WP & Royals Baseball

WP and I recently ventured to KC to catch a Royals game.  It was our 2nd Royals ballgame, but this time we were solo at the game, and my memories of our time together will last the rest of my life.  I am so thankful.

WP loves the analysis and statistics of the game as much as I do.  His little brain is amazing, the way he is able to process pitch counts, batting stances, pitching styles, defensive alignments, and reading the stats on a scoreboard is a wonderland.  For both of us. 

He questions and understands now virtually ever stat that is on display, from how many 2B hits the batter has had, to what FO7 means, to how many RBI's he has for the season.  It goes on and on, and he can recite player stats without making an error.

This game had a few firsts for us.  We've been to Drillers and Royals baseball games before, but this was our 1st one alone together.  It was the first time he'd seen the dancing bear up close and personal, which was right next to us, and the stadium camera caught me in the seat for 2-3 seconds. 

WP saw the little dancing girls (something normally reserved for Don Juan de Kueny).  It was the first time that I have paid $6 for cotton candy; a well deserved treat for my little trooper.  It was the first time that I have stayed that long through a rain delay.  We were drenched, but enjoyed watching it rain, watching the grounds crew cover the infield, and watching them prep the grounds after the tarp was removed about an hour later.

Unfortunately, the Royals lost, but were still in 1st place by 1.5 games.  The fireworks show after the game was incredible, though WP could barely stay awake.  Because of the rain delay, the fireworks show did not start until 11:15, and we didn't get back to our hotel room till right at midnight; which Mom tells me he then quickly fell asleep.  Unfortunately, I did not.  I was still too pumped with adrenaline, but did doze off, close to 2:30.

What a night.  So much fun, so many great memories.

I love you Will Parker!  I look forward to doing it again next year. :-)

 

Game time!  Play ball!

 

I love WP's expression.  I couldn't get him to smile; he told me later he was studying why the infield players were shifting out of normal position for the current batter.  I then explained to him that it is a relatively new defensive strategy employed by clubs who know how frequently the batter grounds the ball to certain parts of the infield.  He was amazed at the technique.

 

The rain sent probably 10k of the crowd to the parking lot; which was barely visible as it was raining so hard.  The inning directly before the rain started, the local weather man was 'live' at the ballpark and on the big screen in center field.  He said "Hello boys and girls (with a puppet on his hand), just wanted to tell you not to worry about that lightning that you see, it's going to miss us!  Your game is going to stay warm and dry!  No rain here tonight." 

 

What an idiot.  Less than 30 minutes later, the bottom fell out of the sky.

 

One of our many snacking moments. I love his crossed legs, as the feet were double crossed again at the ankles. Something that I too used to be able to do when I was a stick-person.

 

WP added 5 lbs. of water weight as the jacket acted as a sponge during the downpour.

Me & My Girls

 

Last Monday, I was able to enjoy about 1/2 a day with my two of my favorite g'girls.  The quickest way to their heart is through their stomach.  Boy, these girls can eat; and they come by that trait naturally, as the stories about their Pappy Fournier's appetite are legendary.  Here we are at Panda enjoying their favorite choice or orange chicken, noodles, egg rolls, and cookies. 

 

Rumor has it that their Pappy used to be able to eat an entire large pizza just by himself (true, but it was thin crust and half a large is almost max nowadays), or 15 taco's in a single serving (true too), or routinely ate a Pieces of 8 (8 pieces of fried fish, uh true again), or entire slabs of ribs (yes, but they were baby backs), or can still go to the KFC buffet and eat 15 pieces of chicken (yes, but 10 of those are wings).  That's enough, you get the idea . . .

 

I must have a higher than normal metabolism, or you might see me on the biggest loser tipping the scales at 488.  I've always been a big eater, going all the way back to by teens.  My brothers are too; goodness, their plates of food at the holidays are enough to feed a normal family of four.

 

Spaz is very quiet and reserved. She had a sudden boldness come over her (her words were "If Owen can do this, I can too."), as she needed a set of chopsticks, and I told her to go ask the lady.

 

Who knew that Lowe's sold designer duct tape?  I certainly didn't.  But, leave it to my girls to find out, and request purchase of said rolls.  Yep, of course, I said yes.

 

Emma enjoying a snack of donut holes after our grueling 20 minute excursion to Lowe's.

 

Ava chose the frozen lemonade.

 

It was Sept. 1st, and the first official day of Christmas shopping season, and Monster found some things she wanted.  For these though, Paps did say no.

 

I didn't say no though to her request to hit the sample carts, which were in full force last week.  This sample was a piece of cake, and the girls also had samples of Italian sausage pot pie, and something else that was fried.  I passed on all the samples.  I know my limit ...

 

This concluded their one-on-one time with Pappy, and we then headed to "Nini's house", where I lease out space to keep an office, a bed, a gym, a chair upstairs, and a few drawers of clothes.  But, the rest of the house is definitely Nini's. 

 

In a matter of 17 seconds, Spaz went from truck, to Nini hug, to emptying out the play closet.

 

Monster was a tad slower, as I think she was hungry and wanted a snack before proceeding.

 

And for dinner that night, we had smoked Pork Chops; um, they were delicious!

 

I love you girls!

 

I am a blessed man.   

oMike

 

 

Without question or debate, each of my grandchildren melt my heart, steal my heart, and grab my attention in their own special way.

 

With Owen Michael (oMike or Don Juan de Kueny) his special touch with me is his love language, and his incessant activity level.  His love language appears to be the same as mine; as he enjoys touching, rubbing, hugging, and giving kisses.

 

As to his activity level, it can only be described as 'busy'.  He is a great little boy, but he is just 'busy'.  Apt words used to describe his Nini when she was his age, and still applicable today. 

 

This sweet little guy is always on the move.  Remember my blog about his 'walking' 2 years ago?  He is Mr. Hop, Skip, and a Jump.  He never walks anywhere.  Not much has changed in 3 more years, other than now he 'runs' to most places.

 

He is always moving, always talking, always touching, always exploring, always chatting it up with strangers, always happy, always smiling, always laughing, and always loud! (with an exclamation point).  He is a great boy.

 

His Nini has always been full of activity.  With her pictures from youth, you can tell from her poses that it was a challenge to snap the photo; she's just always angling to burst out of the starting blocks.

 

Same too with oMike.  Man this boy has lots of frenetic energy.

 

While at B&N this weekend watching him play with the trains, I had an acronym for him pop into my head, and to me it seems so apropos for his personality.

 

Oh wow! Exploding nuggets!   

 

My industriousness confounds hapless activity experts lately.

 

Keep up everyone! Never yield!

 

~

 

I love you Owen Michael Kueny (and for those of you reading, your key to the acronym), as each of the words start with the letter from his name.

 

- Pappy