The Best Workout I've Ever Had!

I'm not a huge baseball fan...but there's something 'right' about baseball. I don't want to get too sappy and sentimentel, a la Field of Dreams, but baseball is part of Americana - just like Norman Rockwell paintings and R.E.M. (okay, maybe R.E.M. isn't part of Americana...but they're part of Chriscana!).


So I got tickets to the Frisco Roughriders game through work the other day. The older two boys had been to a game, but Jacob had yet to attend a professional baseball game. So we loaded the entire family up in the minivan and made our way to Dr. Pepper Ballpark in Frisco for a little Double-A minor league baseball.


When we got to the park we found that our seats were two rows behind the home team dugout...so Jacob's first ballgame was going to provide close-up look at America's favorite pastime (this is awesome...except for the fact that you are 30 rows away from the concourse!). Hank Blalock, Rangers firstbaseman, is recovering from an injury and is playing for the Roughriders as part of his rehabilitation assignment, so he was in the starting lineup. What a bonus! And the starting pitcher was a hot Ranger prospect as well. So we were destined for a truly marvelous experience.


I'd love to give you details on how the game went. Regrettably, all I can tell you is that the Roughriders won 2-0, and that all of my children get embarrassed when their father stands up to do the "Chicken Dance."

Here's a breakdown of my evening:
Top of the 1st - Spent majority of this inning explaining to Elijah and Noah why we stand up and remove our hats during the National Anthem
Bottom of the 1st - Took Elijah to get more food at the buffet (our tickets included all you can eat ballpark fare - SWEET!)
Top of the 2nd - Navigated my children from the seats they had occupied that actually belong to a very TALL family.
Bottom of the 2nd - Missed it because Elijah and Jacob were BOTH in my lap since they couldn't see over the family in front of us.
Top of the 3rd - Bathroom break
Bottom of the 3rd - Buffet line for more hotdogs (because Jacob dropped his).
Top of the 4th - Yes, Jacob dropped ANOTHER hot dog!
Bottom of the 4th - Spent most of this inning explaining to Noah that I would get him some ice cream after the 6th inning. In the meantime, Robin took Elijah and Jacob to get free baseball cards courtesy of some local dentist.
Top of the 5th - Spent most of this inning explaining to Noah that it was not yet the 6th inning. Robin returns with toothbrushes - evidently you had to schedule an appointment with the dentist before he would give you baseball cards!
Bottom of the 5th - See "Top of the 5th"
Top of the 6th - Comforted a crying Noah while explaining that we would get ice cream AFTER the 6th inning - not DURING.
Bottom of the 6th - Lost my battle with Noah; went to get Dippin' Dots (the so-called ice cream of the future) with Elijah and Noah.
Top of the 7th - Took Jacob to get Dippin' Dots
Bottom of the 7th - Begged my children to sit down beside us while promising to never embarrass them again by doing the Chicken Dance during the 7th inning stretch.
Top of the 8th - Temporarily lost my sight after trying a spoonful of Rainbow-flavored Dippin Dots. I thus determined that if you're a bad person...when you die, you go to Hell...AND you are fed Dippin' Dots 24-7.
Bottom of the 8th - Spent most of that inning wearing my glove on my head to entertain my restless, fidgety 2-year old.
Top of the 9th - Actually got to watch this inning.

Roughriders win 2-0!

Now...I've run two marathons...but I was more tired leaving that ballgame than I was after making a 26-mile trek around the city of Dallas!!!!!!!! And the picture is a clear indication of which way Jacob was looking most of the night...