4th of July

This week was the 4th of July.  Our family decided to celebrate our nation's freedom with a Portland Pickles baseball game.  The Portland Pickles are a new, wood bat, collegiate level team.  They play basically on a municipal field in the middle of a park in Portland.  I feel like I am not really doing a good job selling the Pickles to you so let me tell you why this was super awesome.

The whole reason we decided to go the day we did was because of the promotion they were having.  For $39 you got four tickets, 4 Portland Pickles hats, and 4 $5 gift cards (sounding better already right).  Once we got there though things just got better and better.  We were a large group, 17 in all, and so we couldn't help but make our presence known.  The promo girl came over to us right away and asked if some of our kids wanted to do a water balloon toss after the first inning.  Of course our kids were happy to agree.  Ben asked what he could do and got them to agree to letting him throw out the first pitch (unfortunately that didn't happen, but he did end up standing on the field for the National Anthem and made it up to him in another way...)

So after the first inning the kids went out on the field.  Maude and Colvin were one team and Merrick and Quincy were another.  I guess all Merrick's baseball practice paid off because he and Quincy won.  They got Portland Pickles beach balls and got to hang out with the Portland Pickles mascot.  They all thought it was pretty cool.

A short while later the promo girl came back to our group.  She, feeling bad that Ben hadn't gotten to throw the first pitch, asked if he wanted to participate in the dizzy bat contest.  He agreed and Jeremy gladly jumped in on the opportunity.  So, once again, our family headed onto the field.  Ben fought valiantly, but in the end Jeremy emerged victorious.  Ben at least got the two minutes of fame that he had been looking for.

It was a great day at the ball park and we left feeling like they had created a special day just for us.  Plus the Pickles won so it doesn't get any better.

After the game we had a feast of a BBQ at Ben and Becca's house and then went to my parent's house for fireworks.  The fireworks weren't anything too grand (they were all Oregon legal), but they were enough for our little people and that is all that matters.

It was a great day in "The Land of the Free".  Baseball, BBQ, and Fireworks, what could be more American than that?