Excuses, excuses

Whether it be to celebrate a friend's birthday, catch a Cyclones game or two, or do a little shopping, there is always an excuse to return to Brooklyn.

Birthday fun outdoors!

Some of Liam's Brooklyn buddies!

Lots of water games, hence Liam in the same swimsuit.

(I don't think he has worn much of anything else this summer.)

Cool mural at the Brooklyn Cyclones' stadium

"Meet the Players" event 

(Make no mistake, these guys are huge.)

At bat, Jose Reyes of the New York Mets
(recovering from an injury)

Jose Reyes coming into home 

(He did what he could for the Cyclones, but they lost anyway.)

 Air guitar to a Jonas Brothers song 

(It was "Summer Camp" day and the stadium was loaded with elementary school-aged children.)

 Daddy and the team mascot

(nearing the end of the game when the summer camp children had already exited)

House slippers, water shoes, flip flops, Chinese fans, hummus, baklava, halva, smoked almonds and dried apricots (from my favorite Turkish deli), toy cars and one pink shirt for mama (picked out by Liam)

 My sentiments exactly!

Take me out...

...to the ball game... A minor league game, but nevertheless, a baseball game played by professional athletes. Last night, we went to see the Brooklyn Cyclones play the Hudson Valley Renegades at Coney Island courtesy of one of my husband's Park Slope friends who has season tickets.

Yes! We were THAT close! Right behind home plate! Yippee!

We stuffed our faces with all sorts of ballpark food and even had room for the Cracker Jack.

It was "Medieval Times" Night at the ballpark.

It takes a really special daddy to go along with the fun and wear the paper crown, for Liam's sake, of course.

We even got our cheeks painted. Liam was a little spooked by the clown (who isn't afraid of clowns when they are THIS close?), but he was brave and stood perfectly still. I can't imagine though, what must have been going through Liam's mind as he stared at this clown painting his little cheek. 

Liam got a baseball and I went the Brooklyn Cyclones logo. How silly of me, I know, but I guess I'm hoping Liam will see me as a cool mommy.

At bat is Burt Reynolds, but not the one you are thinking. I guess this man's mama was a huge fan of the actor.

Every time he was up, they put up a different picture of the actor Burt Reynolds on the board. Hilarious!

Liam with the team mascot. Don't you just love that they are wearing the same sneakers?

One last pic before heading home. It was getting late and the Cyclones were losing anyway. You can't blame them, though. You should have seen the size of those Renegades.

Even though we have moved out of Brooklyn, we always seem to find an excuse to go back. With fun like this to be had, who could resist? All in all, though, we had a fun night! Thanks to the generosity of friends.