Easter Extravaganza Day 2

Day 2 started off earlier after a great nights sleep in the Embassy Suites. When I travel out of town I always try to stay in a Hilton hotel. I like their beds, their award program and the breakfast they provide. My go-to hotel inside the Hilton chain is the Embassy Suites, especially when travel with family. It is always nice to have an extra room when your the only male traveler in a close knit pack of females.

I got up before Pam and the girls and went downstairs so I would not wake them while they slept. We were in no hurry since our plans for the day involved going to the last Rangers spring training game of the year. The game didn't start until 1:10, so the girls would have sometime to enjoy resting their weary legs after the marathon walk we called Six Flags!

I went to the work out room in the hotel. Their was nobody there, and I was thankful. I didn't want anyone else to witness the pain I was about to endure. Fellow blog writer, Jaime Cole, author of My 27 Cents Worth had decided last week that she would send out an Abs of April challenge. Pam and I decided to take Jaime up on her challenge. Pam wanted to take on the challenge because she already has washboard abs that she would like to keep up. I went for the challenge because my current abs of flabs may not impress the woman folk when I hit the pool this summer.

Each day the challenge puts the stomach through a gut wrenching workout that makes my abs burn like a thousand suns scorching down on the hottest desert known to man. This workout would be no different! With each crunch, burpee, and spider lunge I would let out a curse directed toward Midland and at a specific fellow blogger who shall remain nameless. After twenty five minutes of ab tormenting hell, I was done with my torture for the day.

I decided that I would grab a bite to eat and read the paper since the girls were still in a slumber. One of the main reasons I give the nod to Embassy Suites is for their breakfast spread. I like hot food, not the continental crap that many hotels serve. Embassy suites provides omelets and eggs cooked to order. This was perfect for my diet. I bypassed my usual biscuits and gravy and opted for a veggie omelet and a big bowl of fresh fruit. As always the food was delicious and I enjoyed some quiet me time while I read the paper and drank my juice. On a scale of one-to-five eggs, I gave the breakfast 4 1/2 eggs cooked just right!

I headed back to the room after breakfast to check on the girls. Pam had just woken up and we spent a few moments laying out the game plan for the rest of the day.  While the girls got up, Pam decided it was her turn to keep the abs looking good. I coached her on as she completed the workout without much more than a few quick gasps for air! Personally I am glad I got up early to do my workout. I wouldn't want Pam thinking that she was married to a man that winced after each crunch!


The girls started to get up and were ready for some food. We all headed down together. I played the role of getting all the drinks and food for Delaney. Pam and AK got in their separate lines to get their food. Delaney went for her favorite Fruit Loops and a bowl of fruit. We waited at the table for the rest to join. It was a nice breakfast as we sat around and reminisced about the day before and our favorite part. When Delaney was asked what her best memory was she responded "Just being together as a family!" Pam and I beamed with pride on the fine daughter we are raising, when AK interrupted the moment to tell us that Delaney was just being a suck up!

After breakfast we headed back to the room so the girls could get their swimsuits on. We still had a couple of hours to kill before the game, so it was decided that we would have the girls burn off some excess energy in the pool. Pam convinced me that Jaime's program was indeed working, and it was time to give the world a sneak peak at the sculpture that was being created. I agreed and headed to the hot tub with her to soothe my old aching body.

The pool is indoors so it was well heated. The girls spent most of their time playing various pool games while Pam and I soothed our forty year old bones. We enjoyed the hot tub and discussed our summer vacation and the fun destinations it may take the family.

Checkout was a breeze and we were off to the game. Pam decided that the girls needed Rangers shirts for the game.  She suggested we stop at a Wal-mart to see if they would have any. AK found a shirt and Delaney conned Pam into getting a new friend. Just like the zoo a few weeks earlier, Pam could not resist Delaney's pretty little smile when asking for another stuffed animal.

It was a perfect day for baseball. We were excited to see the last spring training game of the year, with what is left of the Rangers fans after a bad season the year before. I think I counted 300 fans give or take a few. I am not a Rangers fan, but I do enjoy watching baseball. Oddly enough this would be my third spring training game watching the Rangers this year.











While we walked through the gate we saw the statue of the great Nolan Ryan. It only seemed fair to pay him a visit and get a picture since he is after all one of the all time greatest pitchers ever!

Being the frugal baseball fans that we are, Pam decided it would be best to buy us some nose bleed seats up in the Uecker area. Once we walked in we realized that our $10 tickets were going to get us any seat in the house. I decided that we would sit in left field just behind the fence. I have seen many baseball games in my life. It is my personal belief that the best seats in the stadium are in the outfield. I like the view of watching the game happening in front of me. I also picked the seats because I knew that we would have a great shot at getting a home run ball. 

I may not be a Ranger fan, but I do appreciate the field they play on. It was originally called The Ball Park In Arlington. That is how I will remember it and what I still call it. It has changed names several times in the past. I know this brings in revenue for the team, but I do miss the original names stadiums use to have. I loved playing guess the stadium name in junior high with Brett and Tony back when you could actually know the names. Now I would be lucky to name ten in all of baseball.

The game was fun to watch and Pam started to realize that AK's food timer was about to go off. She grabbed AK in search of nachos since we didn't have enough carnival cheese to gum up our systems the day before. While she was away, an nice older man came down and started to talk to us. He was an usher and was telling me about batting practice earlier and how he had got the first home run of the season at batting practice. He than started to talk to Delaney. He told her how much fun it was to go to a baseball game with her dad. The next thing I know he pulled out his home run ball and handed it to Delaney. He said that he wanted her to have it! Delaney's first home run ball, and she didn't even have to catch it. Poor Tony, who will turn 40 in less than a month has spent endless games chasing the dream of getting a ball at a game, and here Delaney just had to put on a smile!

The family thoroughly enjoyed watching some baseball, but like all good things it came to an end. We had to head off to Abilene for another quick visit with BobBob and dinner at his house. The good news is that BobBob was able to get out of the hospital on Friday. When we arrived he was sitting in his favorite chair doing his favorite thing, watching sports! It was great to see old BobBob out of the hospital and in his own house.

BJ made us an amazing roast for dinner. We scarfed down our home cooked meal like a pack of mangy dogs on  a bone. After all, we had only had junk food all weekend long, and it was wonderful having food that was actually meant to go into the body!

We visited awhile and loaded back up in the car for the last leg of the journey home. After 350 miles in a car that was having issues after Rogers Ford said it was fixed, several bags of chips, lots of water bottles, two stuffed animals won at Six Flags, one stuffed animal bought because Pam can't resist Delaney's cute smile, countless nacho chips and gallons of carnival nachos cheese, one home run ball, and abs of flabs slowing turning into abs of steel; The Desparrois family rolled into Midland at 10:00 just in time to get ready for Easter Sunday!