A Night at the Ballpark! (#5 of The Summer Bucket List)

As I briefly mentioned in my last post, I recently crossed off #5 of my Summer Bucket List - a family trip to the Twins game! Jeromy and I generally try to make it to at least one Twins game in a season, although I hadn't been for a few years (Jeromy has had the opportunity to go to a couple games on his own since then). We talked all during the off season that Linnea was a good age for her first game. So...on to the list went "family trip to the Twins game!"

First step was to find which game we'd go to. Most of the games are at 1:10 - nap time, or 7:10 - bed time. However, there are a smattering of games at 6:10 - sounds good to us! During the week leading up to the Saturday, July 19th game the weather looked promising, so we jumped on the tickets.

So, right after Linnea got up from her nap that afternoon, we got ready to go! (As a side note, Linnea threw a complete tantrum when I changed her into her Joe Mauer shirt. I'm not quite sure why, although I think it had something to do with the fact that she didn't want to take one of her favorite outfits off. With a few distractions, we were able to get her mind off of the shirt, and focus on the excitement of the game.)

We decided to take the train because a) it's close b) it's convenient and c) it's entertaining for Linnea. Linnea was super excited as we headed into downtown - she loved pointing out other trains, construction sites (i.e. the new stadium being built), and all the people and cars she saw.

We arrived to a bustling stadium. After a quick photo-op with Bullseye, we headed in. We arrived early enough to get pairs of headphones they were giving away (bonus!). A kind security guard encouraged us to swing by the customer services area to get a first game certificate for Linnea, so we did that, and then found our seats.

Jeromy found us great seats - in the outfield, but front row of the section, which allowed us a lot of space to stretch out, and really good views. We had a good time taking in all the sights of the stadium. Target Field is a really gorgeous ballpark, and I'm not usually one who cares about stuff like that. There was lots to see...they do a good job making things fun with music, announcements, and fun little games and activities on the field. Linnea very quickly fell in love with TC Bear. I honestly think she thought that the little fun pre-game home fun derby they had with him was THE game we talked about going to. For the rest of the game, she was very curious and interested in where TC Bear was at. all. times.

I got a little nervous when Linnea announced "I'm done with the baseball game" before said game actually started. Thank goodness we came prepared with lots of snacks and distractions, and soon the REAL game was underway.

But first...let me take some selfies...

We watched a couple innings, and tried to explain to Linnea the ins and outs of the game. She mostly just asked where TC Bear was. We'll keep working on it... :-)

After a bit, we decided it was time for dinner. Rather than try to all venture out with all of us, I took one for the team, and hunted down the grub. I was being a bit stupid and stubborn, and went to several places to make sure everyone got what they wanted. Fast forward to me walking through half the stadium balancing food for the three of us, with visions of me dropping all of it before making it back. Thankfully, I made it back safely, and we proceeded to chow down

We brought apples too, which Linnea very happily munched on...

Linnea did so great. She did a pretty good job of sitting still. She happily munched on dinner, and took in all the action of the game. We had a really good time - it really exceeded my expectations!

Around 8:00, we had made it to the 7th inning stretch, and decided we had better head. We knew the train would be busy, and we wanted to be sure to make our escape before Linnea got too tired. So we packed up, and headed out - but not without a couple more photo ops and a stop to get a helmet ice cream sundae - a must!

As we suspected, the train was pretty busy. Thankfully we didn't have to wait too long, and Linnea was too hyped up and sugared up that she didn't mind. Before long, we were squished into the train (with seats, thankfully) on our way home. We got home pretty late for Linnea (around 9:30), but we were all happily in bed and crashed for the night before 10:00.

Our night at the ballpark was honestly one of my favorite family times of the summer. Linnea did great, and it was so fun to introduce her to the awesomeness of our hometown team. What an awesome night!!