Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Night

If you've been around Alli at all over the past few months, you know just how much she loves the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  She comes by it naturally, after all.  Her parents are two of the biggest TMNT fans around.  She spends every night in her mama's old Ninja Turtle sleeping bag, sleeping on top of her covers, with her head on a Mikey pillow, usually wearing one of her four Ninja Turtle t-shirts.  It's pretty much an obsession.

So when we got tipped by my sister that there was going to be a TMNT promotion at our local minor league ballpark, we were in.  I bought tickets a few weeks ago, and we've had a lot of discussion in our house about how awesome it was going to be, what we were going to wear, and what the Turtles would look like.

We got to the ballpark early and let Alli bounce on the inflatables.  Alli and Ryan wore their TMNT shirts, and we spied lots of other kids (and a few adults) sporting Turtle gear.  Then, while we were waiting in line for some grub (funnel dog, anyone?), they announced that the Ninja Turtles were walking onto the field.  I bailed on Ryan, grabbed Alli's hand and ran to get a view.  Leo threw out the first pitch, and there was a lot of cheering.  Alli was beside herself.  The Turtles walked off the field, and I turned my attention back to my funnel dog.

We went to sit in our seats, eat, and watch the game - all the while keeping our eyes peeled for the Turtles.  Finally, after the 4th inning, I walked up to Guest Services to make sure the TMNT were actually going to come out for pictures.  They assured me they'd be out soon, but we had a very impatient fan on our hands - and Alli was getting antsy too!

I saw a lady in front of us grab her son and whisper "I heard the Turtles are about to come out!" so I alerted Alli and Ryan and made a beeline for where a crowd was already starting to gather.  Thanks to that lady, we were about fifth in line!  And let me tell you, that line formed quickly behind us and it got loooong.  Alli could barely stand it she was so excited.

When it was her turn, Alli went straight to Mikey.

 But we also got a shot with the whole gang too...

And then, with a little prodding (okay, none at all), Ryan took a picture of me and my original true love.

This is a picture 20 years in the making, people.  Take it in.

Afterwards, we took her over to the playground to play, and on our way out, we caught Sinker, one of the Naturals' mascots.  He was no Raph or Mikey, but he was cute too.

We went home with a very happy little lady to watch the new episode of TMNT, and she fell asleep the second time through on the couch.  I'd like to think TMNT night was a total success.  Turtle Power - Cowabunga dudes!!