The Start of Summer

Last night we kicked off summer with a fun night at Smith's Ballpark.

We took Trax to the game. This is another fun part of the night for Skylee and Anna. They love riding the train. Anna warmed up her singing voice by belting "Take Me Out to the Ballgame". She was psyched for the game. 

We got to the ballpark and set up our blankets in the outfield. Skylee and I spent the first couple of innings talking about the rules of baseball. We defined what an out is and I taught her about the strike zone. Later we would go over stolen bases and errors as well. Throughout the night Skylee would read the scoreboard. Unfortunately for the Bees that was never in their favor tonight. They lost to Round Rock 9-3. There were some exciting moments in the game, with a couple of home runs landing near us in the outfield. 

Between one of the early innings they showed a promotion on the video board. We weren't sure what it was, but it was near the playground area and Skylee wanted to check it out. I took her and Anna over there. It turned out they were doing a Lego promotion and giving out free Legos you could use to build a dragon. Both of these girls love Legos so we got into line. While we were waiting Anna was jumping up and down yelling, "I LOVE LEGOS." Skylee thought maybe she was being too loud, but I assured her this was a fun zone, and they could be as loud as they wanted. They got their Legos and built their dragons. Then when we took a picture by with their finished products they got another bag of Legos to take home. It was a banner night for the kiddos. 

Anna Holly is so psyched until she a stranger is taking our picture - then she is so shy. 

When we got back to the blankets, Blake and Debbie had arrived. We sat and watched the game for a bit, until Anna came over and gave me the cutest look, and asked me if I would take her to get a giant pretzel. How could I say no? On our way to get the pretzel, we found Bumble, the Bee's mascot. Of course, Anna wanted to give him a high five and say hi. Then we got a pretzel and a giant bucket of popcorn. We were on our way back when the produce race started. We found a spot to stand and watch it before returning to the group. Anna is a big fan of the produce race. She thought the grapes were going to win, but the carrot won out. 

After we had eaten the pretzel and the popcorn and some ice cream Blake and Debbie bought, Anna decided it was time to visit the playground. She put on her biggest puppy dog eyes and asked me to take her. Once again how could I say no? We didn't last too long at the playground. There was a big problem with some of the other kids. At the playground there is a little merry go round. A bunch of kids are always piled on and a few are pushing it around. Well one kid must have had too much spinning because I just hear a bunch of kids yelling that someone puked. I look over at the merry go round and there is a poor kid laying prone in the middle of it with his head a few inches from the puke and a disgusted look on his face. Kids are bailing right and left and a couple of them stagger off and they begin puking. It was like that scene in the Goonies where Chunk is confessing to the Fratelli's. I was out - I grabbed Anna and we left the playground. 

Back at the blankets we were in the late innings. The kids, particularly Anna, were ready for the game to be over. They started wrestling and yelling, "dog pile!" before jumping on someone on the blankets. They were having a great time. The 7th inning stretch was Anna's time to shine. She was so excited to sing the baseball song. We all stood up and she belted, "Take Me Out to the Ballgame". That may have been the highlight of the game for her. 

After the game we had not one, but two fun activities. First, we had after game fireworks. It was an impressive firework show. Periodically throughout the show Anna would yell, "I love fireworks!". Same kiddo. 

Tonight was also kids run the bases night. So after the fireworks we got in line and the kids ran the bases. Kristin and I ran with them so we could take some pictures. They loved it. Tonight was a pretty perfect day at the ballpark. I am excited for lots more summer fun this year.