Just Call Me Penny

Within a few days of knowing us, our host "mom", Jeanne, had given us new nicknames: Odysseus and Penelope.

I have to admit that I do feel like Penelope sometimes--forever waiting for my "warrior" husband to come home from his baseball battles. I am so thankful that I don't have to wait nearly as long as she did.

So much has happened since my last update!

The Gibsons were up here the weekend of July 10th. It was so nice to have some more "Crapper" fans! (Triston doesn't pronounce the 'S' in Scrappers--it is too funny!!)



Also, Chase's little fan from Buford, Hunter Waldrop, was here that weekend with his dad. They made a special trip to come up and see Chase play! Hunter has written Chase letters and recently attended a baseball camp at Georgia Tech where Walt, the trainer for the baseball team, gave Hunter Chase's batting helmet. He brought it up for Chase to sign!


On Tuesday of the next week, Chase left for Brooklyn and I left on Thursday for Shepherdsville, Kentucky. My cousin, Hannah, and her husband, Sean are expecting their first baby in August and the family baby shower was on the 17th. I drove to Kentucky on Thursday and then rode down the rest of the way to Georgia on Friday with my Aunt Cindy, and cousins Holly and Haley. The shower was so lovely. It was held at my parents house. We strung up lights and set up tables in the carport. I was so happy that I was able to go.


Sunday, I got to hear Sean preach at Tiger church of Christ in North Georgia and enjoyed getting to spend time with my family. I flew back to Louisville on Tuesday and spent the remainder of the week there with my Aunt, Uncle, and cousins. It was so nice to get to spend time with them. While everyone else was at work, Cindy and I would go shopping! She took me to this incredible discount shoe store, Zappos! One night, we drove into Indiana and ate at a restaurant overlooking the river back into Louisville. Very pretty! On Saturday, before I headed back to Ohio, we went to the Louisville Slugger Museum. I learned quite a bit about wooden bats. Did you know that a major leaguer could go through as many as 120 bats in one season? Or that only 10% of the bats made are good enough to be used in the majors? The rest are used for minor and recreational leagues.




Unfortunately for me, going home for Hannah's shower meant missing the Burnettes and Cloers who came up to Ohio the same time I went down to Georgia. But I was so happy that they got to come up and see Chase and meet Jeanne and David. Jeanne and I had been working on a little outfit for Addie and it was ready for her when she came up.


Jeanne had some Chinese-inspired fabric and we made her a little summer outfit. Jeanne made her a matching purse and bow!

We are really enjoying getting to know people at the church we are attending up here-Struthers church of Christ. Everyone has been so welcoming! It's funny though, because when the Gibsons came up, Abby was hanging around Chase and I that Sunday and people kept thinking that she belonged to us. They still say, "Aren't you missing someone?," "How old is your daughter?" Haha. Last Wednesday night, Chase was out of town and so I was at church by myself. After he was done with his lesson, the preacher motioned for me to scoot over so I didn't have to sit by myself. Isn't that sweet?

Everyone in Newton Falls continues to be soo welcoming! Above is a picture of Chase with Tim and Cindy who own the Brew Basket in town. It is a very nice little restaurant that serves coffee and sandwiches. That sign hangs in their window. Cindy is helping to organize the "Newton Falls Night at the Scrappers" on August 8th.

Daniel, one of our neighbors that we have yet to meet because he is extremely busy working at the dairy farm next door, put this sign up for us right next to the house! So sweet!

That's all for now. Until next time,

Cait

6 Months: How Time Flies When You're Having Fun

Have I mentioned lately that I have the BEST husband in the entire world?! Well, it’s true!! : )

Wednesday, the 7^th of July, was Chase’s first day off from baseball since we’ve been here. He only gets four days off the whole time that we are here-until the first week of September! Knowing how tired he is and how precious this time is, I told him that we would do whatever he wanted to on his day off. They drove through the night on Tuesday from their series in Connecticut to get back to Ohio and I was perfectly prepared to hang around the house since he would probably want to sleep all day. But, that’s not what he wanted to do.

He decided that he wanted to surprise me for our 6 month anniversary (can you believe we’ve been married six months already?) and take me somewhere. He had the whole day planned for us in Pittsburgh, which is only about an hour away from us! I picked him up at the stadium at around 8am-that’s when they got back from Connecticut -and we packed, and were off. On the way, we stopped for lunch and then headed straight to the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium. It was so much fun, but very hot! The high has been in the mid-90s with a higher heat index. We made sure to drink lots of water. Chase was glad to make it inside the air-conditioned Aquarium! Probably my favorite animal that we saw was a baby Orangutan. He was sooo cute and playful! He would come right up to the glass and interact with you. He was definitely putting on a show for those watching and loved the attention.

After the zoo, we went to our hotel and checked in. Our room had a stunning view of the city. He did very well, I was very impressed!! After we cleaned up from our hot day at the zoo, we got ready for our dinner reservations at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. It was very close to our hotel and so we were able to walk and see more of the city. I had never been to that restaurant before, but Chase had. We had yet to use a gift card to there that was given to us as a wedding present from the Romine family. Delicious! That’s all I have to say. Haha. Thank you, Romines!! Our waitress must have overheard us talking because they brought us out a dessert that said “Happy Anniversary” with chocolate syrup on the plate! Very sweet! The first picture is the nighttime view of Pittsburgh from our hotel room!!

Chase is utterly worn out and still sleeping as I’m writing this. He was out like a light last night!

Now, to back up a bit. Newton Falls, the town we are staying in, is apparently known for 3 things: their covered bridge, a tornado that devastated the town in the ‘80s, and their Fourth of July festivities. They have a big parade every year that people come from all around to see. Everyone has been so kind and welcoming to us and they asked us if we would ride in the parade! We had lots of fun. Chase had candy to throw to the kids and Scrappy, the Scrapper’s mascot, was able to come as well. He walked behind us in the car and I felt bad for him it that heavy, hot suit. The kids loved him, though, which we didn’t mind since it took the attention off of us. And...we got to ride in a beautiful car!! At the end of the parade, our driver, Richard, pulled over and introduced us to the congressman from their district. That's a first for me!

We have lots to look forward to this weekend! The Gibsons are coming to see us, Chase’s little fan, Hunter Waldrop, and his dad are coming, and Chase is playing against his good friend, Cole Leonida. I know he is excited to see him! It will be nice to see some familiar faces!

Hope Love to everyone!! Until next time,

Cait

UN-glamorous

Okay, okay...I'm not going to complain too much, but I do want to give you the other side of our baseball life. While Chase and I are having a blast and we know how much this opportunity is a blessing from God, it's not all fun and games. There is an 'unglamorous' side to being a professional baseball player...and his wife.

Last Friday, the 25th of June, Chase had an unbelievable game against the Batavia Muckdogs. He hit two home runs and we won big! After the game was over-around 10ish-the team took their showers, said their goodbyes, and loaded the bus for an overnight trip to Auburn, New York for their next series. The got in at about 4 the next morning and had a game that night. It is an exhausting schedule. There is no such thing as a 'travel day' in the minor leagues. They play a game, load the bus, and go to the next destination overnight. Chase gets 4 days off the whole time we are here. This picture was taken after his two- homer game-Jeanne, David, and I all went to give him a congratulatory send-off.

So...Chase is gone...again. Since we've been married, baseball has pretty much been in full swing. However, his college schedule wasn't nearly as demanding as this one is. He's here for a few days...he's gone for a few days. It's definitely less than ideal for newlyweds, or for anyone, I would imagine.

Jeanne and David are so sweet and try to think of things for us to do. On Saturday, Newton Falls had it's annual car show! I had never been to one before, so, of course, we went! The whole town shuts down for this event, and hundreds of old and new cars are lined up on main street, in the Arby's parking lot; anywhere they can find a spot. Even though I know absolutely
nothing about cars, I can still appreciate them for their beauty and the effort that someone has put into taking care of them. There were classy ones, crazy ones, and ones that I thought....'why in the world is that in here?' The picture to the left pretty much sums that up.We did stumble upon David's dream car...and it was purty :) It was a cobalt blue Mercury. I really wish Chase would have been home to go with us to that. I really think he would have enjoyed it.

Lucky for me, Britni was in Ohio visiting her grandparents this past week. So, on Sunday morning I drove to North Canton and went to church with her, her dad, brothers, and her Mimi and Papa. After church, we ate a nice lunch at Red Lobster and then went back to the house and rode bikes around their neighborhood. We felt like ten-year-olds. After we got tired, we came inside and her Mimi made us chocolate milkshakes and we fell asleep watching West Side Story. I left after a fellowship meal following church that night and was sad to go. It was the perfect summer day with a dear friend :) When I got back to Jeanne and David's house that night, they informed me that they were going to leave in the morning to go visit a friend in North Carolina. They recently found out that she has been diagnosed with Leukemia.

At this point, Chase's team had finished their series in Auburn and were heading down to Batavia, New York for their next series. We decided that I should meet him there and booked a hotel room in the same hotel the team was staying at. Talk about UNglamorous. Hands down the worst hotel I've ever stayed in. But it was worth it! Chase's coach was very understanding and allowed Chase to stay in the room with me...this is how that conversation went...

Chase: Coach, my wife has a room in this hotel and I was wondering if you had a policy as to whether or not I can stay in the room with her?

Coach: She's in THIS hotel? My wife came on this trip with me once and has never come again...sure, you're married. It's fine.

I was very grateful for that...it was nice not to have to sleep in a hotel room by myself.

So, I got to watch the series at Batavia. It was interesting to see what their field and stadium looks like compared to ours in Niles, Ohio. Our stadium is much bigger and we have a much bigger attendance than they did. And...it was cold!!! I spent the whole game Tuesday night shivering. It was in the fifties! In June! It's definitely a far cry from the 100s in Atlanta. I was smart enough to bring a light jacket, but I only had sandals. My toes were turning blue! It was a good trip, though, and I was so glad I got to go. I got back to Newton Falls at about 1 last night and Chase was an hour behind me. Today, the Scrappers kick off another home series...not sure who we're playing tonight. This series is a little different because there are some guys from the Indians organization that are here to help the players before the games. Chase said it's called a 'mini-camp'. I'm anxious to hear how that went today. I'm off to the game. Hope we win!



Lots of love,

Cait