Saturday Night Baseball

Saturday night we took Oliver to a Rockies game.  Since Kellan is a little tyke, we left him at home with a baby sitter so that the three of us could whoop it up as long as we could stand it.

As usual, Oliver was all business heading to the game.  We had told Oliver a week prior that we were going to the game and it was all he could talk about.  He couldn't wait!

As we entered Coors Field at 5:30 for a 6:00 game it was a beautiful day.

As you can tell, Oliver is thrilled to take photos before entering the stadium.

He really IS excited, just not to take photos.  He is ready to get a move on into the game.

Our first order of business once we got into the stadium was to get dinner.  The game started at 6:00, dinner time and we knew we wanted to meet the Metzger's for a Dinger greeting during the 2nd inning.

While we were waiting in line for our hotdogs Oliver turned to me with a big smile and said "Mommy, take my picture now!"

A sign of the times.

Getting settled in with dinner in hand.

Then... we had a rain delay of AN HOUR!!!

Oliver was in charge of the umbrella and couldn't take his eyes off of the field.

"Hey Dad, what ya doing up there?"

The sign reads:

Tonight's game is being delayed due to lightning and possible heavy rain in the area.  We will make every effort to start the game as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, we had peanuts.

Then, the rain came in.  Fortunately, it was a mild rain shower compared to what we have been having in the evenings.

(Wanda - thanks for the umbrella.  It is the Coors Light one you left in your office when you retired.  It's getting plenty of use this year.)

The Rockies were playing the Miluwaukee Brewers, which brings out our Wisconsin friends.

Jen, Craig and Parker joined us for the game.

Hey  look, Parker has a pizza-stache.

At 7:00 the game started up and shortly after that the beautiful blue skies returned.

Everyone was having a great time!

Daddy and Oliver watching a pop fly.

Keith took this picture of Carrie and Jen just as he and Craig were taking the boys up to the playground. As Keith walked away he mentioned that we could sit and relax like the days before kids (and husbands).

Oliver and Parker scoping out the playground.

Parker and Oliver at the bottom of the slide.

Another round on the slide.

How to dismount a slide, Parker style.

Oliver heading down the slide, again and again and again.

You'll never guess who we saw next and who belonged to these shoes.  A hint, they also have Wisconsin roots.

The Metzger Boys!!!

Charlie, Oliver, Michael and Craig.  Hey... how did Craig get in with that crazy bunch?

(Shout out to cousin Rio.  Thanks for the Red Crocs!  Oliver LOVES them!)

The boys having fun while they wait to meet Dinger.

Hey wait... who's the crazy new guy in the middle?

This is what Charlie and Oliver often look like when they are together.  A blur of fun and excitement!

When entertaining a couple of 3-4 year olds, a dance party is always a good idea, even when there is no music.

Almost our turn.

FINALLY!  Oliver and Charlie with Dinger.

I LOVE that Keith is taking more photos.  Next time we'll work on getting the mascot in the photo of the kids WITH the mascot.

Michael, Dinger, Charlie and Oliver

After the photo the boys got some autographs.  Dinger signed Oliver's Rockies hat.  He even got a few extra high fives for the awesome CSU shirt.  We never knew Dinger was a CSU fan.  Go Rams!

The boys with their autographed loot.

Then like a flash of lighting, they were off!

Charlie and Oliver were dodging through the crowd.  Thankfully they had bright crocs on so we could keep our eyes on them.

The Metzger's headed back to their seats and we met back up with the Stack's.  Parker was getting antsy waiting around for Dinger so they went to hit some t-balls.  We treated Oliver to a watermelon shaved ice and he shared a little with Parker.

Then the ice started to fly.

It's all fun and games until someone gets ice in the eye.

Since Parker is the ripe 'ol age of 2 and he turns into a pumpkin a big earlier than the much older 3 year olds, the Stack's headed home.  We headed back to our seats to watch the best innings of the game, the 6th and 7th.

There was some debate on what was going on and the players took a few moments to themselves, so Oliver danced around to the music.  We could tell he was getting tired when he started plugging his ears.

What will happen next?

The game went back and forth in the sixth inning and we pulled ahead by a run at the bottom of the 7th.  It was 9:30 and we were all beat so we headed home.  When we walked in the door at home our baby sitter had been watching the game and she said the Brewer's had just won by a run.  Major Bummer!  It was a GREAT game all of the way around, the game, the friends and the fun.

Through the game and the next day Oliver asked if Kellan could come next time.  We explained how this was a special treat for Oliver and if Kellan was there we would have had to leave much earlier.  He understood but he said he thought Kellan