At Last!

Ok folks, this picture...

is of a bottle of champagne.  An open bottle of champagne, and that my friends can only mean one thing: They did it.  Phinaly!

After a long season of ups and downs, after 3 grueling rounds of playoff baseball, and after the longest and wettest game in World Series history- they did it.

Waking up this morning I honestly had an initial impulse to wonder if I could have dreamt the events of last night.  But no, I remember Brad Lidge's last biting slider to get the final out.  I remember the ruckus that ensued in our household as we jumped and laughed and yelled and maybe even squeezed out a tear or two.  And I remember the pop of the champagne cork, the bang of the pots and pans, the honks from the cars driving by, and the sound of fireworks in the distance.  It really did happen.

I suppose that at the end of the day, after all of our guessing and second guessing, it was pretty simple.  If you've got great pitching...

clutch hitting...

and stellar defense...

this happens.

Well, 28 years later here we are.  After everything that the team and fans have been through I wasn't sure how it'd feel after it was all over.  Now I know.  It feels really, really good.  

So who is going to the parade?

1 Run and 9 Outs

Thats all we need to finish this thing off.  And thats all I'm going to say about it for now.  Lets get it done.  Go Phils.

In the hours between now and gametime this old-school Phanatic video should calm your frazzled nerves, and maybe even help with that little twitch you've developed.  The video quality on this thing is (really) not great, but it still manages to convey why this big hairy green guy is the best mascot in sports.  Enjoy.

One of my favorite moments thats easy to miss is when he makes a diving catch of a foul ball on top of the Phillies dugout. Also, would any other mascot skydive into a stadium? Nope.

Yes, we stil have a baby...

And yes, he is still crazy cute.  What with all the recent World Series shenanigans Aiden has been pretty nonexistant on the blog of late.  Don't worry however, it's only a matter of time before Aiden, and his chubby cheeks, are back front and center.

It's a Wash

Of all the possible outcomes of last night's game, this:

was the last one that I expected.  Despite my previous post regarding my mixed feelings about not being able to give the game my undivided attention, this is not how I wanted Game 5 to play out.  I still expect that the Phils can, and will, pull out a victory on home soil.  But it is frustrating to see your ace pitcher slogging through what amounts to 6 innings of throwaway baseball. When this game restarts wednesday night it will essentially be a 3 inning game, starting from scratch, except this time with Cole Hamels watching from the dugout.

Like I said: I think that the team will be able to take a deep breath, dig down, and salvage this thing... 

And maybe the silver lining to this rain drenched, soggy situation is that when they do hold that trophy up in the air- it will be that much sweeter.  Go Phils.

If you need more of a pep-talk check out this article to get your blood boiling.

Sigh...

Tonight is game 5 of the World Series.  It is a game that I very much expect the Phillies to win. It is also a game that if the Phillies win, will give them the title of world champions.  It is essentially the game that every Phillies fan has been waiting for for the last 28 years.

And I'll be at work.  

Sigh...

Yep, I'm working 12 hours tonight which means that for 100% of tonight's game I'll be on the job. It's not really that bad of a thing.  I'll be able to follow the whole game pretty closely.  And believe me, when that last pitch is thrown I will be watching.  But if (when) they win I won't be able to do the crazy celebratory jump/shout/dance/sing combo that I've had bottled up inside me all these years.  I guess you all will have to do some extra jumping and shouting for me. 

 Sigh...

Although... now that I'm thinking about it, the hospital is a lot closer to Citizens Bank Park. Maybe that means that when they do make that last out I'll be able to hear the jubilant cheers from the stadium rising into the Philadelphia night, bringing closure to decades of near-misses and frustration.  

Hmm, that doesn't sound so bad after all.  Go Phils.

Un-be-lievable

When you see Ryan Howard striking this pose you know that he just belted a homerun.

And good news for Philadelphia: he posed twice last night.  Add to that homeruns by Chase Utley, Jayson Werth, and yes, Joe Blanton and it all adds up to a huge 10-2 win for the Phils.

Wow.

Throughout the playoffs and World Series I've been holding on to a healthy dose of doubt.  I mean this is Philadephia, you have to expect that eventually the other shoe will drop and the dream will be over.  But let me put this out there: thats not going to happen.  Last night when Blanton homered my perspective changed.  They are going to win.  We've got one game left to play but I'm already wondering what day the parade will be.

One more win.

Joe the Pitcher

As hard as its been, I've been doing my best to stay away from spewing a nonstop stream of Phillies posts.  I can officially no longer resist.  If you are watching the game right now you know that this guy just hit a home run:

Thats right.  The Pitcher.  Joe Blanton, the pitcher, just hit a home run.

If this isn't destiny I don't know what is.

Baby Boot Camp

Private Aiden Jones practicing his army crawl.

Dodging some bullets.

On guard duty.

With search-and-rescue dog extraordinaire, Mr. Bailey.

Rations at the end of a hard day.

Birthday Wish

It's my birthday in two weeks, and there is just one thing I want:

Thats not too much to ask, right?

The Great Pumpkin

With Halloween fast approaching the topic of a possible costume for Aiden has arisen.  Of course we've asked ourselves if it is even worthwhile at all.  Aside from getting a couple of cute pictures, dressing up Aiden wouldn't do much ouside of providing us with some cheap entertainment.   We still haven't come to a final verdict on what to do- but in the meantime I did some research on baby costumes and these were some of the best...

"SUPERBABY"

"BABY ELVIS"

And my personal favorite, "BABY YODA"

Of course, in the end something simpler may be a bit more realistic.  Aiden does bear a striking resemblance to a certain round-headed cartoon character.  Good grief!

Farm Country

Last weekend we took Aiden to a 'Harvest Day' at a farm near where Jen grew up.  It was a perfect fall day, and we had a great time checking out the animals, the pumpkin patch and all of the other harvesty type stuff.  Making it even better was the fact that we were joined by our friends Missy and Brian Chittum, and their brood of kids (son Jeremy, and twins Samantha and Lilly).

A pumpkin patch photo shoot.

Overdue pics...

A couple weekends ago, while Rob was with his friends, I (Jen) went to Lancaster with my parents and Aiden.  Here are some cute pics from that weekend....

Aiden in a wagon

 

Aiden on a plow.  I think he is ready for a life of farming

We stayed at this great bed and breakfast and in the morning outside was a little wagon just waiting for a perfect photo opportunity with Aiden