Red Sox Nation

On Thursday night, we joined the ranks of dedicated baseball fans and took the subway to Fenway Park to watch the Red Sox take on the Chicago White Sox. I had been to a Red Sox game when I was 12, but I was incredibly pumped for a second chance to visit the Green Monster and all of the super intense fans. For those of you that don't know, baseball is a way of life in Boston. The Red Sox fans call themselves "Red Sox nation", and I found many similarities between the traditions and loyalty of Red Sox nation and the Texas Aggies. For this reason, Cody had no trouble being just as intense as the 40-year season ticket holder on our row. We had amazing seats in the lower deck on the first base line, and enjoyed a meal of ballpark hot dogs (my favorite!), nachos and beer. Sadly, this was also our most expensive meal, but it was worth every penny and calorie. Perhaps the best part of the game--besides singing "Sweet Caroline" at the top of our lungs--was watching the Red Sox come from behind to win the game with a walk-off home run. The stadium literally erupted with cheers and the team ran out of the dugout, ripped off Cody Ross' jersey and drowned him in blue Gatorade. My husband is the ultimate sports fan, and was right in the middle of the action, high fiving everyone in our section and jumping up and down. He makes me so proud! We can't wait to go back for a game in a few years, and had so much fun seeing another historical landmark in Boston during the year of its 100th anniversary.

 We did take the T to Fenway!

 Dad hooked us up with some pretty stylish Red Sox gameday shirts. Don't we look good?

 A few of the Red Sox players warming up (That's Jacoby, Dad!)

 The famous Green Monster in left field

On Friday morning, we woke up and soaked up the last historical sites that we could, including a walk through Little Italy, a tour of Paul Revere's house on the Freedom Trail, and a visit to Fanneul Hall. (I believe this is where the original US Constitution was created, but better not quote me on that.) We also saw the site of the Boston Massacre and found the cutest little boutique to satisfy the last bit of my shopping hunger. I would just like to add that my husband is the best EVER and took a break from seeing historical sites to let me shop. He even braved a trip to H&M-- talk about Prince Charming!

 A view of the houses in Little Italy. If only it wasn't 9:00 am-- we could've enjoyed a little wine and pasta!

 This was our inside joke of the day. Cody was convinced that I was trying to dress up as Rosie the Riveter for the day, so he had to take a pic of me doing my best impression of the "We can do it" pose. Perhaps there's a bit of resemblance?

 Cody's main goal of the entire Boston trip was to see "real cobblestone streets". We finally achieved his goal on the morning before we left, thank goodness!

 We enjoyed a tour of the Paul Revere house, where we learned several things, including: kitchens during colonial times were more like campfires than what we consider a kitchen, master bedrooms where made for entertaining guests with card games, and Paul Revere was a silversmith by trade, but also practiced dentistry, surgery and who knows what else. There was definitely more valuable info, but these points really stood out for us.

Before our Boston departure, we had to take advantage of a photo op in the "real cobblestone streets". Aren't we presh?

Around noon, it was time to rent a car and head north to Maine. We were super excited to see our friends and celebrate Meg and Ryan's wedding! More to come!

I think I'll go to Boston...

Last Wednesday morning, Cody and I pretended to be morning people and arrived at the El Paso airport at 6:30 AM to begin an adventure to New England. Sure, you might wonder why I would complain about leaving my bed at 4:30 AM when there is a fabulous vacay involved, but let's just say that sleep and I have a very, very necessary dependence upon each other. :) For the sake of Cody's sanity, however, I replaced sleep with its very close sidekick, coffee, and we prepared to head off on a second honeymoon and a visit to one of the most historical sites in the US.

We arrived in Boston in the height of rush hour, and trust me when I say that this experience could be likened to Houston rush hour-- on foot. We braved the incredibly crowded subways and finally arrived at our hotel after walking 10 blocks in the wrong direction...in the rain... with luggage. We're pretty sure everyone knew we were from Texas (or some place without public transportation) at that point, but it was an adventure nonetheless. We stayed across from Tufts University and the New England Medical Center, which is conveniently located in walking distance from Chinatown, the Theatre District, downtown, Boston Common and, yes, the shopping district (can you say score?). After getting settled and freshened up--which took quite a while for two people who are no longer accustomed to humid climates--we headed out to dinner at a cute little wine bar that boasted the most AMAZING lobster mac'n cheese. If you haven't had the pleasure of feasting on this dish, add it to your bucket list. It's to die for.

Thursday morning we began a day of tourist attractions, beginning with a visit to the Prudential Centre and our very own Duck Tour. The Duck tour consists of a ride around Boston on a vehicle used during World War II which is simliar to a bus on land and transforms into a boat on sea. We were able to learn a ton about all of the Revolutionary landmarks in Boston, and saw all of the memorable sites from the time of our nation's independence.

President JFK's home prior to his time in office

 Lots of memories of the Boston Tea Party... and Starbucks?

  

 The cityscape as seen from the Charles River. This was the river that the Red Coats sailed into for all of the Revolutionary battles.

 USS Constitution

 Boston Massacre Burial site

 Fanneul Hall

 Entering the Charles River

 The building that housed the police force in The Departed. Leo Dicaprio and Matt Damon could be seen running up and down these stairs pretty frequently during the filming... how cool is that?

 A piece of the original Berlin Wall at the Holocaust Memorial

 The Old State House

 The original Boston fire station

 Old South Church, where correspondence between the messengers (think Paul Revere) occurred to warn the Patriots that the British were coming

 Beacon Hill, the elite neighborhood of Boston (and home of sweet Karen Craun!)

 The steps of the Prudential Centre, home of lots of shopping, restaurants, tours and business

 Getting our day started in Boston Common

Tufts University in the New England Medical Center. This was the view from our hotel.

 The finish line of the Boston Marathon. I tried to run across it, but a bus got in the way... 

 Where everybody knows your name!

 Statue memorial of Paul Revere

The Fairmont Copley Hotel, where every president stays upon visiting Boston

Stay tuned for day 2 of our Boston visit. So many adventures!

God Bless the USA

It's hard to believe that another 4th of July has already come and gone. Cody and I were discussing yesterday how the past year has absolutely flown. This time last year, we were in Harlingen with Cody's family, and my sister was experiencing her very first fishing trip. Those were certainly wonderful memories, and we were super excited to make some more on this year's Independence Day.

We had a pretty low-key morning, and just lounged around the house until mid-afternoon, when we went to our good friend Clay's parents' house to lounge by the pool and cook out. We were able to meet Clay's sweet sister and her family, and we ate too much, got plenty of sun and had a ton of fun (as always). We joked that I should post weekly "pool updates" because we've become quite accustomed to spending at least one day out of our weekend with Clay's family at the pool. They are so sweet to graciously host us so often and we're thankful to have found great friends like them. Plus, they're fellow  TEXAS Aggies so what could be better than that? :)

Here are a few pics to document our celebration of the best country in the world...

 Celebrating our 7th July 4th together. Love my hubby!

 Cody and Clay

 Steph, me and Cooper

 The boys (big and little) enjoying the pool

Zetdi and me, lounging poolside in our patriotic ensembles

Sparkler pic

Our own little fireworks display!

Next on the list of adventures: a little vacay to the East Coast. Less than 2 weeks and we absolutely can't wait!

I Wanna Soak up the Sun

Well, summer has arrived in the desert. We hit our first round of 100 degree temps last week, so Cody and I were thrilled for the weekend and a chance to cool off with a day trip to the lake at Elephant Butte. Rio was also very excited for his first visit to something bigger than his splash pool, the bathtub AND the river. :) We relaxed and lounged all afternoon, and while it doesn't quite replace the beach, it is nice to get some relief from the scalding New Mexico sun. (I'm beginning to think that it's powerful enough to even develop a tan on my super white skin!)

 My handsome boys. Not sure which one loves the sun and sand more!

 Rio had a blast chasing the "waves" as they came to "shore". He would try to bite the top of the water and didn't seem to understand how it was moving so quickly on its own. Such a goober!

 The ultimate in relaxation-- let the dog do the work. Cody tested Rio's swimming skills by letting him pull him back in when the water carried him out into the lake. Lazy? No. Resourceful? Maybe.

My love and me, coming up on two years of wedding bliss. Trust me, we are clothed in this picture, though it may appear otherwise. Try not to be jealous of my fabulous windblown mane either, ok? 

Until next time... hopefully you're staying cool and soaking up some sun for yourself!

CherryFest 2012

I fully intended to post this before the month of May ended, but needless to say, I just didn't make it. It's the thought that counts though, right? :) We had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend full of old friends and family, and yes, we made our second trip to San Antonio this month. I think the drive has worn on us a bit at this point (we are still catching up on our sleep, but what else is new!). We definitely wouldn't trade the special memories and fun that we have with everyone in south TX for anything though, and as always, are looking forward to our next journey.

We made the trek to Cherry Mountain Ranch for our first CherryFest experience in a couple of years. Our friends Clint and Shane Neal have made it a tradition since our college days to graciously host a group of rowdy people at their ranch every year for Memorial Day weekend. We camped, grilled out, floated in the Medina River and played sand volleyball. It was lots of fun, and there were even rumors of Red Stag hunting, though I'm not sure those ever came to fruition...

We brought our friend Clay from Las Cruces to experience some authentic hill country fun, and by the end of the weekend we all agreed that it was hard to return to the desert after a relaxing weekend in the beautiful green, water-filled hill country. It truly is one of my favorite places, and I'm so glad we got to spend some quality time there! We also got to see my Aunt Melody and my cousins while they were passing through on their way to Vegas, so it was good to catch up with all of them. It's pretty rare that Cody and I get to see the extended family outside of holidays, so we always love those opportunities.

Clay and Matt (Weezy) bonding over some river time

 Me & the hubs, just like the old days

 The three besties-- since Thousand Oaks Elementary. Love these gals!

 Stephen and Cody, cheesin' it up

 Love you sis! 

"And we're gonna go down... to... the riverrrrr" 

My sweet Shannon! We go way back to the days of photo shoots and Spice Girls dance routines. She's pretty much my second little sis after all. 

 Stephen was the ultimate trooper coming out to see everyone after having a second hand surgery earlier in the week. He's hardcore-- which is obvi why he's my BFF. :)

 Love my girlfriends!!

 Do you think Cody is having fun? Absolutely priceless.

Our roomie reunions are always the best. Love this girl so much!

 I can't wait for all of the great adventures to unfold in our third (what?!) year of marriage AND our second year in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Stay tuned!