I have been quite busy these days with vacation and being a new stay at home mom.  But I was able to take in a Texas Rangers game while on vacation this past week.  I was very excited about seeing my Rangers play the Colorado Rockies.  There is something about going to a game as opposed to watching it on television.  Like with any sporting event, being there is AWESOME.  You get all the sights and sounds you don’t see on television.  You may get a little bit, but not all of it. 

Any way, this was going to be my first game in The Ballpark.  I had gone to a Rangers game back in high school with my youth group to the old stadium.  We sat in the cheap seats on metal bleachers on a hot August afternoon in Texas.  If you have EVER been to that part of Texas in August you know what I had to endured that day.  It was HOT!  With that being said, this past Saturday was a reminder of why I would rather attend a game in the evening in Texas than a mid afternoon game.  It was a beautiful day for baseball.  Sun was shining, a little breeze, and a couple of clouds in the sky.  But as I said this is Texas.  It was HOT!!!  When I sat down on my seat, I thought I had given my rear end third degree burns.  Luckily, if you gradually sat there for a bit, you became acclimated to the seat.  But the sun had no mercy on all of us Ranger fans that day! 

My sons, despite the weather, enjoyed their first professional baseball game.  They were both decked out in Rangers gear (see picture to the left).  By the way, it was Michael Young bat day.  That is my husband standing behind my boys.  My youngest has a favorite player (same as his mother’s favorite player), he is Mike Napoli.  Napoli plays catcher and at times first base for the Rangers.  My oldest has taken to Mike Napoli too.  I believe it is because of their mother they cheer more for Napoli.  However, they can cheer any of the Rangers.  It doesn’t matter to me.  

It was a rough day for all of us.  I had to make a visit to the first aid station for an ice pack.  I usually try to tough it out on days like this, but I am not as young as I used to be.  Ever since that bad case of heat exhaustion several years, I have to watch my time out in the heat/humidity.  The ice pack was a God send.  But it was still HOT!  Every once in a while a random cloud would cover the sun.  But the sun was vicious.  My little one and hubby seem to being surviving, but my oldest, like me was struggling.  We decided to leave in the 5th inning.  I wanted to stay through the whole game, but it was already 11-1 (Rockies).  Plus we had to head back to Lubbock that day as well which is a 6 hour drive.  So, we decided to head on home.

Despite the shortened time at The Ballpark we had a blast.  Prior to the game on Saturday, we took a tour of The Ballpark on Thursday.  We got to see the press box, a ballpark suite, and sit in the Rangers dugout, among other things.  The coolest thing, was getting a peek into the Rangers locker room.  Normally, you would not get to see inside, but someone came out of the locker room just as the group was passing by.  He held the door open and we got to see inside.  It was pretty neat.  Tried to coax the little one to “run” into the locker room so mom would have to go get him.  But he would help his mom out.  Oh well, I aimed my camera and snapped a photo.  Upon closer inspection of the picture, I got Yu Darvish’s locker!  We also got to see an area where they unloaded Rangers equipment bags.  And while looking in the cage, I see #25!  That’s right…Mike Napoli’s bag!  I know it is kinda cheesy of me, but hey….I am a rabid baseball fan!

That’s the adventure of our Rangers experience.