Niagara Falls

         Dad came last weekend! He drove from Pittsburg to come hang out.  We went to Brooks BBQ for lunch on Saturday in between work.  Frankie and Logan came too.  Frankie has got to be one of the corkiest people I've ever met but he's fantastic and makes me laugh. I've probably snorted more from the things he's said than I have from anyone else's statements. Dad stuck around and watched Opening Ceremonies here and then we left late that night to spend a night in a hotel about an hour from here.  It was so incredibly nice to sleep in a big bed with clean sheets and not have to wear shoes in the bathroom; oh and watch tv and walk on carpet.  It's the little things I've 


really learned to appreciate being out here.  On


 Sunday we went on a run and then headed to Niagara Falls.  It rained some but he put on jackets and embraced the rain. We stayed on the American side for a little while.  I didn't know that Niagara Falls consisted of 3 falls....American Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and finally Horseshoes Falls (the most well known).  It was so amazing to be there.  The amount of water (700,000+ gal/sec) flowing over the falls.  Everyone should go and check it out.  It's a statement of powerful peace and terrifying tranquility. Once we got across Rainbow Bridge and into Canada we found our cheap motel and then headed to the falls to watch the fireworks as they began over the falls. They were gorgeous especially since they had colored lights on the falls.  Fireworks bring lots of memories to me and this will just add to my list of memories. We finally got dinner at Shoeless Joe's Grille.  I had a delicious sandwich on gluten free bread that had real Canadian Bacon on it. I had french fries too of course. For dessert we split a blueberry cheesecake cocktail.  Since the drinking age is 18 in Canada I got to order it. I felt like quite the adult especially when we went into the casino after and they checked my ID because you have to be 19 to enter.  On Monday dad and I slept in and then continued touring on the Canadian side.  We went on the Maid of the Mist boat ride which takes you right up next to the falls.  You get pretty wet but it's well worth it to be that close.  Seeing the falls on the Canadian side is the best because you have a much better view of all three falls.  Dad and I shared a buffalo burger for lunch as we sat and listened to the water.  We did lots of walking in those two days.  It was then time drive to Lake Ontario. On our way saw a guy with an old, homemade convertible car. We had made a pit stop and dad started talking to the guy. He ended up asking me if I wanted to ride and he drove my 15 miles as dad followed. Mom would've either freaked out that I was riding with a 70 year old stranger or she would've encouraged it. But YOLO right?! So many people stared at us because his car is so old. I was happy this old man had a hobby though and this car allowed him to talk to people. People in Canada asked if I was dad's wife. Uh no!!!! We were concerned about that thinking he was some store of cradle rober.  Dad and I did a little wine tasting (nothing good in Canada, except the iced wine).  We crossed the border and headed to the Anchor Bar in Buffalo to get the original BBQ wings.  We did get them and they were great. After leaving the bar at 9ish we headed toward Cooperstown.  It was a four hour drive. We stayed the night in Oneonta (20 miles from the park). It was great again for a clean room even though I went right to sleep and had to be awake at 6:30am. It was so much fun.  
         It was great to get out of here for a few days. SO much fun and such a worthy site to see! 

      The towns out here are so different then out west.  There are dozens of villages and towns all over the place that seem to pop up and if you were to blink you'd miss them.  The cities are full of old, run down factories and rail road tracks. Along our journey it was nice to see these little towns full of what I consider 'small town America'.   It really is beautiful driving through the country side.  When you look out and see flags flying, volunteer fire crews out fixing power lines at midnight, people walking down the streets in overalls waving at you.  I've had to get used to being in a small town where it's not uncommon to see toothless people who don't have a college degree. Life out here is more about living with what you've got and making the best of it versus pursing another dream and trying to get to the next level.  It's a different way of thinking but it works for the people here. 

Just little league baseball

Okay so we're at a 12 YR. OLD baseball tournament.  I think some people forget that sometimes.  I think they also forget that it's not just the baseball game that's important in life it's all the lessons people learn from the game.  12 year olds (children/young adults in general) are like sponges. If you're going to be THAT coach that runs on the field cussing, you're kids are going to remember that.  If you're going to be the creepy, old umpire that is nosey then the players will remember that too.  Despite what people think this really is only a game. In a couple of weeks it won't matter how many runs were scored, the bad call by the umpire, the 80+ homeruns by the other team in a week. What you'll remember though are the times the coach patted you on the back and looked you in the eyes telling you how proud he is for hustling on the field, or the time the umpire pulled you aside to say you're a fantastic pitcher who really keeps your composer on the mound, or the time your team carried you off the field because you made a fantastic catch in left field.  On the other hand they'll remember their coach dropping the F bomb at an employee, or the parents throwing chairs in outrage at a call, or a coach trowing his hat and stomping in protest to a controversial call.  Sometimes I feel like people forget that they're role models to many young people. Whether they want to be or not they're being looked up to so why not be a great example of determination, hard work, perseverance, persistance,  courage and dedication?

Life is Good

from Megan

Care package from MN& St. Louis

 The Bat Shop

The souvenir shop

Ali's cookies :)

So I'm trying this new thing for the month.  I'm trying to only purchase products that are made in America.  It's proving more difficult than one would hope for.  This was prompted when Lwiggy and I were talking about how people say they're so patriotic and love America, but don't support small businesses and buying local.  Recently the US Olympic Committee was criticized for their official uniforms sporting the famous label "Made in China".  That's ridiculous that for our home team we don't have uniforms made at home stimulating out own economy.  I'm fortunate because there isn't much I need to buy but now I spend time shopping online for made in America goods.  It's kind of fun but challenging for sure.

    Sunday- my day off!  I slept in after having an overnight.  It rained this morning but yesterday was 90 degrees + which is especially hot when you're outside the entire time.  Hopefully I'll get a nice tan, that's a joke because it'll be a major farmers tan.  I led the Golden Arm skills competition yesterday. That's where one representative of all 104 teams has a chance to throw 3 balls from center field at a wooden target at home plate.  I love the responsibility that comes from leading it. Some of these kids are so nervous when they first throw.  I love when I get to talk to the players though.  I went to a brewery yesterday with the guys for lunch. I had a veggie burger, soooo good! and sweet potato tots.  There was a chocolate shop nearby so we went in and had chocolate covered bacon. It was actually pretty good but the chocolate orange were better.  We're going to go back at some point and take a chocolate making class.  I had Friday morning off so I worked out and then went down to the river just to hang out.  I swam because it was so hot and then just listened to country music and laid in the sun.  It was so nice.  It's gorgeous and quiet down there. I worked out 4 times last week which was great.  I still miss the gym and skating and lacrosse but that'll just make it more exciting when I get back.  There's a 16 year old new intern with us from California. It's crazy that he's TJ's age and he's here for the summer. We played football the other day and he's cool.  I'm officially done working in the souvenir and bat shop and I'll be with baseball operations full time.  I'm definitely excited. I learned a lot from working in retail in regards to business, mark ups, purchase orders, etc but I know that I don't really have a desire to work in retail again.  Hopefully I enjoy being in ops full time.

    I seriously have the best friends in the world.  All the interns here know it to because every time they see me I seem to have another package from a friend.  Megan Neumann sent me a package with twizzlers, natural peanut butter, reeses pieces and other yummy treats, Ali Everitt sent homeade gluten free peanut butter an chocolate cookies which are some of the best cookies I've had and my St. Louis and Minnesota girls sent a super cute coffee cup, hot cocoa packets, and other candy.  Allison Boyd sent gluten free chocolate chip cookies last week too.  I seriously am so thankful that I'm at DU with some of the most amazing people in the world.  I love and miss my friends tons but it's reassuring knowing that we'll all be together soon laughing and having fun again.

    Every day gets better here.  I love being able to help people out every day whether it's getting baseballs for umpires, answering questions, playing tag with little kids, or honoring 2 mothers of 12 year old boys from a Nebraska team that lost their life to breast cancer it's really nice to be able to help people.  I've always wanted to use sports as a way of connecting with people and making their lives a little bit brighter and this is a way I get to do that daily!

Happy Independence Day America

Otsego Lake

apple pie

fishing spot

full moon out my barrack

Cider Mill, 'Merica

Happy 4th everyone!!! Today I got up after having an overnight (if there are any girl players we take turns, as interns, sleeping in the barracks with them and get paid to sleep :) ) and I had the morning off.  I worked out, I still hate people looking at me and I miss the gym dearly but you do what you've got to do.  It's really humid here but I'm also getting used to that too.  After a workout Frankie and I took a trip to Fly Creek Cider Mill.  Pops (his name is Ron and he's an older guy that works with us) let us take his car so we drove there.  They have dozens of samples of lots of goodies like fudge, apple butter, syrup and other stuff from New York.  We ate there too and I have a spinach salad with grilled chicken, first time I've seen spinach since May.  It was yummy!!! We stopped at TOPS market so I good grab some berries and nuts and came back before I worked an afternoon shift engraving bats. I'm getting the hang of that too and have gotten to be pretty fast at engraving those and baseballs.  It was weird not doing anything special for the 4th.  All of your texts, calls, and pictures about the 4th were all so cute.  Wish I were with any of you to enjoy it but that's okay, I got to celebrate by living in a country that allows me the opportunity to have a job of my choosing!

Trevor and his Southern food on his birthday

just fishin'

    So this past weekend I went to the Farmers Market on Saturday. Frankie and I bought a whole wheat apple pie to split because it looked really good, we still have some too.  And a guy gave me a free, delicious peach.  Too bad I can't buy the produce and cook with it.  On Sunday I went fishing in the morning with Richie.  We just went behind one of the fields by the railroad tracks and listened to country music and fished.  My first cast of the season I caught a fish followed by 2 more fish that day.  Richie didn't catch anything.  Thanks dad for teaching me how to fish.  The whole morning the lyrics "she can't even bait a hook" were going through my head as a was cutting worms and baiting the hook.  That afternoon we hung out with Trevor and went to Cooley's, a pub in Cooperstown for lunch.  Of course I had french fries (half sweet potato and half regular).  We then ended up taking an unplanned trip across the Pennsylvania border and had Waffle House; I'd never been there before.  It was Trevor's birthday too so that's what we did while listening to more country music.

Richie's massive Waffle House dinner

       Yesterday I work I met the cousins of family friends of ours from Mississippi.  When I work the register in the souvenir shop I have to check IDs when people use credit cards and this lady had the last name of "Artigues" so I told her about the family I knew and she was like "those are our cousins."  Matthew Artigues came and stayed at our house 3 years ago for a baseball tournament that was in Salt Lake for the week.  He became another brother for the week and his parents were out too.  It's such a small world.  I also met a few boys from Denver, one of whom plays hockey for a 12U team for DU.  his goal is to play D1 hockey for the pioneers one day.  How crazy that he and I skate on the same ice? Being out here has really made me realize how connected we all are.  You might as well live a happy, peaceful life with no enemies because you never know who you're aggravating.
    Christian Bennett leaves tomorrow on his mission.  I'll miss my best friend.  I've known him since sophomore year when we did HOBY together and then MUN and then continued to be friends and were Coke scholars together senior year and throughout this past year when I visited him at Harvard.  He's always been someone to talk to and navigate this crazy thing called life.  I'll never forget talking on the phone till 3 in the morning on May 1, 2011 both trying to decide where we wanted to go to college.  He was choosing between 2 schools just like me and we eventually both decided our schools and couldn't have been happier.  Bye Christian!
     New things I've tried:  grits, had my first lottery ticket (didn't win), and Carolina BBQ pork.  

my trip to the grocery store

I continue to learn a lot about life being out here.  I have friends here who have never traveled out of the timezone.  That astonishes me.  I feel like traveling has played a major contribution in my life.  I'm so grateful to have traveled since I was little.  I know, I know mom "most people haven't been near the places I've been in their whole lives and they're your grandparents ages and you're only 19"; well I'm a very fortunate 19 year old and I wouldn't trade it for the world.  I also know one guy here who's dad can't read or write.  That's something I never thought I'd know personally.  Just daily I'm continually amazed by the people I meet. Some little 12 year olds how have never seen a cassette tape or a portable CD player (I didn't think I was THAT old, ha.)
    Life is incredible.  I've definitely adapted to being out here more. Once you realize this is how it's going to be and you can't change it, you learn to embrace it.  Why not right?  It's such a learning experience for myself and others. Every day is like a case study learning new things.

Taryn's gluten free care package she sent

    God bless America.  I'm so thankful to live in this great country.  I'm so thankful for the men and women who are fighting for our country day after day in big ways and small ways.  Take the time to make new friends because you'll never know how much you can learn from them. Take time to give people hugs because you might not know how long it's been since a person has experienced one.  Take time to laugh, and snort :)   Thanks again for all the letters, gluten free good packages (Taryn), texts, calls and snapchats.  I really love hearing from you.  Life is beautiful! 

Boston: Red Sox Nation

  So Sunday is my day off and it happens to be Kyle, Phil and Trevor's as well.  We decided last weekend that we wanted to go to a MLB game.  Well luck would have it that the Red Sox were playing the Braves at Fenway at 1:30 on Sunday afternoon. PERFECTO!  We bought tickets off of Stubhub and drove the 4 hours to Boston yesterday morning for the game.  It felt like my Spring break trip all over again with the boys.  We stopped at McDonalds on the turnpike and I had a smoothie and oatmeal. I definitely recommend the new banana, blueberry oatmeal.  That was the first time I've seen blueberries in 3 weeks! Who new McDonalds could be so good?  The game was fun and our seats happened to be one of only ones in the shade which were actually nice. The Sox won and it was Kevin Youkilis' last game as he got traded right after he hit a triple in his last at bat.  They pulled him from third and the crowd went wild.  It was really cool to hear the crowd as he left.  He went into the dug out and reappeared after the roaring of the fans.  I got to meet up with Johnny Li, my Coke Scholar friend from LA that goes to Harvard.  We got to talk for an inning at the game. It was nice to see someone whom I've known for longer than 3 weeks.  After the game we went to a little restaurant on Beacon Street.  Everything looked so delicious, real food not served on a white, Styrofoam plate.  I had a turkey burger with lettuce and french fries.  Y'all know how much I love fries!  The boys made me try sweet tea because Trevor and Phil are from the South and they LOVE sweet tea.   It's not terrible but not something I'd want to drink daily.  Kyle was stoked to use his Boston accent as he yelled out the window "hey Youkilis, you know that guy? he's traded. No beers in Boooston tonight." We all were cracking up.  Then I said that I wanted to see the ocean so we attempted to find it which led us on an epic adventure full of screaming by all three boys.  We did drive past the ocean and then got on the Massturnpike to head back here. We listend to songs off the Now 5 soundtrack and now we're all excited to relive our childhood "Now That's What I call Music"days.  We made it back last night after a successful day away from this place just in time to work another 13 hours today in the retail shop.  It was freezing here today and tonight it got down to be 50 degrees with rain!  I guess I like this better than the 99 degrees last week where we were all constantly wet and nasty.  Tons of people run in to buy umbrellas right when it starts raining.  On Saturday there was a constant line of customers.  This is the most profitable I've seen it since I've been here.  People come into the souvenir shop and will spend $200 on stuff.  If your kid hits a home run I swear it costs you 70 bucks! There's t-shirts for the player, parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters. And then you can get the ball engraved for another 10 bucks.  Holy smokes can these people spend money. Oh and don't forget about getting the professional pictures that are $8 for a 4 * 6.  Welcome to the Cooperstown Monopoly.  It is really cool here and the experience is unforgettable for the players and coaches.  At night I come back and get on my laptop and then go to sleep so I can wake up and do it all again.  Night night :)  

And here goes my life in the middle of New York

       I finally have a computer so now I can blog.  I spilled water on my laptop in the middle of May at school and had to go without one until I bought a new one. Long story..... but now I have a brand new, pretty macbook pro that I will take great care of.

    So here I am sleeping in what pretty much looks likes a prison cell.  It smells bad too. There's no air conditioning or heat here and in the middle of the summer the temperatures can vary greatly. Some nights I get warm and others I'm freezing. I'm learning to adjust to living in 84% humidity daily. I work out and am just drenched before I've even done anything hard.  Here will be an introduction to my life in Cooperstown, NY for the summer....

               Cooperstown is home to the Baseball Hall of Fame and DoubleDay field where the first game of baseball is said to be held.  Decades again the Presutti family had a dream that every child in America would have to opportunity to play baseball in Cooperstown and thus the idea of the Cooperstown Dreams Park was born.  In 1996 the park opened and 12U teams from around the country came and have been coming week after week ever since to play ball.  There are 13 weeks that comprise the summer with 104 teams coming each week to play ball Sunday through Thursday when the championship game is held Thursday night.  I came to Cooperstown four years ago with my family when TJ played and my dad coached.  I thought it was a great place so when I was looking for a job this winter I knew I wanted to make money and have an adventure so here I am.  I am here as a paid intern working 60+ hours a week, living in the barracks where the 104 teams and 95 umpires live, eating food that is less quality than dorm food and having someone else do my laundry. I got here June 8 after flying into Albany and being picked up by a complete stranger and then driving here, moving into my barrack and literally meeting one other person.  The next day I worked in the retail store and folded shirts.  I was ready to cry; I didn't move to New York to fold shirts all day. The next day I had a day off so I took the bus into town and hung out all alone. I took a nap on a park bench, yep I sure did and woke up sweating. Thanks to everyone whom I called while I was walking around that day. It's a humbling experience to realize how much it means to have someone else around can mean to someone.  I'm pretty sure I cried that night too.  I worked 13 hours each day for the next 4 days and then 14 hours the day after. I started to meet people and adjust a little bit.  I thought I would hang out more with the other 20+ interns but we're all working so much and at such different hours that we don't really see one another much.  

        I never really thought I'd be 19 years old living 2061 miles away from home for a summer working 92 hours in a week.  I guess God has some sort of plan.  It really has been quite an experience the past two weeks.  I've started making more friends which is so helpful.  I really like Chelsea who is one girl I work with.  Some things I'll probably never get used to... the food, showering with bugs, having creepy, old umpires check me out when I run or jump rope, living in 84% humidity, not being able to walk out of the park, being looked at and harassed by the teams, the terrible internet connection, not seeing a couch for 2 more months, not skating, playing lacrosse or working out at a gym.  

       Like I said it's taken lots of adjusting. I have learned how to sleep through girls alarm clocks, golf carts, 12 year old boys playing tag, just  about everything.  I've learned how to eat turkey on top of lettuce every day for lunch.  I've really realized how important friends and family are.  The snap chats, phone calls, texts, letters, packages all are what keep me happy.  It's pretty easy here to get unhappy but whenever I have contact with a friend I feel better so keep it coming! My girlfriends from school...you are incredible. Thank you for making me laugh on a continual, daily basis and letting me cry to you on the phone.  My friends from home thanks for filling me in on all the news and keeping me in touch with my roots.  My parents are the most amazing people.  My mom sent me a whole wheat cookie cake, dried mangos and homeade granola among other goodies.  Thanks for pushing me through.  I guess it's hard because the last time I was here I was with you and we were having lots of fun together and this is the first summer that I'm not a Disneyland for Fathers day or watching my brother play baseball; we're not camping together or going on Sunday hikes.  I've really come to realize how blessed my life is.  One of my friends here had never been on a plane until he came this summer and I went on a dozen plane rides in the past year. I've seen the country; I've camped, hiked, skied, skydived, golfed, paraglided, snorkeled, fished, jumped off cliffs, water skied.  I'm nineteen years old and I've been to over half the states and 5 countries, been in the Opening & Closing Ceremonies of the Olympics and seen 10+ Olympic events, hiked a 14,000 foot mountain and walked across day old lava from an active volcano in Hawaii.  I'm blessed each and every day to be here and be healthy.  I thank God each morning and night for the opportunities I've had in my life.  This is yet another one that I have to look at positively.

    I make this place sound like prison, but it's not.  It's improving for sure.  I'm getting the hang of things and understanding it all more.  Now that I have some friends it's better too.  I'm making tons of money and am not really spending any of it.

  ---the shower

---  gluten free meal

   Here are some pictures and I'll post more later. There will be plenty more stories to come of my time here!

New York, New York

When I left home last fall for school I told people that I probably wouldn't ever be coming home again for long periods of time.  I didn't know if that was really going to be the case, but now it's reality.  Last week I found out that I got an internship at Cooperstown New York.  When we went with TJ to the Cooperstown Dreams Park for the baseball tournament in 2008 I thought it would be fun to work there and now that's happening.  I'll live in cabins so similar to my dorm now and probably eat food that's very similar. I'm not really looking forward to that part but I'm excited to work, meet new people and make quite a bit of money.  I hope it works out and I make friends or it could be a really long three months away from everyone.

      I can't believe that my freshman year is almost over. It's been such a whirlwind.  I don't think I've necessarily changed a whole lot but I do think I've learned a great deal.  I've learned a lot about what's important to me and what's important in this life. I've loved living with everyone because it teaches you a lot about relationships.