Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Friday would have been Cory's dad's 71st birthday.  It was also the first birthday we had to celebrate long distance.  Boy, we sure do miss him! And days like birthdays are poignant reminders that we are here and he is not.  We had the perfect celebration in his honor, though.  One thing he loved was baseball, so we all got together and spent Friday night cheering on the local baseball team.  It was the perfect come-from-behind win, filled with good ballpark food and great company.

There was even a fireworks display at the end of the night which we all felt rivaled or surpassed the Fourth of July celebrations we've attended.  We finished the evening off by singing "Happy Birthday" to Russell (Pa, Grandy, Grandaddy, or Dad) and had yummy slices of ice cream cake.  I think he was happy knowing we were all together and remembering happy times with him.

There sure were a lot of cute smiling faces that night.  I know he is proud of these sweet grandkids.  They sure are the best bunch of kids I've ever seen.

Some of the troop enjoying the game.  When they scored those few runs to pull ahead we cheered like crazy. We said Pa must have given them an extra push--our own personal "angel in the outfield."

My favorite picture of the night.  I just want to hug them both every time I look at it.  Its lucky I got this picture, as many times as Cory had to run back and forth to the concession stand.  He told the kids ahead of time that this was a birthday party and we were going to treat it as such.  How lucky my kids are to have a Daddy who just makes everything more fun.

I think we celebrated wonderfully.  We sure miss Russell, but are so grateful for eternal families and for the wonderful family we are part of here on earth.  We feel blessed and thankful.