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!!
3 comments:
Can I just say, you do not look pregnant at all in any of these pictures. Are you showing at all or did you just have some sneaky photo tricks up your sleeve? Sounds like a dream vacation for your family. I can only think it would be better if Yoda played on the celebrity softball team.
Ok so Ted Lilly has a normal sized head but dudes face is tiny!
Aww Kelly, thank you so much! Yes, I'm definitely showing, but that's the beauty of a vacation where my entire wardrobe consisted of baggy T-shirts and shorts/wind pants! Now if we'd gone to a beach, that would be a different story that no one would want to see. :) Plus, I got to pick which pictures ended up on the blog! That's the sneaky photo trick!
And Ted loved the Yoda idea...
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