{crazyjen}

My Cousin the Cheerleader!

I went to watch my cousin Tara compete in a cheerleading competition last weekend at the Mall of America. I was skeptical...would it just be a mall full of catty snotty punk-a$$ little teenage girls? Wait...that's the normal, isn't it? or would it be fierce competitive girls? I wasn't sure. I'd seen it on tv before and some of the stunts they do are pretty intense...

Let me tell you, seeing it in person is insane. I can't believe what some of those girls can do. It's insane! I have a new respect for them...well for their athletic abilities not their twitty attitudes. LOL

Here are some pictures of my beautiful cousin.

She's from Ellendale, MN so she cheers for the NRHEG (New Richland, Heartland, Ellendale, Geneva Panthers)

She looks so happy. I was so proud of her for being brave enough to go out in front of everyone. This is her first year of cheering too!

She flies through the air with the greatest of ease. :)

She's on the bottom right of the group holding up the girl.

Mauer and Ponder

do they look similar or is it just my imagination?

Mauer 

Ponder

What do you think?

Same face shape, hair color, eyebrows, mouth, nose...no chops on Ponder but hey....I think there is a resemblance.

Weekend Happenings

Some pics from my weekend which was busy and is still going!

Jayde and I went with Auntie Shelly, Uncle Tim and Tristan to the NRHEG Homecoming game in New Richland. Jamie met us there with Jacob. (Kim and Tom went out for their 3rd Anniversary) Jacob was obsessed with the flags behind us so he kept leaning back and staring at the wearing his fuzzy brown snowsuit and cute little winter hat.

I gave him lots of kisses that night. He even fell asleep in my arms during the noisy football game.

"Go Panthers Go!" Tara cheering at the game!

Holding a cheerleader up

Saturday morning Jayde and I took Jack and Grace to Manthey Park to watch Tristan play. We didn't stay too long because they were both cold and a bit bored. We did manage to sneak a little time at the playground on the swings.

We drove to Emma Krumbee's in Belle Plaine for the Scarecrow festival.

Scarecrow from Wizard of Oz

Harvest Moon. I thought this one was cute.

Hulk Hogan

Rapunzel a/k/a Tangled

Gracie getting pulled around by Jayde. She was screaming and laughing. She loved it.

Jack tearing around the track. He liked it when Jayde chased him with the wagon.

 

Jack chasing Grace and Jayde

Picking apples at the Orchard

Gracie trying to get one way up high

I got it!

See Auntie Jen, I got a big one.

Jack doing his best to grab an all red apple

Some apples on the ground.

Holding hands walking back to the store with our picked applees. They held hands all by themselves. I didn't pose this or anything. Too cute.

Look at all the apples that fell off the tree

apples on the tree

Pickin' out punk-ins

Hmm...this one looks pretty good.

What about this one Auntie Jen? Nope, Grandma has some in her garden.

Mineral Springs park

A reflection Isn't this cool?

another reflection i thought was cool. i love the colors too but I don't love how the sky is all washed out and the water is so brilliant.

 

Then off to Princess Pita's birthday party. She turned 4. Her golden birthday. She wanted a tangled party because she likes being a princess.

 

Week in the Life Day 4

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Week in the Life Day 2

Day 2 Pics

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

First Twins game of the Season 4/10/11

Here are some pictures from my first game of the season.

Kimmie (my sister), me, Tara (my cousin), and Jamie (my cousin)

Kim and Tara made signs (I helped). Tara is birthday buddies with Bert Blylevin so she was banking on that to get circled. Kimmie was using her big prego belly but neither option worked for Bert. What a dweeb. LOL

Jim Thome hit a home run! I was sweet! It was a 444 ft 2-run homer! Awesome!

This is before his homer.

And this is after his homer! It was a serious shot. He hit the crap out of it. It actually landed just below the Thome 590 sign right above the big black wall. You knew it right when he hit it off the bat. It was a line drive homer.

The crowd went nuts because his homer was so freakin' awesome and it put is at 5-3 instead of 5-1. The crowd was screaming and going absolutely crazy!

In fact, the crowd was cheering so much that Thome had to step out of the dugout and wave to the fans. It was pretty sweet...also because this was the first game I wore my Thome Twins shirt...so I guess that means I'm going to have to wear it to the next game.

 

A little Ice Time with Hockey Skates

Some pictures of Jayde and his friend Evan skating at the 4 Seasons. That's the first time Jayde's got his hockey skates out this year. It looked like he had a lot of fun. Probably good excercise for him too.

Yes I know I took a picture of Jayde putting on his skates but sometimes it's the seemingly insignificant details that are missed. I know, because I do it all the time. Just wanted a picture of his skates and hands.

His first pass around the rink. Not too shabby and he didn't fall.

a little ballerina action.

speed skating...betcha his thighs were on fire. lol

playing kickball with a hockey puck.

more ballerina action.

he's charging me here. then he sprays me with ice.

This is Evan. He's getting his gear on.

Evan needs a little help from the old dog.

Shin guards

Mug shot.

More help with skates.

Here we go. Chase him Evan! Get him!

a little instruction

some circles

equipment failure. LOL

wipe out!

eh, he did it on purpose.

he sprayed Evan. that was funny!

Owatonna Express Hockey 10-11

Here is a link to an album with pictures of Express Hockey. Well, particularly a certain player #25, Beau Burgau. My cousin houses him for Owatonna so she asked me to take some pictures at hockey games. So I did. They aren't masterpieces by any stretch of the imagination but they show some movement at least. So here's a link Owatonna Express Hockey

here are a couple of my favorite images.

I believe that might have been a shot on goal. He's a defender.

Game 1 ALDS: Twins vs. Yankees

Final score (9 innings) 6-4 Yankees. What a sad day for Twins fans!

Me and Kimmie. At a happy moment when we weren't losing.

We started off good with 2-run shot by Cuddyer. It was freakin' sweet. Estimated length 411 feet. He hit a straight liner into center field. It was awesome!

Opening moment. All players on the field. I boo'd the Yankees a lot and I mean a lot. Consistently. Especially Alex Rodriguez. He's a douche bag. Yes I said it. He's a douche bag cocky jerk with too tight pants which are only accomplished because he's on the juice and his balls have shrunk.

Ah...my lovely Twins team. So promising. They played hard even though they lost. Personally I think the umpire was a Yankees fan because his strike zone for Liriano was a lot smaller than Fat-Ass Sabathia.

Thome coming out onto the field. He was cheered and hollared at more than anyone including Joe Mauer. I thought that said a lot about him...about how much Twins fans respect him. (p.s. I've been scouring around for a damn Thome shirt but can't find one in my size. Large men's)

They unrolled a huge American Flag during the singing of the National Anthem. Tony Oliva's son played the guitar while another lady sang. I can't remember her name though.

Me and Kimmie sitting in the Legends Club, Section Q, Row 6, Seats 17-18. This is our view from the field. Pretty sweet eh? p.s. I ate a fabulous turkey sandwich with cranberry spread. Oh it was tasty.

Thome looking for the right pitch to Jack it! He didn't though. Got hit by a pitch, walked and a base hit I believe.

Getting hit by a pitch a little too close to his face. Oh he was ticked off. You should have seen the stare-down he gave Sabathia on the mound as he was standing at first base. It was lethal.

So...common phrases being uttered, muttered, screamed and hollared out of my mouth last night:

"UMP YOU ARE FUCKING KILLING ME!"

"HEY UMP, YOU ARE A YANKEES FAN!"

P.S. I WAS YELLING THESE SO THEY ARE DEFINITELY IN CAPS.

"CHARGE!''

"BOOOOOOO!" THAT WAS FOR SWISHER, TEXEIRA AND DEFINITELY RODRIGUEZ (HE IS A DOUCHE BAG)

"RODRIGUEZ YOU SUCK!"

"YANKESS SUCK! YANKEES SUCK!" THAT WAS A CHANT BY THE CROWD

"KUUUUUU-BBBBBELLLLL!"

"THOME!"

"COME ON BOYS!"

"LET'S GO TWINKIES" AGAIN THIS WAS CHANTED!

"COME ON CUDDY!"

"YOU'RE KILLING ME UMP!"

"HEY UMP, GET A PAIR OF GLASSES YOU CAN'T SEE FOR SHIT!"

"WHAT THE FUCK!"

 

 

Twins Game vs. Toronto Blue Jays 10.2.10

Some pics from the second to last game of the regular season for the Twinkies.

 
Kim's "Circle Me Bert" Sign.

Thomas being his normal quiet self...which is always odd because Kim, Jamie and I sit there and talk baseball for most of the game and he just sits there looking rather grumpy.

Duensing pitching. Look at how packed the stands are.

One of my Grandpa's favorite players. Do you know who number 34 is?

Duensing pitching. He didn't have a very good outing. At least not as good as he normally does. I believe he let a guy have a 2-run homer. Not usual for him.

Taking a swing and getting a hit.

The huge Twins sign on top of the gigantic TV screen.

Morales with a double.

 
and he scores!

Another hit!

 
Just a cool shot of the Twins playing and the skyline. So awesome!

 
Kimmie and Thomas

 
Me and Jamie (she was my date...that's what I always say. LOL)

 
A reflection of me taking a picture of the reflection in Jamie's glasses. I love that.

 
We won! It was exhilarating! Bottom of the 9th, we're losing 4-3, 2 down, bases loaded, Casilla has a full count...everything is on the line. If he gets a base hit we score two and we win. Can he do it? He is basically batting dead last and isn't always good in clutch positions. He hasn't been playing a whole lot lately either....so nerve wracking. The pitch! And he hits a center field single! We win! and the Crowd Goes Wild!!!

 
Thome congratulating Casilla on the big screen. Awww...that's so sweet.

I made a panoramic of the field from our seats. It isn't very good but you get the idea of the whyole field then.