Tumbleweeds

The Lake County Captains won the Midwest League Championship! I can't even begin to explain how exciting it was for the team to play so well and pull it through in the final game! Chase has never won a championship at any level so for his team to win one in his first year as a professional player is a huge deal and the perfect ending to a wonderful season of opportunity. Everyone was on the edge of their seat until the final out and as soon as it came, the celebration erupted. I am so proud of Chase and he is sooo excited to finally get a championship ring! It's still hard to believe that it really happened!






A celebratory milkshake moustache at Steak 'n' Shake after the game : )

This article is about the championship game and has a video of an interview with the head coach:
http://www.news-herald.com/articles/2010/09/21/sports/nh3063693.txt

This article is about the game/season and has some really nice things to say about Chase. It also has a video of the last out and celebration:
http://www.news-herald.com/articles/2010/09/21/sports/nh3063213.txt

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Well, the morning after their amazing win, we packed up the car and were on the road by 5:30. With all the excitement, it was hard to settle down to fall asleep so we both were going on 4 hours of sleep. Since the team went all the way into the playoffs, Chase was very late for the Arizona league. He was supposed to start on the 15th but the team didn't even finish playing until the 20th. And it is a few days' worth of traveling from Ohio. Accordingly, they have asked Chase to stay until the 14th of October since he has missed so much.

Our first day of travel, we drove 14 hours and stopped in Searcy for the night. It was really nice to get to see our good friends and family! I wish we wouldn't have been in such a hurry. It would have been nice to spend some time on campus, go to chapel, and stop in and see some of my professors. Maybe we will be able to fit that in on our way back to Georgia.

The next day, we were up by 6:30 and after an oil change, on the road again. We drove ANOTHER 14 hours to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Chase actually saw a tumbleweed blow across the interstate while we were in Texas...haha. By the end of this day, we were both a little stressed and a lot tired. I'm surprised at how well we did not to be pulling our hair out (or each other's). Albuquerque was beautiful. I wish we could have spent some more time there.

Our third and final day of travel was only 8 hours and seemed like nothing compared to the others. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking and I think that made the time pass even faster. Here are some pictures from our drive out west. However, they don't truly do justice to what we saw. Chase gets credit for some of these. I made him take pictures while it was my turn to drive : )







I can't wait to actually do some sight-seeing! We went straight to the Indians/Reds complex in Goodyear so Chase could "check-in", put his stuff in his locker, figure out the schedule, etc. Then we checked into our hotel and took a nice nap!

Today is Chase's first day with the Instructional League. I'm looking forward to hearing all about his day when he gets done. Tonight, we are getting to go to a Diamondbacks game with the Oberts and their church! It will be so nice to see them and I always enjoy getting to watch baseball games WITH Chase; which doesn't happen very often : )

Thanks for reading! Until next time,

Cait

Aye, Aye, Captain!

For those of you who don't know, lots of exciting things have been happening in our little world the past few weeks!

First of all, Chase's sister and my sister-in-law, Niki, became engaged to her boyfriend, Chandler! I flew home on August 26th so that I could attend their surprise (to Niki) engagement party in Nashville. Chase and I are very excited for the two of them. We can't wait for the wedding--Niki will make a beautiful bride and Chandler, a handsome groom! I stayed for the following week in Georgia, splitting my time with the Burnette's and Quinn's. It was so refreshing and rejuvenating to be around family. I only hate that Chase couldn't enjoy it with me. I was also happy I could squeeze in some time with my best friend Traci :) And I finally got to see Toy Story 3 with Addie--I had been dying to and it was sooo good. I would definitely recommend it!

While I was in Georgia, things didn't slow down back in Ohio. Chase called me to tell me he was being moved up to the Indians Low A team--the Lake County Captains in Eastlake, Ohio. He got this news after an out-of-town Scrappers game on the 29th of August and had to report the next day to Eastlake. The Scrappers got in really late that night, and he had to get up and pack and be in Eastlake by one the next afternoon. Needless to say, the suddenness of the move was unexpected by our host family, and it was sad to have to leave earlier than anticipated. Jeanne and David have already come to one of the games here in Eastlake and are planning to come back on Thursday. Chase grabbed what he needed for the week and left the rest for me to get when I got back up here.

Fortunately, my family had already been planning to visit us over Labor Day Weekend and I was able to make the trip back up with them. I'm so glad they got to meet Jeanne and David and were able to experience a small part of what we have this summer. It also worked out well because they were able to drive my car back to Georgia. They were very sweet to do that for us-it was a HUGE help since Chase and I won't be able to come home now before heading to Arizona because the Captains have made it to the playoffs.


The Captain's stadium and field are very nice! Sunday, Chase hit his first home run as a Captain. Eastlake is only about an hour away from where we were in Newton Falls, and is pretty close to Cleveland, so there are lots of things to do around here. Yesterday's game was at one, so we were actually able to go on a normal date last night; dinner and a movie!






The first playoff game is tomorrow against the West Michigan Whitecaps in Grand Rapids, MI--the team that Jeff Rowland and Tony Plagman play for (they both played with Chase at Georgia Tech). Then, both teams will travel back to Eastlake to play here on Thursday night.

We are very excited and thankful to God, our true Captain, for these new opportunities. Please keep us in your prayers, especially as we will soon be making the long trip to Arizona!

Thanks for reading! Love to everyone,

Cait

Jump on the Bang Wagon

I know, I know. Corny. I'm turning more and more into my Dad everyday : )

I got my hair cut! I needed a change and decided to get more layers and bangs. I like it, but I'm still not used to the bangs. They drive me crazy sometimes. Hopefully, it won't take much longer for them to stop bugging me.


Well, the past week and a half has been pretty much of a blur. Chase was gone from the 9th to the 16th to Staten Island, NY and Lowell, MA. For those of you who don't know, last year I created the Matrix Board and Website graphics for Buford High School for the football teams, cheerleaders, band, and coaches. I was so happy to get to do it again this year! It's something that I enjoy doing and it's always nice to have some extra money in the bank. So while Chase was gone, I was busy at work on the computer: about 50 hours worth of work crammed into about 5 days. But, the timing couldn't have been better. I was able to get everything done while Chase was gone and was happy to have something to keep me busy.

After Chase got back from his trip, he had two whole days off for the New York-Penn League All-Star Break. The first day, Monday, he didn't get in until about 5 am, so the majority of the day was spent sleeping and laying around watching 24--one of our favorite shows. Tuesday, we spent part of the day in Cleveland. I took Chase to a charming book store that I had been to with Jeanne called Mac's Backs. We also checked out some other shops nearby-a toy shop entitled 'Big Fun' with everything a collector of old toys, a magician, or a practical joker could ever want, and an antique store. After that, we drove around and looked at the pretty homes and went up to Lake Erie and took a little walk along it. For dinner, Connie and Niki had seen a restaurant in Cleveland on a show and told us about it-it's called Melt Bar and Grilled and they pretty much serve variations on grilled cheese. Chase got the 'Wake and Bacon' and I got the 'Parma, Italy'. His was a glorified fried egg sandwich and mine was like chicken parm on a sandwich. It was delicious but the portions are HUGE! Chase only ate half of his sandwich while I could barely open my mouth wide enough to get it in! It seems really popular as we had to wait an hour to be seated and an hour to get our food after that on a Tuesday! But it was worth it.




Jeanne and David got a boxer puppy on the 9th and she is adorable! Her name is Gabby. She loves to chew...everything. Needless to say, this is not helping Chase's desire to get a dog. He wants one soooo badly. So far, I've managed to stay strong, but I might be calling for back-up soon.



Also, my cousin, Hannah, and her husband, Sean, just had their first baby on the 16th: a baby girl, Bailey Mae O'Brien. Chase and I are so excited for them and can't wait to meet the new addition to our family!

Yesterday, Chase received a packet informing him that he has been invited to the Indian's Instructional League beginning on September 15th at their Spring Training complex in Goodyear, AZ. This is really an honor for Chase to be invited to because they choose people that they see potential in and really want to see play. I'm so proud of him! The group Chase is with finishes up on October 5th. So, he will be there for about 3 weeks. The letter says that if I go with him, we will be responsible for our own living situation, so we are still trying to figure out if I will get to go with him or not. I would love to, but we will have to see. He's going to ask some more questions before we decide.

Now that we know that, there are approximately 10 days from when this season ends to when he has to be in Goodyear. That includes a day to travel back to Georgia and possibly 2-3 days to travel to Arizona if we drive. If he is going by himself, he will most likely fly. We are hoping to get in a day or two of sight-seeing before we head back to Georgia. Both of us really want to see Niagara Falls which I think is about a 4 hour drive from us. But we will see. Although all of this unknown is hard for me, I'm handling it quite a bit better than I anticipated. I think Chase is rubbing off on me.

Love to everyone! Until next time,

Cait

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