Baseball Winter Meetings

I had the privilege of attending the Baseball Winter Meetings last week in Orlando, Florida. It's essentially a conference for Major and Minor League execs to hold league meetings, interview potential employees, order products for the upcoming season, attend seminars, and give out awards. It was at the Swan and Dolphin Resort at Disney World. I went with the three owners and also got to meet up with my friend Brittany who interned with the Mariners this past summer. We had an amazing time. When I spotted Giants coach Bruce Bochy two tables down from me at the opening luncheon ... I knew I was among the top dogs. I also got to meet the owner, CEO, and GM of the Seattle Mariners at the affiliate reception. I actually chatted with Chuck Armstrong! We talked about my mission, Mormons in Seattle, and how hard it is to understand Chilean spanish. How cool is that?!? I also got to meet Seattle's new field coach, Eric Wedge ... who, by the way, is such a cowboy. The new bench coach Robby Thompson (former Giant) was telling me some crazy stories about his kids ... which was probably because he had a few too many. The point is ... I was literally living a dream down there. I spent half the time with my jaw open in amazement and the other half trying to act like I was supposed to be there.

Brittany and I ... I love how she is a shade tanner than me. Gimme a break, she's from Florida.

The walkway between the two hotels.

The MLB network was set up in the lobby of the hotel.

This is where they interviewed the big wigs.

You had to have the badge to get anywhere.

This was at the Gala that was supposed to be poolside. That is the President of our league, Lee Landers.

On our day off, we went to Downtown Disney and I had to get the photo with Aurora.

We also went to ESPN's Wide World of Sports. LEGIT.

The big time.

In front of the Dolphin Hotel.

The College Football Awards reception was near our hotel on the Disney Boardwalk on Thursday night. There was a big crowd there waiting around, so we decided to do the same. Then out of nowhere, a bunch of important people start flowing out of the building ... including my favorite tennis commentator, Chris Fowler. So obviously I had to get a pic with him ... at least to show my mother :) She's a big fan too. Then towards the end, Cam Newton came out (2010 Heisman), but he didn't get close to the fans. It was SWEET.

Outside the restaurant.

I guess this guy is a college football commentator ... I think his name Herbie or something.

Me and the very nice and attractive (for his age) Chris Fowler.

I know it's blurry, but this is Cam Newton ... trust me.

On the way down to the Meetings, we went to the ACC Championship game between Virginia Tech and Florida State. One of the owners is a HUGE FSU fan ... and he has connections. So we were 4 rows behind the Seminole bench. Hello!!! It was awesome ... but my boss wasn't too pleased since VT killed them. Oh, and there was some serious tailgating going on before the game. And when I say serious, I mean mucho alcohol.

The golden ticket

The game was in Charlotte, North Carolina ... it's obviously where the NC Panthers play. Very cool stadium.

Check out this trailer we were by ... there were like 4 flat screens around it! Nice.

Dr. Pepper did the honors.

Go Boy Scouts!

Some of the guys I was with.

Oh my, we were so close. It was sweet.

Shot of me after the game.

The Hokies taking the field.

This is a video from the Gala at the Winter Meetings. The band was playing one of my favs from Earth, Wind, and Fire ;)

Party in Pulaski

Three weeks ago my cousins came up to see my new digs in Pulaski. It was a BEAUTIFUL weekend with the temps in the 70s. Niiiiiiiiiice. It was the only time we could get together before Thanksgiving, and it ended up being perfect. We took batting practice at Calfee Park, watched the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice (Eileen's first time ... she loved it), shopped, and lounged around the house. It was a great weekend.

This is the press box at the ballpark, with my office at the far right.

Rich taking some cuts.

Sissy hanging out in the ball bucket while I threw to Rich. Hehe.

Haha ... I love this picture. She obviously didn't want to be in there anymore ... she's just so cute.

These were some of the bats that the guys left behind.

This is Baby Girl's height compared to a Louisville Slugger bat ;)

It was way too heavy for her, but she played with it anyway.

We had to get a shot with our bats :)

Shot from the left field entrance of Calfee Park.

We wanted to use my fireplace. Check out that FUEGO! Rich did it all by himself. Very nice.

Shot from "my" deck.

Cute Curran's on the back deck.

As you can see ... we're right by the lake.

Don't be confused, she loves it when I kiss her neck ;)

This thing saved me from getting pegged by Richard.

Check out that form! I should be playing for the Mariners ...

Shot of the upstairs ... one of my favorites things about the place is all the windows.

La cocina.

The upstairs deck.

Welcome Back

I had the pleasure of going home this past week to see my family for Thanksgiving. I haven't seen them since September, so it was great to get some face-to-face time. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with the Nielson family (neighbors). After the big meal half of us saw Harry Potter 7 and the other half saw Megamind. When we got home we played Thanksgiving Bingo and ate SIX pies! They were so good ... coconut cream, banana cream, raspberry cheesecake, razzleberry, pumpkin tarts, and some apple crumble thingy. It was such a great day. And with the rest of our time we SHOPPED. I'm quite sure we visited every TJ Maxx, Ross, and Nordstrom Rack in Salt Lake and Utah County. Now I'm back in Virginia and I'm poor. Booooo.

I love this picture. The following pictures are from a delicious restaurant in American Fork called La Carreta. It's a Peruvian restaurant that is sooooo authentic and good. After dinner we listened to a latina sing karaoke, which was a blast because it reminded me of the ward parties they have in Chile. As we left I asked how often they did karaoke ... and they said the only reason why they were doing it was because the restaurant was closing. It was their last night open. So sad.

RIP La Carreta.

My beautiful mother and I. Notice the llama in the back of the picture.

So cute.

The salsa was so good that Morgan was slurping it out of the dish. True story.

Morgan ... having the ceviche experience :) Peruvian style. Mmmmm.

Riles ... having his first latin karaoke experience.

This was a warmup ... and I loved each of our faces, so I put it in.

The men.

The family pic ... including Bert from Mary Poppins in the back row.