in-law's parents, several aunts, and several cousins.

Cardinal Nation is a new huge bar/restaurant facility right outside of Busch Stadium, where you can see the stadium, the fans, even some plays from the restaurant meanwhile you can watch the game on huge television screens (one is 40 feet tall).  Most of our family had not been to Cardinal Nation yet, but have wanted to... so we had a BIG group.

Tracey Ann is learning how to take "selfies" -- she LOVES the cell phone.

It was fun, and the food was good -- and it just so happened that the game we saw was full of downpours and rain delays... and we were warm and dry inside the restaurant.  Praise God!

Aunts and Cousins loving on Tracey Ann

 

Next, our little Cardinal attended a game IN Busch stadium, dressed to the nines seated in her grandpa's season seats.  The Cardinals lost that game, but we still had a great time, and she did so well during the game.

Grandpa teaching Tracey Ann all about the game

Grandma Miller has awesome seats!

Grandpa Miller, Daddy, and Tracey Ann

Tracey Ann slept for some of the game

Isn't she just the CUTEST little fan you've ever seen?!?!

GO CARDINALS!

 

Tracey Ann's First Baseball Game!

Tracey Ann has attended her FIRST ever baseball game!!!  This is a huge milestone in the Miller family.  Although it wasn't a Cardinal's game, she was decked out in her Cardinal's headgear.  :-D

We saw a spring training game between the Oakland A's and the Anaheim Angels.  Chris tells me that the Angels won -- I saw less of the game than I have of any baseball game I've ever attended.  It was fun to be there... but certainly a new experience of juggling -- trying to find shade, nursing on and off throughout the entire game, trying to keep the nursing cover down despite gusts of wind, and trying to curtail massive amounts of spit up.  It is a whole new ball game in our life these days.

Treasuring the Present: October 1

I LOVE OCTOBER!!!

via

October doesn't have my favorite holiday, it doesn't have a big event in my life, and it isn't even my favorite season... but I LOVE OCTOBER.  October is definitely my favorite month of the year.

• I love the weather -- crisp fall is in the air.
• My hubby loves hunting, and he is in his element in October.
• Summer heat is gone, and autumn rain/sleet/snow begins to threaten.
• Clothing can be worn in layers, jackets are needed, and blankets come out of closets.
• College football is in its prime -- every game counts and anything can happen mid-season!
• Baseball playoffs are underway... and the Cardinals and the Tigers are working their way to the 2013 World Series!
• Halloween is in the air -- not my favorite holiday, but it ushers in the holiday season.  I really love Thanksgiving and Christmas, and Halloween is the sign that these are coming.

I have loved my Octobers in Michigan, Virginia, Nashville, and Colorado... and I am very prayerful that my love for October is not geographically dependent.  My first ten days of October will be in Austin, TX, and I am very prayerful that I will love October here just as much as my other locations.

WELCOME, OCTOBER! 

Dream Wedding: Table Names

At our wedding, we labeled our tables with the names of baseball parks.  Yes, you heard correctly, and NO we did not have a baseball-themed reception.

We knew we wanted something unique for each table other than "Table 1, Table 5..." and Chris loves baseball.  I don't remember who conceived the idea to name the tables after ballparks -- maybe Chris as joke, but I designed a way that we could do the baseball park names in an elegant way.

In my opinion, its amazing what an elegant font and a black picture frame can do!

To tie the ball parks in to Chris and me, each table was given the name of a ballpark, the baseball team that plays there, the city that the ballpark is in, and then whether Chris and/or I had visited the ballpark, and when we had done so.

 

  

Chris really wanted the head table to be Busch Stadium, where the St. Louis Cardinals play, and the other stadiums, we were able to pick-and-choose which we wanted to include.  If memory serves, we had 27 tables, and 30 Major League Baseball Teams from which to choose.

We decided that the table where our parents sat would be Miller Park (get it... because Chris' parents are the Millers?), and we tried to sit people at a table that they had some geographical affiliation to the city.  We chose ballparks that were our favorites to include and had a fun time making table assignments based on baseball team alliances.

We also included table numbers at the tables so that the wait staff could easily identify their normal tables without confusion.  So, on the place-cards, we included table number and baseball park, so they could identify their table number from a distance, and then see their baseball park affiliation when they were seated.

 All in all, we were very pleased with how the whole thing came off and were excited to include something unique about us -- and especially so special for Chris, both prominently and elegantly in the wedding reception.

Really Special

Hubby and I are in St. Louis this weekend for a REALLY whirlwind trip and I cannot wait to tell write all about it.

Until then, just know last night, we had a really special event -- Momma and I and Chris and his dad attended a Cardinal's Baseball game.  We didn't sit together for most of the game, but it was so special to have this father/son and mother/daughter time together.

Chris' - The Streak is Broken

Every great run comes to an end.  This is a reality.  However, it wasn't supposed to happen until years down the road when we surpassed the total World Series wins of the overpaid Yankees.

Yes, last night the Cardinals lost to the Giants. They didn't just loose, they were stomped.
They had some hits, but failed to score a single run.  In fact, they only scored one run in the last three games!

They only had to win one of the last 3 games, but they choked.  They started the series off winning 3 of 4 games, then they couldn't pull it together.

Going back to the amazing World Series win of last year, we had won 6 straight elimination games.  Yesterday that streak was broken.

We were excited for a St. Louis/Detroit World Series, but we will just have to hold on to the memory of beating Detroit in 2006.

The Cardinals are mourning.
St. Louis is mourning.
Half of the Miller house is mourning.

Some kid came up to me this morning to give me a box of Kleenex.
Brat.

But she was right, we'll get them next year.
At least we haven't had to wait over a hundred years like Cub fans.

Friday Letters: Way to Go Tigers!

•  Dear Hubby, You are unbelievable, and very funny. Apparently this is a blog from both of us today.
• Dear Student, I'm not really happy you're absent today because you really need the time at school... but I appreciate not having to drive 180 miles on a Friday!  So, thank you!

• Dear Tigers, WAY TO GO!  WORLD SERIES BOUND!!!

via

•  Dear Cardinals, the Tigers are waiting for you.  We would love for you to join them so Chris and I can be happy whomever wins the World Series.

(This is Chris) I will only be happy with one outcome!

Sorry for editing this myself dear.

• Dear 2013, I think you are going to be a rough year... I need to change my attitude

• Dear Hubby, I love how we have faced challenges together this week.  I feel like we are really learning how to support each other and work as a team.  I Love you SOOO MUCH!

I will support you when you are crying from the Tigers' humiliating losses to the Cards!

I love this picture taken of our little family.
So relaxed, so happy... just us as we are!

• Dear Michigan Wolverines, BEAT MICHIGAN STATE TOMORROW!!!!

• Dear Body, Please keep working out.  You're two weeks into the workouts and three pounds down... keep it up!

• Dear Hubby, You're losing weight like crazy this fall.  You look AMAZING!  I LOOOOOOVE you!

• Dear October, You are AWESOME!

• Dear Weekend, I hope and pray you are relaxing and productive... that beautiful, elusive combination, and that a deer walks in front of my sights.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Treasuring the Present: OCTOBER SPORTS!

I LOVE October for many reasons...
a HUGE reason is SPORTS!

My Daddy always said that October was the most exciting month for a sports fan... in hindsight, I think he means that October is the most exciting month for our kind of sports fan.  We LOVE college football and we enjoy baseball.

College football is in the HEART of its season -- every game matters, every play is huge, and Baseball is in the PLAYOFFS!


This year, Hubby and I are in heaven because the CARDINALS are in National League Championship and the TIGERS are in the American League Championship.  We have baseball on every night and we LOVE IT!



We're not zombies glued to our television or anything... but its on, and we enjoy it SO much!  Plus, we live in the mountains, so even the 8:00pm games don't go THAT late for us (yes, 11:00pm is pretty late for us, but it's not the 1:00am the East Coast is suffering).

Okay... on Saturdays, when Michigan is playing, I am sort of a zombie... well, not a zombie, a die-hard, cheer-leading, fight-song-singing, play-calling, coach-yelling fan.  I LOVE college football season, and I REALLY love October!

There's only One October and we LOVE IT!

What I'm Wearing - Cardinals' Game

So, a number of bloggers I know post weekly accounts of "What I'm Wearing".  These posts are when bloggers post a picture of them in a cute outfit and the writers talk about how they put it together and what a great deal it was... all kinds of fun stuff like that.

I have never posted a "What I'm Wearing" post -- with the exception of maybe talking about my wedding dress -- mostly because I don't think of myself as having a sense of style or a fashion sense, and certainly not one I would brag about or expect anyone would want to emulate.

Well, here is my first, possibly my only, "What I'm Wearing" post.
This is "What I'm Wearing... to a Cardinals' Game".

I wrote last week about Chris and me attending a few Cardinals v. Rockies.  Chris always wears Cardinals' apparel to Cardinals' games and he loves it when I wear Cardinals' apparel too.  I totally understand where my hubby is coming from because I LOVE it when he (and I) wear Michigan apparel on Michigan game days.  So, without further ado... What I'm Wearing to a Cardinals' Game:

Chris' mom bought me the Cardinals' dress a few summers ago, and the only size she could find was an extra-large.  Many hot-water washes and high dryer cycles later, the dress fits me... but its actually supposed to be pajamas.  I've worn it a few times to Cardinals' games, but I've always been really self-conscience knowing that its supposed to be a night-gown.

After a few times of wearing the Cardinals' dress with a strapless bra, I tried it with a sport's bra, and felt much more comfortable... but I still was hesitant about how short the dress was.

I don't own leggings, but I've always thought the leggings look was cute.  When Chris and I were visiting friends in Georgia, a friend was wearing leggings -- or so I thought.  When I complimented her on them, she said they were under-armor workout capris. What an awesome idea?!?!  Especially for going to a baseball game!  I don't think I could pull off workout capris for going to work, but for summertime, and a baseball game -- TOTALLY!

So, that's the outfit -- Cardinals' pajama dress, sports bra, and Costco workout Nike capris.  I felt SO cute in this outfit!  Every time I caught my reflection, I thought, "Gosh, I feel much cuter than I look."  LOL!

So, which is better?  To look cuter than you feel or to feel cuter than you look?  In this case, it felt so great to feel so cute in this fun, Cardinals' outfit.