Giant's Stadium

 Ocean Grove Charter School arranged a field trip to AT&T Park to tour the SF Giant's Stadium. Daveo and I put on as much orange and black we could find and excitedly drove to the city. The highlight for both of us was being able to walk on the warning track and sit in the Giant's dugout. I'm hoping I sat where Buster Posey has sat. The only place we weren't allowed to go in was the Giant's clubhouse (locker room). I had fun spending this rare one on one time with Daveo which also proved to be the perfect distraction from missing Steven.

Giants vs Dodgers

Douglas and his kids were in town this weekend to watch the Giants vs. Dodgers games. He bought a couple of Saturday tickets for me. I brought Kirsten along (even though she's an A's fan) so that she could hang out with Malena. We had a fun car ride to SF. We took turns playing our favorite songs and singing at the top of our lungs. 

There weren't many people at AT&T Park when we arrived. I think the rain was a factor in this. We were all thinking the game would be canceled, however, to our surprise everything continued as planned. Ammon and his friend, Kirsten, Malena, Nikkaila, and Thomas sat behind home plate, while Douglas and I were a little above them in the club seats. I loved this section. This is the area where all the trophies and memorabilia is showcased. Plus, Douglas and I stayed dry as there was a covering above us. 

Even though the Giants lost, it was a fun day. I got to meet Nikkaila's fiance, who proposed to her after Friday's game and Douglas and I got to chat and hang out without kids interrupting us.

A Giant Surprise

Deborah and I excitedly whispered and planned for tonight's surprise. We were taking Aaron to his first Giants game. Douglas and his kids were flying in to meet us at AT&T Park. Douglas scored us some amazing seats just a few rows behind and to the left of home plate. 

Aaron was so excited when Deborah shared the surprise with him.

Our seats were separated (four and four), but I had a great time with the goofballs that sat with me. Too bad we couldn't all sit together. (I wish we had taken a picture all together.) The Giants won! It was a great game. Aaron seemed to have fun, but was upset at us leaving before the game ended.

October Orange

 NorCal Giants fans woke up this morning to a spectacular ORANGE sunrise. Quite appropriate after  the San Francisco Giants' big win last night against the Royals. In the six years that we've been back in the bay area, I've enjoyed seeing my hometown team win the World Series three times. 

Baseball has always been a big part of my life. My older brothers played in many little leagues. Going to all of their games was a "family event". My brothers taught me how to throw and catch a baseball so that I could play "base runners" with them on our sidewalk leading up to our house. When visiting Nana (who lived in SF) during baseball season, a Giants game seemed to always be playing either on the TV or on the radio. The same was done in my home. My brother, Douglas, was more obsessed with the team than any of us (and still is today). He would mow our lawn and vacuum our carpet to mirror the field at Candlestick Park. Being able to go to a Giants game was always so much fun. My mom would pop enough popcorn to fill a brown paper grocery bag for us to bring. We also brought our gloves and made sure we got to the game early enough to watch batting practice while hanging out behind the Giants' dugout hoping to get some autographs. Seeing Candlestick Park get torn down is hard as it hold so many memories of my childhood.

Giants vs. A's

My two Davids have been having fun playing baseball on our front lawn in the evenings. Dave-o is the Giants and David the A's. 

This of course means that I route for Dave-o (which makes him very happy). 

This also means that Dave-o wins every game; because the Giants are AWESOME.

Stake Softball

It's that time of season for playing softball with our stake. David looks forward to this particular sport each year.

James got talked into playing this year. He was unsure of participating because he didn't want to look like a fool. He did great though. 

Steven needed no coercion. He doesn't care if he looks like a fool. That's what I love about this kid. He can laugh at himself and have a good time. 

Loni cheering for her team. Dave-o, Loni, and I spent most of the time playing at the park.

Loni's sad it's time to go home. 

(Actually she's mad at Steven for taking her away from me.)

A Giant Snooze-fest

One of my birthday presents last March were two tickets to a Giants game for July 12th. The weather in the city was a warm 65 degrees with the sun shining. I love the city when it's like this. 

I had a nice time being with David away from children. I think this is the longest the two of us have been away from Loni. However, the game itself was so boring. There were hardly any hits; only strikeouts it seemed. Plus the Diamondbacks beat the Giants 2-0. I'm okay with going to a game where my team loses, but at least put up a fight and make it exciting. Offensively, they seemed to be asleep. Oh well. 

David and I left the game with two innings left, got home, went grocery shopping, and are now preparing for Kirsten's birthday tomorrow. She wants pie instead of cake. So, I've got a pumpkin pie cooking in the oven and a strawberry one in the refrigerator. 

A GIANT Goodbye

Does the black and orange apparel give away where we were headed? Tuesday evening, Justin, Steven, Ammon and rode CalTrain to AT&T Park for a Giants vs. Red Sox game.

There really isn't a bad seat at this amazing ballpark. And the views of the bay are breathtaking. Lucky for us, we had dozens of Red Sox fans sitting directly behind us. There was one particular large man who talked (yelled) smack against our beloved team throughout the entire game. Thankfully, the last two innings of the game left him speechless as the Giants came from behind and won 3-2.  

 Regardless of the exciting finish, we were all pretty tired. The boys fell asleep on the train ride home.  

Sadly, we said our goodbyes to Ammon on Thursday. It was a fun week. We all loved having Ammon stay with us.

(Ammon, Dave-o, Steven, and Kirsten)

While we made sure Ammon got through security okay, Dave-o went up to the elevator and asked me if it would blast him off to space. He was serious, too. I smiled and told him to get inside and find out. Steven and Kirsten went along for the ride. They never quite made it to space though.

Breaking out our Brooms for a Thorough Sweep

I never thought the World Series would end this way.

But it did.

The Giants swept the Tigers!

Hundreds of miles didn't stop my siblings, Douglas and Deborah, and I from sharing in the excitement of the entire Playoff Series through texting. It was as close to watching it together in the same room as we could get.

Congratulations San Francisco Giants!

The Bay area will welcome you back home with open arms.

Orange October

The first storm of autumn brought joy to Giants fans as we celebrated their NL Pennant win against the Cardinals. For the second time in three years, the World Series will be in my city by the bay. My home. The Giants are to play the well rested Tigers in a World Series that seemed out of reach so many times. Can they do it? I'm a believer. Are you?

 

The Baseball Hat

(While searching for something underneath Steven's bed, I found his old Texas Astros hat. Dave-o saw my find and immediately tried it on. It fit like a glove. Was Steven's head ever really that small?)

Dave-o's above expression is one of great concern as he looks out the upstairs window. Of what you might ask could a three year old be concerned about? Thunder and lightening. Last night and throughout the day, we have had thunderstorms roll through the Bay area. As one particular storm built up, so did Dave-o's anxiety. He asked me to turn on music. I sifted through my records (that still smell like my childhood Pacifica house, which I love) and chose "25 All Time Family Favorites". The nearby storm was forgotten as we danced to Chopin's "Minute Waltz", sang to "Oh Susanna", and marched to "Semper Fidelis" among the other 22 songs. Before we knew it, the nostalgic crackling sound marked the end of the record as well as the storm.

On to other news, the Giants beat the Reds. They are moving on to the National Championship Series! All the critics said they wouldn't be able to win three games in a row in Cincinnati. After all, the Reds have never lost three games in a row at home. Well, there's a first for everything. We need to get Dave-o a Giants hat. This evening I'll be able to relax and watch the VP debate while David stresses over watching his A's play. This is a do or die game for them as well.

Celebrating with the A's

David celebrated his birthday warching the A's battle it out with the Orioles. Josh babysat Dave-o while the rest of us routed for Oakland (eventhough most of us are Giants fans). We even wore green and gold. Yes, I was a traitor to my team, but only for the one night.

Kirsten only likes the A's because their mascot is an elephant.

It was a sold out game.

A few minutes into the game we realized that Uncle Robert, Buddy (David's cousin) and his boys were sitting behind us. What a small world!

There were lots of exciting moments and nail bitter moments.

We had great seats for only $13 thanks to BYU Alumni.

The game ended in a win for the home team, 3-2. A "Star Wars" themed firework show followed the game. I thought it was really cool that the franchise allowed the fans to watch from the field.

 Happy Birthday David!

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 Today, Michael and Owen came by to join is in some cake and ice-cream.

Here's to another year.