Beautiful Skies & Baseball Tries

Monday is here again - but I'm feeling less of the Monday blues this week because 1) It's a four day week/three day weekend, 2) my boss is on vacation and so the office is running at a slower pace and 3) today is the day I finally get to see Avengers: Infinity War!

The past weekend was a good one and seemed like it passed...well, not in the blink of an eye I suppose. The office closed early on Friday and the weather was absolutely gorgeous, so I raced home and picked up my pupper and took him over to one of our favorite spots - the Virginia State Arboretum! I took an abundance of pictures because it was just too gorgeous outside not to!

Dogwood Lane was beginning to blossom and so we had to take a long walk down the lane and underneath all the blooms...and Watson had to sniff the trunk of each and every tree...

The rock walls (which have signs that warn that snakes like to hide in the rocks...) were a huge favorite for Watson, especially after he realized that he could climb up on top of the wall, walk and see everything stretched out in front of him! It meant I had to do some very careful walking and weaving to allow him to stay perched on the wall so he could see all the sights.

The sky was just the perfect shade of blue and I was pretty shocked that I was able to convince Watson to sit beside me on a bench for a short while and take everything in...

 

And so - even though we were only at the Arboretum for about an hour, I took so many gorgeous photos and so I'll stop "yapping" and share some more of them below.

Once we'd explored and taken the time to stop and smell the daffodils - which I couldn't believe were still in bloom - we headed for a quick spin around the loop drive with the windows open so Watson could feel the breeze in his fur.

The rest of Friday was just a relaxing evening - it's always nice to have those Friday nights where you can relax and just recuperate from the work week. I watched Thor and had some cheese pizza for supper...I shared bites with Watson, of course. Watson and I took a couple spins around the neighborhood and I closed out the evening with an ice cream cone and the first two episodes of The Handmaid's Tale - not the most peaceful Friday night watch, but good TV watching still.

 

Saturday was another gorgeous day - the sun was out, the sky was blue and there was a gentle breeze. It was perfect baseball weather and I was in luck...because I had tickets to a baseball game! The game wasn't until 4:05, so I was able to spend my morning leisurely sipping coffee, chatting with my younger sister and just enjoying the morning. Watson spent most of the morning laying out on the deck in the sunshine.

Shortly after lunch, I headed toward DC and happily traffic wasn't too bad, so I arrived at the metro and met up with my friend Rachel and her daughter in perfect time. We made our way to Nationals Park; with Rachel's daughter getting more excited every time another Nationals fan boarded the metro, and we all emerged from underground to the bright blue sky and a street teeming with fans.

I took the time to check the message on the building - it changes with every home stand - and this time it was commemorating the broken bat homer that Harper hit in NY recently. It gave me a laugh.

We made our way to out seats, stopping on the way to grab drinks and settled in for some baseball. It was Sophia's first major league game and she was very involved - she asked questions, cheered and squealed loudly and seemed to really enjoy herself.

Jeremy Hellickson pitched for the Nationals and really did a great job - I still find myself confused as to why the manager pulled him after only 57 pitches when he'd held the Diamondbacks to just one run. We got to see two home runs, a two run bomb from Ryan Zimmerman and a one run homer from Howie Kendrick...but unfortunately, when Hellickson was removed from the ballgame is when the troubles started.

The Nationals were leading 3-2 in the eighth but our relief pitcher allowed the Diamondbacks to tie the game and then the Nationals couldn't make anything happen offensively...so the game went into extra innings. When raindrops started to fall in the tenth, we decided to go ahead and make our way to the metro - and thankfully we missed the sad conclusion where the Nationals walked the go-ahead run in and lost the game. *sigh*

My drive home was uneventful and I actually arrived home around 9:15 - earlier than I had expected to, which was nice! I took the puppy on a walk and then we settled in the living room and I finally...finally...watched the series finale of The Office before turning in for the night! The finale was so good - parts of it made me tear up! What a great show that really knew how to end things perfectly!

Saturday night Watson napped in the chair and Sunday morning, he napped on top of the deck furniture...soaking in the sun while I slurped up the coffee. I headed out to church and commiserated with my friend Jennie that I absolutely could not stop yawning! I don't know what the deal was, but I could not get it together on Sunday morning!

I attended my final NEXT class at church and then headed home and immediately made a third cup of coffee, which I sipped while starting the laundry and watching Avengers: Age of Ultron - which I'm so glad I re-watched; I'd forgotten so much! I passed my Sunday afternoon with laundry, a movie, walks around the neighborhood with the puppy and just some general laziness. I fixed myself a burrito bowl for dinner, took a nice bubble bath and then watched the new episode of Westworld before turning in for the night.

And now I find myself on Monday afternoon, one work day almost done...Infinity War in my sights and a three day weekend also in my sights! I can't wait!

Five on Friday

Friday is here - yahoo! Twice this week I found myself thinking "tomorrow is Friday" and then I'd realize that it actually wasn't. This week has been; for the most part, fairly relaxed...but I guess I was just living for the weekend all week? I know...I know...you're supposed to live for the moment!

Let's move on to the five things I'm loving/thinking about in *this moment* on this lovely Friday!

One. The Royal Baby - I love anything and everything to do with the royal family and so I've been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the newest member, so I was pretty thrilled when I woke up on Monday and saw that a new little Prince had been born! And today we find out his name is Louis Arthur Charles - a big name for such a wee fellow and a name that hearkens to many historical men that have come before him!

  

The baby is precious, Katherine looked absolutely gorgeous even at seven hours post-partum (that glam squad working overtime) and sweet little Princess Charlotte's wave to the people when she visited her new little brother - it just slays me. Up next - the royal wedding!

Two. Nationals Baseball - The Nationals are back in DC this weekend after going 4-5 on a road trip that saw them play the Mets, the Dodgers and the Giants. They closed out the road trip with a blowout win of the Giants; the final score was 15-2! I sure hope the bats stay hot this weekend with the Diamondbacks in town! I'll be headed to the ballpark on Saturday with my friend Rachel to catch the afternoon game - and as always, I cannot wait to be in DC, watching some baseball in the sunshine!

Three. Westworld Season Two - The second season of Westworld premiered last Sunday night and I am already trying to sort out in my mind how many story lines we are meant to be following this season and what exactly is going on! Westworld is such an intricate and complex show with diverging plot lines and little secrets hidden here and there for the most observant viewers...sometimes you want a show to challenge you and Westworld is certainly that; a mind-bender in the best way possible.

While nothing can ever replace Game of Thrones as the number one - Westworld is certainly up there on my list and if you've thought of giving it a watch, I'd definitely recommend it...but be warned, it comes on HBO so it's not exactly "tame".

Four. Adieu April - Can you believe this is the last weekend in April? It just struck me as I was sitting here and I cannot believe how quickly this month has passed! The month has been filled with baseball, bible studies, birthday parties (here's where the alliteration ends) dinners with friends, a play and classes at church! This month has felt so full and I suppose that's why it has passed so fast? Either way, I can't believe May is so close! And I'm sure it will fly by too...since it's filled with so much fun!

Five. Infinity War - Which I don't get to see until Monday evening...and so I'm trying to dodge spoilers every time I get on social media! The cast and crew have asked that people keep the film's plot with it's twists, turns and inevitable character deaths (*sob*) to themselves so everyone can have an enjoyable movie going experience...but I'm not sure how well it's stuck.

So until Monday night, I'll be keeping my eyes and ears closed to all things Infinity War. After all, Thanos Demands your Silence. Ha-ha!

*******************************************

And that's all she wrote for this; the final weekend, of April! I hope everyone has a good weekend and I'll see you back here soon!