A Night at Dodger Stadium

Maxine went to her first Dodger game in September of 2008 when she was barely two months old, documented here. Last night we took the girls to a game, which was Raquel's umpteenth Dodger game but only the second for little Maxine. She was such a trooper--stayed up til about 11:00pm, too excited to sleep. Raquel ate a Dodger Dog and shared some with Maxine. I brought with me my own microwaved popcorn and had a Diet Coke (sticking to my diet) but I did sneak one bite of Raquel's Dog. Raquel did a lot of cheering for our team but at about the 5th inning she started to grow tired of the whole experience, saying, "When can we leave?". Maxine had a moment of upset when she bumped her head and I thought, with all the crying she was doing, I might have to take her back to the car for a while. But fortunately she got over it, got her second wind and stayed cute the rest of the night. My favorite thing about last night was watching Maxine's face when the crowd would cheer, when a beach ball would bounce near us, and also watching her enjoy her first taste of Dodger Dog while sitting on Daddy's lap. And she did enjoy it.

Dodger Stadium From the Expensive Seats

Jose and I have been to Dodger Stadium two nights in a row, Tuesday and Wednesday this week, and have decided we never want to sit anywhere but the VIP Baseline Box.

Tuesday night, as you know, the Dodgers slammed the Padres 10 to 1. That night, Jose and I sat right behind homeplate. We got to eat in the fancy all you can eat restaurant down below and rub elbows with celebrities. We saw Kevin Bacon walk right past us, Rob Reiner, too. And I think if I was a 120-lb hottie with bubbling breasts, Jon Lovitz would've been a little more receptive. Instead, he was strictly civil at a bare minimum. Maybe Jose shouldn't have surprised him from behind.

Tuesday night was even better! We took Raquel and Maxine with all the fixins and sat in the VIP Baseline Box on the firstbase side, staring right into the Padres' dugout. These seats, though less expensive than the previous night's seats (those were $500 a pop) were much better and more fun because we had our own little box with a counter top and shelf underneath, we were closer to the game and we had a camera guy right next to us which assured we'd get some air time with two cute kids in Dodger gear. Sure enough, Jose started getting calls on his cell from friends who were watching the game on tv, "Hey, we just saw you on tv!" Him and Raquel got on tv twice that we know of, once while just sitting and another time walking down to our seats holding food and beers in plastic flashing-lights cups, haha!

The Padres next to us...

Our box seats included admission to the dugout club where you get free food, all you can eat. I stayed on the field with Maxine and Jose took Raquel to the dugout club to get our refreshments. Turns out he knows the bartender, so she hooked him up with free $13 beers (in the fancy flashing-lights plastic mugs). While Jose and Raquel were there, Maxine and I got on the jumbo screen and the whole stadium went, "AWWWWW". It was Maxine's first Dodger game. When Jose returned, our phones started ringing again, friends calling to say they saw Jose on tv again and friends who were at the game saw me and Maxine on the jumbo screen. What fun!

The guys sitting in the box in front of us were great, too. They got a kick outta Raquel saying, "Go Dodgers!" and being her charming self. They took pictures of us and with us and are going to send them to my email. I already received one such picture (happens to be my favorite)...

That ball she's holding was a gift from the field security guard who sat next to our box the whole game. We didn't even have to ask for it. He just gave it to her when he came off the field one time. He actually looks like someone I know...

Maxine also got a ball when the Padres' Edgar Gonzales tossed one to Jose who was holding her. Actually, the catch was assisted by one of our box buddies because Jose was carrying a baby. We offered it to him but then he gave it right back to Maxine.

Furcal came to play, too! And I got a picture of the camera guy who made this a night to remember.

And to top it all off, Arizona lost today which puts the Dodgers in the Playoffs, baby!