Waaaay back in September, when it was beautifully warm (or at least not freezing), we drove down to Kansas City, MO for a weekend with friends. Liz & Casey headed out Friday morning and cheered the Twins on to victory on Friday night while Shelly & Jeremy and us drove from our respective cities. We met up with Liz & Casey for a couple drinks after the game Friday night & then crashed pretty hard afterwards.

Saturday morning we met Liz & Casey and decided to walk around the Plaza which happened to have an art show which was interesting to see. Shelly & Jeremy had arrived much later than the rest of us (thank you, construction!) so they slept in a bit and we all met up for lunch. Jeremy recommended Houston’s (known for KC BBQ) and it was a hit. You can see Chris here - sporting a napkin/bib.

After lunch we walked to a park/museum that Liz & Casey had read about before the visit. The main attraction (for us anyway) was a huge shuttlecock on the lawn. That’s Casey standing in front of one…

While walking around, we found some other very interesting art.

We headed back to the hotel & changed into appropriate Twins attire before taking off for Kauffman Stadium.


It was a perfect night for outdoor baseball. Crisp & cool but very comfortable.

And, it was made even better by a Twins WIN!!

On Sunday, before heading out of town, we took the Boulevard Brewery Tour with Shelly and Jeremy.

It was a great weekend to celebrate my birthday!

When we left the dome on Sunday afternoon, I figured that would be my last visit for the 2009 regular season. The Twins had won the right to a one game playoff, but as we waited for the post game ceremony to start the phone lines to get tickets were completely jammed and there was no getting through.

This would be the second time in the past year that I really WISHED we had cable (the first was Friday night), but that’s okay…the game would be on the radio or I could head to a local eatery that would have the game on.

Then…this morning, completely out of the blue, I got a phone call - “Can you go to the game? I’ve got 2 tickets.” YES! It took a little rearranging, but I will be there and so will Chris!!

GO TWINS!!!!

Wow - It’s tough to believe that March 31, 2008 there were 162 games left at the Metrodome and suddenly on Sunday, September 13, 2009 we’re down to 9. However, two baseball seasons later, here we are!

Chris & I got tickets for Sunday’s game courtesy of the Group Organizer rewards and were there early enough for me to get my picture taken with the “team.”

Our seats were pretty good… near the top of Section 115. As you get closer to the field and/or closer to home plate the seats all face straight ahead instead of angled toward home, so I’m pretty happy with where we ended up. Besides, I don’t think I would complain about free tickets anyway.

The Twins won in fine fashion…the first three Twins batters of the game scored! They shut out the A’s and on top of that, Cuddy was playing 1st base!

We had the opportunity to go back into the dome following the game and “play ball on the field” but there was an hour between the end of the game and when we would have been let back into the dome so instead we just headed home and had a nice evening at home together.

On Sunday I mentioned that I wanted to catch another Twins game in person sometime soon. It just happened that the White Sox were coming to town for a 3 game series beginning Monday and we didn’t have any plans that night so Chris agreed we should go. Around 7pm we headed for the light rail and wound up at the Metrodome right around the first pitch.

We didn’t have tickets yet and were hoping to get a good deal from a scalper who was stuck with leftovers after the game started. I think our plan worked because we scored two Upper Club tickets for $25 (normal price is $22 for one…before ticket fees) and they were really good seats!

Nick Blackburn pitched 7 solid innings and the third inning was really exciting when Mauer & Kubel each hit a home run! The Twins took a 3-0 lead at that point and never looked back.

After the top half of the 5th Inning, Kent Hrbek headed out to the Home Run Porch to reveal that there were 14 games left at the Metrodome…14 was his number when he played with the Twins!

And, finally, Joe Nathan came in to pitch the ninth inning and shut the Sox down!

Chris & I have a soft spot in our hearts for Saturday night games at the Dome. They start at 6:10 which means the game wraps up before 10 and allows for a full night out on the town, if we’re up to it. I had mentioned this one time to Christy and she agreed that it would be fun so we set a date. We had hung out with Josh & Robyn before so I asked if they were available too and they were so the 6 of us were set. Next, we needed tickets. I had vouchers for 6 free seats which I cashed in & we ended up in lower reserved seats down the first base line!

We sat down in or (pretty good) seats and watched a relatively okay game until the 6th inning. After that, I was getting tipsy & the Twins weren’t playing well so it wasn’t fun. The one thing that WAS fun (sort of) was that a while back Josh showed up with a shirt on that looked like one I had…because it was. Well, we actually ended up trading because mine was too big & his was a bit snug and long story short…
we matched:

Nice, huh? I love the shirt…my “new” one is a little more worn than the one I purchased, but that’s okay. It’s SUPER soft!

After the game we all walked over to Lone Tree for some drinks, because we’re not too old for a little fun (yet!). As you can see, there were a few ‘free’ beers consumed…and then thumbs down. I’m going to say that was for the Twins - not for the beer!

And…yes…we did it. We ended up on the dance floor! I think Billie Jean is Andy’s favorite song & they played it so we danced. Fun, fun times.

Nope. Not those Broncos. I just needed a horse word that started with a B!

We started out our 4th of July weekend, well, honestly, by relaxing. But on Friday night Josh came over and the three of us met up with my parents, Rebecca & Nathan at Canterbury Downs for some horse racing! It was a really fun night…and I even won on a couple of the bets I placed! Here’s a photo of me with my Dad after the first race, which we both WON on!

It was awesome to get to see Rebecca & Nathan for the weekend…they only live 90 minutes away, but it isn’t always easy to find time to get together! Here is my sister with my dad:

They had fireworks that evening after the races, but Josh had a concert to get to and we were going to see each other the next day so we called it an early night. Chris & I stayed up playing Mario Kart on Wii, with ourselves and with people around the world! It was crazy.

Saturday around 11 everyone showed up at our house for a BBQ lunch before catching the Twins game at 3:10pm. We had lots of yummy food, and found plenty of places around the house to eat. This is Me, Josh & Rebecca having a couch picnic!

After some people had naps & other people played Guitar Hero, we all piled into a couple cars and drove downtown to watch the Twins take on the Tigers. It was DQ hat night & that was awesome because they’re actually cute! Here are my sister & brother-in-law sporting them.

I don’t remember all the details, but I did score the game and I remember that it was close & very exciting! Cuddy hit a home run, Morneau did too (and a Tiger…boo), both were exciting. A close game is always good, made even better by a W at the end of the game!! And, by the Tigers fans that tried to get a rally going.

Thanks to Josh for the free tickets and to Rebecca & Nathan for making the trip down! It was a fun day for everyone, I think!

After the game, Chris & I hung out at Huberts (where I saw the ad pictured below)…having a couple beers & checking out the Twins memorabilia…before taking the light rail home and relaxing for the end of the holiday day.

Tuesday evening, Chris and I met my brother, mom and dad at the Metrodome for some Twins baseball (game recap here). They were taking on the Pirates and so we were hopeful for a victory, but (as you may know) nothing is guaranteed this year.

For some reason, I wasn’t in the mood for another Dome Dog so I switched up my dinner and headed to the Famous Dave’s counter for a BBQ Pork sandwich instead. It. was. delicious. Chris also switched it up and had a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich. And…the Twins won! I’m think my dome dog days are over, but then again, I’m not sure I’m that superstitious. We’ll see. One of these days maybe I’ll learn and eat some food at home before going to the game. Probably not, but maybe!

So, our (free - thanks Josh!) seats were pretty good. Section 223 is behind home plate and even though we were in row 19, we could see everything very well. And, what we got to see was a lot of offense! It was a fun game to watch as runners were on base very often and every Twins player got a hit. Yay. We actually stayed until the end of the game too which is a change. I don’t know why, but this year I haven’t been as interested in staying, especially on week nights. I think it has something to do with fighting with the light rail crowds…that, and getting older. Anyway, the Twins won 8-2 and we went home happy!

Oh, and I had my first malt cup of the season on Tuesday too. I have to say, Blue Bunny has nothing on Kemps. I was a bit disappointed. But, it was chocolate so of course I finished it! I cannot wait to see what the food options are at Target Field next year. I hope to be super impressed.

Wednesday night Chris & I headed down to the Metrodome with the hopes that the Twins could beat the Indians two days in a row…unfortunately, they couldn’t…at least not this series. We got there during the top of the first inning and ate a hot dog. Then, after we were done eating we decided to grab a beer. The closest food stand that didn’t have Bud/Bud Light was a pizza stand so we got in line. Unfortunately, we got in THE WRONG LINE. There were a couple girls in front of us and it turned out that they had a bunch of $0.50 coupons and were trying to figure out if they could pool their money to get a pizza. They finally decided they had $10.50 which was enough for pizza and a pop…until they found out the $6.50 was a personal pizza. After finally paying for it all, the girl decided she didn’t want the pizza. It was horrible. Next, the cashier lady had to clean out her drawer from the pre-game $20’s that she had acquired which meant waiting longer. It sucked. One thing Chris said though…at least the girls realized $6.50 was a lot of money for a personal pizza. I guess.

Back to the game…if we tried, we could make it so that we couldn’t see the pitcher or the batter from our seats!

We DID see part of the Gomez freak out. It looked like everyone was about to be on the field, but the situation got under control & the game continued.

Less than 50 games left! Us, so cute. Waiting for the light rail.

We had a photo taken by the fan photographer and I found us online in their store. This is what they sell as a magnet:

We ended up leaving early because a) I was in a goofy mood, b) The game was out of control and c) I had been at the game the night before. I’m glad we did…we made it home at a decent time and ended up playing video games together!

On Tuesday, June 2 a few ladies and I attended a Wine, Women & Baseball event at the Metrodome Plaza prior to the Twins taking on the Indians that evening. A group of us attended last year and had a good time which prompted us returning again this year. Unfortunately, the experience this year wasn’t as great. They had different (less enthusiastic) vendors and the wine service was horrible! I’m not exaggerating…The wait was 10 minutes and you got the tiniest pour I’ve ever seen. I think Jayne left without even getting any and that’s bad when the word Wine is IN THE NAME. Anyway, despite the change, we enjoyed the company and definitely had a good time.

Here are some photos. First, My mom & I with Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer cutouts:

Liz & I with TC:

And a shot of the moon over the Metrodome (the weather was perfect!):

After the festivities wrapped up outside, we found our seats in section 116 and enjoyed the game.

The game was pretty exciting as the Twins took a lead and Mauer got another home run! However, the most exciting thing for me was that I got TWINGO! For anyone who may not know…it’s Twins Bingo. They give out cards with plays marked on them and as the game goes on you mark off the plays that happen. My winning row had F7, F8, Free Space, 6-4 and KL. The 6-4 seemed unlikely, but we missed a double play (6-4-3) and there it was. The final play I needed was a strikeout looking (KL) and all of the sudden it happened! I hustled over to guest relations and was lucky enough to be the 25th person out of 25!!! I won two tickets to a practice day of the PGA Golf tournament when it comes to town in August. Yay!

And, we were able to snap a couple photos of the ladies before calling it a night. First, Shannon, Jayne, Mom and Me:

And finally Heather, Liz and Me:

On Tuesday, May 26, Chris & I received another wedding gift…tickets to the Thursday game versus the Red Sox! We were able to recruit a few people to come with us to a 12:10 game on very short notice and let’s just say it was an interesting game!

The end result was a Twins loss 3-1 (with 3 of the 4 runs coming from solo hr’s) but that’s not even close to the story of the game. There are many places across the web that have (<- great photo) different interpretations of the events (<-video) that led up to 2 players and 2 coaches being ejected from the game by home plate umpire Todd Tichenor!

Yep, Mike Redmond & Gardy were thrown out after Redmond started to argue a call at the plate in the top of the 7th inning. I think he may have gotten out 3 words before the ump threw him out…and according to Redmond he didn’t swear, instead he was saying “I got him. I got him.” This was the first ever ejection in Redmond’s 11 year career and that meant that the Twins lost their DH as Mauer was now needed to move into the Catcher position. Then, in the bottom of the 7th, the Red Sox catcher, Jason Varitek, stood up to argue about balls & strikes after Beckett (the pitcher) started yelling. Varitek was tossed and shortly thereafter the Sox coach, Terry Francona, was out too!

I may have done a bit of boo’ing from my almost-front row seats. Possibly. Even my untrained eye could tell the guy was having an off day. What I didn’t know is that this was his 17th MLB game…he was called up from AAA due to another ump being injured. Well, let’s just say that he didn’t leave a very good impression on the Twins or the Red Sox (or their fans!) after the game.

Here’s the Twins Recap and the Red Sox Recap in case you’re interested. Everyone is trying to be politically correct, but you can tell there’s underlying anger and frustration that this guy caused.

These are the people who joined me…Liz, Casey, Chris & my Dad. And a shot of how weird a batting stance Youkilis has!

And so now my record for the year is 1-3. I’m going to two games next week and there better be at LEAST one win in there. Or else.