They let all of these scruffy-looking people into the Ballpark

This weekend, Paul’s brother, Tony, and his girlfriend, Anna, came for a visit.  We had a chance to hang out, go to the movies, and then to top off the fun, on Saturday we went to a Rangers game at the Ballpark in Arlington.

Now, you guys know me – I’m always “doing my research”.  So Paul put me in charge of getting tickets for everybody – we originally started out with 12 people needing tickets, but Paul’s aunt and uncle had to cancel their plans, and his other brother and sister-in-law decided they couldn’t come, either, so we ended up only needing tickets for 8.

No pictures, please!

While I was on the Rangers’ web site, I took a look around (we don’t typically go to many sporting events, so I wanted to know what to expect).  They have a really user-friendly site; I was able to look around and see what the “view” was from lots of different sections before we made our choice of seats.  They also have a fantastic “Amenities” map – which allowed me to figure out which sections were closest to the bathrooms (and the booze).

Since Paul and Rebecca’s birthdays are next week I wondered if I could get a “Happy Birthday” message up on the big screen – well, sure enough, you can!  It costs a minimal amount, you tell them whose name you want up in lights, and for a few seconds at the end of the 4th inning, your loved one can be a “star” (FYI – they only do this for birthdays and/or anniversaries).

Paul especially liked the fact that a really pretty girl came up and gave him a “Birthday” button…..

When looking up information about the Rangers’ mascot, I discovered that – also for a modest fee – you can have “Captain Ranger” come to your seat and visit with your group (they set it all up in advance, and he makes the rounds during the 2nd and 3rd innings).  Since our nephew was coming with his family, I thought it might be a nice surprise for all of the kids.

Rebecca wasn’t too sure about Captain Ranger…..

….but everyone else thought it was pretty cool to have him visit our section!

Now, on Friday night, the Rangers game was playing on the TV at the pizza place we always go to – in the first 3 innings, the Rangers scored 10 points, including a Grand Slam Home Run.  Yesterday, the Rangers beat the Astros 5-4.

So of course the Rangers lost the night that we were there…..

The Three Musketeers (aka the Koch cousins)

But no matter – we had a great time.  The kids loaded up on all of the regular ballpark favorites, the grown-ups had a great time talking and laughing, Rebecca had fun hanging out with her cousins, and we all agreed we have to do it again.

Alli shows Rebecca how to work the camera……

The best part?  Last night Rebecca saw a game playing on one of the big-screen TVs at the restaurant where we were eating dinner, and she said, “Look – baseball!”

We asked her if she wanted to go again, and she said, “Yes!”

This is fun!