25th Birthday Dinner

1985. A great year. Also a great song that always reminds me of myself when I hear it (ha). I think I came when I did because I knew I'd want to have a birthday around playoffs. This year was no different...actually it was hard on us Yankee fans. We had a World Series title to defend. Okay so they were beat out by the Rangers. We know. I don't want to hear about it. But I didn't know that at the time of course. There really is nothing like the adrenaline of watching a playoff game. Seriously. You know the feeling. Hating Joe Giradhi, screaming at A-Rod and cursing haters who say the same things as I do because they have NO right at saying anything negative...all those great things that come with MLB October. Okay, so unless you're a Yankee fan, a die hard Yankee fan, you really don't know what I'm talking about. A great thing though? MY BROTHER IS JUST LIKE ME! I didn't know how much I missed him these last two years until October hit. No one will know how hard it was last year to finally see them win the Series and with NO ONE to celebrate with--and having to scream in the street at 1 am because your husband and son were sleeping upstairs. It was great having Chris there with me almost every game to scream, yell and cheer. Another great thing? Having my parents there who say they care when I know my dad really doesn't. It was so nice having him there with me a few of the games. Yet another? Ammon and his understanding attitude. He knows. It's October. That means the Yankees and that means 3-4 hour games almost everyday. He steps up, bathes Matthew, worries about eating and never one time complains about me watching every game. He knows we probably won't have a date, probably won't do anything other than watch baseball. It's almost as good as him wanting to watch it with me. BUT I'd have to say one of the best parts is that I can finally teach Matthew all about the Yankees. A few weeks after playoffs ended and after the Giants won, we were reading scriptures and Matthew looked down at a Yankee calender he had in his room. He went off to tell me all about the Yankees. This is literally almost word-for-word of what he told me.

Matthew: "Mommy. Yankees run. Tripped."

Mom: "They tripped?"

Matt: "Tripped. Fell down. Hurt knees. Tex [Texiera]."

Mom: "Oh, Tex fell down and hurt his knees?" [When Tex hurt his hamstring sliding into first in one of the last games of the ALCS]

Matt: "Jeter hit."

Mom: "Jeter hit?"

Matt: "Yeah. Hit the ball. Jeter (screams) GOOD. Mom. Posada caught." [this one killed me! I couldn't believe he knew this one or how to say his name)

Mom: "Posada caught the ball yes. What about Cano?"

Matt: "Cano GOOD!"

Mom: "And A-Rod?"

Matt: "A-Rod BAD Mommy. A-Rod BAD."

What a proud mother moment let me tell you. So what is the point of all this? Just a little background about what October can be in my household. So when my birthday comes up, we know that the Yankees will be playing around that day. Since Ammon is off Wednesdays, we decided to go out for a family dinner on the 6th, a few days before my birthday. Originally we were going to go somewhere that didn't have a TV big enough to watch the game. We changed plans. Buffalo Wild Wings it was. Shaun, Gina and Amelia couldn't come because Gina had to go to the doctor, but everyone else came and dealt with the Yankees game. We ended up winning and hallelujah we did. I love my family and love that they are all understanding and so loving toward me. Special thanks to my parents for paying for everyone.

Grandpa loves his grandkids, especially Matthew. Not that he loves Matthew more, but since we've been back in Vegas, there's a special connection Matthew has gotten with both my mom and my dad. I am so grateful for this since I never have really had that with my grandparents, and neither has Ammon. We have great grandparents, but we've never been able to live close enough to get close to them.

Go Yankees.