With Moves Like These...

Here's the short post that has nothing to do with baseball. :)

We had the player piano going today and I videotaped the kids dancing. My favorite part is seeing each of their different styles of dancing.
Hadyn (in the purple) - age 4 - has pretty good rhythm but likes to throw in some very unique dance moves
Asher (in the blue stripes) - age 3 - integrates jumping off the ledge or rolling on the ground into his dancing
Madigan (in the pink) - age 2 - is a complete spazz when it comes to dancing and likes to make faces to go along with her moves
Harrison (in the brown and blue) - age 1 - is rocking...literally, rocking IS his dancing


And in case anyone wonders, their styles don't change with slow songs at all. :)

Funny kids!

Day 3 - All Star Game and Everything Else

To those of you who aren't baseball fans, you'll be relieved to hear that this is the last post about our vacation. :) To everyone else, welcome to Tuesday of the All Star Weekend!

We checked out of our hotel on Tuesday and visited the "sponsor zone" that was set up outside of the ballpark. Here's a view of it from our parking deck.

All kinds of things went on in this area. There were activities for adults and kids of all ages and several spots set up for people to meet and get autographs of baseball stars. Speaking of which...

Yep, that's Ted with Prince Fielder. Pretty cool!

Madigan found her own fun while Daddy was off collecting autographs. This picture is for you, Uncle Matt.
We walked around so much that Ted lost a little weight.
Madigan, on the other hand, ate so many of the free sample tacos that she put on a little weight...and muscle?!I couldn't let them have all of the fun...Speaking of free tacos... (Nice expression, huh?)
After spending quite a while at the Sponsor Zone, we headed to the Red Carpet Parade. Yep, that's me and Madigan ON THE RED CARPET!!!
Having a picnic before the parade began...
About 30 minutes before the parade began, we had a super surprise. The mascots came walking down the carpet and tossing out free stuff. It was like baseball Mardi Gras!
Of course, Madigan's favorite mascot was the Ranger's Captain! He was excited to see our Ranger's shirts in the midst of all of the Cardinal jerseys, so he gave us a little extra attention!
Madigan also go a kick out of the Rockie's dinosaur because he would flip his head around in circles. Hilarious stuff, folks!After they left, Madigan was ready to go. Who needed to see baseball stars riding in trucks when you just got personally visit with the mascots?! But, we convinced her to stay.
We have about 150 pictures of the parade. I promise not to post them all. Just a few to give you an idea. Here's Ozzie Smith and Bruce Sutter...
Local fan favorite Albert Pujols
Cubs representative - Ted Lilly.
The Great Josh Hamilton and his wife...
Sorry, had to post this one for my mom. Here's your Jetes pic, Gee Gee. Personally, I think he's starting to look a little old...
And one more for my mom - Mark Teixeira. (Hey Dad, I think he's biting his own face - who does that remind you of?!!)
Mr. Cool - Ichiro Suzuki
By this point, I'd grown quite impatient and was eagerly looking for the truck carrying Michael Young and Nelson Cruz.
And finally, it arrived. I'm pretty sure the look on his face was saying "Oh hey look! There's Allison!". Or something like that... :)
Great parade! After hanging out for a while, it was time for the All Star Game!!! As you can see, we were up quite a bit higher this time!
But we were there!
Interestingly, one of the first things we saw were the snipers on top of all of the roofs of the ballpark. Snipers?! That's right. Obama was throwing out the first pitch, so security was heightened just a bit.
The pregame festivities were a lot of fun. Here are the Anheuser Busch Clydesdale horses (aka Beer Horses) parading around the field.
Then a group of soldiers unrolled what had to be the largest flag in the history of the U.S. It covered the entire outfield!
And yes, Mr. President did throw out the first pitch.
Waving to the crowd...
Again, we got to see our favorite players. This was the best pic we could get of Ted Lilly.Josh Hamilton in the outfield
Michael Young at 3rd
It was a great game and Madigan and I were quite proud of the American League team for pulling out a victory. That will help the Rangers have home field advantage when they're in the World Series this year. (Oh wait, do we have to make it to the playoffs first?!! Ha!)
When it was time to go, we opted to take the elevator. We held it open to let the... umm, snipers... get on also. Madigan, you'd better behave yourself!!
Final vote? Two thumbs up from the sleep-deprived child!
It was an awesome vacation and we are so grateful we got to enjoy a trip like this before our family expands a bit! Thanks to those of you who hung with us through all of the pictures and stories. I promise the next post will be short and have nothing to do with baseball!!

Day 2 - Fan Fest & The Home Run Derby

On Monday, we had tickets to Fan Fest. We weren't exactly sure what all would be there, but had been told it was a must-see. Turns out it's a mix between a museum, children's playworld, and interactive park for avid baseball fans. Super cool - I'll just let the pictures tell about it.

On the way there, we passed these arches. Ted posing with the Cubs logo...

Madi and I showing off the Rangers sign...
We also walked past where they were taping the Mike and Mike Show. That morning's guest - Bud Selig.

Once we finally made it to Fan Fest, we took in all of the sights. Much to Ted's chagrin, Madigan decided she really liked FredBird (the Cardinal's mascot).
They had a "Women in Baseball" exhibit. Here I am taking some fielding practice.
My future softball star. :)
(She did NOT want to have this picture taken, but finally gave in to my begging. This was the closest we could get to a smile.)Posing with Daddy in the coolest chair ever. Hey Ted, can we get one of these for the living room?!
Madigan took some batting practice...
And worked on her pitching arm...

She really liked testing out the race cars. Watch out!
With all of that fun, a girl finally has to take a break...
Here we are posing in the locker room with Ian Kinsler's jersey. I won't get on my soapbox about the injustices that led to him NOT being at the All Star game right now. We'll just suffice it to say he got robbed.
She posed like this with absolutely no prompting. What a ham!
This guy played us a song on his harmonica while juggling pins. It was quite impressive.
All in all, a really fun time. Here's a quick video of one small section of the convention center just so you can see what all was going on at once. Two thumbs up for Fan Fest.

After a swim at the hotel and a nap, we were ready to head to the Home Run Derby!!!
When we got in, both teams were taking batting practice. Down on the field, MLB was interviewing the two team's managers (Charlie Manuel and Joe Maddon).
We were in the 2nd section up this time, but on the front row. A great view of the derby!
Here's all three of us at our seats...
We cheered for Josh Hamilton - Home Run Derby star of 2008
And all of our "guys" (as Madigan calls them) - Michael Young, Josh Hamilton, and Nelson Cruz
(Note - we also cheered for the Cubs player, Ted Lilly. However, since he's a pitcher, he didn't take batting practice.)



These seats were also really cool because they was part of the "Red Bird Club". Up behind us was an air-conditioned area with concessions and lounges. After batting practice, we spent some time "chillin" in the club. :)
Here's a few pics from the Derby. The crowd went quite wild when Pujols was up to bat...
Here I am ready to catch one of his foul balls.
Pickett - I even got a video of your glove this time :)


Of course, WE were cheering for Nelson Cruz...
Go Rangers!
But, we do give credit where credit is due. Prince Fielder won fair and square - and what a swing!

It was a great day, an exciting derby, and another late night for a little girl!!

Stay tuned - the final day will coming soon!!!