It's Baseball Time in America!

As per tradition, Mike and I headed to Cincinnati at Easter to celebrate the Risen Lord Opening Day Weekend with the Reds. We have attended an Opening Day every year we've been together (Cincy 2009, DC 2010, DC 2011, Cincy 2012 and Cincy 2013) and our fifth consecutive year would be no different! The most miserable Opening Day was 2009 -- it was 30 degrees and sleeting in the Queen City. It was chilly this year, but the sun was shining!

This year Mike won the Opening Day Ticket Lottery online, so we had our tickets long before the game and we weren't required to pay a million dollars for them - woohoo! We bought 4 tickets and took Jeff and Tonya with us. The Reds are gearing up to host the All-Star Game in 2015, so we got to the park early to explore some of the million dollar cosmetic changes they made in the offseason.

We skipped the parade this year, partly because I had to telework in the morning and partly because last year it was so long that it cut into the first inning of the game. We watched a bit of it from the warmth and comfort of Chez McClanahan before parking in Newport, KY and walking across the bridge over the Ohio River to the stadium.

Game time!

Tonya and her man, Bronson Arroyo

Jeff, Tonya and Covington, KY!

Opening Day!!

The Reds played the Angels in a nail-biter that lasted 13 innings and consisted of 3 hits resulting in a California Anaheim Los Angeles Angels win over the Reds 3-1. Of course my favorite Red, Jay Bruce,  was terrible at the plate, but I blame the fact that he got married in the off-season to some girl that wasn't me. It was great to see the boys back on the field for regular season play and we plan to see them (and the Braves) numerous times this season.

The fly-over planes were pretty

Brandon Phillips, aka "DatDudeBP"

The ToddFather -- from Tom's River <3

The Cuban Missile!

The rest of Easter weekend was relaxing and lovely -- we had Easter dinner with Mike's aunt and uncle at the Greyhound Tavern in Fort Mitchell, KY. The buffet style dinner was super filling -- I think I ate my weight in mashed potatoes and cheesecake squares. We had Easter candy, lazed about, took Lucy for walks and enjoyed time with the family. We had a big ol' bonfire out on the patio one night, which inspired me to start planning some type of temporary fire-pit structure for our backyard here in Clifton.

Following Easter weekend, I went back up to Louisville for my friend Terra's baby shower. It seems like just yesterday we were sneaking booze into our dorm rooms at Bellarmine and now we're all married up and she's about to have a baby -- time just flies! She didn't know I was coming, so it was great to surprise her and Mitch and catch up. If I look half as good as Terra does when I'm pregnant I'll be a happy girl -- she's the cutest little mama I've ever seen.

I stayed up way past my bedtime chillin' with Walt at a bar in downtown Louisville where his band (The Muddy Walters) plays called Against the Grain Brewery. It's a funky place with damn good food -- the beer cheese and chips were fantastic, but I loved the pork risotto fritters. We listened to a jazzy band play some tunes, I ruined my diet and then headed back to Casa de Kaelin for a good night's sleep.

Sorry for the crappy iPhone photo of the inside of Against The Grain. It was late at night and I left my camera in TN ;)

It was so much fun to see old friends. It's funny, I don't realize how much I miss hanging out with people my own age until I'm in the middle of a conversation with other people in their mid-twenties and think, I should really do this more often. Hopefully, I'll be back in Louisville for another visit soon and I know Mike and I will be up in Cincinnati/NKY around Mother's Day. Anyone interested in catching a Red's game with us that weekend, let us know!

Also, just to make you all very jealous, I'm off to Jamaica tomorrow for a five-day, all-inclusive, girls-only vacation on the beach to celebrate my mother's 50th birthday and I will have lots of photos to share when I get back! Until then, I hope spring has sprung in your neck of the woods, it has been absolutely beautiful here in Clifton. I've already started on my base tan sunburn!

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