Day 3,627

The Rays Debut

Fruit Loops for breakfast at the hotel!!! 

“Mom, these taste just like Pebbles, only in circles!!”

Our one-night stay in Florence, South Carolina went just about as smoothly as it could’ve with only one adult and four babes. 

When we arrived at the hotel Saturday night at midnight, I took all the bags off the roof and placed them inside the car. I discovered Sunday morning that though I had initially protected our belongings from theft, I simultaneously left the key in the car…unlocked. Thankfully, everything was still there in the morning. And heavy lifting—this time all by myself—was the only thing left between us and the road to Tampa. I heaved all three fifty pounds bags up onto the roof—thankful for all the days in the gym over the course of my life—strapped them down (this time, no mistakes!), ran upstairs to rinse off, poured some iced coffee in my thermos, and hit the road before noon!!

Here we come, Tampa!

I even had a co-pilot for most of the trip! 

He’s never ridden shotgun like this before, but he did it well and we had a good time learning all about driving, listening to Harry Potter, and watching the baseball game!

HI DADDY!!!

*Kids screaming in the car*

He’s a Ray. For real! And oh my word, that was fun!

His debut went just about as well as it could’ve. In 2 innings pitched, he struck out 4, walked one, hit one, and got an inning ending double play, while touching 98 on the radar. 

We’re so proud of you, Papa Bear!

Just as we were arriving to our hotel in St. Pete, Daddy was descending with the team into Tampa. 

We waited patiently for him with lots of jumping jacks and push-ups. 



And finally, after the most unanticipated and full week maybe ever, we got our Daddy back. Oh thank goodness, he’s back. We missed you so.