This was the first weekend in quite a while that none of the kids had an athletic or academic function we had to attend. It was nice to be able to relax for a change. E and I took the kids to the Sunset Lake running/bike path on Saturday. The path itself is a mile long (one way). We all rode our bikes to the lake, and Eric pulled Ducky in his little bike cart. Ducky’s tricycle was strapped to the cart, so he was able to ride when we got to the path.
We went to a Corpus Christi Hooks game yesterday. The Hooks wore pink jerseys, in honor of the Hooks’ Breast Cancer Awareness Day.
The game was pretty sad… the Hooks lost 10-3 against the San Antonio Missions, making their season record 8-21. The only good part of the game: Froggie and I got coupons to redeem for free pink Hooks caps.
On Sundays, the kids get to run the bases after the Hooks’ games. Monkey took Ducky to run. The Hooks’ and H.E.B. mascots (Sammy the Seagull , Rusty Hook, and H.E. Buddy) were waiting at home plate, to congratulate each kid. Ducky was terrified. I guess he just couldn’t wrap his mind around 8-or-9-feet tall fuzzy characters who stare down at kids with loony smiles and unblinking eyes. So while most kids reached home plate, hugging and giving high-fives to the giant characters, this was Ducky’s reaction:
When I was putting him to bed, all he could talk about was how scary Sammy the Seagull was, and how he didn’t want to look at H.E. Buddy *ever* again. Okay. Fine. But. He still wants to run the bases next time we go (at age 3, he has decided he wants to be a “baseball teamer” when he grows up, and running the bases at Whataburger Field is as close as he can get right now). I told him I’ll go with him next time, and carry him when we get near the mascots. Not good enough. He wants to make sure that I will *run* past the mascots, at full speed. He even stood up and showed me how: “You’ll have to waggle your arms like this,” he said (showing me the proper runner’s arm-pumping motion). I told him I would. But he squinted his eyes and thought for a while, and realized I wouldn’t be able to properly “waggle” both of my arms, while carrying him (therefore, I would not be able to run fast enough). I told him maybe I could put him in his sling (a carrier I have used since he was an infant, which allows me to carry him and have both hands free). He liked the idea. “Okay. Yes. Go get it.” Oy. He wanted to practice right then and there. I assured him that we didn’t need to practice, and all would go well the next time he/we run the bases. I guess it was good enough for him, because he fell asleep soon after that.
