take me out to the ballgame

In a sense, we have tried to incorporate the philosophy of the San Diego Padres into our own life -- Get the most bang for your buck. Hopefully we will have more success than they did the other night when we had the chance to go to our first Padres game of the season against the Cincinnati Reds. We were given tickets for some great seats behind home plate. We walked all over the stadium and were finally rewarded with the best concessions deal in the whole stadium...a huge soft serve ice cream sundae in a mini Padres helmet for only $5.

As is typical the Padres put a whopping 2 runs on the board through 10 innings, then blew the game by giving up 6 runs in the 11th, after having 2 outs. We stayed til the bitter end, but had a great time.

This last photo, taken by s, really is a masterpiece. Not only does it show our great view, it also shows on the mound the amazing Aroldis Chapman in perfect pitching pose. He threw 106 mph against the Padres last year (but only hit 96 mph this night). Notice, however, that the Padres are absent from this photo, which is where they were most of the night.

mary mary quite contrary....

here's how our garden grows:

becoming one with the earth

So, we recently bought a house. It needs a little bit of work. I'm glad I'm married to a general contractor.

The past few weekends we've been focusing on the much needed yard work -- mainly pulling all the overgrown shrubbery and plants from around the perimeter of the house. And by we, I mean K has been doing this while I offer supportive and encouraging words. (I did mow the lawn yesterday!) Unfortunately we don't have any before pictures of the overgrown mess. Here is one taken the day we moved in. In the background you can get a taste of how overgrown it was:

Here are a few of K working his magic yesterday:

He's pretty much in his element here- working with his hands, listening to the Padres win (!) on the radio. I don't think life gets much better than this for him. I love that he loves doing this so much, and am grateful he does!

The fruits of his labor:

We've become friends with a little bird that hangs out in the trees in our front yard. He(or she?) is pretty cute and friendly, and always around. We think there is a nest under the eaves of our front porch.

Meet Kirby:

That's all for now. I'm sure you are waiting breathlessly for more home improvement pictures. Don't worry, there's plenty more where these came from!