WORLD SERIES

It all started last Wednesday....it was the Cardinals first game in the 2013 World Series.  Matt surprisingly dressed the boys in Cardinal gear that day.  As most of you know, this usually doesn't happen unless we have a bet and the Cardinals win the series against the Cubs.  In his defense though, I'm sure it gets exhausting rooting for a team that rarely ever makes it to the post season, especially the World Series :)  The boys looked adorable in their gear.  Here are some pictures of them!

That night, I sat down on the couch and turned the game on the T.V.  Shortly after, Landon brought me a box and said, "Happy World Series."  I opened the box and found a Cardinals stocking cap.  I was excited and thought that was really nice of Matt.  Then, Landon came back over to me carrying a manilla envelope.  This time he said, "Merry Christmas".  I had no idea what was going on.  I opened the envelope and it had three papers inside of it.  The first was a plane ticket, the second was a hotel reservation and the third was this...

...a ticket to the Cardinals World Series game for Saturday!!!  I couldn't believe it.  I asked Matt who was going to watch the boys and he said that he was staying home with them.  I then asked if I had to go by myself and he said that he sent the exact same thing to his dad and that he would pick me up at the airport!  I still couldn't believe this was actually happening and I became more excited the longer I thought about it.  However, I had only left Landon one time before and I had never left Keegan so I was a little sad about that.  Keegan was crying when they dropped me off at the airport and he was saying, "No, Mama".  That broke my heart so of course I was crying too, but we were all fine in a couple minutes and the boys had a blast staying with Daddy for the night.  I missed them like crazy, but I also had a blast that day!  My parents picked me up at the airport and we met Rod downtown for the day.  We all hung out, enjoyed the beautiful weather, and took in the crazy atmosphere outside of Busch Stadium.  We went to the pep rally and then got ready for the game.  

Here is a pic of me with my parents near the stadium.  They dyed the water in the fountain red for the Cardinals!

My parents didn't have tickets to the game so they left to go have dinner and watch the game at the hotel when Rod and I got in line to head into the stadium.  We had "Standing Room Only" tickets so we had to get in the stadium as soon as the gates opened at 4:30.  It paid off though because we had awesome seats (well technically just standing room) right down the third base line, right behind the lower level of seats.  We had fun people in our section with us, so it was a good time. 

Here are a few pics at the stadium...

It was really neat to see the Clydesdales enter the stadium and go around the field before the game!  Here they are...

Rod and I getting pumped up for the game!

Another pic of Rod and I....here you can see our view of the game.

 We kept our Rally Towels in our sweatshirt pockets and got them out frequently to wave around!  So much fun!

 I am really superstitious and feel like the Cardinals do better when I put on more Cardinal gear.  Well, we needed some runs in the 7th inning so I decided to put on my coat (even though I wasn't really cold) to see if it would help!  They scored two runs that inning so it must have helped.  I kept the coat on for the rest of the game, and added my stocking cap in the 9th inning when we also needed another run.  They ended up winning the game with a crazy ending, so I feel like I helped :)  As the people around us told me, "It is only crazy if it doesn't work and it's working!"  Too funny!  Speaking of the ending, since we saw the game live and didn't see any replays or hear the announcers commentating on the game, we really didn't know what happened at the end.  We saw Craig trip over their 3rd baseman.  We knew he didn't beat the ball home, but we saw the home plate umpire call him safe.  At that point, the whole stadium (including us) went nuts and we just assumed the catcher dropped the ball.  We didn't know what really happened until we were texting with Cara after the game and then could hear the broadcast replayed on the radio when we got in the car. 

Here I am with all my Cardinal gear on...

 To say the game was amazing is an under statement.  It was awesome to be at the Cardinals World Series game in St. Louis.  Such a great atmosphere.  We saw an action packed, great game and had an absolute blast.  It was an experience that I will never forget.  It was also fun to hang out with my parents and Rod for the day....always great to spend some time with family!

Mom and Dad....thanks for picking me up at the airport (and taking me back), hanging out during the day and staying with me at the hotel.  It was great to see you guys!

Rod....thanks for hanging out with us for the day and being my date for the night.  What a great time we had at the game! It was so fun to experience that with another die-hard Cardinals fan! Thank you also for taking me back to the hotel. 

Matt....Thank you for taking care of the boys and thank you so much for this incredible surprise and amazing experience.  You thought of everything and I was truly blown away.  BEST PRESENT EVER.....I have my work cut out for me trying to ever top this one!!!  Thanks again :)

GO CARDS!!!!