June 29, 2009 (Baltimore)

Started off Monday in Baltimore walking around Fell's Point enjoying more of the industrial style buildings in the downtown area:

Some people here are mourning the death of Michael Jackson:

Another great building:

Fun picture of the Inner Harbor area. I love the Chesapeake!

After visiting the National Aquarium (loved the jelly fish exhibit), the girls went back to rest for an hour and the boys headed for Camden Yards to watch batting practice. Sometimes we catch home run balls at batting practice and sometimes we don't. Today was a great day, yielding SEVEN balls hit by the Red Sox in batting practice! We know one was hit by Pedroia, one by Youkilis and one by Bay. When Jake caught his fourth ball, people around him started to riot and tell him he had enough, so he gave one to a little boy standing next to him. Here are Jake (Ellsbury) and Isaac (Ortiz) trying to get their home run balls signed

Look closely and you will see Evan (sleeves rolled up on his T-shirt) and Sam (Navy shirt) hunting for balls:

Well, having a dad who speaks fluent Japanese paid off tonight. Craig told Jake how to ask Hideki Okajima "can we have your autograph?" in Japanese. Okajima signed two balls for them. Clearly Isaac is very excited about it:

I loved Camden Yards and especially this beautiful brick wall behind right field. Four of the windows here used to hold the "2181" signs for Cal Ripken's consecutive game streak:

The Red Sox fans in our family (Jake, Icky & Caroline) were really excited when Jonathan Papelbon came in to "save" the game. The Red Sox won this game 4-0. We were really disapointed to see the lease exciting game of the three game series between the two teams. The day after we went, the Red Sox led the Orioles 10-1 before losing the game 11-10. And the next day, the Red Sox mounted a comeback in the 9th inning before winning in extra innings. Here is J-Pap:

And here is our group photo from our seats down the first base line. We had great seats with access to an indoor eating area:

June 28, 2009 (Baltimore, Annapolis)

We had a fun Sunday exploring around the Baltimore area. We started by attending church at the Inner Harbor ward. Very nice experience.

This picture of a building on the harbor is my favorite picture of the trip so far. I love the industrial red brick look of Baltimore.

Our first stop after church was at Fort McHenry, the military fort in Baltimore where Francis Scott Key penned "The Star Spangled Banner". We found out here that if you go in with a senior (Grandma) who is paying $10, three adults and all the children get in for free. So, that was our whole group. I love deals.

We next drove to Annapolis to visit the U.S. Naval Academy. Jake was feeling really sick today because he didn't get much sleep at his leadership conference at Utah State earlier in the week. While we waited for Craig to park the car, Jake fell sound asleep on this bench and dreamed that we were stealing his pop tarts.

After we woke Jake up and walked a few feet to the building, we saw this sign:

Oops!

This is my favorite picture at the Naval Academy. This is the building where the midshipmen eat their meals. I love the banner that says, "Don't give up the ship". We learned that before the midshipmen can graduate from the academy, they have to swim 1600 meters in full uniform (except for shoes) in under 40 minutes. It's quite a challenge for some.
This picture was taken on the grounds of the academy. Not sure what Evan is looking at.

After our tour of the academy, we walked around Annapolis, the capital of Maryland. Cute little town.

This is the Maryland state house:

June 27, 2009 (Baltimore)

We arrived safe and sound in Baltimore. It's always good when we survive the peanuts on our flights. Everytime I fly with Icky I wish flight attendants were more compassionate (what I really wish is that Isaac were allergy-free). We picked up a mini-van that by some miracle fit seven Parrys, Grandma & all our luggage. We checked into an awesome Marriott overlooking Baltimore's Inner Harbor and then had a fun (and really yummy) dinner at a nearby Irish pub.

Walk-Off

This is the final score of the Minor League Championship game at Mueller Park this year (notice my dad's name on the scoreboard).

This is Isaac getting up to bat in the bottom of the last inning with the score tied. There is a runner on 1st. He just turned eight and he's playing on a team where kids are turning 11. He catches and bats 5th in the line-up.

This is Isaac after he hit a walk-off double to end the championship game with a win for the Red Sox. He's pretty excited. He's the only boy in our family to hit a walk-off.

That's a cute little happy face! It was a really fun season.

My Baby

Here's my baby on his baptism day. It was a little bit sad for me because now my baby is eight. I'm so glad he could be baptized by his dad and so glad his dad is so amazing (except for his camera face).
You can see that this cute little guy loves him mom. Evan told Isaac this week that he stopped kissing his mom when he was 8. At this point, I gave Evan a really dirty look of warning and then he told Isaac that he was really 11 when he stopped kissing his mom. Can't have my baby not loving' his mama.
Icky was lucky enough to have many of the Bountiful High football players attent his baptism.

And here's a picture of Isaac with the uncles who attended his baptism: Matt, Ryan and Steven. Also, in the picture is his Grandpa Parry and his dad.

Brave

I suppose bravery can be defined in a lot of different ways. Under my definition, I think I was pretty brave when I visited my dad's grave this Memorial Day. It was my first Memorial Day visit. Each year, Craig diligently takes our kids to pay respects to my dad while I make up a reason why I can't go. It is a beautiful place to visit. My dad has missed a lot of things I would have liked him to see. He's missed home runs, brain tumors, school programs, school honors, dance recitals, touchdowns, baptisms, ordinations, birthdays. . . a long list if I include everything. But, it's time for me to come around a little more I suppose. After we spent a fun Memorial Day at the cabin, the five of us (me, Evan, Caroline, Sam & Isaac--Craig and Jake were at Jake's baseball game) spent a few minutes at the cemetary. I'm glad I went.

Me Proud

It was difficult for Jake to decide three years ago whether to go to Millcreek or Mueller Park. We went with Millcreek and it was the best choice. Jake had an amazing three years at Millcreek. Last night was Advancement Night for the 9th graders. Jake was named the Most Outstanding History/Social Studies student at the school this year. I am very proud of Jake. He never does anything without doing his best.

I think the friends he has made at Millcreek are amazing. They are a great group. It turned out that choosing Millcreek was a life-changing decision . . . for the better!