Watch Me Pitch....Watch Me KK

Baseball - my favorite pastime and one I finally got to share with my sister this past week! I bought tickets for this game way back in March; for one reason and one reason only, it was Bryce Harper MVP Bobble-head night. I didn't know who was going to go with me but I knew someone would and I was going to get my bobble-head. I was thrilled when Lindsey's leave schedule worked out so that she could go with me!

As the game drew closer, it unfolded so as to be a pretty amazing match-up; Max Scherzer (Lindsey's new favorite player) would be on the mound for the Nationals and facing off against him would be the Nationals former pitcher, Jordan Zimmermann...now with the Detroit Tigers. Jordan Zimmermann has started the 2016 with an unbelievable ERA; it's been hovering around 1.00...yes, you read that right. Max has gotten off to a rocky start and would be facing off against his former team; the Nationals got Scherzer from the Tigers in 2015. Interesting match-up, right? Definitely! 

We have bobble-heads - score!

Jayson Werth...larger than life...

Dusty Baker - love this guy!

The constant rain in the DMV area managed to slack off before we joined the line of people waiting to get bobble-heads outside the Center Field Gate...and when I say line, I mean...who knew that bobble-heads brought out so many people?? Admittedly this is the first bobble-head game I've been to, but holy cow...all of the people were at Nationals Park at 4:30 in the afternoon! We had planned to eat at the BrewHouse but the wait time was an hour and fifteen minutes...and I've literally never had to wait before. We made a quick return trip to the Team Store for Lindsey to pick up a new pair of socks - her feet had gotten wet walking to Ice Cream Jubilee and back - and then we grabbed some supper at Shake Shack and took our seats!

What's that on your socks there?

Oh...the Unanimous 2015 NL MVP? Nice!

The man the bobble-head was modeled after...

I would say we weren't 100% prepared for the temperature at this game - I only had a light jacket and Lindsey had on shorts. Once the rain had moved through, the temperature hovered around 60 and there was a pretty nice breeze. Lindsey was pulling those socks up as close to her knees as she could to cover those exposed legs...it was crazy. VA weather y'all...it's nuts. The usher for our section was super zealous...always saying "where are your tickets...where are your tickets???" every time you went anywhere - whoosh! Lindsey and I took in the warm-ups on the field, watched the video meant to get you pumped...which I love...and Lindsey feels ends rather anti-climatically. Oh well. Soon enough Ben Revere stepped in against Jordan Zimmermann and the game was underway!

Daniel Murphy was the first Nationals player on the field to warm up....

The view from Section 227 - Row D

Jordan Zimmermann back on the mound at Nationals Park - just not wearing the right colors...

Zimmermann on the throw...Harper ready to run...Murphy at the plate...

Max made quick work of the Tigers in the first inning and the Nationals struck early in the game; the first inning to be exact. After Revere flew out, Rendon doubled and then Harper singled, moving Rendon to third. Murphy continued his hitting streak by singling and sending Harper to second and Rendon on home...Nationals up 1-0! Zimmerman grounded into a double play to end the inning and the ballgame progressed accordingly...some walks on the part of the Nationals; Max Scherzer would not walk anyone this game...but more on that later...and of course, there were pop outs, fly outs and a strike here or there. Max Scherzer allowed a one run home run to Iglesias in the third and things were all tied up after the first three innings: Nationals 1 and Tigers 1.

Run Presidents Run!

Abe takes the win!

Ace Pitcher Extraordinaire - Max Scherzer!

Former Awesome Nationals Pitcher - Still Awesome Tigers Pitcher - Jordan Zimmermann!

Jordan Zimmermann came up to bat late in the third and received a standing ovation from the Nationals crowd; Jordan holds so many Nationals records...including the first no-hitter in Nationals history, it was touching to see Jordan step back from the plate, whip off his batting helmet and wave at the fans. It was also touching...in a wholly different fashion to watch Max strike him out. Ha! The game moved through the next few innings with more outs being recorded...obviously...but most importantly, by the time Max was through the top of the 6th inning, he had 13 strikeouts total from 20 batters faced; he was up to just 77 pitches and 62 of them had been strikes. In the bottom of the 6th, Rendon singled, Harper was walked and Daniel "Hits" Murphy did his thing as clean-up batter and singled, sending Rendon home to make the score 2-1 at the end of the sixth. When Max took the field at the top of the seventh...there was a collective buzz starting at Nationals Park...

Keeping track of the K's in the stands...I need to be friends with these people.

Danny! Espinosa! Look out 

Mr. Max Scherzer...surpassing the Nationals record for strike-outs in a game...previously held by...Max Scherzer!

Scherzer collected K's number fifteen and sixteen in the seventh inning and Danny Espinosa padded the Nationals lead in the bottom of the seventh with a solo shot homer that had everyone in the stands on their feet! Max was back in the eighth to get strikeouts sixteen...seventeen...and eighteen in the eighth; once he surpassed seventeen, he broke his own record for strikeouts in one game. He acheived seventeen last season with the Nationals...but I guess that wasn't enough for Mad Max, because he blew right past seventeen, on to eighteen and then...well, then the eighth ended with the game at 3-1. It was at this point that people in the stands really began to buzz... Would Max come back in for the ninth? How many strikeouts could he get??

Mad Max takes the field for the ninth...and to make history!

Three outs later - the Nationals win!

The Nationals get the Curly W & Max gets 20 K's!

Max took the field in the top of the ninth and on the first pitch of the inning allowed a one shot homer to make the score 3-2...but Nationals fans were unfazed. We knew we were watching history unfold and everyone was on their feet for the entirety of the ninth inning... Max got strikes nineteen and twenty, then got the third out on a grounder to end the game and secure the Nationals win; along the way joining only three other pitchers in the history of the MLB to get twenty strikeouts in a regular nine inning baseball game. To say the crowd went wild would be an understatement - with each strikeout, things got even crazier and when it was all said and done, I'd wager there wasn't a person in those stands that wasn't on their feet through that final inning - and rightly so - what an amazing moment!

Max receives congratulations from Tanner Roark and Stephen Strasburg...

A Curly W in historic fashion - yes!

I proceeded to take about ten pictures of Max talking on the jumbotron to Dan Kolko - so you'll have to check those out below. It was pretty awesome to hear Max say that with the fans on their feet behind him, he had everything in the tank for the 9th - it was absolutely a memorable game and his interview after the game was a perfect cap to the win!

How do you feel Max? Ha-ha!

Feeling good about those 20 K's...no doubt about it!

Max said he had everything in the tank with the fans behind him, cheering him on...

Always awesome Max - always!

I was completely thrilled that this was the game that Lindsey and I got to go to together - once it was over, we were chilly and starting to feel a little tired, but completely energized from watching such an amazing victory! After the game, Max Scherzer cemented his place as Lindsey'a favorite Nationals player and we made the journey home on a post game high!

As the Nationals radio announcer, Charlies Slowes is fond of saying "remember where you are, so you'll remember where you were"... I was sitting in Section 227, Row D, Seat 1 with my best friend and little sister sitting beside me in Seat 2 when Max Scherzer made history at Nationals Park. Not bad...not bad at all.

I'm Still Here....

So - I'm still here. I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth or anything...but my little sister was in town last week and seeing as we are both big bad grown-ups now (cue hysterical laughter) and don't see each other on a daily basis...I took off work Wednesday afternoon through the rest of the work week and just decided I'd take off from blogging too. I spent time with my little sister and my family and it was oh so delightful. 

And now I'm back - for this week at least. I'm California bound in t-minus four days and some odd hours, but for right now that's neither here nor there...so, let me get back to this past week and all it's delightfulness... Also - spell check is informing me that delightfulness is not a word, which is pretty disgraceful in my eyes. Oh well. Onward!

This is what dedication looks like...or something like that...

I should start this post off by saying I took something like...0 pictures from Monday - Wednesday morning...oops. I actually had to work and I guess I was wrapped up in that. The only picture(s) I have from the earlier part of the week is my rapidly progressing bruise on my thigh...courtesy of being too engrossed in baseball. Oops. 

Monday night I was watching the Nationals game and after about an hour and a half, I handed the control of the TV over to my Mom and later, seeing that she was still watching Dancing with the Stars, I went upstairs to get ready for bed. I had my phone to keep my updated on the progress of the game and didn't think much of it... Until shortly after 10 PM when my entire family started screaming from downstairs in tandem with my phone suddenly going nuts... I dove off the bed and headed for the door, smashing my leg into my bedside table in the process. By the time I made it down the stairs to see the replay of Clint Robinson's walk-off home run (and Harper's ejection from the game) my leg was already turning a deep blue. Awesome! Hey - the Nationals won though!

Introducing Lindsey to the cult of Ice Cream Jubilee...

Bryce Harper MVP Bobbleheads? Check! Times Two!

It rained and rained and on Wednesday when I woke up - it was raining. Which was especially crummy since Lindsey and I had tickets to a Nationals game on Wednesday night. I left work around 12:30 and had time to eat and change before we set out...in the pouring rain...for DC and the baseball game. It poured all the way into DC and we had to set out with umbrellas on our trek to Ice Cream Jubilee...but no sooner had we gotten our ice cream and sat down to enjoy it, the rain started slacking off and was gone! Hallelujah! 

It was a bobblehead giveaway night - Bryce Harper - and let me tell you; those bobbleheads bring out the people! We joined the line of people waiting to get in, got ourselves each a bobblehead and perused the Team Store before realizing the wait time for the Brew House was an hour and fifteen minutes...we passed on that, grabbed some food from Shake Shack and settled into our seats to watch Scherzer and the Nats take on Zimmermann (a former Nats pitcher) and the Tigers. Of course I'm dedicating a whole post to the game...so to make it concise...Scherzer was ON FIRE; striking out 20 with 119 pitches, his performance Wednesday night allowing him to join only three other pitchers who have ever done that. Basically - it was an amazing game! Glad I got to experience it with Lindsey!

Mad Max feeling it after striking out 20!

Celebrating an awesome game...a historic game...and of course, a Curly W!

Thursday was lovely - Lindsey and I slept in, I was able to leisurely sip some coffee and take my time getting ready for the day...that's always so nice, right? We decided to have lunch at Pavemint and then head across the valley to Luray and investigate the caverns. Lindsey and I have always been big fans of caves...our parents aren't as interested...so we figured we'd take Thursday to do Luray Caverns without pestering them to go cave hopping with us, ha-ha!

Lunching at Pavemint

A very deep lake...or a very shallow lake? You decide...

Getting a little bit silly under the Shenandoah mountains....

Our tour guide was...a little intense...to say the least. And as always, there was that one family that just didn't seem to know how to behave - but then, isn't that always the case? We had plenty of fun taking in all the underground sites and sounds; Luray Caverns has a stalactite pipe organ and they turned it on and it played a hymn in the caves, so that was pretty cool. We cruised back home through the valley, taking in the sunshine (wait...what's sunshine...huh???) and the clouds rolling across the mountaintops.

Once we got home, we grilled and just sat around for a little bit before deciding to go grab some custard from Spelunkers - a place in nearby Front Royal. Watson even got to come along and for the most part sat at the table like he had some manners...he may have climbed onto the table a time or two...but really, who can blame him? There was custard involved and it's hard to be patient when you just want a teeny bite.

Caves are cool, right?

Clouds spilling over the mountains on the ride home....

Talk about a gorgeous rainbow!

Waiting patiently for a bite of custard on Thursday evening...

Friday morning the sun was out - at least, I think that's what that big ball in the sky is called...although having not really seen it for something like 15 days...I can't be 100% sure. We decided to head over to Hagerstown and do some shopping...at least, that's what the three ladies in the family had in mind. My Dad had another plan but was vetoed on account of 1) shopping...duh and 2) the weather was shady at best; literally, we had no clue if the sun would actually stay out. Outdoor activities didn't seem like the best plan.

We had a pretty big breakfast before leaving the house, so we shopped till we were about to drop...ha-ha...and then Lindsey found a barbecue place on her phone called Hempen Hill BBQ and we headed over for an early supper. It was basically to die for - everything was delicious and they even had bakery fresh desserts that were made on site - so of course, we got dessert! We made it home in time to watch the Nationals game on TV (they won!) before crashing for the night.

I can't even tell you what this thing is anymore...

A seriously killer cupcake - chocolate peanut butter - yes ma'am!

Saturday morning we parted ways for most of the day - my Dad and I went into DC for a Nationals game and my sister and Mom stayed in town to go to a tea that my Mom was in charge of putting on at her church. Yes - I went to two Nationals games in the span of four days - best week ever? Quite possibly. When can I do that again?? Hopefully soon...

The game started beautifully - sunny skies, fluffy clouds and a breezy temperature of around 75. Basically perfect baseball weather. Sadly, because the sunshine hates the DMV, it was not meant to last and by the sixth inning, the temperature had dropped about fifteen degrees, the wind was whipping napkins and straws and all manner of trash into the air and onto the field and then...the torrential downpour broke open on the field. We watched the final innings of the game from under the concourse, on one of the hundreds of TV's positioned near the field...as the puddles gathered on the field, the team played on...and eventually got another Curly W! Of course, as soon as the game ended...so did the rain!

From blue skies to a torrential downpour...blegh...

Scenes from Saturday at Nationals Park!

The Washington Monument without a single soul in the frame = miracle.

We all ate out together at Joe's Steakhouse - it was all pretty delicous - and then; of course, we all just relaxed after a long day of baseball and tea and such... Sunday morning my little sister went to Sunday School with my parents before we all piled into the car to make the journey to Reagan. It got a little crazy when we discovered that the exit was closed and a detour through even more DC traffic was required - suffice it to say that the drop off at the airport unfolded much quicker and more haphazardly than we'd planned. Lindsey got off just fine though and we made in to Manassas to meet up with friends so my Dad could take some graduation pictures and then we closed out the night with dinner at a Mexican restaurant.

Lindsey & Watson snuggles!

Carrying the most important parts of any successful travel plan - petit fours & kleenex....

A gorgeous Sunday afternoon with that weird ball of light again....

And so - you see - I was busy doing all those awesome things this past week. So, I couldn't be bothered with taking a moment away from all of that. However, all good things must end and the past week is done with, memories filed away to be pored over for years to come...and now, we look ahead to this week and what it might bring.

Watson Wednesday

Excuse me....are you talking to ME?

I'm pretty sure this picture has already made it onto the blog earlier in the week - but this just had to be my picture for today's Watson Wednesday. His face is too good and he's much too cute. Love this little stinker!

Paging the Sunshine...

It rained ALL week. If I honestly had to sum up the past week in one sentence - that's the sentence. It just rained and rained and rained...and oh wait, yes - it rained again for good measure. I am looking back at the past week and honestly; I don't think I did too much. Rain has that effect though...of making you just want to sleep and be lazy. Not the best combinations...but you know...

He's just so good looking. Man.

Working out is hard. Water breaks are not.

My Dad returned late Sunday night/early Monday morning from visiting MS to help my sister pack up her house and he returned bearing gifts. The above pictured ESPN MLB 2016 Preview Edition - which I could not find for the life of me in the Northern Virginia area but my sister managed to snag in MS. Thank goodness! Lindsey also found a pretty amazing mug that describes my usual state when coffee is not present - I'll ask you excuse the tragic dark circles under my eyes in the picture below; I slept...well...not great almost all week last week. Not sure what was up with that!

The under eye circles are a real thing - yikes!

A promise that perhaps one day it would stop raining? I suppose...

I did still manage to get some walking/jogging in but in was sometimes superseded by the crappy weather. My Dad and I had good intentions to walk on Tuesday evening but only got about a mile into the walk before the rain started...and I feel like I've shared this already on here....but I can't for the life of me think why I feel that way? Maybe not! Anywho, my Dad brought along an umbrella just in case and we all three ended up trying to crown under it to keep from getting drenched as we raced back up the hill to the house! Oh wait - I definitely mentioned this in my blog post on Friday. Oh well, ha-ha!

We managed to pick up where we'd left off on Wednesday and went almost three miles when it was all said and done. The ground was absolutely saturated though; my new sneakers came out of it all a little worse for the wear and I swear Watson actively sought out every mud puddle he could find and raced through it with wild abandon, his feet required a thorough wipe down after we got back to the house. Which confused him - he thought he should just be able to race through the house, spreading his joy and muddy feet everywhere. He did get rewarded on Thursday after our walk with a lick or two of my Popsicle...which honestly, gives him so much joy.

Over a week of rain = rushing river(s)...

What do you mean my feet are too muddy to go in??

Who are you looking at?

Popsicle's are delicious...

I was able to leave work early on Friday - thanks to my delightful boss! My Dad and I went out to dinner at Longhorn (I guess I should mention that my Mom was in Las Vegas with my sister, looking at houses...) and then perused Books A Million for a while. I found a book on MLB Ballparks that was awfully tempting but they only had about two or three pictures of Nationals Park and honestly...I love baseball of all kinds, but if I'm going to buy a book about ballparks as a whole, I need Nationals Park to be represented more strongly. Priorities people! We closed out the night watching Ant-Man in preparation for seeing Captain America: Civil War on Saturday and I went to bed shamefully early...like...before 10:30 because I like to sleep.

Friday night snuggles... Snuggles are SO rare...

Saturday afternoon goofiness...

Saturday I slept sort of late...not even till 8:15...oh well. I sipped my coffee and watched Outlander before getting out to get in a 2 mile walk/jog. Once I returned home, my Dad was rearing to go to a Civil War battle reenactment; the battle of Front Royal to be more exact, and so I quickly got ready and we were out the door shortly after noon. We watched some goofy men reenact the battle and holy moly...the guns were SO loud and there were people everywhere! After the battle ended, we had lunch at Element - a new place in Front Royal that has a lot of promise, but it's obvious they are still working out some kinks! The sun finally showed it's face on Saturday and I have never been so happy to see sunshine in my life! 

Which means my Dad and I spent the afternoon in a dark theater - ha-ha! We went to a late afternoon showing of Captain America: Civil War (it was a very civil war kind of day apparently) and had dinner at Five Guys before coming home.

I'm not sure what the strange yellow thing in the sky is...but I like it...

Wake up - the movie is starting!

I can't believe it but somehow I don't have a single picture from Mother's Day - I don't know where my brain was at! We picked up my Mom and sister from the airport around 10:30 and went to brunch at McMahon's Irish Pub - it was absolutely delicious and I'm still sitting here in complete disbelief that I don't even have a picture of the beautiful, fluffy meringues or a goofy shot or my sister and I at the table. I don't know know what was going on! Too busy enjoy one another's company for phones perhaps? *gasp*

We stopped on at the model home en route to our house; they will be breaking ground on my parent's new house in two weeks, so they wanted to show Lindsey what it will look like. I spent the afternoon watching Nationals baseball (thirteen innings and a loss...so sad) and getting in a 3 mile walk and we closed out Mother's Day with pizza and relaxing. It was all very low key and maybe that's why there are no picture? I have no clue!

And now we are at Monday once more - and I find myself paging the sunshine again because it's raining again! Based on the weather forecast, it looks like we will be seeing rain for the foreseeable future...the whole week looks damp...well, except for Wednesday. Thank goodness - rain isn't good for baseball....you know?