Team Schuurman: Highlight of our Trip

     It's very rare that Mark and I go out of town and NOT visit family. Our "vacations" usually consist of going to Mt. Airy, Dugspur, or Canada. Well, because my husband is so amazing at his job, they asked him to be on this council and we got an all-expenses paid trip to one of my favorite Southern cities, ATLANTA! Yes, I know I told you all this in the last blog, but I'm just recapping for those who have short term memory loss. :)
     Thursday, was our last day in Atlanta, so while Marcus was taking his morning nap, I packed everything and called a bellhop. He took it all down to valet (yes, we had valet, too! I had to pinch myself!) and I loaded Marcus into his stroller (conveniently borrowed from the hotel. What hotel has a stroller to pass out? The Westin!!!). Ok, sorry for the side notes. After everything was loaded, Marcus and I went back to Turner Field. He, of course, was wearing his new Braves cap and t-shirt. We made it JUST BARELY for the 12:00 tour. We raced in the door and handed Andy, our tour guide, our ticket. It turns out, I really shouldn't have rushed that much because Marcus and I were the ONLY ONES on the tour! How great is that? We had our own, personalized tour of my favorite ballpark in America. Andy gave us great history of the team and stadium, a few things I already knew, but LOTS I didn't! He took us up all the way to the top of the ballpark and then down, level by level. Marcus and I went into a luxury suite, the broadcast booths, press box, BRAVES CLUBHOUSE, umpires tunnel, and then we got to go ONTO THE FIELD AND INTO THE DUGOUT!!! I write in caps because I want you to feel my excitement. Marcus will have no memory of this other than the pictures I took (and I took tons), but it was SO AMAZING. I'm telling ya, it was worth a ton more than the mere $12 I paid for it. It took 60 minutes and that was one of the fastest hours of my life. Our tour concluded in the Braves Hall of Fame Museum and that, too, was VERY COOL. Especially for a Braves fanatic like myself.
     People all throughout tour were telling Marcus how cute he was and how impressed they were with his behavior. He was great, as usual. Hello? He's his father's son, and we all know how wonderful he is. When the tour was over, we met Mark back at the hotel when his meetings were over. We went up to the SunDial again so Mark could see the 360 degree view of Atlanta before we packed it up and headed out. We ended our Atlanta trip with a visit to the Varsity. Last April, when Mark and I went to the season opener for the Braves, after the game, we went there to eat. It was so full and being prego I was DYING for food, FAST, we left and went elsewhere. This time, we walked right up to the counter, ordered, and enjoyed our food as we watched the Braves in Spring Training on a wide screen TV. Could this trip have ended any better???
     I'm so thankful that I am a stay-at-home mother, because otherwise, Mark would've gone to Atlanta on his own and Marcus and I wouldn't have known WHAT we missed out on. It may seem silly, but I even enjoyed the drive there and back, just talking with Mark while Marcus slept in the back (most of the time).