Don't get me wrong I love being in Idaho but the more I live here I start to think that I tolerate the cold weather because the holiday season is SO wonderful here...Once Christmas and New Year's are done I am OVER the COLD and ready for the SUN! Staying cooped up in a house with an active 2yr old is REALLY hard! We spent our Christmas with family and good friends and then we rang in the New Year like most people do...thinking about what 2011 will bring! We are a BASEBALL family and once the Holidays are over that means we start thinking about Spring Training!
I arranged a place for us to stay back in December (We are living in this place for the third year). We begin to organize a plan of attack of how we will get down to Arizona. Billy is fine tuning his workouts and dusting off his bat bag! I get my workout loading Rubbermaid bins down from our shop garage and begin organizing our "Baseball Season" bedding, kitchen supplies, warm weather clothing, and separating Kenley's toys to pack!
We work hard to slow down on our shopping/fun money to make sure we have squirreled enough money back to cover our expenses at home and to cover rent and living expenses for the next 2 1/2 months during Spring Training until Billy starts making paychecks again in the middle of April!
We say goodbye to Loved ones with hopes they will come visit!
You can imagine all we have on our mind is the Arizona sun and what February and March will be like. We are thinking about what our goals are as a family and what a great feeling it is to have a fresh start with a new baseball season!
So with that little background...3 weeks from now the Butler's will be Arizona bound!
So in 3 weeks I will have the house clean, organized and ready to be shut down for about 4 month, 2 cars and one small Uhaul trailer packed up and this year Billy and I will be driving to Phoenix! This is where we will be living in Surprise (Only about a 1/2 mile from the stadium! Our building is the one on the left & we are next to the pool! SCORE!)
I will have 2 days to get the place EXTRA clean (My cleaning standards are usually different then others), then unpack, organize, go grocery shopping! My mom is going to stay in Idaho with Kenley for the 2 extra days and then fly the new and convenient direct flight from Idaho Falls into Mesa on Allegiant Air! Usually Billy and someone else drives down and then I fly with Kenley but it leaves me trying to unpack an apartment with a busy toddler and Billy is at the field all day so it takes me a week to get it done! So we are trying a new plan of attack this year!
This is where Billy "works"! We love to go watch him play and Kenley and I spend time in the outfield playing on the grass or at the carousel down the first base line!
Surprise is our HOME stadium we share with the Rangers but we get to visit other teams and their stadiums throughout the month...
We have made a lot of friends throughout the years that either played with Billy or against him and this is a great time of year to meet up with old friends since we are all so close in one city! Another reason we love Spring Training!
One of the best things about Arizona is Billy's schedule. He has a normal work schedule like most people have! He goes to the field around 7:30AM, practices, he lifts/conditions and has a game at 1PM and is done and home for dinner by 5! I LOVE IT! During regular baseball season it is the opposite...He leave for the field about 1, has a workout, practice, game at 7 and is home by midnight! So we get to spend more quality time together as a family during our stay in Arizona!
That brings up another great reason we LOVE Arizona...I mentioned Billy is home for dinner by 5...well I do my best to cook most nights but it is rare we get to go to dinner as a family once baseball season starts and Phoenix probably has my favorite restaurants collectively...So we try to hit up our favorite spots to eat at least once during Spring Training! Here are top 10 favorites...
#10 Buffalo Wild Wings-Surprise
This is across from the stadium and although its NOT a BIG favorite of mine Billy frequents this spot to catch NCAA basketball games during March Madness. So I tolerate it. ;0)
#9 Macayo's- Surprise
This place has an amazing HAPPY HOUR...Oh and great food!
#8 Cheesecake Factory- Peoria
The Thai Lettuce Wraps & 6 carb cheesecake are my GO-TO favorites here!
#7 Abuelos-Peoria
This place has another amazing Salmon dish and yummy Guacamole!
#6 Firebirds in Peoria!
It is a great little steakhouse!
They have my favorite Salmon dish too!
#5 In-N-Out Burger Peoria
Everyone loves this famous burger joint...
I allow myself to eat there once during Spring Training to get my fix!
#4 AH-SO Steak and Sushi in Peoria
Billy and I like to go for Sushi and we can actually take Kenley along because she likes to watch them cook on the Hibachi grill!
#3 Paradise Bakery in Surprise
This place is less then a mile from where we live and Billy always tells me if I could live off of soup and salad every day I would. So you can imagine how often I frequent this yummy place for my favorite soup/salad/sandwich combos...Almost daily!
#2 Oregano's- Phoenix
This place is a Phoenix staple! We go to the one in Phoenix!
We always sit out on the patio (kid friendly) under the heat lamps...They have the most amazing PIZZA and CEASAR salad.
The BEST part of Oreganos is the PAZOOKIE! It is a big cookie baked in a personal pizza pan topped with ice cream. We always do Chocolate Chip and one cookie leaves Billy, Kenley and I stuffed!
Mmmmm...SO GOOD!
#1 Yardhouse- Glendale
This is our all-time FAVORITE place to be during Spring Training. It is in Glendale next to the Cardinal Stadium. I don't know if it is the food, the atmosphere or what but we have the BEST memories of Yardhouse! I can only count two times in 6 years I have eaten inside. We ALWAYS sit on the PATIO that wraps around the restaurant preferably on the couches and NOT at a table! It is a great place to people watch and this is the ultimate wind down for Billy after a game. if we head right over there after a game we can get there in time for Happy Hour and half price appetizers! We take Kenley and she gets to hang out and not bother fellow diners... It is the best!
My favorite foods:
Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Mac n' Cheese
Angel Hair Pasta
Hawaiian Sunset Martini
With all these YUMMY places to eat I find myself slaving away at Mountainside Fitness EVERY morning after Billy goes to the field and in the evening to catch a extra class! This is my 2nd favorite gym (besides Lifetime in KC=Gym Heaven)! Mountainside has great Cycle classes I attend about 3 times a week with a mix of Pilates/Yoga and Butts n Guts and lots of extra cardio so I CAN eat at my FAVORITE places! They have a good kids daycare that Kenley likes!
When we are not watching/playing baseball, at the gym, or eating at our favorite restaurants we are taking Kenley to classes at
THE LITTLE GYM or grabbing a coffee at our FAVORITE coffee Shop
Yep that is what it is really called!
Then we head over to the park across from the stadium and Kenley gets to play on the toys and we feed the ducks in the pond and hopefully this year learns to ride her new bike!
As you can tell we are SUPER excited to head SOUTH! Come visit us!
