Go Dodgers!

I recently made a quick trip to LA to spend a couple of days and then travel back to Shanghai with the family. On arriving, I checked the Dodger schedule and found there was a game. I thought it would be fun for the kids so I picked a game a couple of days out so we could build some collective excitement and anticipation. The great thing about little kids is that they will get really excited about a lot of things given the right build up. So we started talking it up and took the kids to Target where we got some cheap Dodgers shirts and caps. On the day of the game, we actually arrived a bit early so we had some time to walk around outside the stadium. My dad, Jenny, Abby, Ben and I ended up going, leaving Ethan and my mom back at my parent’s house.

We got to the game and the kids were immediately focused on the hot dogs. As soon as we got in the gate the intensity of the hot dog longing ramped up quickly. I had originally hoped to wait an inning or two before getting some food, but the opposition to any delay quickly became overwhelming. Once I started handing them out Ben got mad because I had put ketchup on his hot dog – a bad choice given that day’s position on the highly variable Ben ketchup desirability/abhorrence spectrum. Luckily I was able to take the hot dog out of the bun, wipe it clean with a napkin and then he ate it bunless and happy. After the first inning the hot dogs were long gone, ketchup was all over the place, there was a big puddle from a couple of drinks that had spilled and the kids were getting sort of bored. The funny part was the absolute foreseeability of it all. We lasted about 4 innings before pulling out, but it was one of those great summer nights at Dodger stadium when the air was pretty clear and you could watch the sun fade away and the lights of the city come on as the temperature cooled pleasantly.