February 14th

For most of you and the rest of the world today is a Holiday in which you celebrate your love for your partner, children or parents. February 14th for me and other baseball wives is the symbolization of one thing....Baseball Season. Every year February 14th is the day that Pitchers and Catchers "report" to Spring Training. So in my case today is a double Holiday! I dont really get all twisted and tangled about Jess having to "report" today because he really doesnt care about Valentines Day anyway. So its really not spoken of in our house (hotel room). Im just glad I get to be with him, we dont need one day to celebrate our love for each other. The thing he has going against him though is that its our anniversary. Not like the marking of any year or anything but we were married on the 14th of November so its just another month marked down. Although the hater of the Holiday that he is he managed to be sneaky and get me something. He isnt into flowers because in his words "They just DIE Erica!" Cards to him are a waste of money and I love chocolate but thats cliche. So he got me a Edible Arrangement! YAY! He knows how much I love fruit so he got the one that had heart shaped pineapples and chocolate dipped strawberries! It was so thoughtful! I couldnt even believe it! Im sure yall are wondering what I got him, right? Well I got him a little box that was full of his fave candies and a card. I should have gotten him dip but around here the kind he likes is never in stock! Here are some pics of our gifts....

 Yummy!

Sugar High!

This evening we are just going to have a normal dinner at Texas Roadhouse. Thought we were high maintenance didnt you? Nope not us! Hope yalls day of Love was amazing! 

Love,

E

Hiking Day Saturday!

Today Johanna Herrmann and I went Hiking! As soon as the boys left to the field after breakfast we took off to Estrella Park and went Hiking! It was a 5 mile loop and at one point in time I thought to myself "Noone told me to bring my harness gear!" I was huffing and puffing like I had been smoking for 20 years! Shimmy-ing up and down the mountain, you would have thought I was a Go-Go Dancer! The whole reason we went was to take Johanna's dog Dennis on a "good walk". Wowzers! I dont think he was prepared for that kind of walk! It was fun though and I never fell! I was so happy that I made it 5 whole miles without busting my butt! By the time we were done the boys were back from the field. It was a beautiful day here, probably the best day since we have been here. I just wanted to stay outside all day! Here are some pictures from our hike!

 And we are off!

 Gaining elevation....

 Whoo Hoo! Made it to the top!

 The Trails we hiked, they were connected into one!

Tonight we went out to Sushi, our favorite Sushi place is just 5 minutes away so we take advantage of it all the time! Here is a little picture of us before we went out! 

I hope yall are enjoying the "Pre Valentines Day" weekend!
Love,
E

Day 7

Today we have officially been here for a week! My allergies are finally clearing up (knock on wood) and I think we are finally adjusted to the time change and all the other things we were adjusting to. My sleep habit has gotten a little better but not back to where it was. I think ultimately why I cant sleep is because I forgot my "baseball pillow" at my parents house in Ennis. I do not let many people know this but I dont/cant sleep without it. I am realizing now that it is next to impossible to do so. Growing up I didnt have this problem of having to sleep with a pillow. I developed this Freshman year of College when I met Jess. He had to sleep with this pillow that Memaw made for him between his legs and when I spent the night (No this is not X rated Chris and his gf slept in the same room as us so there was no whatever is going thru your mind going on. How dare you think Im that kind of girl :)) I would sleep with his Jess' baseball pillow because I didnt have any other pillow and because Jess didnt share. He needed all 3 regular pillows to himself. When he got drafted he left the "baseball pillow" with me as a somewhat parting gift I guess?? Kind of like giving someone a lock of hair, No? Ok, well that is what started my habit. After he left I slept with it every night since then. I even lost it once in an airport and I searched high and low for a new one. Long story short I need it to sleep so my mother is sending it out here to me so hopefully once it is here I will be back to getting a full night of z's! Thank you mom!

This week has been nice, I have gotten ahead in my Microeconomics class. My brain actually feels like its on Microeconomics overload! I am happy to be ahead though, to me its a good feeling. Other than that we have spent our week learning new card games. Well Ive done the learning Jess is doing the teaching. I actually beat him today so I was happy, before he knows it I will be whooping his butt! Jess has also gotten ahead in his Call of Duty playing. He has played so much this week that he has moved up 20 ranks! He is the ultimate killer! (Sounds bad, I know)

Jess "Doin Work" as he says on Call of Duty

Me "Doin Work" Lol :)

I am looking forward to the weekend, one of the player's wife's and I are going Hiking in the morning so Im excited about that. I hope yall enjoy the weekend!

Love,

E

Getting Adjusted....

As all of you know we are here in the great state of Arizona and we are in the adjusting phase. We go thru this process every time we go somewhere new. Due to the change in environment and atmosphere, I have been battling against some awful congestion and we have both been battling the time change. Granted we are only an hour behind but the days go by sooooooo sllllooooowwwww. (That was my interpretation of a slo-mo type voice so just picture me doing/saying it that way) Its weird because the days drag and the nights drag but morning comes super fast. I doubt you understand what I mean, so let me break it down for you. The days take forever to go by and I have no problem falling asleep but soon after I wake up. Then fall back asleep, then a noise will happen in the hallway or our refrigerator will kick on or something and I will wake up. I then look at the window to see if the sun is close to coming up and....its not! So then I fall back asleep and wake up and I do this a couple more times until DING ding DING ding! My alarm starts singing! So thats what I mean when I say the days drag, the nights drag and then Wham! Bam! Thank you, Mrs. Todd its now morning!

We have gotten a pretty good routine down though. We wake up in the morning, get dressed, go down and get coffee and breakfast and then watch the news or read the paper. Jess leaves here around 8:30am and heads to the field. I then go workout, get ready for the day and do whatever homework I have for the day before he gets home which is usually around 11:45am. At 12 I make lunch and we sit and have lunch and watch more news. (Never striked yall as News people did we? Lol) Then I will go run errands and he usually plays hours amongst hours of Call of Duty: Black Ops. Not a game I encourage any of you to buy your children. Lots of killing! Ughh! Jess has dreams about killing people thats how much he gets into it. He plays with his X-Box connected online so he is able to play with anyone anywhere. Last night he played against Clint which was fun for me to listen to. They are both still little boys at heart so It makes me laugh a little.

Yesterday was what the Arizona-ns call a high haze day. (I will post a picture below this paragraph so you can see what Im talking about.) It was very hazy out which makes it hard to see the mountains. Who cares about seeing the mountains, right? Just kidding! Anyway today it is windy! Ouhh-weee let me tell you! (Im sure your thinking "How dare her?, It is 14 degrees here in Texas and she is complaining about the weather in Arizona!") So let me explain Im not complaining I am simply stating that it is very very windy here. Jess said he froze to death today because he didnt bring any of his warm baseball stuff (because they get new stuff every year) but the equipment truck hasnt made it here yet so they dont have anything really here for them to wear. Yeah dumb I know.

Jess is still feeling good about this year and he said he threw a good bullpen yesterday so that is even better. I know he is ready to get after it and get started so we are just counting down the days until camp begins. Once camp does start our schedule will be different. I will take him to the field verses him taking himself, only because once camp is actually on and going the time varies of when they will be done. Some days are long ones and some days arent so long. We just like to prepare for the long ones just in case I need to go somewhere or do something.

I know yall are not enjoying the new batch of snow/ice/sleet yall got but I hope yall are enjoying yalls day.
Love,
E

Home Sweet Hotel Home

Well we made it! After being in an airport/in an airplane for 10 hours! I cant complain though, we could have had to stay over night. So no complaining over here! Yesterday we got settled in our new home which is the Towne Place Suites Marriot. Not too shabby, I must say. I mean its smaller than we thought but we have everything we need and it has a ton of storage. Here are some pics of our humble abode.

 This is the view from our entry way into our room.

 Walk a couple steps and your now in our bedroom/living room.

 View from the opposite side of the room.

 View of our entry way from our room.

 Lovely desk/storage.

 Make shift closet storage by me. If you need my assistance just give me a call! Haha.

Our fabulous kitchen! (It even has granite!)

Not too bad huh? I like it a lot! They also serve breakfast here so we went down this morning to check it out and it is so good! They have a variety of things to eat so that is going to help out a lot as far as breakfast every morning. Yesterday we also went and got groceries, before we went we got a paper and checked out the sales and see what coupons were in there. We got quite a few coupons and ended up saving $47.92. We felt so cool saving all that money! I mean you would have thought we won the lottery! I would like to give a shout out to Mandy for helping get into the "Couponing". I am now obsessed since I know I can save that much money! So thank you Mandy for giving me advice on what to do! 

Other than that we have been taking it easy. Jess will go to the field tomorrow and I will get back into a routine studying. We dont plan on ever doing much because quite frankly Arizona is not that cool to us and its not safe by any means. We decided last night while we were admiring the mountains outside our window that Arizona is so lonely. Its just not homey at all. Jess hates that there is no grass anywhere, that annoys him to the rim! He says "There is just no grass here!" about 15 times a day. He makes the best of though while we are here so that is all that counts. 

Tonight we are going to order pizza and watch the Super Bowl. I hope you all are enjoying yalls Super Bowl Sunday and we want yall to know that it is an understatement to say we miss yall a ton! Talk to yall soon and thank you again for reading!

Love,

E

The South: Unequipped to Handle a Snow Storm

Well the day had finally arrived! We were all packed and ready to go when Mother Nature and her Global Warming butt wanted to put a kink in millions of people's lives and give us a beautiful snow storm. I could hardly be mad because I love the snow a lot and I just think it is the most beautiful thing this world can produce through weather. I just wished it would had hit a couple of days earlier or after we were already in the air. When we laid down to go to bed at 10:30 on Thursday night it had already started to snow at my parents house. Knowing this I set my alarm for 5:00am so I could get up and watch the news to get updated on the weather. When 5am came I went into the living room where my dad was already awake and had the news on. I looked out the back kitchen window to see a TON of snow! "Ugghhhhhhhhh!" Went through my mind, I thought "how the heck are we supposed to drive in this?!" All the while the news was in the background repeatedly saying "If you do not have to leave your house dont!" "The roads are in bad conditions and there have been 46 accidents since 12 midnight last night." My dad being a work Natzi will be at work rain or shine, hell or high water and through sleet and snow. There was no doubt in my mind, I knew he was going to work. So he got ready, we said our "See ya later" instead of "Goodbye" and he left. (Back Story on the "see ya later": When Jess got drafted and it came time for him to leave I told him not to say "Goodbye" to me, say "See ya later" because that gave me hope we would see each other again. Not that him or I were going to fall off the face of the Earth, just because we were young and hadnt been together long enough to know we would for sure see each other again after being apart for 4 months. Since then I wont tell anyone "Goodbye" its too emotional for me and I get too attached to people to say that to them. I know Im weird but I just cant help it.) I then got out my computer and checked our flight status. We were still departing on time (so it said) so that meant that I needed to get myself ready and get us on the road. Around 6:00 I went outside to actually check out the car and turn it on, as I made my way back into the garage I was hopping through the snow. (You should just know this is about to get ugly) I wear my Uggs religiously and that is what I had on, if you have ever seen any Ugg boots you would know that the bottom of them is clean smooth. They have a foam type bottom that only make marks in dirt or sand. As I hopped my last hop from the snow into my parents garage when my foot hit the concrete I started to slide. (Kind of like when Marve on Home Alone did when McCauley Culkin set out that slimy stuff down in there basement or wherever it was.) I started to slide and all my weight went backwards and then I went into the air! When I finally made it to the ground I landed on my left hip side and I slide under my sisters truck that was in the garage. Thank goodness I grabbed onto her tailgate because I think I would have slid all the way under there if not! Ofcourse I screamed but noone heard me and its a good thing I didnt hit my head and get knocked out because noone would have rescued me and I would have froze to death on top of us missing our flight! When I woke Jess up that morning I told him what happened and of course he laughed! He said "Your officially a Todd today!" I said "How or Why is that?" He replied with "Because you fell pretty hard today!" I thought to myself "Well if falling hard makes me a Todd then I must have been a Todd since I was born!, Ive been falling like that for years!"

After he got ready and we got all of our stuff together I woke my mom up to let her know we were leaving. I told my sister "See ya later" and we headed out. This was about 6:30, It normally only takes 45 minutes to get to the airport but I knew with how much snow was on the ground we werent getting there in that quick of time. Jess drove and we ended up making it there in an hour and a half. He drove between 25-35 mph so we only slid a total of 3 times! Lucky us! The roads werent that bad it was just the non experienced Texans that were the problem. Luckily for us our vacation in Crested Butte gave us some practice. When we got to the airport and got to the ticket counter the guy asked us where we were going followed with "Do yall have to go today?" That was my first clue that the day was going to be a long one! I replied with "Yes, we really have somewhere to be and If its possible we will wait all day to get on a flight out." He said "Alrighty then, I just wanted to make sure before I sent you through and checked your bags that you were prepared for delays." He checked our luggage and gave us our boarding passes and said "Good Luck!" Once we got through security and to our gate we were greeted by this outside the window.

Uhhh yeah my optimism went out that very window! I knew then the snow storm that had taken over the Big D had taken over our flight out of there! We were going to be there for a while. We then decided that if our flight did get cancelled we would just stay over night and take the first flight out in the morning. Since the Super Bowl had also taken over Dallas, finding a cheap hotel was out of the question. Our original flight time was 9:25 and since we had gotten there at 8 we had some time to kill. We didnt want to just grab a quick Mcdonalds breakfast when we knew there was a possibility we could be there all day long so we waited it out. Around 9:15 they came on the speaker and said they would be making an announcement at 9:30 regarding whether we were leaving or not. Well 9:30 came and went and then came 10 then 10:30. I happened to look up at the monitor and it said that Flight 8 to El Paso on to Phoenix had been cancelled! No update! No call! No nothing! I just happened to see it on the screen! Then more people saw it and more and so on. I then started to see a line form at the ticket counter for our gate. I told Jess to grab our computer bags and get in line while I called Southwest on the phone. I figured one way or the other I could get ahold of someone that could get us on another flight. I ended up getting someone on the phone way faster than we did in line. I asked him what was going on and he said "Well all flights going out before noon are cancelled." "I can put you on another flight but it might end up getting cancelled too, its just whether or not they can get in the air today." I said ok fine and he changed our flight to the 2:50 one. We had to stay in line to figure out our luggage situation and get new boarding tickets so that took another hour. By the time we got all that taken care of it was 11:30 and we were starving. I never understood why airports had bars but yesterday I was thankful for the one in Dallas Love Airport! We ate at Chili's and I had a bloody mary and Jess had a beer. It killed some time since we knew we werent leaving until almost 3.

Yes, total domination on my part! I was stressed so dont judge, lol. After we left the Chili's Bar (classy I know) we went to the magazine shop to stock up and then proceeded to our new gate. I took a nap for about 15 minutes because I was just exhausted. (No I didnt pass out from my 1 bloody mary!) When I woke up I had the marks from my sweater on my face. (Even classier I know) Jess then offered to get us more drinks so he went and got me another bloody mary and him another beer. He said when he got back that they were running out of beer in the airport. There were tons of people there from delayed or cancelled flights and everyone was pretty much drinking from boredom so It didnt seem shocking that they were running out. I felt like I was in college all over again, midday drinking for no reason. 2:35 rolled around and that was our boarding time yet noone was moving. Another delay! I then prepared myself to really spend the night there. I knew we might not get out if it took any longer, the weather wasnt getting better and the temperature was not getting any warmer. So we sat there for about another hour. Then a plane started to pull into our gate. People roared and clapped it felt like we were in a movie! I had never experienced something like that. Pure joy and happiness over a plane pulling into a gate! We finally took off around 4 something. From there we went on to Tulsa to let off and on some passengers. That took a little longer than expected but then we were finally on our way to PHOENIX! YAY, YAY, YAY! The flight was full and long but I couldnt even complain because atleast we were on our way. We landed in Phoenix at 8 there time and 9 yalls time. We took a cab to Goodyear from Phoenix which is about 25 minutes and we went straight to the field to get our rental car. By the time we got to the hotel, checked in and got all our luggage off it was about 9:30. We were starving so we hit up the nearest place to eat which was Subway. We didnt care what we ate we just wanted to eat and then go to sleep. We were absolutely exhausted! We had a very eventful day and it is definitely one that is going in our book of travel stories. Sorry for the over excessive post, there was just so much that went on I had to let you all in on it. I hope yall are all enjoying the snow even though it makes getting around and doing things much harder. We miss yall and love yall very much!
Love,
E

Packing day!!!

 What I started with....

 The finished product! :)

Have yall ever seen the "Whataburger" commercial that talks about how it is actually possible to fit a square peg into a round hole? What they are talking about is your mouth (round hole) eating a square type sandwich (square peg). In that instance that statement is true, but today when I tried to fit my square peg (my clothes) into a round hole (my suitcases) I had a little bit more trouble than the guy on the "Whataburger" commercial!

I knew I would! There was no doubt in my mind that I was going to have trouble packing because 2 suitcases in my mind is like only being able to pack half a bag. I just need stuff! I need all my clothes not just some of them. I love them and to leave them behind gives me separation anxiety! What if I have to go somewhere and a certain piece I had to leave behind would have been perfect for it! Thoughts like that go thru my mind! (Yes Im sick, Im sick in the head I will admit it any day when it comes to clothes, shoes or purses!) Last night I had a dream about what I was going to pack, that is how anxious I was about it. Honestly though my over-reacting DNA struck again because yes, I had to pack and re-pack 3 times but it wasnt nearly as bad I thought it was going to be. I left some good pieces behind but I will be back to get them in no time so I am not going to worry about it. (Yes I am still trying to convince myself its going to be ok).

It took about 4 hours but I got us both packed. The two of us each have 2 bags and we each have our computer bags and I have my purse. For me that is saying a lot because you know just as well as I do you can have 2 carry ons as well and I have plenty of carry on type suitcases. I could sneak one and pack more stuff but I am being strong and not doing that. I figure the more I take the more I have to lug around when we get there.

Kim cooked dinner for us, Brooke, Hailee, Hunter and Harpie tonight and I am so glad she did because after all that packing I had quite the appetite! She cooked Jess' favorite enchilada's, they are so good! Thank you Kim for feeding us and for making it possible for us all to eat together one last time before we left town. We are trying to get in all our favorite places and things to eat before we leave because the West Coast does not know how to party when it comes to Mexican food! You would think they would but let me be the first to tell you....THEY DONT! Dont even get me started on the Midwest either, they have not a clue what Queso or any type of delicious Southern Cooking is! This proves again why I think Texas is the best state ever! We know how to cook here and everyone else doesnt.

Last night Steph and Milton took us to Matsu's! Its a Japanese Steakhouse here in Kilgore and Its our fave Japanese Steakhouse period! We havent eaten at a better one and we think we wont ever! It was so nice of them and the food was absolutely delicious like it is everytime. So thank you Steph and Milton we enjoyed it so much and we appreciate it more than you will ever know!

Needless to say we are all packed up and we have the house all wrapped up and ready for us to leave. Its bitter sweet but we are so excited for this year. It calms my heart to know Jess is so ready to get out there and play. He is so pumped and I cant wait to watch another season of him doing what he loves! Stay tuned for tomorrow's post we are headed to Ennis to see my family before we head out on Friday and the weather is supposed to be getting bad so we will see what the future holds :)
Love,
E