Last round of qualifiers was picture perfect at the ConnecticutOpen

The last round of qualifying matches was picture perfect today at the Connecticut Open. Warm weather blanketed the courts as spectators enjoyed watching some exciting tennis matches. American Christina McHale advanced to the main round as she defeated Japan's Misaki Doi 6-4, 7-6(2).

“It’s the last American in qualifying but I’m just really happy with how I competed today and how I fought,” McHale said. “It was a really up and down match. At times Misaki was really playing well and I kind of just had to weather the storm and try and use my serve to mix it up and get myself back into the games."

“Even when I was down 3-0, I knew that just like she had done in the first set, I could do the same. The games were still really close. Sometimes there were just times Misaki was coming up with shots that were really good.”

Earlier in the day, former World No. 2 Vera Zvonareva won a match against Anastasia Rodionova in her first return to WTA Tour play since 2015. Saturday afternoon, attendees also watched a second match where Zvonareva played this year’s Wimbledon semi-finalist Magdalena Rybarikova. Rybarikova led the match 7-5 before Zvonareva retired with a left achilles injury.

During her time away from tennis (2015-2017), Zvonareva got married, earned a masters in Global Studies and Political Science from a joint program between Northeastern University and the Women's Tennis Benefits Association and became a mother in 2016.

The matches took place in the Sportsmaster Grandstand court as well as Courts 1, 2 and 3. The nice thing about the smaller courts is that you're up close to the action within 20 feet of the court. The bleacher seats are three rows high and provide a closer location to the court than ever before.

Tickets are still available for the first day of the main round. The best option for families is the Family Four-Pack of tickets which also gets you a $20 food voucher and a tournament poster.

Here are the rest of my photos from Day #2:

A rainy start to this year's Connecticut Open Tennis Tournament

It was a rainy start to the 2017 Connecticut Open tennis tournament in New Haven, Connecticut. The tournament draw was moved inside to the media center. Children from NewHYTES (New Haven’s Tennis and Education initiative) helped tournament director Anne Worcester, 3-time Connecticut Open champion Petra Kvitova and representatives from Porsche (the official vehicle sponsor) drew numbers to fill out the draw sheet. 

After 5 hours of rain delays, the qualifying matches for the tournament started and spectators enjoyed the return of womens professional tennis to the Elm City.

There’s a lot of fun activities for families to enjoy at this year’s Connecticut Open and they start on Sunday with ShopRite Kids Day! Sunday kicks off the first round of matches and the first 1,000 kids receive a goody bag!

On Monday, August 21, there is a free USPTA lesson during Session 2 from 1-4pm. Don't miss the 

Opening Night Ceremony during Session 3 (starts at 7 pm) which will have star players, local celebrities and entertainment.

Individual Stadium Box seat tickets for Sunday start at $27 and family 4-packs are $85.

Save money shopping online with Groupon Coupons

Did you know that you can save money when shopping online? I'm sure you might have your various websites you like to frequent but the latest one to offer coupons and deals to your favorite online shopping sites is Groupon!

Groupon offers coupon codes and deals right from their familiar groupon.com interface. I know I'm going to add it to my repertoire of sites to check before I go shopping on various sites online. I recently purchased something from amazon.com and even found a code to save $10 just for signing in to the amazon app with prime.

NOTE: We are part of USFamilyGuide.com Blogger Network. Compensation was provided in exchange for this post.

Summer colds... *sneeze*

One thing I've forgotten is when you have an infant and toddler you get re-exposed to many viruses. Since the beginning of the year, someone in our family has had some type of cold, ear infection, virus, etc and it's getting tiresome.

The more I think about it, the more content I am that it's just a cold/infection and isn't anything more serious. We are thankful that we are generally healthy and as the old saying goes... this too shall pass.

Have you experienced this when your kids were very little? I'm just surprised that no one really spoke about it or warned us. It would have just been nice to know!

Looking forward to times when everyone in the house is healthy!

I hope you are all having a nice summer, my readers...

Movie Night and Billy Joel Night at Fenway Coming Up!

Hey guys! There's two theme nights I'm excited to tell you about coming up at Fenway: Movie Night on 7/26 and Billy Joel Night on 8/1!

On Wednesday, July 26, Red Sox fans of all ages are invited into the ballpark to watch the iconic movie, A League of Their Own, on the videoboard in center field to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the film. Prior to the start of the movie, fans will have the chance to walk the warning track where they will have the opportunity to meet and greet with former All American Girls Professional Baseball players Maybelle Blair (All the Way Mae), Shirley Burkovich (Hustle), and actress Tracy Reiner, who played Betty Spaghetti in the film.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children and are available at redsox.com/movienight. The event is free for Red Sox Season Ticket Holders.

On Tuesday, August 1, the Red Sox celebrate Billy Joel and his unprecedented 4th consecutive sold out show at Fenway Park! Billy Joel Night, will include a pre-game concert on Yawkey Way by Heart Attack Ack Ack Ack Ack Ack, a Billy Joel cover band. Additionally, all tickets ordered through this link, http://www.redsox.com/billyjoelnight,  will receive a limited-edition Billy Joel bobblehead commemorating his performances at Fenway Park.

Father's Day BBQ, Catch with Dad at Pawsox and SoxShowcase Recap #hosted

Playing catch on the field!

This Father's Day we went to McCoy Stadium, home of the Pawtucket Red Sox for a barbecue, catch with Dad on the field and then to watch the afternoon game. We were treated to a double-header of baseball thanks to some rain the night before. That pushed up the start of the first game and made each of the games 7 innings (a special thing in Minor League Baseball).

We got to the stadium at 11 am and found it easy to park on the grounds. Parking is free and we recommend getting there early if you want a good spot!

The barbecue started early at 11:30 and we walked in and decided to go right to play catch on the field as that special option only went from 11:30-12 noon. I was lucky enough to take the whole family so my daughter had a chance to play catch with me, my dad and my father in law as well as other family members. It was something that we'll remember for a long time for sure! My mom even brought our 10 month old son on the field in a stroller so he could watch his big sister.

After playing catch, we went to the White BBQ Tent which was in foul ball territory. Since they had to start the games early at 12:30 to get both games in, we were eating the delicious BBQ food (hot dogs, hamburgers, pulled chicken - my fav!, drinks, dessert, etc.) while the game as going on. We were surprised, shocked and then relieved, when we were about to go back to our room, when all of a sudden, we hear "LOOK OUT" and then a thud, and when I looked down I noticed a dent in our son's stroller inches from his feet. Thankfully the foul ball didn't hit him, and the PawSox staff even helped retrieve the foul ball which will be a keepsake for sure!

Our daughter participated in one of the mid-inning breaks where she ran on the field and helped to brush off the bases, while dressed as one of the mascot's (polar bears) kids (or cubs)...

We then went up to our seats and watched the game from the stands. In between the two games we even participated in the Sox Showcase which was touring from Fenway which had batting cages, pitching, jenga, and a replica miniature green monster from Fenway. We had an absolute blast!

NOTE: We were provided with tickets for the BBQ, Catch with Dad and the baseball game. No other compensation was provided and as always, all opinions are our own.