I'm dreaming of...

Last night we went on a most fun double date with some good friends of ours.

I had this crazy thought that morning that I wanted to do something different. 

Something big. 

Something exciting. 

Naturally, National Treasure popped into my head. 

Of course, I went with it.

I created a Scavenger Hunt competition for the mall.
I will not take full credit for this.
My dad, google.com, and my brain each deserve some credit.

It turned out great! We had an absolute blast doing all the "assignments." We also came up with new rules, regulations, bonuses, and points docked.

Here's just a few pictures.

counting dressing rooms.

featured scent.

picture with items from a random printed wedding registry

who knew over 200 J. Smith name's were in the system?

Best picture of the night:

Cardinals gear.

We finished the night with some amazing pumpkin spice cupcakes and a viewing of Fast Five.

Not quite National Treasure, but who really cares?

If you haven't seen Fast Five, it's pretty entertaining.

In a really hilarious, dumb, The Rock meets Vin Diesel, kinda way.

It was also based in Rio De Janerio, Brazil. 

Which brings me to the whole point of this post:

I have a dream.

I want to learn Portuguese, speak fluently, teach my kids, and one day travel to Brazil.

I don't really care where in Brazil. 

Rio, Sao Paulo, Porte Alegre, Iguazu, any of those places work.

I just want to go there, speak, listen to, and understand the language, meet the people and taste the food.

I fully believe that if I work hard, this dream will come true.

I've been searching for something intellectually stimulating to do for a long time.

Plus, we already have a massive supply of literature, Mister Man already speaks it, and it is a very beautiful language.

I really have nothing to lose.

Now can anyone tell me how exactly my son managed to get the neck of his once piece, zippered, footy pajamas, past his shoulders and down around his waist this morning? 

Without un-zipping it.

Sometimes I wish I had a video monitor. 

Just for laughs.

-If you want the word document for my scavenger hunt list, leave a comment with your email and I'll send it to ya.

Peace, love, and M&M's, yo.

The Ultimate St. Louis Experience

Friday night we went on the (almost) Ultimate St. Louis Date Night!!!

First stop, Pappy's Smokehouse for some good ole' barbecue. 

I thought it was very delicious, however, my heart belongs at Oklahoma Joe's. 

I really haven't found better bbq sauce or fries anywhere.

Next stop: Cardinals vs. Braves!!

This is the view from where our tickets were:

Mister Man has loved Chipper Jones and the Braves for as long as he can remember.

But he'd never seen them play before.

Until Friday night.

Here's a super sonic zoom of Chipper himself:

We went to celebrate his birthday this month.

And because who knows when another opportunity like this would come around.

Plus, tickets were $10 each.

After the 3rd inning this was our new view, no zoom:

(see the guy in yellow in the center? He's standing in front of the Braves' dugout)

We lucked out because it had been rainy and cold all day. 

The stadium was pretty empty.

Especially the Braves' side.

So we sat about 20 rows back from the Braves' dugout.

Of course I had to get my favorite player:

Matt Holliday.

Here's Chipper again!

Around the 8th inning we moved even closer, about 5 rows back from the Braves' dugout.

This was the perfect photo opportunity.

Chipper and Matt together.
Our favorite players.

Can I get an "Awwww"?

And of course, our lovely faces!

Game highlights:
-a foul ball came flying toward us and landed literally right behind my seat!!! Sadly, it bounced far, far away. Mister Man thought it wasn't gonna be that close so he didn't try to catch it. Bummer!
-We were featured on the Kiss Cam!!!!! Too bad I didn't get a picture.
-We were so close I could see Holliday spitting sunflower seeds. And blowing bubbles with bubble gum.
-Doing the Braves tomahawk chop with a whole huge group of fans in our area. It was something Mister Man has always wanted to do!
-The bottom of the 9th inning...

So the 1st inning was pretty exciting with the Braves scoring 2 and Cards scoring 1. Then nothing happened until the bottom of the 9th. 

The Braves brought out Kimbrel to pitch and he got guys on 2nd and 3rd base. Then he threw 4 balls to the next guy. He got to walk. 

With the bases loaded out strutted Albert Pujols. 

*roar!!!* 

Of course the stadium exploded!!

On the 2nd or 3rd pitch, Pujols hit it hard and they scored 2, tying up the game (Braves had scored a point in one of the other innings). 

Again, explosion in the crowd and on to the 10th inning.

The Braves couldn't score and the Cards stepped up. 

Once again, 2nd and 3rd were loaded. The Braves let the next guy walk. 

Then out stepped Punto. He hit it hard, and the Cards scored 1 to win the game. 

It was most definitely the most exciting baseball game I've ever been to!

Especially because I couldn't decide who I liked better: 

Braves or Cards?

In the end I chose the Cardinals. 

And this cute guy.

I wish the colors were better and the image was sharper. 

But what can you expect from an old, old man snapping the picture?

I'm just glad he knew how to use the camera...

We had planned on ending our Ultimate St. Louis Date Night experience with the most incredible custard in the world:

source

But since the game went into a 10th inning, it was closed. 

Bummer.

Overall we had quite the amazing night!!

The End.