Baseball and Baby Dolls

I hope everyone had a fun and relaxing weekend. We were on the go all weekend. Saturday, My Great Uncle was in town and he told us very interesting stories about going down in an airplane while he was a fighter pilot. These were stories I had never heard before and I am glad I had the opportunity to hear them from him.

Summertime is here! This is my 1955 Buster Brown Mannequin that I got at a sale last Fall for $2.00. I don't think I've ever shown here on my blog. I dress her for the holidays and seasons. This is her summer wardrobe. I've always wanted a little girl to dress up!

Sunday we went to an Arkansas Naturals game. The Naturals are a new Minor League Baseball team that recently formed and moved to our area. The tickets, parking pass and concession money was a birthday gift for DH from my Dad. I should preface this story with saying how very much I deplore sports. Hate. I hate sports. Especially watching them. Zzzzzz. DH gets all wrapped up in and starts yelling at the referee/umpire/coach, etc. To say that I didn't want to go would be an understatement. But, I knew I had to go and we would make the most of it. As we were puling into town, a huge ominous black cloud came into view. Crap. My cellphone rang and it was my Dad, warning us that a tornado had been spotted in the very area where we were headed. Double crap. I would have turned and gone home. Oh, but not DH. Not with a baseball game in his future. We parked and ran into the stadium just as the rain started. And, man did it come down. Hard. There was a small roofline in between the outer edges of the stadium where the concessions where and the actual stadium and that is where about 2,000 of us huddled. It blew and it rained and the thunder crashed and the lightening struck all around us and I knew then that I really did hate sports!

I found this little zebra striped swimsuit at the Dollar Tree in her size. The cat-eye sunglasses and hat were from the Dollar Tree too. The sweater was 25¢ at the Super Cheap Thrift. She has to wear a sweater because she is missing her right arm. You really can't tell unless I tell you.

But, then about as quickly as it came, it moved out. And it brought with it surprisingly cooler temperatures and a nice breeze. The ushers wiped down all the seats while the grounds crew rolled up the tarps and squeegeed off the bases. We bought three drinks and two bags of popcorn for $13.50 and headed to our seats. We were right behind the home plate and DH was very excited because he said they were very good seats.

As the teams came out to warm up, they played loud fun music and the crowd got really pumped up. The stadium holds about 10,000 people and it was pretty much packed. It was Nickelodeon Family Day so there were games and activities in between each inning and during warm ups. The music kept playing and everyone did the wave, the Cha-Cha Slide and all those other cheesy ballgame songs. It was about halfway into the second inning that I realized something terrible. I was having fun! Lots of fun. It was like being at a concert and a play and there just happened to be a baseball game in the background! And, I realized something else even more terrible that I still haven't told DH. I understood the game and was even able to explain things to The Bean as it happened. Crap. Double crap.

Isn't she sweet? I love her. I got her at the sale of a special lady that we knew that died very unexpectedly. She worked for Woolsworth's for years and this is where she acquired the mannequin. Knowing she belonged to our friend makes her even more special to me.

There wer these big inflatble danging mascots there called the Zooperstars. Shark McGwire, Tiger Woodchuck, Harry Canary, etc. They were so funny. They danced and head bopped the Umpire. I took lots of photos and even a funny video that I will share once I get my Photo CD back. During the 7th inning, they came out and threw T-Shirts into the crowd. The mascot is a big Sasquatch. He looked me square in the eye (I swear!) and threw it straight to me. It bounced off my hand, hit me square in the head and fell behind my chair. A lady two rows up dove over the seats to get it and DH sprang backwards to grab it at the same time. He got it and she said a few expletives. He said "It hit my wife in the HEAD. It's ours!" It's amazing how aggressive people can get over a T-Shirt! Luckily, a ball never came to our area or I fear a fist fight might have occurred!

I found these sweet little pink "Crocs" for $3.00 when we were on our vacation last week. I thought DH would have a fit that I was buying my doll shoes. But, he thought it was funny. Besides, she can wear them through other holidays, right?

We all had fun, in fact, we had so much fun, that another game is in the works for our family. The bargain hunter in me discovered that you can bring in empty water bottles, so that will be our course of action next time. $3.00 for a bottle of water just ruins the day for me. The lady ahead of me had granola bars, fruit and all sorts of goodies packed in a clear backpack, so next time I will be prepared!

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I'm headed out the the new Thrift, which I fear isn't going to make it much longer. The lady is overwhelmed running it alone and is inundated with merchandise. I am dying to get in that backroom and have a dig! When we drove by this weekend, there was a sign out front that said, "Free Items Inside." So, I have to go. Have to!

*Edited to add: I went to the thrift and it was gone. Empty. Ka-put. Apparently, the lady opened the doors and gave it all away. Free. Gratis. And I missed it. My husband thanks you lady. But, I wish I could have had a peek into that backroom at all the freebies. Oh, what did I miss, what did I miss?

And, since Oliveoyl asked, the Buster Brown girl wears a 2T, so I have fun finding her cute little girl things. I call her Hazel, but I really don't know why.