An Evening With the Orioles

Right up there with all the blessings we've stumbled upon in our homeschooling, we were recently invited to spend an evening at the newly updated Camden Yards for a private behind-the-scenes tour of the stadium and to just hang out with blogger friends. 

The view from home plate, Kiddos and nephews

As usual, I was WAAYYY more excited for this than the kids were. I made sure to take lots of pictures so that when they're old enough to appreciate the experience and actually care about it beyond the popcorn, food & treats, they have something to look back on.

As part of the tour, we got to go on the field without interrupting the game or getting arrested, which was a major plus (yeah, the kids didn't get that joke). Then, staff in the communications and media rooms had plenty of smiles and waves for us when we popped in to see where all the behind-the-scenes magic happens.

My impractical heels, by this point, made me ever so grateful to our tour guide for ending the tour here by leading us to our box suite to enjoy the game and mingle.

So much swag!

Mrs. Angela Showalter stopped in to speak to us (how awesome is that!?!?) and field questions about the life of an Oriole's Wife and Mom. I was both touched and super-impressed by her outlook on life and raising her kids to be grounded despite their lifestyle in the spotlight. She also spoke about her incredible charity work helping to place foster children through Kids Peace.

For me, the night was magical and I know it was for the kids, as well. It was great to be able to take them to a real, live game of baseball (their first, EVER!) and not only teach them about the sport, but to give them a glimpse into the players' lives and let them see some of what goes into making the game broadcast possible.

Needless to say, I've got the fever and would love to go back soon. Don't get me wrong- I'm nowhere near being in danger of becoming even a semi-serious sports fan, but I do enjoy a live game like it's nobody's business. Besides, we still have some unfinished business with the resident moon-bounce and playground. 

Told ya there was an on-site moon-bounce...

...and playground.

Our parting view

Stay tuned for a follow-up post in the kids' own words and a cool giveaway!

A special Thank You to Mr. Lovelace and company for all their hard work in making this happen and carrying it all off without a hitch. You and your team are awesome!!!

Storyville Fun!

This place is unreal and I totally wish I had this when I was little. Under the recommendation of a friend, we finally visited Storyville in Woodlawn for the first time this fall. It's 100% free since it's part of the library and there's tons of fun and educational stuff for the kiddies to do.

            
They can grocery shop in a market that has mussels (MUSSELS!!), fish, lean cuts of steak, all kinds of fruits and veggies, life-sized laminated money, bread, milk, eggs, and a scale for weighing your produce.


They can dress up as a postal worker and sort and deliver mail and pacakages to each of the buildings/houses in Storyville because each has its own numbered mailbox (left, in picture).They can sell tickets at a ticket window to a play or puppet show they can put on in the Theater House.

They can pretend to be engineers, architects, designers and mathmeticians in the building zone.


They can drive a trolley car and spell words on street signs with huge foam magnetic letters.



They can cook and clean and care for infants and pets in the house, which has a life-size staircase to a second level where there's a doll house and reading room.


There's a log they can crawl through and a treehouse to climb up into that also has some nice private reading nooks.

And all the while they can browse and select picture books on display throughout the whole town, then check themselves (for real) out in the Storyville Library. They haven't forgotten the babies, though, because there's a gated area where babies can safely play.

Techie Moms, you'll be glad to know that the place has free Wi-Fi for your smartphone since it's connected to the Woodlawn Library building, and older kids (6 and up) can color, do puzzles, read, and play with magnetic shapes and letters, etc., in the play area just inside the library doors while little ones enjoy Storyville, provided you have someone with you to help supervise them. There's also a huge coat room as you come in with a rocking chair, cubbies, and a table with sidewalk chalk to keep them entertained while you wait for a friend, nurse or change the baby, or just take a breather. The bathrooms are also located near the entrance, they're kid-and-family-friendly and are always sweet-smelling and clean! Can't ask for more.

They have a variety of coloring pages at the check-in desk that are best to grab on your way out to soften the blow of having to leave before your child/ren are ready, which will be NEVER, unless Spiderman himself is outside waiting.

My only disappointment: They only allow 5 and unders inside, so in another 6-8 months, we may have to find a new spot (most likely Great Kids Village in Columbia), but please believe that we're gonna milk the next half-a-year we have for what it's worth!

There's another branch not too far from Woodlawn in Rosedale, fyi. If you visit, please remember to come back and leave a comment to let us know if you loved it as much as we do. Happy playing!