This past week, Gina and I took the boys to their first Texas Rangers game. It brought back a lot of memories for me. Way back when I was still working as a school teacher, I would go to games on Tuesday nights, when they sold tickets for half price at Tom Thumb grocery stores. My friend and I would grab tickets and meet at the game, which was a pretty fun way to spend then evening. It was outdoors, cheaper than a movie, and the Rangers were actually pretty good back then. This was the team with Pudge Rodriquez, Will Clark, Juan Gonzalez, Rusty Greer, and Mark McLemore. Even though they never quite made a run in the post-season, it was a lot of fun watching them play. Weak pitching but LOTS of offense.

Gina and I knew the boys were not quite old enough to really follow a baseball game, but we wanted to take them to the ballpark for the experience anyway. We attend a lot of TCU baseball games, and Sam and Nate are more interested in the carmel popcorn and sweet tea than what it happening on the field. With that in mind, we knew there would be more than one trip to the snack stand. It happened to be $1 hot dog night, and we took advantage of that deal. Each boy had 2 hot dogs, and I ate 3!

The game ended very well, although we did not get to see it. It was tied 1-1 going into the 9th inning, and the boys were getting tired and whiney. Did I mention we spent the afternoon leading up to the game at Six Flags over Texas in 100 degree heat? Yeah, there was that little factor working against us, and the clock was clicking toward 9:30 at this point. I would have loved to see Adrian Beltre's walk-off home run in the bottom of the 9th inning, but I was more eager to avoid a public spectacle with one, maybe two, five-year olds on the verge of a meltdown. Honestly, it worked out well because we didn't have to battle crowds or traffic, and the game ended as we were getting in our car.

The boys are already asking when we can go see another Rangers game, so I'm sure we will hit at least one more before this season is over. Now if they can just bring home that elusive World Series championship, Sam and Nate will probably be fans for life! You can see some more photos from the evening below.