Baseball stars

Last week I was so excited the end of July was finally here. For two months I have been waiting to go on a field trip with Hayden's class...to a daytime Dash game! It was a perfect summer day for a ball game and I love going on field trips with his class. 

We got the troop of 30+ kids (Hayden's class of five year olds and the after school program) inside and to our seats with relatively few speed bumps. No sooner than we sat down did at least six boys need to go to the bathroom. 

The hand dryers proved to be fun for all! 

When we came back, a lady's program caught my eye. I asked her to see it, and sure enough, it was my family on there!

I was shocked! The great people at Keiger do the printing for The Dash and put my sweet boys on the cover of the July 30th program! Hayden was a little embarrassed and then super proud. He ran around showing it to all his friends while I went around to find more. Hayden was really more excited about the players and coaches' info inside but it was a great surprise for both of us. 

We were lucky to watch such an exciting game because a baseball game is LONG for little bottoms and brains. But the kids did great and had a blast. 

I so rarely get to spend good quality alone time with this little guy so I was really grateful for the opportunity to hang out with him. He's so smart and so curious and such a fun little boy. I am lucky to be his mom. 

We tracked down Bolt at the end of the game and showed him Hayden's picture on the program. 

Final score: Dash beats the Frederick Keys 12-2!

The first pitch

Every year our staff in the Admissions office gets the generous use of Keiger's box seats or party deck for one night at a Dash game. The perk of being a corporate sponsor for that game is that one lucky guest gets to throw out the first pitch. This year, Hayden was elected to represent Salem and throw out the first pitch.

Seriously, have you ever seen a kid so happy? He practiced for DAYS on end and could not wait to go to "the dashes game". We barely made it on time thanks to some traffic but when we got there it was all worth it. The only downside was that Hayden spent the week thinking that he was pitching the whole game.

Hayden: So the dashes don't have enough pitchers and they need me to pitch?
Me: No Hayden, you just get to throw out the first pitch. It's really special.
Hayden: Well if they need me I don't mind pitching the whole game. I can do that.

The kids had an absolute blast. They ate hot dogs and beans and chips and cookies, got new Dash hats and posters and even watched a little of the game. We stayed the WHOLE time, until after 10, and they were champs. Love these memories!