{"id":11435,"date":"2011-07-20T15:18:55","date_gmt":"2011-07-20T22:18:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/momservations.wordpress.com\/?p=11435"},"modified":"2011-07-20T15:18:55","modified_gmt":"2011-07-20T22:18:55","slug":"take-me-out-to-the-ballgame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/index.php\/2011\/07\/20\/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame\/","title":{"rendered":"Take Me Out to the Ballgame"},"content":{"rendered":"

Momservation: <\/strong>A Sno Cone is to a kid at the ballpark what a beer is to an adult.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u263a\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u263a\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u263a<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Mom & Whitney at the River Cats game. One of the dozens of times we left our seats thanks to our very patient seat neighbors<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As part of our annual Wheeler summer of Death by Recreation we hit a Sacramento River Cats <\/a>game thanks to the nice people at Smile Generation<\/a>. Cause you know, we had a four hour block free with nothing to do.<\/p>\n

We picked a game against the Fresno Grizzlies <\/a>because it\u2019s the San Francisco Giants <\/a>farm team. My son, Logan, 11, uber-Giants fan, was beyond excited to a)<\/strong> try to catch a fly ball b)<\/strong> try and get Brandon Belt\u2019s <\/a>autograph again (he got the former big leaguer\u2019s autograph at a Giant\u2019s game this year) c)<\/strong> get a Sno Cone the size of New Hampshire.<\/p>\n

My daughter, Whitney, 10, just wanted to get a picture of Dinger (the River Cats\u2019 mascot<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The seats Smile Generation <\/a>gave us were great \u2013 right behind home plate but far enough back for a pop up foul ball. We squeezed past two nice ladies, who would have our butts in their faces at least a dozen more times for bathroom breaks, snack breaks, souvenir breaks, a lost iTouch<\/a> search, and more bathroom breaks. They left before the game was over I think just to get away from our butts.<\/p>\n

Almost immediately the kids vacated their seats to take care of b <\/strong>and got Brandon Belt\u2019s autograph. He was really great, the big star in the minor leagues, signing almost right up until the start of the game. Once he did stop autographing for a moment a lady yelled, \u201cHey Brandon, c\u2019mon!\u201d They\u2019re just kids!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Logan and Whitney getting Brandon Belt's autograph (Fresno Grizzlie\/SF Giant called back up to the "bigs" on 7\/19)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As everyone stood toward the flag with their hats off a security guard whispered to her far too nicely, \u201cIt\u2019s the National Anthem, ma\u2019am.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ducking her Sharpie behind her back she stammered, \u201cOh. Yeah. Right. Sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next, we loaded up of the requisite ball park food and drink: hot dog, popcorn, giant soda, and beer.<\/p>\n

Then Dinger came along and we had to balance all our food and drinks plus Whitney\u2019s so she could get her picture with her iTouch<\/a>. Which she promptly lost, but didn\u2019t realize until we left our seats, which sent us all racing back for a frenzied search. Luckily it was located, but once again reinforced Mom\u2019s point that just cause you can afford to buy an iTouch with your own money doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re responsible enough to have one.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Dinger, the River Cats mascot. Whitney's mission is complete<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Soon fly balls were coming at us from the field and thrown back from the stadium roof. Scratch a <\/strong>off the list.<\/p>\n

Before long it was time to take care of c <\/strong>and I was put on fly ball duty so the kids could stab and slurp on the their mountainous Sno Cones. Logan asked, \u201cMom, what is Sno Cone juice?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLiquid sugar,\u201d I told him.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo wonder it takes so good,\u201d he feverishly slurped before I could change my mind and take it away.<\/p>\n

We couldn\u2019t leave without a River Cats <\/a>souvenir so before the game was over we indulged the kids with a gift card Smile Generation <\/a>gave us. When my son chose a River Cats <\/a>batter\u2019s helmet his sister asked him, \u201cWhy do you need a batter\u2019s helmet from every game you go to?\u201d<\/p>\n

Logan looked at her like she was insane and replied, \u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t I?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The kids with their souvenirs - River Cats batting helmet and monkey, and MLB vintage trading cards (Rollie Fingers! The Big Unit!)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Whitney chose an orange monkey \u2013 her favorite color and favorite animal \u2013 in a River Cats <\/a>jersey. Logan asked, \u201cWhy do you need another monkey?\u201d<\/p>\n

And Whitney threw right back at him, \u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t I?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Raley Field fireworks every Saturday night River Cats home game<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We returned to our seats because, oh yeah, there was a baseball game going on, and also for the post-game fireworks show \u2013 which was a pretty impressive display for every Saturday night home game.<\/p>\n

It was a great night at the River Cats <\/a>game (thanks Smile Generation<\/a>!), we dragged ourselves home drunk on a family fun high, and fell into bed.<\/p>\n

But not before setting our alarms for 6 a.m. to leave on the next leg of the Death by Recreation tour \u2013 next stop: ShaverLake<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Sacramento River Cats game is the next stop on a Death by Recreation summer tour.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,165],"tags":[488,489,490,491,492,42,493],"class_list":["post-11435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-parenting-2","category-parenting-humor-2","tag-brandon-belt","tag-fresno-grizzlies","tag-itouch","tag-sacramento-river-cats","tag-san-francisco-giants","tag-shaver-lake","tag-smile-generation"],"yoast_head":"\nTake Me Out to the Ballgame - Kelli M. Wheeler<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/momservations.com\/index.php\/2011\/07\/20\/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Take Me Out to the Ballgame - Kelli M. Wheeler\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Sacramento River Cats game is the next stop on a Death by Recreation summer tour.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/momservations.com\/index.php\/2011\/07\/20\/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Kelli M. Wheeler\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-07-20T22:18:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/momservations.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/07\/river-cats-whit-mom.jpg?w=258\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kelli M Wheeler\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kelli M Wheeler\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/momservations.com\\\/index.php\\\/2011\\\/07\\\/20\\\/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/momservations.com\\\/index.php\\\/2011\\\/07\\\/20\\\/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kelli M Wheeler\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/momservations.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ef0acae18761d7be1529ccf2d4d99f43\"},\"headline\":\"Take Me Out to the Ballgame\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-07-20T22:18:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/momservations.com\\\/index.php\\\/2011\\\/07\\\/20\\\/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":820,\"commentCount\":6,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/momservations.com\\\/index.php\\\/2011\\\/07\\\/20\\\/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/momservations.files.wordpress.com\\\/2011\\\/07\\\/river-cats-whit-mom.jpg?w=258\",\"keywords\":[\"Brandon Belt\",\"Fresno Grizzlies\",\"iTouch\",\"Sacramento River Cats\",\"San Francisco Giants\",\"Shaver Lake\",\"Smile Generation\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Parenting\",\"Parenting humor\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/momservations.com\\\/index.php\\\/2011\\\/07\\\/20\\\/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/momservations.com\\\/index.php\\\/2011\\\/07\\\/20\\\/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/momservations.com\\\/index.php\\\/2011\\\/07\\\/20\\\/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame\\\/\",\"name\":\"Take Me Out to the Ballgame - Kelli M. Wheeler\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/momservations.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/momservations.com\\\/index.php\\\/2011\\\/07\\\/20\\\/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/momservations.com\\\/index.php\\\/2011\\\/07\\\/20\\\/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/momservations.files.wordpress.com\\\/2011\\\/07\\\/river-cats-whit-mom.jpg?w=258\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-07-20T22:18:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/momservations.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ef0acae18761d7be1529ccf2d4d99f43\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/momservations.com\\\/index.php\\\/2011\\\/07\\\/20\\\/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/momservations.com\\\/index.php\\\/2011\\\/07\\\/20\\\/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/momservations.com\\\/index.php\\\/2011\\\/07\\\/20\\\/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/momservations.files.wordpress.com\\\/2011\\\/07\\\/river-cats-whit-mom.jpg?w=258\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/momservations.files.wordpress.com\\\/2011\\\/07\\\/river-cats-whit-mom.jpg?w=258\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/momservations.com\\\/index.php\\\/2011\\\/07\\\/20\\\/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/momservations.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Take Me Out to the Ballgame\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/momservations.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/momservations.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Kelli M. Wheeler\",\"description\":\"AUTHOR -WRITING INSTRUCTOR \u2013 PUBLISHER \u2013 FREELANCE WRITER\\\/EDITOR \u2013 FAMILY COLUMNIST\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/momservations.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/momservations.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ef0acae18761d7be1529ccf2d4d99f43\",\"name\":\"Kelli M Wheeler\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/42b6e06276ebbd2f83335769170e77f3324477912fe404bfeb83eb04e4e4776c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/42b6e06276ebbd2f83335769170e77f3324477912fe404bfeb83eb04e4e4776c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/42b6e06276ebbd2f83335769170e77f3324477912fe404bfeb83eb04e4e4776c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kelli M Wheeler\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/momservations.com\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/kellimwheeler\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Take Me Out to the Ballgame - Kelli M. Wheeler","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/index.php\/2011\/07\/20\/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Take Me Out to the Ballgame - Kelli M. Wheeler","og_description":"A Sacramento River Cats game is the next stop on a Death by Recreation summer tour.","og_url":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/index.php\/2011\/07\/20\/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame\/","og_site_name":"Kelli M. Wheeler","article_published_time":"2011-07-20T22:18:55+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/momservations.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/07\/river-cats-whit-mom.jpg?w=258","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Kelli M Wheeler","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kelli M Wheeler","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/index.php\/2011\/07\/20\/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/index.php\/2011\/07\/20\/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame\/"},"author":{"name":"Kelli M Wheeler","@id":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ef0acae18761d7be1529ccf2d4d99f43"},"headline":"Take Me Out to the Ballgame","datePublished":"2011-07-20T22:18:55+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/index.php\/2011\/07\/20\/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame\/"},"wordCount":820,"commentCount":6,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/index.php\/2011\/07\/20\/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/momservations.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/07\/river-cats-whit-mom.jpg?w=258","keywords":["Brandon Belt","Fresno Grizzlies","iTouch","Sacramento River Cats","San Francisco Giants","Shaver Lake","Smile Generation"],"articleSection":["Parenting","Parenting humor"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/momservations.com\/index.php\/2011\/07\/20\/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/index.php\/2011\/07\/20\/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame\/","url":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/index.php\/2011\/07\/20\/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame\/","name":"Take Me Out to the Ballgame - Kelli M. Wheeler","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/index.php\/2011\/07\/20\/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/index.php\/2011\/07\/20\/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/momservations.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/07\/river-cats-whit-mom.jpg?w=258","datePublished":"2011-07-20T22:18:55+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ef0acae18761d7be1529ccf2d4d99f43"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/index.php\/2011\/07\/20\/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/momservations.com\/index.php\/2011\/07\/20\/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/index.php\/2011\/07\/20\/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/momservations.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/07\/river-cats-whit-mom.jpg?w=258","contentUrl":"http:\/\/momservations.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/07\/river-cats-whit-mom.jpg?w=258"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/index.php\/2011\/07\/20\/take-me-out-to-the-ballgame\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Take Me Out to the Ballgame"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/","name":"Kelli M. Wheeler","description":"AUTHOR -WRITING INSTRUCTOR \u2013 PUBLISHER \u2013 FREELANCE WRITER\/EDITOR \u2013 FAMILY COLUMNIST","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ef0acae18761d7be1529ccf2d4d99f43","name":"Kelli M Wheeler","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/42b6e06276ebbd2f83335769170e77f3324477912fe404bfeb83eb04e4e4776c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/42b6e06276ebbd2f83335769170e77f3324477912fe404bfeb83eb04e4e4776c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/42b6e06276ebbd2f83335769170e77f3324477912fe404bfeb83eb04e4e4776c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kelli M Wheeler"},"url":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/index.php\/author\/kellimwheeler\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11435\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}