GO ROX!!!!!

World Series, Game 1 TONIGHT!
!!!!!! GO ROCKIES !!!!!!

I found this in the Boston Herald this morning, and thought I would share. Enjoy Michael Marallo's city matchup, but we'll see who gets the last laugh!!
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Let’s face it, there’s not much history between Boston and Denver, the capital of Colorado, where the Rockies play their home games, and the World Series will decide who’s got the better ball team. But in a head-to-head matchup between the cities, Boston’s already got Denver beat:

Category: Nickname

Boston: The Hub, Beantown

Denver: Mile High City

Verdict: Denver - Can’t beat that kind of elevation.

Category: Tallest Skyscraper

Boston: John Hancock Tower, 790 feet

Denver: Republic Plaza, 714 feet.

Verdict: Boston - It’s close, but admit it: you don’t know what the Republic Plaza looks like.

Category: Major League Baseball History

Denver: 15 years

Boston: 108 years

Verdict: Boston - The Rockies might be making history, but the Red Sox define it.

Category: Home Ballparks

Denver: Coors Field

Boston: Fenway Park

Verdict: Boston - Our bleacher culture beats out the Rock Pile.

Category: Best Local Beer

Boston: Sam Adams

Denver: Coors

Verdict: Boston - Is Rocky Mountain water the only thing they put in those Coors bottles?

Category: Fancy Suspension Bridge

Boston: Leonard P. Zakim Bridge

Denver: Millennium Foot Bridge

Verdict: Boston - Our bridge spans water, their’s a rail yard.

Category: Regional Theme Song

Boston: “Dirty Water,” the Standells

Denver: “Rocky Mountain High,” John Denver

Verdict: Boston - Our victory song is everywhere.

Category: Best Gross-Out Food

Boston: Secret 24-hour kitchens in Chinatown

Denver: Fried bull testicles, aka Rocky Mountain oysters

Verdict: Denver - It takes courage to go to Chinatown at 4 a.m., but it takes testicles to eat testicles - at any hour.

Category: As Seen on TV

Boston: “The Practice,” “Lucky Louie,” “Cheers”

Denver: “The Bill Engvall Show,” “Real World 18”

Verdict: Boston - The “Real World” went to Denver?Was Puck involved?

Category: Cool Movie Title

Boston: “The Departed”

Denver: “Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead”

Verdict: Denver - Our proximity to Lowell leaves us partial to Jack Kerouac references.

Category: Hometown Celebrities

Boston: The Afflecks, Lenny Clarke, Eliza Dushku

Denver: Tim Allen, David Fincher, Karl Rove

Verdict: Boston - We’re currently Hollywood’s darling.

Category: Famous Baby Daddy

Boston: Tom Brady

Denver: Travis Henry

Verdict: Denver - The Broncos’ Henry allegedly has nine kids with nine women. Let’s see Brady throw six TDs with that many mouths to feed.

Category: Best Bands

Boston: Dropkick Murphys, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Dresden Dolls, Mission of Burma, Bang Camaro

Denver: The Fray, Jill Sobule, DeVotchKa, Apples in Stereo, Dressy Bessy

Verdict: Boston - C’mon, the Fray? That’s the best ya got?

"Brooklyn Day"

Thank goodness Friday is finally here!! Every since Wednesday, this week's speed hit the brakes very hard. Maybe it's because Wednesday means returning to work after 4 glorious days off with my princess, or maybe it's that I would rather be outside enjoying the fall weather with my princess. Okay, so I'll admit, the week has gone so slowly by because I want to be with my princess. And, to make matters even harder, she came to work with me this morning for a few hours while Daddy conducted an interview for work. When he came to pick her up, I was very sad to see her go. She was such a good girl while she was here, and she made my morning that much brighter. As she sat on my desk watching her DVD player with Dora seeking out "rainy mountain," I caught myself just gazing at her and smiling. My heart felt very full!

Brooklyn turned 22 months old today, a mere 2 months away from turning 2. I love this stage in her life because she's talking so much, is becoming so creative and imaginative, is so much fun to hang out with, is still very cuddly and sweet and simply is such a beautiful little girl inside and out. Don't get me wrong, I loved her baby stages. The times where she would just fall sound asleep on my chest, or the days when she was learning to pick up her head, or crawl, or learning to walk, but too see where she is at now, I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Our days normally start out with her joining Kevin and I in bed for at least another hour of cuddling and sleep. When she wakes up, she'll rub either Kevin's back or my back or arms. When you open your eyes, you know that she will be watching and waiting with a smile and a "good morning." If your name is Mommy, you'll get a couple kisses and if your name is Daddy, you get a hug. It makes getting up so worth it. And, once she's up, she's up and so very, very busy. She'll include you in all her activities, and let you know if she just needs time to spend looking at books quietly in her room though.

Kevin and I just absolutely love spending as much time with her as we can. In fact, sometimes, I have to go to her room in the middle of the night just to give her a hug, kiss, or to listen to her soft breathing as she sleeps. There's nothing better in this whole world than being a parent, and I can testify to the fact that it leaves your heart very, very full and your world complete. My life wouldn't be the same without my little busy bee running all around my house, stopping for a second to smile or give me a "big hug." Brooklyn is the light of my world, and Kevin's too, which is why we have declared this Saturday "Brooklyn Day." We're going to spend ALL day playing with her, putting aside any household chores that we have to do, and just giving her 100% attention from lights on in the morning to lights out at night. It's her day to do what she wants, and it's an extra bonus that tomorrow's forecast is going to be so beautiful because that means we can play outside, something she just loves! And, the best part, Kevin and I are so excited about it...it's even marked on our calendar!!!

Have a wonderful weekend!! =)

Junior Youth Group

Some of you may know that I'm a junior high youth group leader at my church. I started on this adventure last year, and really enjoyed myself and the kids, so I am jumping in head first again this year. At my church, the junior youth consists of kids grades six through eight, so we're talking about preteens to early teens.
All the leaders, our youth pastor and the youth board chair are meeting next week to discuss and set a calendar for this year's activities. We try to keep a good balance of fun activities and volunteering or service activities. And, this year, we want to try some different things to keep it interesting. Our goal is to have these kids involved and interested so when they get into high school, they will participate as well. The high school youth group is much more involved and more time is required as they do larger projects and a bunch of fundraising for a trip to the youth conference in the summer. One of our main concerns is we don't want everything to have to be about money, especially for those families that the parents participate as well or those families with multiple children. We want the kids to participate as much as they can, and have fun doing it.

So, now comes the part when I ask for help. As I am forming my list of activities, fun and service, I want to throw it out there to all my blog readers to ask for suggestions on activities. Can you help me out?

Maui is really PARADISE!

Our vacation was simply perfect. We were in paradise getting to spend 8 glorious days on Maui, only 60 steps from the beach. The first thing we did, sink our toes in the sand! Brooklyn was a little hesitant of the beach and the ocean at first, but as the days wore on, she became more familiar, but didn't like it when mommy pretended to be swept away by a wave crashing on the shore. Our first morning in paradise, Brooklyn, Kevin and I took a walk on the beach before the sun came up. It was such an incredible experience. So peaceful and serene. We spent quite a bit of time relaxing by playing in the pool or boogie boarding at the beach. I'll admit, I was a chicken, a huge chicken, the first day we tried boogie boarding. I was quite aways from shore and told my mom who was swimming with me that I pretended my boogie board was a door off the Titanic. I know, chicken!! But, I finally warmed up to it and was the person who used the boogie board the most, next to my sister. And, boy, were my muscles sore too.

We got to visit Lahania, the shopping district of Maui. My grandma warned us that during the day it was darn hot there because there were no tradewinds like were we were staying, but did we listen, no. We went there in the middle of the day, and not the end, and boy were we warm! One of the most interesting things about Hawaiian shops is almost every store carries alcohol. The grocery store pretty much has a full liquor store on one side, and the all famous ABC Store has quite a liquor selection too! There's definitely something to be said of the ABC Store, where you can buy a pint of milk and a Hawaiian dress in the same purchase. The ABC Store was our go to store for chocolate covered macadamia nuts - the best candy I have ever tasted. My parents had the right idea bringing home a "briefcase" of them. But, knowing my dad, the chocoholic, they're gone now!!

We got to attend a luau at the Maui Prince Hotel in Makena. The host, Warren Molina, left us all with a chuckle. He made no attempt to conceal he wanted to rip off the tea leaves of the hula dancers as personal conquests and half the women in the audience too! And, all with the smile of a used car salesman. Brooklyn was very wide-eyed when the fire dancer came out and started to eat the fire! She wasn't sure what to think! My sister fell in love with one of the male hula dancers. She wanted to take him home!! My dad caught 47 minutes of the luau on his camcorder, but cut it off when the male dancers came up to do a dance that indeed made my sister turn all shades of red.

On Thursday morning, my mom, dad, sister, Kevin and I headed to our zip lining adventure. We got on all our gear, and headed for our 1/2 mile hike up onto Haleakala Ranch. The guides taught us the history of the ranch and each zip line course was named after a Hawaiian bird. There were 5 zip lines, and each one became longer, faster and higher up than the last. The key was to stay straight and land feet first. However, we seemed to struggle a bit with this as we landed backwards quite a few times, to the point where the guides were making little jokes that they knew we were all related. The last zip though it didn't matter how you were positioned, just as long as you didn't hit the pole on the other side. This zip was 750 feet across and 100 feet up in the air. You had to run off the cliff and once you got going, the ride was like 20 seconds to other side at a speed of 40 m.p.h. One of the guides had to grab you by the feet and pull you onto this movable ladder for you to walk off of. We all had such interesting experiences with the landing. Kevin was the first to go on the last zip and he said the guide freaked him into thinking something was wrong. I was second, the guide had trouble guiding me to the ladder. My sister came next, and the guide pulled her shoe and sock off when he tried to stop her. My mom's landing was the most classic. The guide grabbed for her, and she lifted him about 6-7 feet in the air. So, she took him for a ride! My dad being really tall, got on the ladder very easily. It was such a rush and so much fun that we all agreed we should do it again. While we were on the adventure, Brooklyn and my grandma stayed at the condo, went to lunch at the Sand Witch, walked along the beach and took a nap.

The only downside to our vacation in paradise was our plane ride home. And, I will just leave with this post Kevin put up because it sums it up and is pretty funny too!!

Maui is such a beautiful place that we would love to get back to again! ALOHA~~~

My Name is...

I, like Jenn, have a serious case of weekend brain! So, I thought I would participate in this fun little Naming Meme. Here goes...

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car):
Nikki Outback

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie):
Neapolitan Ginger Snap

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name):
M-Den

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal):
Green Monkey

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, hospital where you were born):
Marie Humana

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first):
Denma

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink):
The Purple Margarita

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers):
Tony Alvin

9. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ):
Marie Craig

10. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter):
Heil Houston

11. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower):
Christmas Pansy

12. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”):
Peach Caprie

13. HIPPIE NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree):
Coffee Pine

14. YOUR ROCK STAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft + fave weather element + “Tour”):
The Scrapbooking Rain Tour

Please feel free to play along, let me know too, so I can discover your fun names!!

10 Years? Already!?!

“Hinkley High School, how does it feel to be state champions?” Marcia Neville from CBS 4 said those words 10 years ago during our high school’s pep rally the Monday after our football team won the state championship! Those words resound through my body every time I think of high school. What an exciting year our senior year really was!! Not only did we win state in football, but the boy’s basketball team swept the playoffs and won state as well.

Tonight at 6 p.m., Kevin and I (we went to high school together) will enter the APS stadium to reunite and celebrate with the football team, as the entire team will be honored during halftime for their incredible accomplishment 10 years ago. My dear friend, Jessica was the place kicker and won a couple playoff games for Hinkley. Jessica was the first female place kicker at our high school, and that same year, the first male joined the cheerleading squad.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited about tonight. I haven’t seen many of these guys since high school. I’ve heard such stories from my parents about how much people change over the years, but not typically too much at the 10-year reunion. As Kevin and I talked about it last night, we agreed that there’s some logic to why it seems people remain the same 10 years later, or at least appear to. It’s because they have to impress their fellow classmates with their life, appearance and success stories, ignoring the fact that we all are 10 years older, some have kids, are married, possibly divorced, etc all meaning that we have all really changed. For good, or bad, after 10 years, it’s reality, things aren’t going to be exactly the same.

As Jessica and I were talking about tonight’s festivities, she expressed her nervousness of worrying about what people will think of her 10 years later, especially if the clichés are still formed. I have always thought clichés are pointless, and if they are still formed after 10 years, the only thing you can do is feel really sad for the people in them. As we talked, I reassured her that she’s become more beautiful inside and out since high school. We both agreed that we are different people than we were in high school, and we’re both really okay with that.

Our official high school reunion won’t be until next summer, but tonight, we will get a taste of what others have been up to, where they are in their life and how life has been since high school. Maybe we can even reconnect with those high school friends that we lost touch with. It should be a good night. And, to make it even better, it’s a rivalry game against the Aurora Central Trojans and it’s Hinkley’s homecoming game. Just one more thing...GO T-BIRDS! YOU KNOW!

(Note: I know I said I would post on our vacation this week, but I wanted my photos to accompany the post, and I have yet to get them on the computer or on a CD. So next Wednesday, I promise, I will get a post up!!)

The Mom Overture

To all the parents out there: You simply HAVE to watch this video. It is so true and funny!!

I will post about our trip tomorrow as I just got back to work and things are super busy!