So far this summer, we've taken the boys to two Asheville Tourists games. To my delight and surprise, they have completely LOVED both trips - one to see the Hickory Crawdads with Jeremy's Rotary Club (
July 13th) and one to see the Rome Braves in celebration of "Greenville Pop's" 66th birthday (
birthday July 28th; ballgame July 29th).
They don't pay super close attention to what's happening on the field, but the fact that the Coke flows pretty freely on these occasions is all the convincing they need.
Add to that visits with Ted E. Tourist and Mr. Moon (
which I view as GREAT practice for Disney World), and it's pretty much the most fun a person can have at an event where he's expected to stay in - or at least around - his seat.
Here are a few of my favorite moments from our two trips:
1) On our first visit, Jones made this crazy, crazy face. I said, "What is THAT face?" He immediately retorted, "It's my Halloween costume." Good choice, Buddy. It's TERRIFYING!
2) Freddie has become quite the excited photographer - in fact, if you look at the picture with Mr. Moon at the top of this post, you'll see him holding one of my very old point-and-shoots that I unearthed and lent to him.
Anyway, he wanted to take a picture of Jeremy and me before we went into the Braves game. I put him up on some stacked railroad ties (
never too early to learn that it's ALL about the angles - especially when photographing your mama) to get his shot. Jones climbed up there beside him, and as Freddie took the picture, Jones dangled a monster truck over his head, saying, "Look at the truck! Look at the truck!"
They MAY have seen someone else use this tactic in the past.
The result was a reasonably cute picture of me and Jeremy and a mind-blowingly adorable shot of the boys trying to capture their Daddy and Mama.
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Freddie also took THIS picture, which I LOVE, though
it's totally off-center, and Jeremy looks a little bit
like a hunchback (which he's not, by the way). |
3) When we went with Mom and Daddy, we were all standing up for the National Anthem. Both boys had one hand over their hearts and the other was holding their ballcaps by their side. And then Freddie looked at Daddy, who had his cap over his heart. Instantly, Freddie lifted his ball cap to cover his heart just like the cap that covered Pop's heart.
Freddie is BIG into being "just like ..." Daddy, Jones, Pop, anybody bigger than him.
4) Two words: Frozen Lemonade - or, as Jones calls it, "yemonyade." I went out to take Freddie to the bathroom and came back with frozen lemonades for Daddy and Jeremy and a sundae in a plastic helmet for the boys to share. Both were WAY more into the Frozen Lemonade. Daddy split his down the middle with Jones, and Jeremy eventually just gave up and handed his entire cup over to Freddie.
I, on the other, hand, polished off the helmet sundae.
Diet starts (
again) Monday, right?
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I honestly don't think I'd enjoy these games NEARLY as much
if McCormick Field were a Pepsi property. |
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Jeremy explaining the designated hitter -
to our four year old. |
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| Share a Coke! |
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Looking at Mr. Moon; LOVE how he's
dangling that camera. |
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Mr. Moon saw Freddie's UK hat and
swapped it with Jones's North Carolina
hat, which the boys thought was
HILARIOUS. |
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In case you haven't noticed, Freddie
and Jeremy are making the
EXACT SAME FACE. |
Mom and Daddy called last nite and asked if we wanted to meet them in Hendersonville for lunch today. If you've known me for any length of time at all, you know I make a habit of never, EVER turning down a lunch invitation. We'd planned to connect at Moe's BBQ on Main Street after church. Jones threw a skinny wrinkle in that plan when he woke up overnite with vomiting and diarrhea (can't take them to Sunday school if they've had either within 24 hours). That meant we weren't going to church, but since he was filling fit as a fiddle when he woke up this morning, we decided to meet Mom and Daddy, anyway.
The boys and I barely beat Mom and Daddy to Hendersonville, but we got there to find that Moe's, typically open on Sundays, was closed on this particular Sunday. We ended up instead at the Market Deli, and all of us agreed, the exchange was a great one. My tuna salad was TO DIE FOR. In fact, I'd give my left arm for a third scoop before bed. And those pickles? Good golly, Miss Molly.
