Take Me Out to the Ball Game

On Saturday night we took Rudy to his first professional baseball game. It was a beautiful night. Our seats were very much in the sun, but it wasn't overly hot - just bright. We had a great view of the bridge beyond the field.

Rudy enjoyed watching the game in between eating and playing in the kids area.

The sun slowly went down.

A cute kid.

A more realistic look at that cute kid.

Rudy and the boy sitting behind us became fast friends and for the last 2 innings did everything possible to not sit in a seat and not watch the game. But at least they had fun.

After the game there were fireworks...

... and a chance for the kids to run the bases. Although it was VERY late and Rudy was VERY tired as we waited in line, he energetically ran the bases.

Overall, I think Rudy's first game was a success. Hopefully by the time he goes to another, he'll be a little bit more interested in the actual game!

Happy Birthday, U.S.A.

We started early this morning with our traditional Independence Day breakfast out before the parade. We go to Smithville for breakfast and then walk to find our spot along the parade route. A hungry boy waiting for pancakes.



We seemed to finish breakfast earlier than usual, so we walked around and encountered all sorts of wildlife. There are always roosters walking around the shops. We saw this turtle crossing the road, so we walked with him to protect him from cars for a while. He just kept zigzagging back and forth across the road.

Then as we followed the turtle, we met this family of geese walking toward the pond.

At this point a maintenance worker came by and saw the turtle and said he would take him back to the pond. So we continued on.
As we got our chairs and headed to the parade route, Rudy stopped to work and sing "I've been working on the railroad."

As we picked a spot to put down our chairs, Rudy spotted these babies through the trees. I think they are hens/roosters since they were with a few roosters.

Our last wildlife encounter before the parade was this dragonfly that landed on Paul's leg and stayed there for about 5 minutes.

Rudy posed us for a picture -and it actually turned out really well!

Sitting in the shade with some grapes waiting for the parade to start.

Finally the parade started with the town crier. This parade is one of the largest in the state - the line up had over 100 entries.

Watching the parade.

Trying to do tricks with the yo-yo that was given out (a nice break from the constant candy).

There were some long breaks during the parade, so Rudy amused himself by taking a picture of his 'friend' Rudolph.

About halfway through the parade, Rudy was hot and tired and ready to leave, but we knew it would b impossible to get our car and leave, so he had to stick it out. Here he rested (AKA pouted, whined, complained) on the grass.

Some members of our church rode on this firetruck.

And a group of pirates walking by got Rudy's attention again.

And the fire engines ended the parade with their sirens going. He isn't as upset as he looks here. He was plugging his ears but also making a screeching sound similar to the sirens.

A friend, Anthony, on the fire engine.

Rudy's self-portrait.

After the parade, our plan was to go home, have lunch and then head to the beach late afternoon.

We were all hot and tired from the parade. Rudy chilled out with his Leapster and hanging out with Lou, while Paul and I did a few things around the house.

We eventually decided we didn't feel like going to the beach, so we just relaxed at home. Then Paul, Batman and I took a walk to get some ice cream.

It had been a few years since we went to watch fireworks, so we gave Rudy the option and he wanted to go this year. Of course they didn't start until after 9pm, so we left our house just before 9 to walk down to the water to watch them.

Here Rudy AKA Harry Potter walks with his wand.

Waiting for the fireworks to begin.

I attempted to take some pictures, but we were just too far away to get any good shots. Rudy lasted about 10 minutes and then started asking to go home. We stayed about 10 more minutes and headed home as the first set ended. We might skip the fireworks next year.

It was a long, great day, spent all together as a family.