cousins, a dodger game, a concert and a picture with the cast from the office

in typical mitas fashion we had a jam packed weekend.

saturday my cousins were in town from ensenada. so we took the kids for a cultural clash to duarte to meet them. i grew up visiting them at least once a month and during my college years I would spend a few weeks of my summer vacation soaking up the baja sun, visiting clubs (for term papers on intercultural socialization of course) and going to the tortilleria to get a fresh stack of corn tortillas. there was a moment on saturday when i could not believe that there i was watching my kids play with their kids in the pool. i guess i always still think of us as little kids playing together.

it was funny to see them try to communicate. their daughter speaks better english than my kids speak spanish. i know, i know bring on the criticism. there is no exuse. at one point i tried to show off that sofia knows her colors in spanish. (she learned that from dora not me) I would say 'how do you say blue in spanish.' and she would answer 'rojo.' then i would say ' how do you say green in spanish?' and she would answer 'amarillo.' my cousin turned to me and said 'the only thing you are showing off is that your three year old doesn't know her colors.' that is what i remember most about spending time with them, laughing. laughing till i was crying.

remarkably, i did not take a picture of this day. yeah really. i can't get them all i guess.

sunday we had the awesome good fortune to get tickets to the dodger game. but not just any tickets . . .i met up with a good friend from high school at sofia's preschool. she and her husband are season ticket holders to the dodger club. two tickets in row GG behind home plate for evey dodger home game. a few weeks ago at swim class she asked if we would be interested in taking one of her sunday games. i was like, wha? yes, yes, yes. i debated telling bobby or surprising him the day of. but i couldn't keep this from him. so sunday we headed out to dodger stadium at 11 o'clock with our prefered parking pass and a lot of hope in our eyes.

as we got out of our car and started walking the few steps to the stadium we heard someone calling our name. it was jordan's friend ryan and his parents jay and marisol also coming to enjoy the game. we went to the outfield to try and catch some practice balls from the braves. it was so great seeing bobby's face light up and holding his glove in the air. he never got anything but the experience was worth it.

so then we made our way to the dugout club underneath the stadium. we enjoyed a buffet spread of omelettes, salads, seafood, desserts and candy. basically anything that did not have meat or dairy, we consumed. and there was plenty. it was cool and relaxing. no lines and no prices. it is all included in the ticket. when we were full but not stuffed we grabbed some peanuts and an ice cold water and made our way to our seats. just a few rows behind the net. we sat down on our cushioned seats and watched the teams take their place on the field.

it was cool being so close and really feeling like you are a part of the game. and the guy that would come by to ask if we needed anything, for free, was pretty cool too. he brought us some sunscreen, fried calamari and an ice cold towel. it was bloody hot. we went inside during the fifth inning to cool off and so bobby could get a slice of s'more cake. then we finished off the game in our seats. heat or not we were not going to miss a moment of this experience.

just a couple rows behind us were a few of the cast members from 'the office'; Kevin, Oscar and Angela. i tried getting a picture of them from our seats but i didn't want to look like a stalker. as we were leaving the stadium they were standing in the lobby and i got up the nerve to ask for a picture. bobby and i have seen our fair share of celebrities and really hate to bother them for a picture but this was one i wanted to capture, and why not. so here it is:

really, could the weekend get any better? well, yes.

for the final leg of our day we went to the starlight bowl in burbank for the big bad voodoo daddy concert.


we did this a few years ago and it was so much fun. we met bob and d there, laid our blankets on the grass and enjoyed the night under the stars. we are big fans of their music, mostly their older stuff. the best part was watching sofia dance and play the air guitar. finally, at 9:30pm we headed home. full, happy and exhausted.