#baseballwifelife: "that" time of the month

With the month winding down, tons of baseball ladies are saying to each other it’s that "time of the month".  Yes we are moody and we get headaches and although we are happy to see it come, we never look forward to it.  Most women (and even men) would assume that I am referring to starting my period.  Nope, not that time of the month- spring training camp is getting ready to end!  Talking to lots of other baseball wives, I can speak for all of us that we are excited the time is here, but it brings out so much anxiety and lots of not knowing in the next few days.  We knew coming into it that only God knows where the next move is going to be, so we try to be calm and let whatever comes our way hit us so we can take our base.

I am in this Facebook group titled "MiLB Wives and Girlfriends", and over the past few days there have been countless posts about living suggestions all across the country.  Even though I am not traveling with D.J. this season, whatever team he makes when ST breaks will make a big impact on our lives.  A 2.5 hour drive to North Carolina is a helluva (go UVA!) lot closer than driving up north to Ohio. 

We have all come to a time in our life when everyone

asks us "that" question.  When you are a senior in high school the question is "have you decided where you are going to college?" In college it turns to "have you chose a major yet?" Come senior year, it's "do you have a job lined up after graduation?" For baseball ladies the question throughout March is always "does he know where he is going to be playing this season?" We have a lot of those questions.  But to make the answer short, NO, we are not 100% sure where he will be. We have ideas and hopes of where, but that's the beauty of it all.  Fellow blogger and baseball wife Chelsea posted something that struck a chord with me a few days ago. Be joyful.  There are plenty of things in this situation that can bring us down.  Bad outings, the unknown, releases...lots of things can impact how the next 6 months pan out.  If you look too much into those things, you will lose precious moments that you will never get back.  As a wife that does not travel with my husband, I am going to focus this season on really being thankful for the opportunity and being joyful of what baseball has brought to our lives. 

Sending all my positive thoughts and prayers from Virginia to all the players and their families that are getting ready to break from Arizona and Florida this weekend.  In a few days we will all be able to answer that question and the month of March will officially be over. 

#baseballwifelife Spring Training Visit

[[Disclaimer: I am terrible about taking my camera with me when I go on trips.  This time I actually remembered, but I didn't take it out of the case once.  I honestly didn't really take many pictures at all! This will be something I work on throughout this season! ]]

Sorry about the lack of blogging this past week.  I was lucky enough to travel out to Arizona for the week to visit D.J. and friends for Spring Training. I have been to Arizona before (October 2012 and April 2013) to visit but never during Spring Training.  It is a whole different experience.  It kind of felt like the entire state of Ohio up and moved to Goodyear, AZ to watch the Indians. The trip started out a little rough because the whole east coast was getting hit with a snowstorm on Monday when we both were supposed to leave.  Luckily, D.J.'s connection was in Charlotte so he was able to get out.  Unfortunately I was flying through DC and couldn't make it there.  I was booked on the first flight out Tuesday morning (which was fine).  I can't ever say I have taken off with this out the window in Norfolk before!

Then of course, I missed my flight in Chicago because lets be serious, who ever makes their connection in Chicago?! I finally arrived in Phoenix around 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon.  Maria was so sweet to come pick me up from the airport and I was so excited to see her and the little baby growing inside her belly! We went straight to the Indians Complex to pick up Eric and D.J.  It was so good to see him even though it had been less than a day.  I met a few new guys and saw some familiar faces from last season. After we picked them up, we grabbed some lunch and went back to the apartment.  The place they are staying is SO nice! Beautiful pool, awesome kitchen, 2 bedrooms and baths, and a nice outside patio on the first floor.

They live right next to a huge park with a great walking trail. The rest of the trip was pretty relaxing.  We woke up every morning and took the boys to the field, came back and either watched TV or worked out. The guys usually were finished between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. so we would go back and pick them up then.  One day we spent the afternoon watching the Big League game against the Cubs! We were so excited that Jake got to play it was so worth not laying at the pool that day!



Most days we would go back to the apartment and just hang by the pool.  For dinner we tried to eat at the house.  One night we had burgers, another we had pasta (made from the Italian herself!) and some baked chicken.



 The first night I got there we met up with Chelsea and Daniel at Texas Roadhouse! Daniel played with D.J. in summer ball a few years ago and I met his wife through some baseball groups! It was so good to finally meet both of them and the food was obviously delicious! Needless to say, the trip was awesome and I could really get used to the lifestyle of being a baseball wife that actually travels. More on that in the next #baseballwifelife post. Also- I recently was introduced to #milbfamily and love that all our pictures can be documented and seen together! Can't wait to use this when the season starts! So far, on the baseball side of things, D.J. is feeling very confident.  His arm is feeling great and having a full year under his belt makes ST that much easier.  The next three weeks can't go by fast enough so we can find out where he will be playing!

The flight home was not terrible.  Super early, but it was nice to be home by 3:30. It was pretty cool to see the change in landscape as we flew across country.  The best view by far was the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Obviously there is a special place in my heart for this area!



And after a long trip back home, my dad and I made a trip to the Navy Base to see Ride Along and this was the most beautiful sunset ever!



Spring Training visit 2014 is in the books and now the waiting game has begun! Everyone keep D.J. in your thoughts as he works his butt off!!