Our 2nd Baseball Trip

We just returned from the 2nd Fleming Family Baseball trip. This year we went to Chicago to see the Twins play 2 interleague games against the Cubs. It was quite a different trip than last years out east and quite quick but it was oh so much fun.

Thursday after work Bob and I headed over to Ames to so we could be ready to leave Friday morning. We were treated to a nice nights stay with Pat and Ashley and even got to be one of the few to see their new movie they just made. I loved it and I hope it does really well in the film festival in a few weeks.

Friday the original baseball gang met up at 5:00am. My dad, Tom, Cole, Pat, Ashley, Bob and I headed off to Chicago. With smooth sailing and little traffic we arrived at Wrigley field for the 1:20 game, with plenty of time to see the stadium outside and in. One of my goals of the trip was to have a real Chicago dog, well I had two different kinds, both were delicious and I absolutely love pickles, onions and tomatoes on my hot dogs, I was a true Chi-town person and did not add ketchup! The game was crazy awesome. Be sure to check out Milton Bradley’s huge mistake on YouTube . Twins won and there were lots of Twins fans there to celebrate. After making our way to the hotel we decided to get some real Chicago deep dish pizza. I can tell why people in the Midwest look the way they do with all this amazing food. After walking, getting lost and finding the place and the line we decided it would be better to order the pizza to the hotel. I needed food and I had a small hypoglycemic attack where I made a fool of myself but ended up being okay. We also realized that we were staying in a hotel just next to the MN Twins. We kept running into Twins players on the street. My brother and I also saw Loren Michaels walking down the street, it took a while to realize it was him and not Michael Bloomberg. Nice try Pat!

Saturday we headed over to Wrigley in the rain. We took the “L” over to the stadium which made me miss riding a subway and made me think of London-oh I miss big cities. The game ended up being delayed just a bit. It was so cold but thanks to my dad for thinking of me he purchased tickets under the overhang (so I wouldn’t get heat stroke) well it was too cold for that this year but our seats were nice and dry. Twins won in an exciting game. Whoooo!

Saturday evening my dad treated us all to a very nice dinner at the Capital Grill. We all enjoyed our food and some after dinner drinks, now Pat knows that when served a beverage in a sniffer, you don’t take it like a shot! We walked back to the hotel and Cole was able to get some Twins autographs. Pat, Ash, Bob & I decided to walking around Chicago a little more. We had just finished a drink in a bar (after Pat & Ashley chased down a random man they thought was Stephen King) we heard lots of cheering so we went down the street to see what was going on. All of a sudden we see over a 1000 people on bikes naked! It was a naked bike ride, yes nude! I snapped some pics, but I won’t put those up on the blog.

Sunday morning we took off early to head home from Chicago. I was sad to say goodbye as it was just a short trip. We headed home with no problems at all and it was so much different than last years long hours in the car. We met my mom, Becky, Merrick, & Macy for Lunch in Des Moines and then all went our separate ways.

I have to say I have the absolute best dad in the world. He is just the nicest guy and treats us all so well. Thank you dad for another amazing trip. You always outdo yourself and it is never necessary but very much appreciated.

Happy Birthday Mom and Ashley

Of course I have to just wish my beatiful mother and my wonderful Sister-in-law Ashley a very happy birthday, Today, June 9th. Both are special women to me and I hope they both have the best day today.

I'm looking forward to spending time with Ashley this weekend and getting to see my momma on Sunday. Happy Day Ladies.

William (Liam) Aaron Florin

Bob's sister Sara and Aaron welcomed into their family their new son, William Aaron Florin. Liam was born today, Wednesday, June 3rd at 3:52 pm. He weighed 8lbs 1/2 oz and is 20 inches long. Both mom and baby are doing well. We are so excited to see our new nephew and his big sister Addy in just a few weeks. Wish it was sooner.
Happy Birthday little Baby Liam.

Please pray for the M2s

We are so close to test day I don't even know what to do with myself. This past week, well I should say this past 6 months have been absolutely horrible for Bob, and the more I realize it horrible on me too. My poor guy has been studying like crazy. I have never seen someone study this much. Bob continues to amaze me with his go gettem attitude and never ending ability to keep at it. This past week Bob was getting up and at school by 6:30. He would return home for dinner around 5:00 and be headed back to school at 6:15 and stay until at least 9:30. For the little bit I did see him the words that came out of his mouth did not make sense. It is hard to carry on a conversation with the poor guy b/c he has his head in the books the whole time. He would open his mouth and a vomit of word mixture would come out. I usually needed to have him repeat what he said so I could understand it. Last night he lost his use of prepositions/conjunctions. It was hard to make out his sentences. I know that come tomorrow night this guy is going to be so happy this freaking test is over. I'm so excited for it to be done b/c then I know that I will get to spend more time with him, and we are "literally" a step closer to being done with medical school. I know that it is not just Bob that is going through this right now. Our friends will also take Step one in the next week and all of the Creighton M2s will finish up in June. Please pray for these students to do well. Bob will take his test on Tuesday, Ryan on Wednesday, Chris on Thursday and I believe Nick on Monday or Tuesday next week. I wish each of them the best of luck. But most of all to my sweetheart. Show em what you got Bob. Biochem ain't got nothin on you, cause you know it!

I'm freaking out myself, I hope I have a sense of relief after tomorrow. I'm looking forward to a cigar and a beer after, that is for sure!

My Birthday Boy

I know I am a day behind but I needed to wish Baubak a very special Happy Birthday. Yesterday, May 24th, was Bob's 25th birthday. Last year on his golden birthday he was in India where he chipped his tooth and had traveler's diarrhea. This year I had promised him it was going to be better. Although with only a little over a week before the big test he knew he would have USMLE on his mind.

It started on Saturday after Bob finished a practice test and going through some questions he headed home from school and decided to take the whole day Sunday off from studying. Good for him, and for me too.

I had made Bob a birthday cake and tried to make a Hazelnut White Chocolate Frosting to go on top. Hah it was not good, well it was complete sugar so Bob did not like it, but I of course being the sweet eater I am enjoyed it. I was able to save one of the cakes so he did have something.

Sunday morning after a well deserved sleep in Bob woke up to open his presents from me, chocolate, cigars and a humidor! Next we headed to Jimmy Johns for lunch and on to the Omaha Royals game. Bob says any birthday is good when he can watch baseball. The game was pretty good except the Royals were horrible. We arrived at Rosenblatt 25 minutes before game time to buy our tickets. I went all out and got the most expensive tickets for us ($10 a piece). We had our own little section directly behind home plate, only 2 rows up, although we could have sat in the front row. As we sat down Bob said, we should have brought sunscreen-ahh now my legs are burnt to a crisp with a stellar tan line, but we had fun. After the game we went out to eat at P.F.Changs for some lettuce wraps and nice food. It was very good! We also headed to DQ for a dessert blizzard and then back to watch the Twins beat up on the Brewers. Bob even got to see his favorite player hit a grand slam. Too bad it wasn't in person, but at least he got to see it. I think Bob enjoyed his birthday and I know he enjoyed his day off from studying. He is back at it today and will be hitting it hard until next week!

Happy 25th Birthday Baubak. I love you!

Happy Birthday Cole!

Wishing my only nephew a very Happy Birthday; Mr. Cole Thomas Gacke!

It is so odd thinking 11 years ago my big sis was induced and at 10:00 at night the little boy changed our lives forever. This kid is so great and I cannot imagine life without him in it. He makes me laugh so much. He has an amazing bond with my dad. He has a mad passion for sports, especially baseball. Bob and Cole share lots of the same traits in life and it is funny as they get really competitive about Wii games. The past 11 years Cole has made many special memories in my life. I look forward to watching him grown into a young man. I found this silly picture of Cole probably 4-5 years ago and it made me laugh. Leave it to Aunt Ashley to make fun of someone on their birthday. Happy Birthday Cole. Enjoy your desserts and day!

Golden Apple Fun

This Saturday Bob and I were able to get out, relax, and have a little fun at Creighton University's Medical School Golden Apple Awards. This event takes place every year, where they recognize students and faculty for outstanding service to their community and students. The night started out with cocktail hour (2 free drink tickets) and then onto dinner. The food was just okay and the service was very odd. You needed to hold on to your glass so they wouldn't take it off the table, even if there was clearly plenty left. One of the waiters even filled up Angela's half full wine glass with water-wasn't that nice of him? The dessert was horrible. It didn't taste bad, but nobody could figure out what it was. The evening continued on to the awards where a 4th year stood and talked for way way too long. The program was so long that we were all sitting for 3 full hours, with no glasses on our table to even sip water. Then the night turned in to much fun of drinking and dancing. They even had a photo booth where you could get free pics taken.
This event was lots of fun, besides the speaker & food. The friends made it all the better. I am so glad they had this for the Med students, especially the M2s that came. We are under a month left until boards and the studying is just crazy, they all needed a little break. And you know their significant others needed one too!