Tag Archives: Shaun

Photo-A-Day

Eva’s 1st Pawsox Game

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Eva's 1st Pawsox Game
Photo-A-Day #1602

Tonight we took Eva to her first Pawtucket Red Sox, PawSox, game. Mu cousin Carissa has been home from California for the week and she asked us if we wanted to go. We went with Carissa, her boyfriend Sam, my cousins Shaun and his wife Morgan and my Uncle Rich. The game started at 7:05pm so yes, we were those parents bringing a 2 year old (essentially, she’s got less than two months to go and I can’t stand that weeks/months stuff), yikes, to a night game. She was so excited on the way to the game too. She kept saying “going to a baseball game” and she was wearing her Aunt Shelby’s pink Red Sox hat, she looked adorable.

I must tell you off the bat that I am no sports fan. If you couldn’t tell by the very small amount of sports talk on this blog but I’m not a fan. I think professional athletes are overpaid crybabies for the majority. There are some guys who love what they do and play for the love of the game, but not many. I do however enjoy the minor league games because these guys are working on making their way up so they hustle, the parks hustle and the fans get a good show for the money. We paid $10 a ticket for box seats and $2.00 to park. We were handed a sheet of baseball cards because it was a promo night and we had a great view of the field. I like that, I like feeling like I got something for my money.

The thing that I really liked about this was that we could take Eva and she could enjoy the show. McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket has a real family feel to it. They have a mascot and there is a picture place where kids can have their pictures taken with the mascot. Games are played up on the big screens and there are many fun things that go on that you won’t see in a major league park. Eva was up on her chair dancing, clapping and yelling. She was having a great time. It was really fun to watch. Despite my not being thrilled overall with sports (it does nothing for me) I did enjoy seeing Eva in her little hat enjoying a hot pretzel and watching the players. She sat with me and I pointed out what everyone on the team did. There was something really special about that. Allison can go and correct my mistakes later as she has years of experience watching baseball games.

We left the game early because it was getting late for Eva. She must have been wired because she didn’t fall asleep in the car. I think she was in that too tired stupor that we all end up in from being up too late.

I’ve posted the photos from the PawSox ballgame.

Photo-A-Day

Preserving History

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Preserving History
Photo-A-Day #1514

Today our family came together to celebrate Grandma Theresa. They came with an amazing array of photo albums. My Uncle Richard and my Aunt Donna brought many photos that they had. My Aunt Luann brought albums that were my Grandma Theresa’s personal albums. I spent a good five straight hours scanning each photo or shooting the photos with my camera. The loose photos got scanned and the ones in the albums were photographed. What was really nice about the albums was that under most of the photos were names of a few people in each photo written in my Grandma’s hand.

It is a little overwhelming to pour through moments in a persons history in one afternoon. Seeing them grown from young to middle aged to old. The thing that came across in seeing all these photos was that my Grandma valued family very much. When she was surrounded with family her smile radiated. She loved large gatherings and making sure that everyone had everything they needed. She wouldn’t sit down until everyone had a full plate. She was busy keeping everything going behind the scenes. And she made it look easy. She was the quiet ringmaster of this three ring circus called family.

So, did I spend any time with everyone who came to the house? Yes, I had a really nice morning with my cousin Shaun and his wife Morgan and their son Logan. I took today’s photo of Eva and Logan because they were very cute together. Well, that was when Eva wasn’t being bossy. She needs a sibling to temper that bossiness.

I also spent some time with my Dad going grocery shopping and getting ready for the cookout. We made sure that we got plenty of corn on the cob for everyone in honor of Grandma’s love for it. I don’t know the number but I’ve heard that she broke some family record for eating corn on the cob. I remember one cookout at the house in Wareham where we had fried chicken and corn on the cob on the octagonal table that my Great-Uncle Richard built and the one that now graces our patio. There were many family gatherings with my Grandma and she remembered what everyone liked and made sure that there was more than enough of it on hand. As a kid I loved mashed potatoes. I could eat tons of them as a kid. As I got older I moderated more of what I ate but I remember that Grandma always made a huge pot of mashed potatoes because I liked them. She was great like that.

My Cousin Carissa (In California) chatted with everyone via the webcam on Allison’s netbook. I also got a chance to talk with my Uncles about my Grandma, that was great because I will be giving the eulogy along with my sister Tara. So talking with everyone and seeing the great photos from Grandma’s life helped spark many of my memories and also learn stories from my family to properly honor Grandma’s memory at her funeral on Tuesday.