A Busy Week of Firsts
Greetings to all.
Xavier has had a busy few weeks.
It started Friday, July 20th when Rebecca, Xavier, a school friend of Xavier's and his mom spent the day at Elitch Gardens, a local (Six Flags) theme park.
Xavier rode his first roller coaster and crashed around in his first bumper cars ride.
The following week, friends of Rebecca vacationed in Colorado and used our house as a base of operations. They brought their four teenage boys with them. Xavier took to the boys right away!
During their stay, Xavier spent a day at Water World (a water park with slides, "river" rides and wave pools). Though Xavier has done water slides in the past, he had a lot of fun on the slides and lazy river.
On one ride he shared an inner tube (one of those double figure 8 styles) with Rebecca. At the end of the ride, as Rebecca got off the tube, the shifting of the tube knocked Xavier into the pool.
He panicked a bit, then while still under the water began a dog-paddle/freestroke maneuver. Shortly thereafter, he discovered the pool was not so deep and he stood up. Now he had a story to tell of the water park, and tell it he does!
We discovered a fun hiking trail twenty minutes from our house. Xavier went along for a hike, threw sticks into the creek and chased them along. He, needing to poop "right now" had us running to the nearest outhouse structure. Boy, drop vaults are not what they were when I was Xavier's age, let me say.
Along with the visiting family, Rebecca, Xavier and I spent another day at Elitch Gardens. The first ride we did was a water slide ride. Rebecca, Xavier and Xavier's friend stood in line for more than :30 minutes the week before and did not get on the ride. Rebecca was determined the family was going down that slide. She was like a military DI right up to the point of us sitting down into the round raft.
After spending time in the splash park and meeting a friend to splash around with (while letting Mom and Dad relax on Chaise lounge chairs), Xavier played in a room that shot foam balls out of many sorts of devices.
After a kiddie boat ride, Xavier took another round in the bumper cars. One little boy was having trouble getting his car to go (looked like it was his first time in one). Xavier maneuvered his car over to him and showed him how to control his car. Afterward, Xavier aimed his car at a mass of crashing cars and pushed his pedal to the floor!
The busy week ended with a walking tour of Golden and ice cream at a one of our preferred creameries there.
Xavier's First Baseball Game
Greetings to everyone.
Today we all attended a Colorado Rockies baseball game. A friend of Rebecca's had four tickets and gave them to us.
As Xavier has turned five, I thought he should see his first game this year. The gift of the tickets came at a wonderful time. We had no plans today and this weekend has been one of relaxation for us.
The morning began with sunshine and Xavier sleeping in to 0830. The 0830 part is unusual for him these last few weeks, which have ranged from 0530 through 0615.
By the time we headed for Coors Field, weather had moved in and a drizzle began in the West. We packed umbrellas and raincoats, and off we went.
Rebecca arranged for reserved parking using some phone app she found. We parked about a :10 minute walk away. Xavier showed excitement from the time we left the house.
"Where is the stadium, Daddy?" he asked as we left the parking garage. We showed it to him; it was right in front of us.
We found our deck and our gate, then grabbed the necessary overpriced hot dogs and a bag of peanuts, then headed for our seats.
We did not make it into the stadium for the singing of the National Anthem, but stood in the walkway during it. Afterward, fire works shot into the air as we climbed the stairs.
As it turns out, our tickets were row 20 on the upper deck: the Mile High row. That is the row that is (as the name suggests) a mile high: 5280 feet. You might notice in the background the purple row of seats circling the stadium. That is the Mile High row.
The Rockies hosted the Seattle Mariners. The game began at 1305 and 67° as the weather slowly settled in. The clear, overcast skies lightly drizzled as Rebecca and I explained various parts of baseball to Xavier, who watched the field with interest as he chomped on his hot dog.
The drizzle turned to a steady soft rain. After finishing off the bag of peanuts, Xavier wanted to go home (row 20 is just under the upper deck's canopy, so the rain only reached us when the breeze shifted—which it did from time to time).
Instead of leaving, we wrapped Xavier in a raincoat (Rebecca's, and it fit him like a blanket). He huddled under it, occasionally peaking out at the game playing out three stories below.
We stayed until the top of the fifth inning, then started our trek back to the parking garage. Xavier was excited to be going home. "My wish," he told us, "is coming true."
"What wish?" we asked.
"The one I made in the stadium about going home," he replied.
Still, Xavier said he had a fun time at the game. He did not like the rain dripping on him, however.
By the way, the Rockies won the game: 4-3.