Flours, Fibers, and Fastballs

I figured it was time to end my on-line silence and contribute to the blog again. This post is devoted to the other pastime that Emily and I have been enjoying this summer... America's pastime... baseball! The picture above is Emily and me with our brother Steve. He's visiting for the week, and we kicked off his visit with a trip to Chicago (note the skyline in the background of the photo) to see the White Sox/ Yankees game. It was awesome! A beautiful day, some good baseball, and a drive around downtown Chicago. The only downers were that the home team lost and we got to the game too late to see the Doobie Brothers sing the national anthem. After the game, we were treated to a cookout at my friend Pat's house, courtesy of his mom. Thanks Mrs. Miller! We enjoyed grilled fajitas to the musical stylings of Lady Gaga. No joke; it was amazing. Below is a photo of U.S. Cellular Field (home of the White Sox).

Em mentioned in a previous post that we got to check out a couple Iowa Cubs games while we were in Des Moines. What she didn't mention was that we happened to run into some other residents of Marinette. Check out the picture below to see who we found at the game...

Yep, that's right. That is Mrs. Hayes, our beloved kindergarten teacher. I cannot describe the state of complete confusion I was in when she stopped me on the concourse. There I was, on a trip for work, in a city 180 miles from the city I live in, and 500 miles from the town in which I grew up, face to face with my kindergarten teacher. I literally didn't hear the first few things she said to me. Once the fog cleared, Em and I moved to sit by Mr. and Mrs. Hayes, and had a great time watching baseball and catching up on Marinette news.

The game was made even sweeter by the fact that I got to see my high school buddy, Greg Reinhard, pitch that night. We had a great time with some old friends that night. Thanks, Greg!
(The photo below is Greg on the mound for the Iowa Cubs.)

In more baseball news, Em, Steve, and I are hitting up the River Bandits game on Thursday. We'll keep you posted on whether or not we try to sneak the underagers into the Tiki Hut. Changing that ridiculous policy has become one of my goals in life.