Ten on Ten // April

I didn't take these photos with 10 on 10 in mind, but they will capture the fun sights moments of yesterday's visit to Cleveland. Enjoy. 

Investigating cupboards.

Pregame show filming in the background.

View from our seats.

Smiles from right field.

A pig.

4th Street at night.

Plants growing out of the wall. 

Another pig.

A stop at Colossal Cupcakes.

Tower City. 

Summer Recap // the circle

It has been a great summer (and it's still not over) but I am checking in on my summer to-do list.  Now my "to-do" lists are never serious enough to warrant disappointment when things are not accomplished.  I usually make lists long enough to be happy if one or two items are checked off.

• Drive In Movie with Keith:  Not able to do this... although suggested a few times... the weather didn't seem to cooperate enough.

• Visit the Ohio Village: They'll close on Labor Day so this will have to wait until next summer or the next or the next.

• Study Proverbs 31 and Psalms 31: This was an awesome study for me because I am 31 years old so it will be easy to recall when I studied these. I did homiletics for each of the chapters.  Both passages were a blessing to me this summer. Noteworthy verse: "O how abundant is your goodness that you laid up for those who fear you, and accomplished for those who take refuge in you in the sight of everyone!" ~Psalm 31:19

• Cleveland Indians Away Game:  Yup, we made it to good old Detroit.  We also went to 4 home games together, too. 

• Columbus Zoo visits (with Dad/with Cortney): Was able to get out there twice, once with Keith and one very short visit with Stacie and Larkyn.   

Sweet Larkyn at the Zoo.

Julie with the pink flamingos.

Keith with his kinsmen-- the penguins. 

• Breakfast with Stacie:  Twice!  Sunny Street Cafe deliciousness and also a picnic lunch on the Scioto Mile. 

• Make salsa with Garden Tomatoes:  Oh so good! With my garden tomatoes and garden peppers.

• Take Baby James on a Boat Ride: Not yet, but he has a lifejacket!!

• Make s'mores in the fire pit:  Again, weather didn't seem to cooperate for us. 

• Lunch with Ruth:  Our schedules didn't align this summer but I am sure there will be an outing in the fall.  We had lovely phone and email conversations to tide us over summer break. 

• Host a backyard cookout:  You betcha!  Roasted corn, fried fish, grilled steaks, potato salads and great friends! 

Great things that happened this summer that weren't on the list:  Christin visits Columbus and the Lake, Surprise visit from Sara in June, Fishing boat ride in the Outerbanks, Tutoring Abigail in Calculus, Visit with Grandma C, Went to an Aeros game, Fun baby shower for Susan, Clippers game with Colleen and Mom, and my Jeep hit 250,000 miles. God is so abundant with His goodness! 

Linking up with:

Toronto

Another summer trip but this time we needed our passports!!

Our motivation to travel eight hours to Toronto, Ontario, was purely based on our desire to see the Cleveland Indians at an away game.  Which we did. Twice.  Friday's game was a win for the Tribe and Saturday was a very exciting game with a final score of 11-9, in favor of the Blue Jays.

We met many nice Canadians at Rogers Centre (formerly the SkyDome).  We sat next to some gentlemen that thought "these were real nice seats, eh?  Look at Bautista, right there, eh?" and next to a bachelorette party who had traveled from Sault Ste. Marie for the game and continuing bachelorette festivities.  Since we were near right field, we were also surrounded by a large quantity of Asians cheering for Shin-Soo Choo, Cleveland's Korean right-fielder.  What an experience!

A ride up the CN Tower, a late night restaurant in a trendy part of town, and a Greek dinner in Greektown with my dad's cousins rounded out our international travels.  Now if I can just figure out how to spend my left over Canadian currency, I'll have it made.

Crossing the border.

The CN Tower

A quintet outside the Rogers Centre.

Looking down on the stadium from the CN Tower observation deck.

The street scene outside our hotel.  Notice the street car and speed limit sign. 

Take Us out to the Ball Game

It seemed that we had to tip-toe through the raindrops during much of May. But when the looming clouds could hold off just long enough, we happily tip-toed to our favorite ball parks in order to enjoy America's favorite pasttime: Baseball.

For Mother's Day, we headed over to Huntington Park for a Columbus Clippers' game. Mom loved her first time at Huntington with her son-in-law, sons, and daughter! The team wore bright pink uniforms in honor of the Komen Race for the Cure. Each mom/woman received a pink drawstring bag. We stayed for the sunny 7 innings of the first game and opted not to stay for the second (rain make-up) game.

The Cleveland Indians were so HOT this spring, it is hard to believe that all the rain could keep us away until May. We made it up to Progressive Field on May 22... and so did everyone else!! It was a beautiful day, Choo Jerseys were the promotion for the game, and the Indians were playing the Cincinnati Reds which resulted in the first sell out of the year. So many people were entering the stadium that they actually ran out of the promo jerseys by the time we got there. But the real prize was another W in the win column for the Tribe.

With nothing more American or more relaxing than baseball, we cannot wait to attend more games this summer!!

Weekend with the Tribe

We've found a new tradition for our family. This being the second year that we have attended the opening weekend for the Cleveland Indians... seems like a tradition to us. A rainy tradition, but a tradition nonetheless.

The 2010 opening weekend was great! The Tribe managed both Saturday and Sunday wins against the Chicago White Sox! Wahoo! We got to see the new starters on the Indians, and we like them. Our friends, Nick and Mariah, came from St.Louis to help us cheer on the Indians to victory and to tour the sites of Cleveland a bit. Other friends, Janet and Rob, joined us for the Sunday game.

Though Progressive Field was little on the thin side in terms of seat-filling fans, it was neat to see the Cavs fans filter over to the baseball game after the Cavs beat Chicago over at the Q. Cleveland Rocks!