The Machine

 

We found a pitching machine a couple of years back on clearance and snagged it. It pitches at 40 mph and we take it out every once in awhile and let the kids practice. We won’t let them put the balls into the machine, only bat. It’s pretty accurate but every once in awhile the wind takes a ball and sends it sailing in some weird direction. For this reason, Connor got beaned by a pitch last year. His immediate reaction was to blame Mike because Mike was running the machine. That cracks me up…..as if his dad would try and nail him with a ball!

Because of his bruising, he was always a little nervous batting afterwards and would pull away from the pitch.

But Dory must have forgotten about that event last summer because this year (including the batting cages in Florida which were 55 mph) he stuck right in there and had a lot of great hits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noah got in some good swings as well. It’s by far the best weather we have had for spring in a long time so he’s had lots of practice throwing and hitting every night. Try-outs are next weekend so I wonder if it will make a difference. Try-outs just assure that the teams are equal. All ability levels are evened out on each team. Mike will help coach this year and it’s something everyone is looking forward to.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let the games begin!

Punto’s Post

 

Everyone in my family knows Nick Punto is my favorite MN Twin. I like him for numerous reasons:

1. He’s not a superstar and I never find myself drawn to the obvious.

2. He’s scrappy. How many players sacrifice their bodies and slide into every base? Ha!

3. He’s sneaky. Notice how many throws to first base the pitcher will do when Punto is on that base. They know he’s gonna steal.

4. He’s always talking with randoms; the third base coach, the guy spraying down the grass, the umpire…..I just like that. Says something about his character, I think.

5. He seems like he’d be funny. I don’t know why I think that, I just do.

 

At the second game we went to in Ft Myers, we had seats on the first base line.

 

You know when this kind of conversation is happening, some stealing is going to happen. I got my camera ready!

 

Keeping his eye on that pitcher

 

 

 

Get back!

This happened a few times.

And he’s off! Will he be safe???

False alarm. Foul ball. Notice he’s walking back from what looks like third because he had rounded second THAT fast. Don’tcha love that? I think he might be searching the stands looking for me. Pretty sure…..

 

 

I never did get to see him steal, but there are many more games to catch that happening because Punto was named the third base starter over Harris! Woo Hoo!

Noah and I have a good time razzing each other about our favorite players and who is playing better, etc. He loves Kubel. You can be sure I rub it in anytime Punto makes a great play.

Gotta love baseball!

Go Twins!

Twins, Food, and Swimming

That title pretty much sums up or vacation! If we weren’t swimming, we were eating. If we weren’t eating, we were at a Twins game! It was a relaxing vacation.

 

We did have two days of gloomy weather while we were in Florida. In fact, the temps in MN were warmer than in FL most of the time we were down there except the first day we arrived. Because we did so much of the same thing each day, they all blend together. So, instead of a day-by-day recap, I will just highlight a few things. Oh, and I took very few pictures! Sad, but true.

 

 

We ate at Carrabba’s Italian restaurant. It was very yummy! Mike had some shrimp dish and he said the shrimp were incredible. I had a pomegranate martini that was yummy! I found this one on tripadvisor.com. Just like hotels, I read many reviews to find places to eat. Usually we are not disappointed. This place was great.

 

 

We also ate at a little restaurant called Fusion for lunch. It was at this restaurant that I noticed something about restaurants in Florida as opposed to the ones in MN. You know how you can’t go into any restaurant (or store for that matter) here in the summer without a jacket or sweatshirt? You will freeze if you do. I always carry one in the car for this reason. I hate being cold when trying to eat. Anyway, it’s not like that in Florida. You would think it would be with the heat they experience, but it’s not. I never needed a sweatshirt in any place we went, and never have in four years we have been to Florida.  Because of this, coupled with the humidity, there is sometimes a stickiness and odor. Well, this restaurant had that…an odor and stickiness. However, the food was very good. I had a mushroom and Swiss omelet with fresh fruit and it was yummy. Kids had pasta and they both liked it.

 

 

 

The last night we were there we ate at the restaurant onsite. It was called Marker 92. We knew it would be spendy, but we figured we would splurge on our last night. The food was VERY good. Mike had strawberry grouper (which the waiter told us is a native fish caught 150 miles off the coast. He had a story for every seafood dish…when it was caught, when it arrived, etc) and he said it was amazing. You know you are eating a great dish when the vegetables aren’t beans and corn, but asparagus and sugar snap peas! I had a pasta dish with chicken. The pasta was fresh, and the minute I saw the shaved parmesan on top…I was in heaven!

 

 

 

On one of the cooler days we went to The Imaginarium. It was probably more for younger kids, but we still had a pretty good time. We saw a 3-D movie on dinosaurs and ecology and visited the exhibits.

 

 Noah touching a cloud.

 

 

 

 Dad and Connor making their way through a trivia-walk. Looks sunny, but it was not warm!

 Making a TV weather forecast.

The day we visited the ocean was cool and very windy. The Floridians tells us it was the coolest they remember it. The water was icy! We still enjoyed our time there searching for unique shells and critters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a great time at both Twins games. It was nice to get up close to the players and get a sneak peek at the season ahead.  For sure the highlight of our time in Florida.

 

 

 

   

 

  

 

 

We were very glad to have a condo as opposed to a hotel room. Kids had their own area, could watch their own TV, and we could relax. It was nice to have the kitchen every morning to make coffee, and have a bowl of cereal or an english muffin before heading out for the day. The kids loved our huge shower and took turns using it. We certainly got spoiled staying where we did and Mike says he’ll continue to look for this hotel on travelzoo and if it goes on sale again, he’s booking it for next year. Good news for us!

 

 

 

All the time and work that goes into this trip and then it seems like it’s over in a second. Another successful spring break!

“Don’t you feel a little out of place?”

The title says it all. This is what Mike asked me on day two of our vacation to sunny Florida.

 

We decided this year to forego Orlando and check out Twins training camp in Ft Myers. Mike found this awesome, newly built, place online through travelzoo (which is also how we find awesome hotels in Chicago for cheap! If you don’t subscribe, you really should). I remember his frantic phone call home and me having to quickly look at this place online and decide if I wanted to stay there because the “deal” was going to expire soon. I took one look and told him to grab it because #1, I was tired of looking for places and reading hundreds of reviews, and #2, the place looked darn nice.

 

The Resort at Marina Village did not disappoint.

 

The kids relaxing in their room, watching their flat screen, after a LLOONNGG day of flying. They have their own bathroom.

 

Master bedroom. It took every ounce of willpower not to jump into that bed.

Master bathroom. This is one of two areas like this in the master. The other one is identical except it has a close-up make-up mirror attached to the wall that swings out….I think I would like to have one of those in my real house.

Huge walk-in shower in the master. There is also a separate commode area with a door. This bathroom has three separate areas. Unreal. Oh, and a walk-in closet too.

 

Full kitchen. So much nicer than anything I own. It’s exactly what I would want mine to look like, from the cupboards, to the granite, to the set-up. The cabinets are filled with pots, pans, glasses, cutlery, strainer, cutting board, Tupperware, wine glasses…..absolutely everything and it’s all brand new. Amazing.

Living room. The big flat screen is on the other wall. In between this and the kitchen is a huge dining room table.

This was the screened patio! It had sliding doors off every room in the condo. It was so nice. Mike especially loved sitting out here. 

This is the view. We were on the 10th floor.  Sorry for the poor quality, but I wanted to show it and didn’t have any other way except through the screen. Those are full-sized huge trees so we are WWAAYY up in the air! Very peaceful and quiet views.

We hit the jackpot with this place. Without that deal Mike found, we would never be able to afford a place like this. The staff is incredible, the restaurants onsite have great food, everywhere you turn the staff is cleaning, organizing, restocking. Every time you walk by a desk or enter the gates someone greets you or waves. It’s pretty awesome. I could used to this!

Day one we spent swimming, batting, and go-carting.

Day two was spent at the ocean. The water temp was only in the 60’s. According to the waitress at Cheeburger Cheeburger where we ate lunch, this has been a horrible winter and spring for Florida. They haven’t seen temps this cool, for this long, in forever. So no one was in the ocean, but it was still fun to play in for awhile. That night we actually went to How to Train Your Dragon in 3-D because the weather was just not nice! So sad! The movie was very good though.

 

 

Day three has started with another gloomy day….hence why I am able to write this post while everyone is lounging! Hoping for brighter skies in the day ahead. Not sure what is on the agenda…good thing we bring the computer, we will have to do some googling.