The Happenings

Here is about a month's worth of some of the random, lovely happenings taking place in our lives while here in Goodyear:

WALKS.
Every day Lucy, Gus, and I venture out into the sunshine for an hour-long power walk through the parks, sidewalks, and playgrounds of our neighborhood here in Goodyear.  The pups are always plowing ahead, workin' those hammies, so enthusiastic and grateful to be able to enjoy the great outdoors so often.  After our walks, Lucy and Gus find the spot on the carpet where the sun is shining in through the window and take themselves a long afternoon nap together.  Its glorious. Here are a few shots of the scenery we are able to enjoy and their afternoon siesta...

FAMILY.

Its been awesome to spend time with my grandparents- Fred and Barb- and my cousin and her fiance- Sam and Luke.  We have been getting together at least once a week for a variety of different things including: dinner, drinks, dance shows, cook-outs, ball games, wedding-dress shopping... It is so nice to be able to spend time with the "roots" while we are out west far from our immediate families.  We always have a good time and its wonderful to be around people that share the same interests and values.  It makes for good conversations and a loving atmosphere.  We are enjoying every minute.  Here are a few shots from our dinner at Organ Stop- a pizza place with one of the largest organs of all time that plays instruments that are on the wall around the restaurant. It was a hoot! 

DOWN TIME.

We have been spending a lot of time with friends on the team, including but not limited to- Jared Burton and his girlfriend Audrey, Justin and Guia Lehr, Sam LeCure, Chris Valaika, Nick and Jennah Masset, D-Ray (obviously) doing activities such as dinners at a string of local restaurants and bars about a mile from our house, cook-outs on the weekends, movies at the theater, and an occasional game night at our place. 

The boys had a little Super Bowl party a while back which included way too much food, way too much beer (a keg... yes! a keg!), football and beer pong in the garage before, during halftime, and after the game.  It was a good time no doubt. 

Mo and I drove up to Chandler a couple weekends ago to spend some time with Justin and Guia and check out their home (they live in Chandler, AZ in the off-season).  We had some good Mexican food, played with their beautiful and hilarious children- Reed and Avery, and relaxed in front of their fire pit on the back porch watching the sun set.  It was so nice to spend time with a couple that has a similar mindset and lifestyle to us.  They are both very relaxed and put off the go-with-the-flow vibe which we love.  

We got to check out the big golf tournament in Scottsdale- well, we didn't watch any golf but we did get hooked up with media passes to the O.A.R. concert that Saturday night.  Mo, D-Ray, and I drove up to Scottsdale for the night to enjoy some music and a very large crowd.  We had a few drinks and met up with a few other teammates and friends.  

Our newly started baseball wives book club got together for the first time about a week ago.  It was great to meet and get to know some of the girls I had never met before and so nice to converse about things other than baseball.  We chatted and had some snacks and enjoyed the female company.  Our next book is The Namesake and I've found a few more girls that want to come as well so it should be a very interesting and dynamic discussion about this book- as well as a great reason to get together and socialize.

Of course, I've been chugging along strong at my 60 day Bikram Yoga challenge.  I hit my half-way mark this past Friday and am feeling completely drained but completely invigorated at the same time.  I caught a little bug late last week and was thinking it was most likely all the negative energy and emotion being released from my body due to all this yoga.  I was reminded that I need to slow down and take care of myself every now and then... Every day is different.  It is still challenging and sometimes I feel like I just can't get my head on straight but I just keep going.  I keep going because I know I am on this incredible journey and I trust that the process is a beautiful and complete way to heal everything (physical and psychological) in me.  

I just actually had the opportunity to take a posture clinic with a senior yoga teacher, Michael Harris, this past Saturday through the studio where I practice.  It was an all day event- 9am-3:30pm and it was wonderfully enlightening!  I got to connect with fellow yogis and learn a lot about the specific postures in the Bikram series and the mentality behind the practice.  I also learned a lot about myself and my own practice.  I am so grateful that I got to have this experience.  It reaffirmed that I am right where I need to be.

We just saw Alice in Wonderland with D-Ray, Nick, and Jennah last night at the IMAX in 3D- it was a great flick with some awesome colors and characters.

Here are a couple photos from a Friday night game night at our place with a few friends- we played Cranium and Balderdash and were rolling around laughing all night... it was too much fun!

 

And a few shots from the O.A.R. show

BALL GAME.

Last but not least my first ball game of 2010.  I went to a bit of the Spring Training opener last Friday- Reds vs. Indians- to watch Mo do some work and get a peek of this new field.  It really was beautiful and the weather completely cooperated with warm temperatures and sunny, blue skies.  I went with Audrey and my cousin, Sam.  Mo looked pretty sharp in his uniform-- besides that his pants might be a tad too big now...