Two Kids at the Ball Game

__Before I get going, I better let y'all know that this is Ian and not Mandy; she cannot be held responsible for anything I say nor for the ridiculous length of this post...

__I used my birthday money from March and purchased my first jersey, the Majestic, "Stance," Tony Gwynn, #19. It is an awesome throw-back Padres jersey and I am so excited to have it.

__Well, tonight Emma and I went to the BYU, SD State baseball game and Gwynn happens to be the head coach of SD St. We had been planning this for a while with the hope of getting Gwynn's autograph. We showed up later than we planned (anyone surprised?) and SD St. had just finished taking infield (warming up). I leaned over the side of the dugout and there he was, a little larger than his days with the Pads, but still super-human.

__I called out to him, "Excuse me, Mr. Gwynn. Would you be willing to give me an autograph?" He looked away and my stomach dropped, I was too late, autograph time was over and he was not gonna give me the time of day.

__Then he slowly stood up and approached Emma and me and replied, "You forgot to say please."

__I felt like a 10-year-old boy and sounded like one as I blurted out, "Pretty please!"

__He grinned a bit and reached into his pocket to pull out a sharpie. I stripped off my jersey and eagerly handed it to him. Another Pads fan I had befriended asked if I had my camera and since I didn't, she snapped a picture of Emma and me with Tony signing in the background. He began teasing her, saying that I'd never learn how the autograph business works if I didn't make a few mistakes. I'll be sure and post that pic when she e-mails it to me! I had done it. I got the autograph to go with my jersey. I packed up my jersey and Emma and I sat down to enjoy the first two innings of the game (that was all Emma could handle; it was getting pretty cold).

__I talked to dad right after I got the autograph and he said he was watching the game online. We determined what part of the stands he could see from the video feed so Emma and I sat down and waited for the next hitter. Emma's bright yellow jacket stood out perfectly and he could see us sitting right behind home plate. Then the camera zoomed in on a daddy and his daughter enjoying "America's Past-time" and Grampa got a great view of his sweet little Emma and his favorite son! What a great night for baseball!

Here we are after the game.

Doesn't that signature look great?

Gotta love the throw-back colors.

Spending a few hours alone with daddy made Emma a little wacky, and yes, she did manage to pull out her hair within our first 20 minutes together.