June 2019.
A while back, we got a message from an AMAZING community member offering her Dayton Dragon tickets that she couldn’t use and asked if we wanted them. Ummm…. YES! Lisa, you are amazing!!! We had visited the previous summer with tickets from John’s work, just weeks after he passed, and LOVED it, so we were ready to return! The kids were pumped! They LOVE going on kids’ dates! That is basically anywhere that we go, outside of the ordinary. I would much rather give the kids rich experiences instead of toys and stuff. It also helps a lot with this them being able to handle their grief, it gives them a distraction and a break from our reality without John.
While we love going to the games, we aren’t completely knowledgeable about the game itself. We learn so much every single time we go. I love that. The Dragons keep the kids (and me) every single step of the way. Between every inning, there is some sort of entertainment. They have game shows where the crowd interacts and staff members shoot off t-shirts into the air. They have dance shows and contests, my kids seriously rocked the floss! There were races on big wheels around the bases and so much more! The music is energizing and it keeps you hopping every step of the way!
We ran into Gem while on a snack run. She was nice enough to stop and talk and let me get a few pictures. 🙂 I was feeling extra generous this day, and they each got their own treat and didn’t need to share. Nachos, soft pretzel, and a hotdog. This almost never happens so those are some genuine smiles! Baseball perfection!
Henry is in LOVE with baseball. Seriously. This summer is team did really well, but he wasn’t so hot of a player. An amazing Dad from the community who was one of John’s high school classmates has taken him under his wing. He practices with him whenever he heads up with his own boys. He has grown so much. People are so good.
At the end of the game, they give all of the kids a chance to run the bases. The kids line up by first base outside of the field and then let them in to run. So neat! Eliza took off and ran as fast as she could, Molly and Henry, not so much! It was a great experience for them, something that they talk about often, months later. A Dayton Dragon’s game is the perfect kid’s date!
Have you gone to any Dragon’s games? Love it? What other day date ideas do you have for kids?
In the Blink of a Fly is led by Leah Fullenkamp. Leah is the mother of four young children. Their lives were tragically altered after a crash caused by distracted driving killed her husband and her children’s father. This website is the tale of them learning to live again and serves as a passion project to help prevent distracted driving and this tragedy from happening to someone else.
