On Saturday evening, we went to our first Rockies game. Warren and Sue Black and their three children came to stay with us - they are on exchange from Wollongong - and we got the light rail into Denver. The Rockies are doing really well this season, so they are getting high attendance to games. They have a really busy schedule, often playing six days of the week, at top level baseball - so compared to competitive sport in Australia, they earn their money. Saying that, I think they earn a lot MORE money than professional sportspeople in Australia, so maybe it is all relative! It started at 6pm, and they played the Tampa Bay Rays. It was the second game of three, and they had lost the first game on Friday night, 4-7. Everyone had warned us that the game can be really boring if they don't get too many runs, but we were really lucky, and got an entertaining game, and they won 9-3! Unfortunately, they lost the final game 3-8 on Sunday, so lost the series, but we were happy they won the game we were at. Each team bats 9 innings each, and the game finished after 10pm. It was much cooler by the time the game finished - the photo above was taken just before we entered Coors Field, the Rockies home ground, and the photo below was taken at the end of the game. 
The whole game was quite a spectacle, including Coors Stadium, which has a capacity of 50,445. The game started with the Star Spangled Banner, played by a youth band (there is a picture below) where everyone stands, takes off their hats, and places their hand on their heart. Of course, there is the food. We had to have hot dogs at the baseball - Phil declared them not as bad as he was expecting :), and another sweet, called a tornado, which was 'doughnut bread' - one of the Americans recommended we try it, and it was really good! We also tried fruit kebabs on sticks, which were drizzled with chocolate, and really tasty. Quinn was just happy with his 'cotton candy'. We got to see one of the stars, Carlos Gonzales hit a home run, and another relatively new player to the team, Tony Tulowitzki, got a Grand Slam. This was a completely new baseball term to me, but means when a player hits a home run, and the bases are loaded. Needless to say the crowd went wild, and it was lots of fun to be a part of. One of the home runs went over the fence into the duck pond, and the poor little ducks all went flying up into the air!
We got the light rail home, so it ended up quite a late night for everyone. It was Sue's birthday on Sunday, and we had special french toast for breakfast, which was really yummy. They headed off by about 10am, as they had a 6 hour drive to just outside of Durango, in the South of Colorado, where they are staying for the year. We just had a pretty quiet Sunday.
On Monday, Luke woke up, and one of his two front teeth which has been wobbly for weeks, fell out. He was pretty excited about this, as he had heard stories of the tooth fairy delivering $20 for a molar over here, but I tried to explain to him that I didn't think the tooth fairy was that generous. Anyway, he came home from school that afternoon, and he had lost his other front tooth. This had doubled the number of teeth that he has lost, as prior to this, he had only lost the two down the bottom. Apparently, he was telling everyone at school that he had lost his tooth, and showing them, and they all recommended that he pull the other one out. It was only hanging in there by a thread, but still a bit gross! So he managed to pull it out, and when they lose a tooth at school, they get to choose a little treasure chest, like the one he is holding in the photo above, to bring it home in. So, the tooth fairy delivered on Monday night, and by Friday he had spent his money! Quinn keeps telling me now that he has a loose tooth - I don't like his chances, as Ryan is a little disappointed none of his are even a little bit wobbly yet.
On Friday at the boys school, mum's could go up to the cafeteria and have breakfast with their kids for Mother's Day. The PTO put on coffee and muffins from 8.15 til 9am, so we went and joined in. The boys loved the chocolate muffins, and it was a nice thing to do with them. Parents are welcome to join their children for lunch in the cafeteria any day they like, and Luke has told me that there are kids in his class whose grandparents go up every day to have lunch with them.
On Friday night the boys had their first school dance - it was a Hip Hop Dance, and they were all encouraged to get dressed up. The photo above is of Luke and Ryan, with Avery, our neighbour who is in Kindergarten, just before we left to go up to school. It was from 6-8pm, and parents had to stay, except for 5th and 6th graders, who were allowed to be dropped off. So Jen and I went up with the boys. They had a really good time, but were mainly racing around with their friends. They were told to bring money, in addition to the $5 admission, and the students were selling pizza, drink, popcorn, temporary tattoos and glow bands - very enterprising! I even got up for a dance, as Ryan asked me to dance with him. Figured that might not last for a lot longer, so will enjoy it while I can.
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