My Frakkin Blog!

Well, they gave it a valiant try this evening - after a 2 day wait. I was a bit shocked when the Phillies came out hittin right at the get-go. They came out in both innings 6 and 7 with doubles to start off the inning - Not good!

There were a few mistakes made in the game that I just could not figure out. First - what the hell were they thinking sending that guy home on an infield hit? We had it tied up 3 - 3 with a guy on third - but - they sent him and he was naturally thrown out at the home plate. Crazy!

Then, I don’t understand why Madden left Howell in for the 7th Inning. That became the turning point of the game. Like I said above - they started the 7th inning off the way the started off the 6th - with a double putting a guy in scoring range with the first hit. Once he scored - we just could not turn it around - we were at the back end of our line up going in to the 8th inning.

The good thing is the top of the lineup opened up the 9th inning. I thought for sure we could have gotten something going there. Crawford got on base - then - Upton hit into a double play. Oh well. Like I said - there’s always next year. This is a young team.

Talk about rain and mud! First - they suspend the game at the top of the 6th inning last night because the infield got extremely muddy - which I can fully understand! If you’ve ever played baseball in the rain - it’s a broken ankle just waiting to happen.

BUT!!! The Rays were starting to get hot. We tied the game up 2 - 2. Apparently, this is a historic event in that the World Series has never been suspended in the middle of play in the history of the game. They were supposed to continue the game tonight - well - it’s still raining cats and dogs up there in Philly. The game has now been postponed to tomorrow night.

So - what happens tomorrow if the rain doesn’t let up? Will they just continue to postpone indefinitely? It’s getting REALLY cold up there. Baseball wasn’t meant to be played in 30 degree weather. The disadvantage at that point definitely goes to my boys there. I just hope they can pull it off. Essentially, the game becomes 0 - 0 with only 3 innings to play.

Let’s hope the Rays can capitalize early and take the lead and hold it. It would be great to bring them home and finish out the series with a win at home!

My Rays are down 3 - 1 in the series - and - we’re currently losing 2 -1 in the bottom of the 5th inning in Philadelphia! What happened to that team that beat Boston? Our strongest hitter - the clean up batter - Evan Longoria is currently 0 - 14 at bats! I’ve been watching every game every night - and it’s killing me!

This is not the same team that has been playing all season long. Where did our boys go? What happened to them? Could it be they are all just too young and inexperienced and can’t handle the pressure of the World Series? I just can’t figure this out. This just might be the last game tonight if my Rays can’t pull this thing off.

We won the 2nd game of the series and left for Philly at 1 - 1 in this series. We lost 2 in a row - and not by small margins either! We got our buts handed to us last night. The Philly bats were hot! Ryan Howard nailed a 3 run homer - then - the pitcher came up and hit a home run! Who ever heard of a pitcher hitting a home run?

I don’t know - we’ll see. We’re only half-way through this game tonight and only down 1 run. I hope I will be back tomorrow night blogging about how our boys are coming home to finish out the World Series. Wouldn’t that be great?

Well - the World Series opened up last night here in St. Petersburg. We lost our first game 3 -2 to the Phillies. But, that just means our guys had the jitters - after all - it is the very first time this team has EVER been to the World Series - AND - it’s the very first team ANY of these young players have ever been. It was understandable.

However, given the fact they beat the defending World Series champions (Red Sox) to get here - the Phillies don’t stand a chance the rest of this series. As I blog this right now - The Rays are up 4 -0 in the top of the 8th inning.

The depth and talent of our pitching core is amazing! Kazmir, Shields, Garza, Sonnenstine, and Jackson. Our Bullpen is even more amazing - these guys can come in and make the save at any given moment. Shields pitched five 2/3 shut out innings tonight! Price is in for the 8th and doing a helluva job!

No worries - it is the best of 7! One loss is no biggie!

Woo Hoo! The hometown team is going to the World Series! What a cinderella story this team is! One of the youngest teams in Major League Baseball - and they’re in the World Series for the first time in franchise history!

Talk about excitement around this town! The World Series opens in Tampa tomorrow (well, actually, our stadium is in St. Petersburg - down the road from where I work) - and all employers around the area have made tomorrow “Rays Day.” In other words - we get to wear our Rays gear to work - thank goodness - I hate dressing business attire every day!

Last week when they won their division - there was a huge pep rally down by the Pier on the waterfront. The big thing around here is the “Ray Hawk.” I was hoping to find a picture of it - but no luck. It is a MoHawk haircut with Blue hair dye. Pretty funny - but - it’s the latest fashion rage. Anyway - at the pep rally - a barber was out there giving them for free. Sadly, though - for as much hype and excitement that is going on around here - one kid actually got suspended from school for having a Ray Hawk.  I know when I was in high school and playing football - we always had mohawks during the football season.  Just crazy.

Anyway - after they won the league title to get them in to the World Series - they had another party and pep rally last night at The Pier - pretty cool since I can see the Pier from my office window.  You betcha - I was there!

The Phillies don’t stand a chance!  These young guys are out there having a great time!  It’s not about the money for them.  This is about going to “The Big Show” and all the excitement that goes with it.

Did you know that one of the guys on our team is named Evan Longoria!  LOL.  Nope - not related to Eva at all.  This guy is a rookie and made it to the All-Star game.  This guy is phenomenal despite the haranguing he gets for his name.

Anyway - I know what I’ll be blogging about for the rest of the week!

So - here’s the set-up - whenever we go to the Magic Kingdom - Ryan always wants to ride the It’s a Small World Ride.  Ever since I started letting him toss coins in the water and make a wish - this has become one of his favorite rides.

Last week while we were at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party - we were on the ride.  He tossed his coin in and made a wish.  I asked him what he wished for.  He told me he wished that Spiderman would come and visit him again because “Spiderman is my buddy.”

As some of you may remember - Spiderman is his absolute favorite superhero - which, coincidentally, when I was a kid - was my all-time favorite as well.  Unbeknownst to Ryan, one of the stores that we frequent - Wallabies for Kids (a high-end resale shop - and - no this is not a paid for plug) sent out a flyer last week announcing that Spiderman would be visiting the shop this weekend.  We already had plans to take Ryan there today.

Well - once he told me his wish - I just played along with him.  I told him that whenever he makes a wish on that ride - his wish should come true within 7 days.  Wow - what a great setup!  I told him that he needs to remember that Spiderman is a very famous and popular guy and that he may not come right to our house - but - if his wish came true - Spiderman might be somewhere NEAR our house.

Well, we had plans to take him today - but - Mary got a call at 5:30am requesting she come in.  Mommy couldn’t make it today - but - I made sure that I would find time to get him over there (I have to study for a mid-term - I had planned on doing that while she took them to the store).  So - my study plans got put off.  Rather than tell Ryan that we were going to the store - I told him I would take him to McDonald’s for lunch.  The store happens to be on the way to McDonald’s.

As we were driving on our way - I pretended to notice the store - and said - Ryan - isn’t that the store that mommy always goes to and buys you toys and stuff?  Of course - he confirmed it.  So, I said - Hey - let’s stop in there for a second, see if we can find you guys something.  He obviously did not object.

Well - it was actually a halloween party with games and stuff going on and Spiderman would be showing up during the party.  I still hadn’t let Ryan in on the secret.  So, after about half an hour - they announced that Spiderman was here!!!  He came in through the back of the store!  Ryan announced “Look!  It’s really him!  Spiderman is here!”

Here’s the picture: (note - I put Ryan in one of his Spiderman shirts)

Unfortunately, there were tons of kids there - so, I was only able to get one - but, for Ryan - one was enough since he got to see his “buddy” again in person.

As we were leaving he says to me:

Daddy - that was a really great wish!

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Many of my readers know that we have a yorkie named Max and a maltese named Crystal.  However, before the two of them, we had Jake - our red golden retriever.  Here’s the story -

Three years ago my step-son, Danny, moved over to Orlando to live with his father.   While Danny was living there he realized he hated living there, didn’t want to move back over here, and wanted to do something with his life - so - he joined the Army about two years ago this month.

Kylie was born two years ago in July.  Between the period of time that Kylie was born and Danny joined the Army - Jake (who was 7 years old at the time) was getting to be a real handful.  He was very hyper, barked at everything, and jumped up on anyone who came through the door.  In addition, we had a really bad thunderstorm one night - Jake freaked out and dug a hole through our living room carpet - clear down to the concrete pad.

Well, with Mary being post-partum and very protective of Kylie - Jake had become just too much.  She asked Danny if he would take Jake.  Danny agreed - and Jake moved over to Orlando with Danny and his father.  Well, Danny joined the Army a few months later, promising that once he got settled in at his first duty station, he would take Jake in.

So, for the first year, Danny was in basic training, AIT, then got to his first assignment to Fort Bragg, NC.  He was living in the barracks during that time.  Last year, our step-daughter Heather moved over to Orlando to attend Valencia Community College and was living with Danny’s father - no - Danny and Heather have two different fathers - (long story - I’ll get in to that some other day).  So, even though Danny had moved out, Heather was now over there, so Jake still had family with him.

As you know, as I reported back in April, Danny found love and got married.  He and his new wife moved in together into an apartment that doesn’t allow pets.  Mary asked him again if he was going to be getting Jake any time soon - which he said he would.

This past summer, Heather moved back over here to our area and transferred to St. Petersburg College.  Jake stayed behind over in Orlando with Danny’s dad.  Last month, Danny called Mary and let her know that he and his wife moved to a  new apartment complex - and - got themselves a chocolate lab!!!!  Mary asked him about Jake.  Danny said he didn’t want Jake now.  Jake was getting old and they wanted a puppy of their own.

Well, at that time we had already started planning our trip to Disney - so - we also made the decision at that time that we would bring Jake back home.  It wasn’t very fair to Danny’s father to have to care for Jake since Jake wasn’t his dog to begin with…and…it was only right for Jake to come back home to family.  So, on our way back home from Disney last Saturday, we picked him up and brought him back home.  Jake immediately made himself at home again as if he had never left.

Here’s a picture of our “Big Boy” next to Max -what a size difference!

Here’s one of all three of them together.

Apparently, Max was pretty “excited” about Jake coming home. Here’s the deal. The Friday that we left for Disney, we dropped Max and Crystal off at the veterinarian’s for 1.) to get Max neutered, and 2.) to border them while we were gone. Since it was a weekend - we wouldn’t be able to pick them up until Monday. Which was a good thing because that gave Jake time alone to get re-acquainted with the house again.

Well - apparently, Max getting neutered kinda crossed his wires a bit - plus - we think perhaps Max is trying to assert his “dominance” as the male dog in the house. Afterall, he was the only male dog in the house before Jake came back home.

Anyway - since all three dogs have been home together - Max has consistently made “advances” towards Jake..so…I kept the camera handy just waiting…….

Here - he’s sneaking up on Jake.

Getting in to position….

I zoomed out just so we can see just how ridiculous it looks for a 6 lb. dog to try to have his way with one that weighs 100 lbs. Notice the look on Jake’s face as if to say - “Dude! What’s up with that?”

Anyway - we’re glad Jake is home - and - all three of them are getting along just smashingly. We’re one big happy family again!

Alrighty then - finally got to it!  We went to Disney last Friday for the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party.  The kids had a great time - and so did daddy (especially getting all the candy!!!).  I took a few pictures and thought I would share them.

If any of you ever are in the Orlando area late September through October - I highly encourage you to go to this.  It was absolutely great.  Not only were the kids dressed up - but - in many instances - so were the parents.  It really is not scary - and - getting through the lines for the rides was great!  I don’t think we waited longer than 5 minutes for any of the rides.

So - here are the pictures - if you want to - you can click on them to enlargen them.

This one is a picture of Kylie on the road trip over there!  Man, was she tired!

We stayed at one of the All-Star Resorts on the property - Movies - this is a picture from the front of the building we were staying in (we were in one of the Fantasia buildings)

Here are some pictures we took of Ryan and Kylie in the front of our building - as we were on our way over to The Magic Kingdom. Batman and Minnie Mouse!

I just wanted to get a shot of the front of one of the other Fantasia buildings - here’s the family units walking towards the dancing mops.

Here’s a couple pictures taken out front of The Magic Kingdom.

And..finally..here’s a couple pictures of the castle. The lighting changes color throughout the night. I took these while there was still a little daylight. I didn’t even attempt to take any night time pictures…figured they wouldn’t come out very clear any way.

So - that’s it for our Disney pictures. Overall, we all had a really great time. One of the main attractions of the night is the Halloween Parade. I really wish it wasn’t so dark otherwise I would have taken some pictures of that. If you’ve ever seen the regular Disney Electric Parade - well - this parade is absolutely amazing compared to that one. They have ALL of the Disney movie villains in this parade - the lighting on the floats are great and the accompanying music with the parade really made it even more amazing.

I highly recommend everyone check this out if and when you can.

Tomorrow - Jake!

I feel like such a bum not getting out here to blog - but - this is mid-term week and last week was Disney prep week!

I reported last week that we were taking the kids to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party last Friday.  It went over very well!  I did get some good pictures of the kids in there costumes and of the castle lit up.  They’re pretty good.  I’ll have those posted up.

Additionally, an old member of the family has returned - Jake.  I’ll go in to that story on Friday along with some pictures.  A long story short - Jake is our golden retriever that we had for 7 years.  He went to live with my step-son and his dad 2 years ago.  We picked up Jake and brought him home on Saturday on our way back from Disney.  Those pictures and the story on Friday!

I promise - really I do!

I know I’ve been remiss about my EntreCard dropping as well.  For those of you who continue to drop - thanks!  It’s really appreciated.  I promise I will get back to some powerdropping this weekend and will be returning the favor.  I always start my drops from my inbox then move to my entredropper list.

Thought you might enjoy this picture!  I found it over at Really Funny Pictures .  How many times have you had those moments where you just needed, or wished, you could get your kids out of your hair just for a moment?

As much as I love my children - I have to admit - sometimes they can just drive me absolutely crazy!  I’ve often wished there was a way just to get them out of the way for a little bit so I can have some peace and quiet all to myself.  They’re both at an age now where they don’t nap - or - if they do nap, it only lasts about 30 minutes.

When I saw this picture I was like - wow - wouldn’t that be great?  A baby hanger!  LOL! Wouldn’t that be great?  Unfortunately, as funny as this picture is - the practical daddy side kicks in and says - OMG - what was that parent thinking?  That kid could fall and seriously hurt himself.

Oh well - it was a happy thought for a moment!