Family Night Out at the Clippers

April 9, 2012

When your family grows, in a matter of months, from a family of two to a family of five, there are times when you just need to escape.
There are times when, Seth and I, both having been single parents, are quick to recognize when the other needs a break. These could be motorcycle rides for him or quick jobs for me. Or maybe trips to the store or nights out with friends. And then there are times when the entire family is due for a break, together. We squeeze at least one family outing in a week. On these days, we’ll usually plot out the day’s activities in the morning after breakfast.
Once we’ve agreed on the best plan of attack we announce the day’s plans to the naturally rebellious and always at the ready for a full blown mutiny children. In this way, we can ensure the lack of said mutiny. Our carefully laid out plans can often go awry, but when we stick to them to the tee – the day ends with happier adults and kids.
On this particular day we started with two soccer games. In which, I took a moment to coach Seth’s 7 year old daughter in the ways of goal keeping.

And Benjamin conquered a few more levels of Angry Birds Space.

The angry face is for added effect.
After the soccer games we went home for quiet, play time and then some outdoor play time before we headed off to a Clipper’s game at Huntington Park in the Arena District. While the boys were so thrilled and could hardly contain their excitement, his daughter protested at first, “Baseball! I don’t want to go to a baseball game!”
But as soon as we arrived she was swept up in the excitement of it all.


These family nights out are a necessity on a weekly basis and when you can have one on a tight budget, that makes it even more worthwhile. We took advantage of an opening weekend special and all five of our reserved seating tickets were only $30.00.
On our way up to our club level seats we stopped at the food stands. First for nachos,

then three sliders for Benjamin (covered in potato chips),

A bratwurst piled in sour kraut for Seth, which didn’t last long at all.

Then some beer for Mom and Dad,

And finally a pulled pork sandwich for Seth (apparently the Brat didn’t do the job, or he couldn’t resist another delicious snack during the game).

After all of that we made it to our seats where the kids attention span lasted for an entire two innings.

They were lucky enough to witness two home runs, one with the ball landing just above us, which had them all absolutely jumping out of their seats.

Two hours later from the time we left the house to the time we left the game, we had managed to completely tucker them out.
I’m not sure what I love most about the Clipper’s games: the game itself, the food, the beer or the crowd. However you slice it, the Clipper’s is a must on every family’s outing list for the Spring and Summer in Columbus. Enjoy! For upcoming games visit the event section of our Website.
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Alaina Shearer is the Principal of Cement Marketing, an interactive marketing firm in Columbus, Ohio offering social marketing, search engine optimization and Web design and development services. She is also the author of Ms. Single Mama, her blog on dating as a single mother.