Friday, April 17, 2015

Opening Day At Nationals' Park!

On Monday, April 6th, we had four tickets to the Opening Game at Nationals' Park. My dad took Liberty and I, and let us invite a friend. We brought our friend from the pool, Lucy. Our tickets also worked as passes to get us into the Diamond Club. There was an open buffet with a lot of great food. I took full advantage of that!

We had great seats, they were right behind home plate and up one set of stairs. Once we got to our seats, we were also allowed to get whatever we wanted from the menu, because it was included with the Diamond Club tickets. We got popcorn, soda, peanuts, and ICE CREAM SANDWICHES (Yes.... Multiple)!!!!!! It was so awesome!

Although the Nationals didn't win, my man, Bryce Harper, scored the Nationals' their only run, a home run, at that! Also, it wouldn't have mattered whether the Nationals won or lost, because we all definitely had an amazing time.

I'm really thankful that we got to go, and being able to bring Lucy with us made it an even better experience for everyone. I hope we get to go to another game soon, because I love baseball... and ice cream sandwiches.... and Bryce Harper <3

Thanks for reading!
Check back soon,
Kendra <3

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Easter Weekend!

This past weekend was the weekend of Easter. My family drove up to Connecticut to see our extended family. Because my mom and dad were originally from there, our whole family lives there.

We got there on Friday night and went straight to my mom's parents' house. We saw my Aunt Rose, Uncle Ray, and Ray's girlfriend, Jen. We ate a family dinner and stayed there overnight.

Saturday morning, we went to the diner to meet my Aunt Leona and Uncle Dave for breakfast. It was really nice to see them, especially because we really only see them when we're there. From there, we met Uncle Lenny at Starbucks. We stayed there with him for about an hour or so. Seeing him was also really great, even though we see him more often than others. (IN SEPTEMBER, HE'S COMING TO VIRGINIA TO SEE 21 PILOTS WITH US!!!!!!) After Uncle Lenny had left, my Aunt Amy met us there for a nice visit. My family then went to Aunt Kim and Uncle Mark's for our annual Easter celebration for the Metcalfe side of the family. All of the Metcalfes were there (except Cale and Aubrey <3). We had our last annual, giant easter egg hunt in their backyard. (Only the last at that house, because they're moving.) It was very fun, as always! We ate Easter dinner there too. Before we headed back to Wendy's, we drove some boxes to Kim and Mark's new house and we got to see it. It was really nice. At Wendy's, we watched Big Hero 6, hung out together, and we spent the night there.

On Sunday, Aunt Wendy made, my favorite, CHOCOLATE CHIP PANCAKES!! After breakfast, we joined Tyler and Drew in their easter egg hunt. From there, we went back to my grandparents' house. As soon as we got there, we did an inside easter egg hunt. Once the rest of our family, Rose, her husband Tom, and Ray, got there, we did the big easter egg hunt outside, that we do every year. My grandma made Easter dinner. It was AMAZING, which led to me eating far too much. At around dessert time, Jen got there. Then, we all ate dessert. Again, with me eating too much. Everyone, but us, left around 5. My mom's cousin came over, so we got to visit with her a bit as well. At about 7, we went back to Wendy's and we mostly just hung out there for the night. We stayed there overnight, but left at 6 AM to get on the road.

It was a really fun, exciting trip. As always, it was so nice to see everyone and to participate in our traditions. Although some of those traditions are ending, we're only going to be starting more to replace those, I'm sure.

Hope you had a great holiday!
Thanks for reading!
Check back soon,
Kendra <3

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

4 Note Worthy Shoulder Exercises To Prevent Dislocation

Shoulders are the most dislocated joints on your body. Dislocation can be provoked by many things: sports, lots of physical activity, or just everyday activities. If your Rotator Cuff muscles are weak, you are more likely to have problems with dislocation.

By strengthening the muscles surrounding your shoulder, you can prevent dislocation. Listed below are quick and easy exercises to help you start that process.

1. Shoulder Shrugs -
Stand straight with your feet shoulder length apart. Lift both shoulders as if you're bringing them to the ceiling. Bring shoulders back down to starting position. To strengthen your shoulders more, you can hold a dumbbell weight in each hand or use a Theraband for resistance.

2. Push Ups -
Good old fashioned push ups can also help for shoulder strengthening. Start with your hands on the floor, shoulder-width apart, and your feet together, behind you, on the ground. Keep your back straight so that you are in a hollow position. Bend both arms simultaneously until your chest is almost to the floor. Then, proceed to push up to starting position. (Hence Push Up)

3. Shoulder Square Shrugs -
Start sitting straight up on a chair. You are going to hit four spots with your shoulders during this exercise. First, raise shoulder straight up towards your ears. Then shift shoulders directly back. While keeping your shoulders back, drop your shoulders down. Lightly shift your shoulders back to the starting position, which should be a comfortable, relaxed position.

4. Wall Crawls -
Standing parallel to a wall, face the wall and stick one arm towards the wall. You should be just able to touch the wall with your fingertips. From there, steps your fingers up without moving your body closer to the wall. When you have reached as high as you can, take a step toward the wall and repeat with reaching higher until your feet are against the wall. Step back to starting position and distance.

I hope these help you!
Thanks for reading!
Check back soon,
Kendra <3