Let's Go Orioles, Let's Go! Take 2.

Dear Mom, Dad, and Aunt Linda,

I tried to raise my children right. Really, I did. Even though Ed objected every time I suited Helen and Connor up in Royals garb, I did it anyway - for the love of the game, I would tell myself. I sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame", changing "Root, root, root for the HOME TEAM" to "Root, root, root for the ROYALS!" every. single. time. But in the end, I have failed. While Helen will occasionally claim to be a fan of our beloved boys in blue, she's really partial to the mythical "Flower Socks", a team she made up last year. And as if that weren't bad enough, Connor has fallen hook line and sinker for the Cubs and the Orioles. I admire him for having an NL and AL team, but sheesh, couldn't he have chosen the Royals for that AL spot?

A few weeks ago, the Orioles sent me a package of O's gear, which was a huge hit. They followed it up with an invitation to watch a game from the players' wives' box, and invited the little people to attend as well. We hopped in my friend Jessica's car, filling it to the brim with her two kids and mine - and the giant Orange finger that we had received in the mail a few weeks earlier. We battled traffic while the kids did everything they could to distract Jessica from driving, with Helen "fake crying" at one point, which is a sound that is so unbearably horrible that I'm not sure I will ever get it out of my head. Jessica is nothing, if not impressive, for deciding not to just throw herself under a tire right then or throw Helen under a tire!

Before the game, we got to tour the stadium and when we were walking right out onto the field, we were instructed to "not run onto the grass" and I admit, I dearly hoped one of my children heard "run onto the grass" instead, because I totally wanted to chase them through that field. Sadly, they just stood there and posed.

Note: Helen assured me before the game that she was wearing her best Orioles outfit. I couldn't figure it out either.

Connor and Helen loved the game.

Ed enjoyed meeting the Bird.

Thank you, Orioles! We had a ball watching the game. And it was such a sweet surprise when I learned that Orioles stadium was designed by the same group that designed my beloved Kauffman stadium. I knew there was a connection to the two teams somewhere!

Sorry Mom, Dad, and Aunt Linda - but I do think we've lost the boy to another team!

Elaine