Our Last Twins Game of the Year

Last week we went to our last Twins game of the year. It was our 11th Twins game of the year (Adam and I each went to one game without the other), and 7th of the year at Target Field (2 games in DC and 2 in Seattle).

This time, the Twins played the Detroit Tigers. We took Christine as part of her birthday present (we gave it to her back in May for when she'd be up here at school). We picked up Christine at 5:30, and were there by 6. Just in time to catch the end of the Tigers batting practice.

Our seats were AMAZING! It was our first time sitting in the Dugout Box, which is the lower level section behind the dugouts. It was so fancy - the seats were even cushioned! And there was a private lower level concession area with bathrooms just for this section to use. Super handy! I loved sitting here. I've been up higher behind home plate, but I love being as close to the field as possible, so almost preferred these.

Pinto was the catcher, and Diamond pitched.

 We were right by first base, so had great views of Prince Fielder!

I was excited to see all the other Detroit big names like Torii Hunter,

 Miguel Cabrera (or as I like to call him, Mig Cab),

and Verlander (hanging over the dugout fence).

 Surprisingly, we had a perfect night. You never know what outdoor baseball in September will be like!

view from our awesome seats

Twins lost 4-2. We stayed until the end, so it got a little late. But it was fun!

We did have some pretty obnoxious people around us (never fails!), but made the best of it. The drunk guys in front of us were fun to laugh at, and the obnoxious and loud Detroit fan was fun to cheer against. But the highlight of the night was being on the big screen not once, not twice, but three times! Christine was traumatized. I thought I would hate it, but it was pretty funny. As long as I'm never on the Kiss Cam, I'll be fine!

WR: Oktoberfest 2013

I left work early on Friday, and Adam went in early so that we could get an early start back. I picked up Christine and Kelly at the U at 2:30, and we were home by 2:45 (no traffic for once!). Adam joined us a bit before 3, loaded up the car, and we were off. By 5:15, we were at my parent's house where we quickly unloaded and changed for the Oktoberfest Festmaster's Ball. Luckily, we made it; we were there by 6:15, which was cutting it a little close as dinner started at 6:30.

Adam's parents also joined us. Our table was close to the front so we had a great view of all the visiting fest royalty and the presentation. It got a bit long, but it was fun.

Our friend Joe also happened to be there with his girlfriend Becky, so we met up with them after and went downtown. It was a lot of fun and nice to finally meet her!

Saturday morning brought the Maple Leaf Parade! Adam and I drove separately and ended up having to park and walk a ways to our usual spot.

Joe and Becky also joined us to watch the parade. Towards the end, we wandered down to Del's for a bathroom break and to grab some Bloody Mary's to go.

We lucked out on the weather as the rainy cold forecast held off for most of the parade. It didn't start raining until the very end.

After the parade, we walked back to our car in the rain, and then met up with the fam over at the new dealership. I was really excited to see all the progress that has been made! I've been following along with pictures as I write the dealership's blog, but they just don't do it justice. It's beautiful.

Back at home, we took an amazing nap. Oktoberfesting is exhausting! When I awoke, I wasn't feeling well. I had the chills, body aches, and just couldn't stay warm. I think it was from getting wet and cold in the rain. I still managed to wander downstairs and be semi-social with everyone that came over that night for dinner. Dad grilled a bacon covered pork loin!

Chester was really hoping that "grandpa" would share!

On Sunday, the parents went on a pontoon boat ride to Huck Finn's for breakfast. Since I didn't want to miss the Vikings game in London, we just met them there. Breakfast was pretty good, and we even had time for a short pontoon ride before kickoff.

I enjoyed watching the game, especially since the Vikings weren't completely horrible. They even won! Granted, they were playing another 0-3 team... I still wish we would have been IN London for the game, but Adam was not interested no matter how hard I lobbied for it.

Chester enjoyed the opportunity to snuggle and nap undisturbed for three hours!

After the game, Adam's parents left and we went on a GTO ride. I was so excited to drive it, and I actually could since it's an automatic. I've never driven a classic car before, and was amazed at how different they feel. It's really loose and feels as if you're all over the place. It's beautiful, mom is so lucky!

We grabbed apples at Bauer's, and then headed back so we could be on the road a bit after 4. I was exhausted, so I'm glad Adam drove us back! At home, I dropped off Chester and Adam, and then headed over to the U to drop off the girls. I even got to see Kelly's off campus apartment.

As usual, it was a fun Oktoberfest weekend!

Chester's September BarkBox

Chester's first BarkBox came a few weeks ago. It's a subscription gift box that is shipped every month on the 15th. This is the first time we've tried it as I had a coupon code for $10 off (normally $29/month) and money would be donated to the MN Pug Rescue (the group we adopted Chester from).

He was really excited about this box because it smelled good to him.

"Give it to me, mom!"

"Open it!"

After lots of frantic pawing, "What's this?"

"Smells good!"

And right after this photo was taken, he ran off with the black toy (Aussie Naturals Tasmanian Devil toy).

Our small BarkBox included
- Aussie Natural Tasmanian Devil stuffing-free toy with rope inside
Chester loved shaking this and running around with it, but the material shed all over and we had to take it away for supervised play only.

- Wagatha's Tuscan Pizza flavored dog treats
Chester LOVED these. They aren't grain free, but they are wheat, soy and corn free. They're pretty big, 

- Vetracare Pet Spray on Bandage
Chester's never had any cuts or scrapes that I would need to use it on, but I guess it's nice to have around.

- It's Purely Natural Chicken and Brown Rice Biscotti
We haven't opened these yet, so we'll see. They're really big but soy, gluten and wheat free.

My overall thought on BarkBox is that it's a cool concept but I didn't really love any of the contents. I went to cancel, but they offered another $10 off the next month if I stayed. I'll give it another shot and see what we get next month.

My New iPhone 5S came!!!!

It came, it came, it came!!!

After the initial ship date of 10/21-10/30/13, I got a new e-mail last Saturday that my new iPhone had shipped and was being overnighted. Delivery was set for 8 pm on Monday night.

That night, Adam was at a Twins game with work (lucky guy was in a suite!), so it was just Chester and me at home. I eagerly checked the front and back doors every 20 minutes from the time I got home until 8:30. No phone. I rechecked the FedEx site, and the delivery date had been changed to NA. WHAT?!?

I went from angry that they didn't have any on launch date, to really angry when the ship date was a month out, to happy that it was coming on Monday, to disappointed and angry again when it didn't show up. I've gone through so many emotions over a stupid phone!

FINALLY on Wednesday I checked the status and it was set to be delivered that day. They left it at the front door around 2, so I was a bit nervous it might get taken. We pulled up, Adam stopped, and I raced up the lawn to grab it. Who knew a new phone could be so exciting?!

I had to call to activate it, and then sync it with my old phone. Thanks to iCloud, everything was backed up and transferred to my new phone such as all my photos, notes, contacts, apps, and even the order they were in the screen. It's awesome.

I'm loving my new phone! It's so pretty.

My favorite new features are -
- finger print reader to unlock
- Siri (my 4 was the last model without it, and it's really handy I like to use Siri to make new note)
- Way better camera (photo quality is much improved!) with filters
- iOS 7
- AirDrop (quickly share photo, notes, etc) via bluetooth with phones/contacts nearby you
- swipe up for commonly used items like wireless on/off, airplane mode, screen brightness, flashlight, alarm clock, calculator and camera

LOVE IT!!!