Take Me Out To The Ball Game

Last Thursday we went to the Mariner’s game.

Every year my company gets luxury box tickets for a game from one of the companies we do a lot of business with.  I have never gone because there are never enough tickets for me to take the girls with me.  It wouldn’t be much fun without them, plus where am I going to get a babysitter on a Thursday night?  Due to peoples’ schedules and fortunate timing I was able to snag three tickets to watch the Mariners vs. the Angels.

And yes, I have been informed that the Mariners lost over 100 games this year.  I don’t go to a baseball game to watch baseball.

The seats and the box were wonderful – only three suites off from the “Presidential Suite” which is directly behind home plate.

I’ve been to a few games at Safeco Field but my first professional baseball game was at the old King Dome.  It was dusty and old and I loved it.  I sat between the girls’ Dad, the biggest Yankee fan ever, and a guy that was bedecked as much Mariner’s gear as was humanly possible.  I was pregnant with Maya and I feared for my unborn child….and I loved it.

This was a different experience.  It was cushy and fancy.  There was free food and drinks.  We had a suite server who was “here to make your experience as wonderful as possible.”  She made me nervous.  Every inning the girls were brought gifts.  A penant.  Baseball cards.  A poster.  A cap.  A bobble head doll of some player I don’t know.

It was ridiculous.  They had so much fun.

They even got a visit from the Mariner Moose.

The excesses of the night can be summed up with the following picture of my coworker’s daughter Jing and her hot dog….

“Buy me some peanuts and cracker jack,
I don’t care if I never get back…”

It’s Not Fair Parking, It’s Great Parking

The Puyallup Fair  (Check out the video at the linked page.  So funny.) is in full swing.  I live about 6 blocks from this monstrosity of carnival rides and cows that lasts 2 weeks and 3 full weekends each September.  People come from all around the Puget Sound area and beyond to attend.

And there are definitely not enough parking spaces.

Enterprising property owners around town willfully turn their well-manicured lawns into temporary parking lots costing anywhere from $3 – $20 a spot.  I’m in the $5 a spot distance from the fair with about 10 available slots (if parked skillfully).

I can fill up my lawn, on a good day, in about 10-30 minutes of waving signs and attention getting pom-poms.  Well, actually, we couldn’t find the pom-poms this year, so I had the girls tie tons of pink and silver curling ribbon onto our badminton rackets and we had attention-getting waver things in no time!

This is what the parking situation looked like at 1 pm on Sunday…

It is quite the interesting study in human behavior.  It can be predicted, from the moment you see the car driving towards you from 3 blocks away, whether or not they will be parkers.  Driving slow is a sure sign.  When they get closer you know you have a good prospect if you see a couple or a family in the car.  Old people pay the big bucks to park closer and you might as well not even wave at them.  Some people are very grumpy and stomp down the street toward the fair grumbling about traffic.  Others are so happy and even will stay and talk with us awhile.

I was a bit horrified at how many large SUV’s and trucks there were this year.  Instead of charging $5 per vehicle, next weekend I have decided on a sliding scale dependant on car size.

Hybrid (any kind)  – $3

Normal car            – $5

SUV or large truck – $8

Hummer                -$700

Just think – I park one Hummer and I’ve got a ton of bills paid!  I hate Hummers so badly that I might not even park one at that price.  I guess I’ll see what the City of Puyallup decides to charge me for water this month….then I’ll decide if it’s worth it.  The girls and I have taken to verbally booing Hummers that we see.  It is fun.

The best part of Sunday was watching the couple in the picture below come back from the fair.  I was out in the front yard, looked down the street and could only see a giant pink ape bouncing along on top of my neighbor’s fence.  After the ape cleared the end of the fence, I could see that it was actually riding on the shoulders of this guy…

You really must click on the picture to see it in a bigger format.

See?  How funny is that?  Sophie is the kid standing to the left of the pink ape (notice the be-ribboned badminton racket and pink pimp hat).  This poor guy was driving a 2-door Infiniti that did not have the biggest trunk.  The girls had to sit and jump on the ape for a number of minutes just to get it squished enough so the man and his happy girlfriend could drive away in safety.

I love the fair.  I need a corndog.

Green Thumb at the Green House

Yep.  Feeling a bit smug.

Back to School

Oh, the little darlings. 

I hate today.  Blech. 

Maya is in sixth grade, which is the highest grade in her elementary school.  She is feeling quite cool and old.  I remember sixth grade so vividly.  It was the first year in junior high for me.  We were the low life’s of the school that year.  It was the first year that I had to travel between classes.  It was completely intimidating.  It was also the first year I was stricken with the ever-lasting crush on Chris Champine.  He was in eighth grade (an older man…sigh), and his dad owned the local feed store.  My best friend conveniently decided to crush on his best friend Todd.  It was a year of giggling and notes and distraction.

Sophie’s fourth grade year hopefully will be less distracting.  She is, however, sitting next to a boy named Ivan who she sat next to last year.  He makes her grin a little too much.  But I think we still have some time before the full bloom of ridiculous school-girl crush hits.  It seems that her girl friends are more important to her at this time.  That and what color her backpack is and whether her pink Converse have clean shoelaces.