Souvenir Cups, $4 Hot Dogs, and a Hot Bus Ride...

Last week Ally attended the week long "band camp" for her Junior High band.  It wasn't mandatory, but any kiddo that came to practice earned a trip to see the Rangers play on Friday. I had the "opportunity" to chaperone about sixty 7th and 8th graders on this trip.   Talk about an eye opening experience!  haha

We left for Arlington at about 3:30ish.  Besides myself, 60 kiddos, and the band director, there were about 4-5 other parents on the bus.  I found myself a seat at the back of the bus across from another kiddo's mom and dad.  (They were pretty nice people.)  VERY SOON after we were on the bus, I began contemplating driving my own car because it was SO HOT!  I figured that the bus hadn't been on long and that once we got going it would cool off.  Well, that was not the case.  It. never. cooled. off....  By the time we made the 2 1/2 hour trip to the Ballpark I was drenched with sweat.  It felt awful!  Not to mention that I am not 100% sure the bus even had shocks.  It felt like I was riding the Texas Giant roller coaster.  (For those of you that don't know - The Texas Giant is a wooden roller coaster that is an extremely rough ride.  It WILL make you sore after you have taken a spin on it!)  I was so happy when we finally got off the bus. The ride was quite miserable.  

Once in the Ballpark, we trekked up the ramp to the top of the Ballpark.  It was way difficult to get up there wearing my ortho boot, but I did it. Allison held my hand the entire way up.  Not once was she worried about one of her peers seeing her and making fun.  :) Once at the top I saw that there was an elevator that I could have easily ridden to the top if I had only seen it when we got there.  :(  (I did make sure to ride it down though.)

Allison and I found our seats and she was super excited.  I was excited to be there with her.  Her friend Anna sat with us.  Those two girls talked quite a bit and I got so tickled at them.  They had a good time.  :)

During the national anthem about 200 season ticket holders unrolled a huge flag across the field.  It was really touching and beautiful.  This picture really doesn't do it justice, but it makes a really great memory.  

It has been so hot here for what seems like forever.  This is the temp at the stadium around 7:00.  We were in the shade and high enough up in the stands that we got a nice breeze.  Thank God for wind!

While I know that the Rangers played and beat the Toronto Blue Jays 12-2, I can't tell you a lot about the game.  I watched Allison and her friend a majority of the game.  When the crowd cheered, they cheered.  When the crowd booed, they booed.  (When I asked Ally why she was booing all she could say was, "I don't know.  They did something bad?"  Then she giggled.  So did I...)  I met some nice parents there also.    The game ended and we were lucky enough to see the fireworks after the game.  They were spectacular!  I took some pics, but they aren't nearly as pretty as the "real thing".

We finally got back on the hot bus and headed home.  It was another LONG ride.  I could see that the front of the bus, which was full of 7th graders, was pretty quiet.  The back of the bus, where I was sitting drove me CRAZY!!!  The seats in front of me and the other parents were filled with 8th graders that talked incessantly...about everything...even some things that I am sure were pretty inappropriate.  (But had I said something, I think they would have played it off as "innocent" chit chat.  I didn't want to get that started...)

By 12:30 I was itching to get home and apparently Whitney was itching for me to get home too.  I wish I knew how to put of copy of the voicemail she left me on here.  It went something like this:  "Mommy, please hurry and come home.  I'm starting to get worried.  Love you.  Bye..."  (Mike had already told her we would not be home until almost 2:00 am.)  That voicemail is priceless!  I don't think I will ever erase it!

At 1:30 we finally pulled into the Junior High parking lot.  I was so exhausted and hot and glad to be there. I quickly got off the bus, rounded up Ally, and jumped into the Expedition.  We were so tired of being hot we had the A/C on full blast all the way home.

This trip really made me realize just how much my firstborn has grown up.  I have a lot of mixed feelings about that.  On one hand, I am really proud of how independent she has become, but then again, I am sad because I just don't know how much longer she'll want to keep holding my hand.