Yankees @ Rockies 2013

Unless you are a baseball fan, you have NO idea how amazing this is. Mariano Rivera is unarguably the BEST closer in the history of baseball and he's retiring at the end of the season, so for us to have this view of him warming up in the bullpen and then taking the field to get the save is like almost an impossible life event. 

But to make it even MORE amazing, just as I was finishing taping the video, Yankees pitching coach Mike Harkey looked up at Tyler and tossed him the ball that Mo had been using to warm up in the bullpen. WOW!!! We've obtained a few balls from games over the years, but THIS one. Wow. Touched by only 4 people at this point. Mariano Rivera, Austin Romine, Mike Harkey and Tyler Allred. This is unbelievable. 

 The whole trip was amazing!!! I just threw these photos on blogger in random order, but it was awesome. 

 This was Ken's first MLB game EVER and Brett Gardner tossed him a ball during batting practice. AWESOME! 

 We were thisclose to Mo a few times this week. Awe. Life is good:) 

 Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame was great. 

 One of the highlights of our trip was meeting Tom Cortez. We stopped for lunch at a Jack-in-the-Box and this amazing guy was working. We were all in Yankees jerseys, so he came over to our table and introduced himself as a lifelong Yankees fan who didn't have tickets to any of the three games in the series. Well, we had two extra because Ashli and Mack couldn't make the trip, and we gave them to Tom. He met us at the game, and we had a blast getting to know him a little bit. Great guy. 

 Joba's still rehabbing from an injury and did some jogging in the outfield before Game 3.

 CC!!!

 Before game 3, we finally found the fun stuff out in the community surrounding Coors Field in Denver. Like the $1 hot dog stand! 

 On the last day of our trip, we went out to Golden to see the brewery 

 and the Buffalo Bill museum. 

 We got a big kick out of this. 

 Great trip, great memories made in the summer before Ty leaves for his mission. 

Am I a lucky girl or what? 

BEST DAY EVER!

I'm having serious issues with uploading pictures to my blog so I have been a slacker lately, but life is simply marvelous:) I tend Riken a few days a week when Ashli goes to work and it's SO FUN! Tonight I begged and pleaded,  and Ashli and Mack finally agreed to let him sleep over:) Yay!! Ash is exhausted. She hasn't had a full night's sleep since Rikey was born six weeks ago so tonight when she was in Ephraim, we just decided to let him sleep here rather than having her bring him over tomorrow morning.  Ashli will probably miss him so much that she won't be able to sleep anyway but it's super fun for Grandma:) 

This morning we bought tickets to see the Yankees play in Denver in May. It was a painstaking process to get tickets. I started checking the website in about November to see when they went on sale. Had the money set aside for tickets just waiting for them to go on sale. In late December, the Rockies finally announced that there would be a lottery for ticket purchases to the Yankees games. Ken, myself, and all my kids entered the drawing, and Ken was the only one who drew out. So they emailed him a password that would allow him onto the website to purchase tickets this morning at 10:00 AM. There was a limit of six tickets to one game, then four to one or both of the other two games of the series. So we got our six tickets to Game 1, then four to the other two games. My kids will all go together to one of the games, then Ken and I will take two of them to the other game. I think we're going to have a family poker tournament to decide who the two lucky ones will be that get to see all three games of the series. Mack is certain he will win the poker tournament, but we shall see. 

School is tough this semester, but I HAVE to get through it. I just need to pass math and they'll mail me my associates degree in June. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.... 

Ya Gotta Have Heart

Remember when THIS happened? The best closer in the history of baseball injured his knee shagging fly balls before a game.   Yet somehow the Yankees made it to the ALCS without Mo.

 And now.. this. Is it stupid that I cried? Joe Girardi was literally about to carry Jeter off the field singlehandedly, and I got the feeling that it wasn't about "protecting the investment". It was about loving this guy. Jeter is a class act, on and off the field. And it's heartbreaking that his season ended this way. He injured his foot a while ago, yet kept playing because he loves October. He loves baseball. And that is what we are missing. This postseason has been fantastic. Teams just aren't giving up. Games are being tied in the 9th inning and won in the 12th, 13th or 14th innings. Guys are playing with heart again. Like the 1998 Yankees. Those guys were part of a team. Not in it for the endorsements or the big contracts. Just in it for love of the game.

Paul O'Neill (who threw out the first pitch today), Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Scott Brosius, Chuck Knoblauch, Tino Martinez, Bernie Williams. And of course Joe Torre and Don Zimmer.

 I thought we'd NEVER see that kind of heart again when we lost Joe Torre. I didn't like his replacement.

 And that feeling lasted for four years. Until last week. Girardi's Dad passed away on Saturday and over the next few days, in spite of this challenge in his own personal life, Girardi made the bold move of benching the $29 million a year superstar, Alex Rodriguez, who isn't hitting worth a crap and has a "me" mentality. Girardi earned my respect this past week.

 THIS guy.. .THIS guy! Raul Ibanez came out of nowhere. He wasn't even on a team during spring training, and now he's winning games for the New York Yankees in the postseason. And he's not being paid $29 million to do it. He has heart .

The winner of the 2012 World Series will be the team with the most HEART. I don't know if my team can do it. Plagued with injuries, facing challenges, it might not happen for us this time. But whatever happens, both national league and American league teams are giving us some quality baseball this postseason.

I LOVE this game!!! 

Exit Sandman?

 http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=21135519&topic_id=&c_id=nyy&tcid=vpp_copy_21135519&v=3

My Mom died when I was 19 years old.

I got divorced after 22 years of a temple marriage.

But this....

This breaks my heart.

Believe...

So we've already established that I have the greatest kids ever.

But I also have the greatest friends ever:)When I got home from work, there was a card in the mail clear from Northern California.

Lisa the Liberal sent me a card that said "I believe in you" with this awesome wristband attached.

I will wear it every day.

Alongside my Yankees one.

They would be accompanied by my Tough Enough to Wear Pink one.

But Hemi ate it.

Thank you Lisa. I heart you:)

Day 3

The blog topic for today is "Your Parents" so I'm re-posting an old post about my Mom. But I better add something about my Dad, too!!!

My Dad never forgets a birthday, anniversary or Valentine's Day.. He never fails to send a card to me, Kurt and the kids, complete with one of his ink stamps in the bottom corner by his signature. He sends facebook hearts, hugs and smiles every day. He's very talented. He can fix anything and we never had to call anyone from a plumber to a building contractor when I was growing up. He built the addition to our home, sewed a 3-piece suit and has rebuilt countless vehicles from the engine to the paint job. He is an amazing woodworker, and I love the gifts he creates for me.

When people tell me "You remind me of your Mom", I know it's just my physical appearance. Noone ever really stops and tells me "You remind me of your Mom because..." Here's what I'd like to hear...

Becky Callister was a passionate person. She loved, laughed, cried all with the same intensity. I inherited that from her. Tami inherited that from her. We do nothing halfway. When I'm mad, I'm not just a little upset... I'm MAD!! When I like a Christmas gift, I don't just smile and say "Thank you". I jump up and squeal and scream and act like it's the most amazing gift I've ever received.

Becky Callister was an avid sports fan. If we couldn't find her at Grandma's house, we'd check the ball park. She donated countless hours to Bobby Sox and Little League. She used to ump games and they'd give her one hamburger from the snack bar for every game she umped. So she'd stand there behind home plate on a Saturday, game after game, in the hot sun, until she got a hamburger for each of us kids.

All of Becky's kids have spent more than one summer vacation at softball or baseball tournaments with our own kids.

When I see Tami, Tara, Paul and Ted at ball games with their kids, weekend after weekend all summer, I remember Mom and Grandma Becca doing the same thing.

When we were younger, before cable TV and the Turner networks, you either liked the Dodgers or the Yankees, because they were the only teams you ever saw play on TV. So, Mom was a Yankees fan, Grandma Becca was a Yankees fan, I married a Yankees fan and gave birth to three little Yankees fans.

Even Tara and Tawni's kids are getting old enough to play ball now.

Zack bought Logan his first baseball bat for his birthday this year. Mom would be so proud:)

My Mom was always too busy taking care of other people to take care of herself. I don't think I ever saw her wearing makeup. When she'd need to get her hair done, she'd have Judy Ault cut it short and perm it so it was low maintenance. She was just too busy to worry about hair and makeup when there were places to go, people to see and kids to watch at ball games or spelling bees. Until she got sick, I don't remember seeing my Mom actually sleeping. Sometimes she'd doze off in a chair, but she was always up before me and in bed sometime after I went to sleep.

My Mom taught me my first Primary song- "The Golden Plates"- and taught me that Families can be together forever. She got me hooked on Saturday's Warrior and I have those songs on my iPod today.

She taught me that the greatest gift God ever gave her was her children. Because of her love for us all, I couldn't wait to be a Mom myself someday.

She had a laundry basket full of unmatched socks. Yup, I do, too. I know I should throw them away, but I keep thinking the mate will turn up somewhere.

She had a hard time letting go of me. I moved up to Weber State to start college, and she showed up two days later to "check on me". I was SO mad!! Man, I'd like to have that day back. I get it now. It's hard to let go of your daughter. I inherited that from my Mom.





My Mom passed away 22 years ago. I still miss her so much sometimes. I know she'd have been an awesome Grandma, and she would have loved my husband. She'd be proud of all of her kids and grandkids and I like to believe our babies will get to meet her someday.