Spring Training

From day one Andrew has been instilling a love of baseball, specifically Giants baseball, in Gavin. It has definitely worked and so Andrew wanted to take him to Phoenix to attend a couple spring training games. We left on Tuesday afternoon, just about nap time for Gavin, hoping that he would sleep for a good part of the drive out there. It worked and we had a great drive! He slept for the first 3 hours almost. Avery also slept. We stopped in Blythe so we could all eat and take a small break. Avery was still sleeping but we woke her up so she could eat and then we could continue driving. After a quick break at McDonald's we were on our way. Avery fell asleep quickly and Gavin was quiet while he watched Finding Nemo. It was a great drive! Avery woke up when we were about 20 minutes away and fussed a little bit, but not bad. We made it to Andrew's grandparent's home in Scottsdale just after 9:00pm. 

The next day we had tickets to the Giants vs. Indians game at Goodyear Ballpark. It was a pretty far drive and Gavin, Avery and Grandpa Jarvis all took a small nap on the way there.

The way that everyone had talked about spring training games, I thought they were in small ballparks, like a little league field or something. Nope, they are at big stadiums and there are a lot of people there!! 

It was a little stressful at the game. It was in the afternoon and it was hot!! We sat out on the grass and had no shade. Just as we got there I had to feed Avery so it was a little difficult trying to figure out where to do that. Gavin was excited to be there but didn't necessarily want to sit down and watch the game. I took him over to the little kids area that they had. There was this game that he could play where they had air pushing the ball up in the air and then the kids could hit it in to the net. Gavin loved it!! He was the youngest kid there and everyone was cheering him on! I see many little league games in my future!

After the game we went back to Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner. We then drove out to Mesa to visit our friends, the Nielsens, who had moved there from Pasadena a few years ago. It was so fun to see them! Krissy had a baby just a few months ago so it was fun to see her! She is so adorable and little! (Even though she is over a month older than Avery I think they are about the same size!) I also got a tour of their really cute house and adorable nursery. Krissy had decorated it super chic and elegant. I should have taken pictures! They also have a boy that is a year older than Gavin. Gavin was in absolute heaven because he had a lot of cars and trucks for him to play with. He also has a lightning mcqueen car that you sit in and drive. Gavin couldn't figure out how to make it work though. I am also very jealous of all the orange trees they have in their backyard. They have to have people come and pick them and take them away because they can't use them all!! I would love to have that many oranges (and lemons and grapefruits!). I was glad that we made the time to go see them and hopefully we can get together with them again soon!

They gave Avery these super cute shoes!! She loves them!

We left Mesa and went to Alice and Brad's house to see Joe, Hillary and JJ who had drove in to town that night. When we left there it was pretty late and Gavin was exhausted. We got in the car and he actually said "I want sleep!" He has never asked to sleep before!!

The next day we were going to the Giants vs. Rockie's game, but it wasn't until the evening. We went and had lunch with everyone and then Andrew, Joe, Gavin, Avery and I went to the Giant's stadium to go to the proshop. Gavin quickly picked out a squishy bat and baseball that Grandpa bought for him. Joe got a shirt for himself and Andrew bought a new hat. We then went back to Brad and Alice's for a barbecue!

Ginger and Allie came out to see us so it was fun to have them there too. Andrew's good friend, Zack, also came out. It was so fun to get together with everyone!

Here are the boys all dressed up in their Giant's gear.

Because Joe's birthday was coming up we decided to celebrate with him. We had a couple of ice cream cakes with candles. Gavin and JJ volunteered to help blow out the candles.

This is Gavin saying "I did it!"

Gavin wanted to swing and he was so tired that he fell asleep while swinging. We moved him in to the bed and let him take a quick nap before we went to the game. 

We arrived at the game a little bit late and it was packed! We just had tickets to sit on the grass again but there wasn't really anywhere to sit! We found a small spot on the very edge of the grass.

Gavin had a difficult time waking up and was a little grumpy for the first couple innings of the game.

Avery slept through the entire game! She must not be a baseball fan.

I forgot my camera so I only had my cell phone to take pictures. It was already dark when we got there so they weren't the best pictures.

Unfortunately the Giant's didn't play a very good game and they lost miserably. But we still had a great time. The Rockie's mascot is a dinosaur and Gavin enjoyed chasing him around making monster noises. A ballpark attendant also gave Gavin a game ball, so that was very exciting for him! We had a great time! When we went to bed that night Gavin didn't want to let go of his new bat and ball.

The next morning we met up with some other friends, Matt and Laney, for breakfast. They used to live in Pasadena but now live in Utah. They were in town for spring training as well! We met them at Wildflower Baking Company. It was delicious! I saw their little baby girl when I was in Utah over Christmas so it was fun to see her again. She is definitely the happiest baby and smiled so much! So cute. It was so great to catch up with them and see them! How fun that we were both in Phoenix at the same time.

After breakfast we packed up and it was time to go. It was a quick trip but we are so glad that we did it. We had a great time, saw a couple of baseball games, spent lots of time with family, and Avery was able to be loved on by everyone!

Thank you to everyone who hosted us while we were there! I love Arizona. I really wish that we could have the citrus trees that they do. We brought home some oranges and grapefruits with us and I have loved eating them. They are so fresh and so much better than anything we can buy at the store.

The drive home did not go as well as the drive out there! Gavin refused to sleep. He watched movies and whined a lot. Avery also didn't sleep as well. She would sleep a little, but then wake up screaming. We stopped once to let Avery eat, but that was all. It was a pretty stressful day and I was grateful when we finally made it home!