ROYALty

The past few weeks have seemed to be a whirlwind and I don't exactly know where to begin. 

Two weekends ago I spent the whole time with my mom. Serious pool time was the priority. It was a very laid back and relaxing weekend. 

I did a crab boil during that lazy weekend. Let's just say any Steel Magnolia would have been proud. 

The next work week was short. Hello Labor Day weekend! Tuesday I went to my parent's house because I had to vote in the run off election in Oklahoma. I spent the night at my parent's house and found an old shirt my mom had with her face on it. I think I look just like her!

Nothing finer than a woman who votes!

Mom said she thinks it was made at Six Flags on a vacation. It will be in many blogs to come. 

I took Friday off to go to Tulsa to watch my cousin Lane's last baseball series against the Drillers on Thursday and Friday night.  

That is our favorite Natural in the background. 

Saturday we headed to Springdale, AR for what we thought would be a weekend of watching baseball and then getting home early Sunday evening. This did not happen. 

Saturday afternoon L called his mother to tell her he was not playing that night. We were all bummed to not get to watch him play but in the back of my mind I knew something was up. We spent the evening running around Fayetteville and letting all the kids swim and play. 

Now before I get into what happened Sunday, let me give you a little background on the month of September in baseball. Crazy. Shit. Happens. With L being on the Royals 40 Man Roster there has been the possibility of him getting called up to the major league team all season, but September is when you see a playoff push and call ups happen with just a phone call. 

Sunday afternoon as we were getting ready to head to the ballpark my Aunt Shelley got a call from L (Shelley is L's mom).

L: I'm not playing tonight. 

S:What? Well, we will come to the game anyway. The First Baptist Church is coming so we need to be there. 

L: Well, I might not be there. 

S: Why?!?

L: I will be on my way to Kansas City. I got called up. You can't say anything until the organization releases it though. 

This is were we had to start lying and getting our act together. We had to go to the game or people from our hometown would know something was up. My aunt Shelley and I helped L unload his Tahoe since it was loaded to come back to Red Oak and not KC.

The moment the Royals organization released the last season call ups social media went crazy. Phone calls, text messages, tweets, posts were coming in so fast that we couldn't keep up. 

There were about 12 of our family members in Springdale that weekend and without any question we all knew we were going to KC Monday morning for L's first Major League game. From Springdale, KC is only about 3.5 hours. 

No one could sleep Sunday night. It was like waiting for Christmas morning. We woke up earlier than our alarms and got on the road. I road in the back of my aunt's Enclave with three little girls. If I never have to watch an episode of Dora the Explorer again I will be happy. 

Once in KC, we stopped for some new Royals garb and went to the ballpark after some Kansas City style BBQ. 

As I walked into Kauffman Stadium and looked out on the field I found tears in my eyes. My little cousin L was warming up as a Major League Baseball player. He was living a childhood dream with the number 45 on his back. 

We watched batting practice and just took in the moment. Deep down we knew he probably wouldn't play that night but seeing him in uniform and supporting him was all we wanted. 

The Royals were playing the Texas Rangers that evening. It was a gorgeous night for baseball. We met up with our family from KC.  L's high school baseball coach, who is also our cousin, came as well as others from RO. 

In the bottom of the 8th inning, the Royals' DH came to bat. He was walked. Then we saw the number 45 come out of the dugout to pinch run.  We went crazy! 

L had a smile from ear to ear. He only played that inning since the Royals didn't take their last at bat but we were there. 

After the game we drove home on a high. The 5.5 hour drive home was worth it. I got home at 4:30am, took a shower and crawled into my bed for a few hours. My head was in a fog all Tuesday long. 

Car ride to KC. 

My favorite KC Royal. This was L's rookie jersey. 

The fabulous five! It was a bitter sweet moment with my Ginny not being there. She would have been beaming with pride and joy. 

L on first!

L sent this snapchat Monday night. I usually don't screenshot things but I had to keep this one. 

We are all still on cloud nine and it just keeps getting better. 

As I type this blog, I am on a plane headed to NYC. The Royals have a three game series with the Yankees and I am going. Thanks Aunt KK and Uncle Steve for the plane ticket! 

Cheers and Be Royal,

C