Summer Reading

I just LOVE summer reading programs!! Every summer we sign up at the library first and then we look for others to participate in. This year I decided to actually try enrolling in the Read Today group. Read today is sponsored by KSL-TV in our area and they are a year-round program. When I looked at it last summer it was really difficult to enter the reading minutes and I tried a couple of times but it just wasn't worth it.

Then our newspaper had a special story on it and we discovered that readers of 1000 minutes for the summer would get free tickets to the Bees game! You all know how I feel about baseball...

So even though the entry was still rather painful, I registered Crafty, Sport, Scout, Curly, and Baby Doll. I had to enter their minutes one day at a time for two whole months, and when I was finished I wasn't even sure how to claim the prizes so I sent the director an email. I received a response in a couple of days and on Friday five little packages arrived in our mailbox.

Baby Doll was the first one to open it up and discover her loot. She was so excited! Not only were there FOUR Bees tickets in there, but also a coupon for a free kid's meal at McDonald's, a mood-changing pencil, and a t-shirt! Well worth my time entering all those minutes!

My sweetie happened to be home since it was Friday and after oo-ing and aah-ing over Baby Doll's treasures, he casually mentioned that the Bees were playing a home game that very night. The only thing we would have to plan around was Sport's football practice.

So we picked him up right at 6:00 with clothes for him to change. Since all the kids had free meals (Princess and Prima Donna were off at another camp somewhere, and Drama Queen is in Yellowstone with some friends), that left only the Dog Walker, sweetie and me to buy food and of course I had a few more coupons. We fed 8 of us for 12 bucks! Then it was off to the game.

We got there a little late and by the time we stopped at the box office to turn our vouchers into tickets, it was the bottom of the second. The Bees played a great game, ultimately winning in the bottom of the 9th. It was so exciting, the entire crowd was on their feet.

After things calmed down, the kids were invited onto the field to run the bases. All of the boys wanted to go and the Dog Walker offered to take Baby Doll. I could not convince Crafty and Scout to go with them so we went to the other side by the 3rd baseline to wait. The kids were about half way down the line and they ran fast, although lots of people passed Baby Doll as she excitedly high-fived each cheerleader on her way past.

When they got to the end of the line, they were presented with a certificate for a free kid's meal at the Spaghetti Factory. That was all it took for Crafty and Scout to head for the starting line. Unfortunately, they got there just as they started cleaning up and they were unable to run. Scout was heartbroken. So I told her she could go down and ask them for a coupon and they might give her one.

Of course she couldn't go alone, so I went with her and we dragged Crafty and Baby Doll along just for the cuteness factor. The guy who looked rather important told us he would get them coupons. But then he couldn't find the cute cheerleader who took off with the pile.

So we followed him to the offices where most people aren't allowed to go until he finally rounded up a couple of coupons for us. Meanwhile, we had gotten separated from my sweetie and the rest of the boys. The stadium was shutting down when we finally headed for the street. I called him about the same time we got to the crosswalk by the third base entrance. He was near the main entrance and would meet us at the van.

We got there about the same time, each bursting with a story to tell. You already heard mine, but they guys had wandered around long enough looking for us that the people handing out the treats at the door just dumped what was left into the boys' hats!

All this for just a little bit of reading??