One of the Best Days of My Life!

Last weekend, I was able to accomplish a dream of mine, something that has been on the top of my list of things to do before I die. Go to Wrigley Field and see the Chicago Cubs play! I flew to Chicago Thursday night, after a 3 hour delay (the plane was at the gate, they kept telling us the plane was having mechanical issues, scary! And I just want to add it was the scariest plane ride I have ever been on!!). I loved Chicago the instant I saw the city. I'm a huge fan of big cities, tall buildings, the hussle and bussle. It was so good to see Tonya, 8 months pregnant I must add, and she was looking so great and happy! She had to work Friday, so her husband Jared walked me to the red line, and I went to the game alone. I was kind of nervous about that, being in a big city and not knowing where I was going, but I'm glad I did that now. I was SOOO excited to see Wrigley Field from the "train", I walked around it for a while in a blur, surrounded by other Cub fanatics. I had my cubs hat, but I really wanted a Ryne Sandberg tshirt so I stopped at a shop outside Wrigley Field and got me one. I finally decided to go in, and I started to tear up the second I saw the field. I loved how Wrigley Field was set up, I was in the upper seats, but I was above home plate, and they actually were really good seats. I just sat there alone, literally crying tears of happiness. I felt like I was home, as weird as that sounds. I was enthralled during the whole game, I got so into it! Tonya finally made it 3rd inning. It was a game with tons of hits! We led until the St. Louis Cardinals hit a home run, and so we trailed until the 8th inning, when Alfonso Soriano hit a home run with 2 men on base, and we ended up beating the Cardinals 8-7. It was the best game to attend for the first time seeing the Cubs, in my opinion! It was a happy day for me, and truly one of the best experiences of my life up to this point. I can't wait to go back to Wrigley Field and see more of my Cubbies!

I experienced a lot more in Chicago, so my next post I will include all of those pictures!

Wetting the field before the game.

Love the old scoreboard! This game was sold out with more than 40,000 fans. You can't really see, but there were bleachers above all the buildings around Wrigley Field. Crazy! Also, it was really pretty with the tall buildings behind, and then to the right, Lake Michigan. A little piece of heaven if you ask me!

We walked down to the field after the game. I have a crappy camera, I couldn't get a good shot of me with Wrigley Field behind me from where I was sitting.

Right after the win, the Cubs and Cardinals lining up. Also, all of the fans in Wrigley Field sang a fun song about the Cubs. I want to learn it!!

A statue of Harry Caray outside Wrigley Field. I LOVED Harry Caray growing up. He announced the Cubs games. He passed away on my birthday in 1998. I wanted to get a picture with Harry but this was after the game and there was way too many people!

The famous Chicago Cubs sign. I was so nervous T was going to get ran over, she was in the street taking this pic..Love my hat, but not what it does when I take pics. with it on =)

Easter and AVs game

I've had a fun past few weeks, I was able to go to a Colorado Avalanche game and go home to Utah for Easter. I didn't take a lot of pictures at Easter, but I had a blast trying to get the Golden Egg in the annual family Easter Egg Hunt, watching Lord of the Rings with my nephews, playing at the park, spending quality time with my nieces and nephews (including a sleepover where I was the first to fall asleep, how sad is that, that a 27 year can't stay up longer than 4-9 year olds?!), and just being with my family!

Rick rocking out to the music at the AVs game..a little creepy!

Jessica and I at the AVs game

The Pepsi Center Ice Arena

Posing with my nephew..so cute!

Watching Lord of the Rings with my nephews. We all love it!

Fulfilling a Lifelong Dream

This week I am going to be able to check off something that is number one on my list of things to accomplish in my lifetime. I am going to a Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field!! My good friend Tonya and her husband Jared moved to Chicago this past summer, so I took it as an opportunity for me to achieve my dream. I will be in Wrigley Field this Friday, and I'm not going to lie, a few tears may be shed.

This dream started for me as a young girl. I loved watching sports with my older brother Mick. He loved the Chicago Bulls, and the Chicago Cubs. We had the WGN channel, so the games would be on all the time. I loved watching the players play baseball at Wrigley Field, and ever since then have had the desire to see a real game there. I haven't watched the team as much the past few years of my life, but still have a deep love for them. My favorite player of all time, Ryne Sandberg, is no longer playing for the Cubs but I used to love watching him play second base, along with Mark Grace as first baseman, and Andre Dawson as an outfielder. I look forward to seeing the new players play, and maybe getting a new favorite or two. (Derek Lee? Or maybe Alfonso Soriano, who used to play for the Yankees, a team I was also forced to watch a lot with my good friend Meggan :) )

The first day of my teaching career, I took a poster of Wrigley Field, of which I have had hanging in my bedroom for a few years (I didn't bring it with me to Denver, didn't want it to get ruined). I explained to my students the importance of setting goals and having dreams. I shared mine of one day visiting Wrigley Field, and that I knew I would accomplish it. And now that dream is coming true.

I'll post pictures and will write about my experience there. I can't wait!! Cubbies, here I come!

The Nuggets are No Jazz

I was able to get cheap Nuggets tickets through my work and invited a bunch of people to come with me. The cool part was that it included a free hot dog and drink with the game (and I'll say it, the hot dogs weren't too shabby!) Our seats weren't as bad as I thought they would be, and it was fun being back in the sports atmosphere. I'm a huge fan of most sports, and watching them. But I gotta say, the feeling in the Pepsi Center was a lot different tonight than the Jazz games back in Utah. I don't know if it was because of who they were playing or what, but I had a hard time keeping focused on the game. But it was fun to go and spend time with friends. I especially enjoyed the half time performance of Dodgeball, played by all of the mascots in Colorado sports. Laughed pretty hard over that one!

Next week we are going to an Avs game, something on my list of things to do in Denver that I can check off!

You can't see it, but this was a ticket for the free hot dog and drink. You can see, I get pretty excited about food, especially free food!

Hilary, Ashlee and I before the game. We got there pretty early, so that's why the seats weren't all full yet.

Outside the Pepsi Center. It was so cold today!!

Hil is the big 2-7!

I'm a fan of celebrating other people's birthdays. Hilary, my roomie that I like to refer to as my mom at times, turned 27 on March 28th. The problem was, she was going home that weekend for it, so we decided we would celebrate it the Thursday before. She had a unique place picked out, we were all ready to partay-but Denver decided to get a huge snow blizzard that day. I kid you not, all of Denver shut down, everyone shut themselves in at home. Don't get me wrong, we got snow, and it was super windy so it was white out conditions. But it didn't even compare to the amount of snow Utah would get for storms. Anyway, it turned out no one could come, and so we decided to just get take out from the Chili's by our apartment (the only thing open!) and watched movies. It turned out to be some fun roommate time.

Happy birthday Hil! I sure love you and am so glad you chose to move out here and live with us. Thanks for putting up with me, and being my support system when I need reassurance. No, you are not Katelynn. I'm glad you finally joined me in being old!!



Jessica and I made Hil some cheesecake while she slept.

This was funny. See those curtains? Hilary sleeps behind those. We put up these decorations, and blew up tons of balloons and threw them in there while she was asleep. I swear that girl can sleep through anything!!

Yep, we played Pin the Tail on the Donkey. I haven't played that game in years!

Enjoying our yummy take out from Chili's.

I Miss Hudson, Tate, and Of Course Their Parents!

So as you know, I made a big decision last year at this time, to move to Colorado. It was a hard decision for me, I knew I needed to go somewhere different for a while, and I was really contemplating D.C. because 2 of my sisters live there. I flew out to Denver for my Spring Break to visit my close friends Brady and Kristy. At that time, Kristy was about 5 months pregnant. I absolutely loved the time I spent there, and really started to think that maybe moving to Colorado would be a better fit for me: closer to home so I could bring more things, only a 9 hour drive if I needed to go home for anything, and I would know at least some people here. I loved how beautiful it was, and knew that it would offer just as much to me at this time in my life as D.C. could, if not more. I really fasted and prayed to know what place was better for me. I didn't receive an answer, so I felt like that was Heavenly Father telling me that He trusted I would pick the place that was best. I finally settled on Colorado. I came out in July with my friend Jackie to find a place to live. I looked at quite a few places, but liked the Coyote Ranch apartments best, which also happened to be the place that Brady and Kristy lived (I PROMISE I didn't pick it just because they lived here, I swear :) ). It was official! I moved here the first part of August, and have loved every second since: the good, the bad, the hard times.

Hudson and Tate came into the world on July 4th, so by the time I came out here, they were born! My favorite thing was knowing that I had such close friends as my neighbors and could turn to them for anything. I loved spending time with all of them, and especially enjoyed watching Tate and Hudson grow. I loved them from the first time I laid eyes on them. I remember a particularly hard day here in Colorado, when I came close to giving up and moving back to Utah. I went over to their apartment, and held Tate. He instantly was laughing, and I felt an immediate peace and joy come over me. At that moment, I knew I had to stick it out here. I love those boys so much, I almost cried the night I said goodbye to them, as they were moving to Idaho for a better job fit for Brady.

Thank you Brady, Kristy, Hudson, and Tate for making my transition here easier, and for being so good to me. I appreciate you both so much for what you offer to me, and for being good, true friends. I miss you, and hope that all in Idaho is going well. I can't wait to see you guys and hold the boys!! Thank you for letting me share in their lives, it brings me so much joy that I can't express.

Shay and Nik

If you viewed my blog below, you saw some funny video of my friend ShaLynn. She and her fiancee Nik came to visit me a few weeks ago. Shay and I have been friends for over 10 years, and without fail, that girl can get me laughing. I hadn't really met her fiancee before this trip, so I was grateful to get to know him a little bit better and spend some quality time with them. We ate, walked around the 16th street mall, ate, drove around downtown Denver so they could see some fun things (Capitol, the US Mint, Invesco Field, Pepsi Center, Art Museum, etc.), played with Photo Booth for hours, walked around Main Street Parker (SO CUTE) and of course ate. Thanks for the laughs Shay and Nik, and for coming to see me, it meant a lot!

Of course I had to show the peeking blue bear!

Shay and I struggled by the cow. She of course always looks cute though.

I love this woman!!