When Matt told me he had tickets for the US Women’s Soccer Team against Mexico at Rio Tinto Stadium (where ReAL Salt Lake plays) on March 31st I pictured in my head a nice spring outing. However, the saying that March goes out like a lamb is completely backwards. I’ve noticed that March seems to start innocently enough with a teaser of spring but by the end of the month it’s time to shovel snow again. This year proved no different and the flurries outside the window made me want to stay home and watch a movie on the couch with Mallerie, who was feeling nauseous, instead of braving the cold in Sandy. But sitting home would only remind me that I wasn’t at the Michael Buble concert at the E Center also going on that night. I had watched ticket prices online during the day to see if any scalpers would get desperate at the last minute and offer me some for $20 bucks. Didn’t happen. So we bundled up and headed through a storm that only got worse the closer we got to Salt Lake. We texted Brent and Shafer who both live near there with invitations to join us. If it had been a day later they for sure would have thought it an April Fools joke. We were the fools who trudged through the slush to sit in wet seats and watch the first half of the game. All the fans were seated on one side of the stadium. Grayson’s shoes had gotten wet so it wasn’t long before he was saying how cold his feet were. No one else seemed to complain much, to my surprise, including little Callie who sat perched in her seat with lips shuddering but not making a sound. I attributed Katrina’s fair temperament to the fact we had allowed her to bring a friend in Mallerie’s place. Graham’s whining was surprisingly not about the weather but the Churro, which was being gobble behind us. The field had so much snow on it that the ball barely moved so at half time the score was still zip-to-zip. We did see one of the Mexican players go down hard during the first half after a run in with an American. She seemed to be over reacting but the close-up on the screen of her face showed blood dripping out of her mouth and she was carried out on a stretcher. Again, if it had been a day later we might not have believed her.
After the first half we called it good but decided to take Shafer up on his cocoa offer after the game before heading home. Even though their boys had already been put to bed and the house tidied for the night, Shafer and Lindsey hosted us with the said cocoa and popcorn. With our crowd popping in it wasn’t long before Harrison and Charlie were out of bed and out jumping on the couch. Then down in the basement they showed us what they’ve learned on their coaster cars since Christmas. Ava followed behind on Shafer’s rip stick, which she’s mastered. You would have to see to believe how fast Harrison can go on his coaster car. He’s learned tricks like riding on just the front two wheels and spinning. He’d ride by trying not to let his pleasure show on his face by sucking in his cheeks. We were very amused by this.
We weren’t there for longer than an hour because it was a school night, we had a long drive ahead, and we had that friend with us. The driving conditions caused Matt to go slowly and it seemed an eternity before we finally got home. It had been a random night of activities, which ended up being just what the doctor ordered.
Speaking of being fooled…
On that very day I had received in the mail a letter from my mom. Inside was a single number 7. This isn’t the first “7” I’ve received in the mail. To announce the upcoming birth of Hartman Sadie mailed us all a number 7. I was clueless till Matt filled me in on what that could mean. Duh! But why would my MOM be mailing a 7? I got on the phone right away and my dad and mom were both on speakerphone in no time. My mom asked if I’ve ever received a 7 before and what did it mean? My dad started talking about Sariah in the Bible giving birth in her old age. NO WAY. I said, “Am I missing something?” There was a long pause on their end and I couldn’t tell if they were laughing or crying. My dad told me to look at a calendar and I thought he was going to tell me a due date! Instead he said, “What’s the date tomorrow.” APRIL FOOLS!
