Happy Halloween!

I hope you all have a very safe and happy Halloween! We'll see if we can get Ace to dress up? Who knows? Its not looking to good as of now! He has the "Trick or Treat" down though!

First, I have to comment on being a "trouble maker," my inbox, voice mail, and text messaging has been blowing up with messages regarding the list that China came out with calling it the "troublemaker watch list." There were 9 of us on in from the US for the Olympics. The reason I believe for being on this list is because we are members of "Team Darfur." A great movement supporting human rights and a betterment of life! I think its a bit odd for it to be coming out now. Not much trouble was caused obviously. I wish my right arm could've caused a little more trouble on the playing field but that was it for us and trouble while we were in China.

Lots of frequent flier miles registering here.
Its been a crazy week! 2 trips to NY! The first was for Foot Locker's Sneakerball, supporting the Negro Scholarship Fund. It was a blast! Natasha Watley and I went, we had a great time! Yep, we sported our Mizuno's with our formal dresses! It was a bit odd feeling, and we sure got some looks heading out of the hotel! We had fun earlier in the day shopping, brunch, hair, & make up. We made the most out of our 20 hours in NYC. I even scored 2 auction items, a Nolan Ryan autographed picture for Casey (he's a big fan) and airline tickets! We laughed the night away in our sneaks, yes I had some pink in mine!From there we headed to LA for the Breeder's Cup. Another fun weekend! We went to the kick off party in LA the night before and saw Maroon 5 perform. It was nice getting our feet wet into the horse racing scene before the actual races. It was nice to have a night out for Casey and I. We learned a lot about the equestrian world and enjoyed the ambiance & entertainment. We had a blast at the races! Ace was in Awe! He even fed a horse a peppermint! My family and friends enjoyed a day at Santa Anita, it was beautiful! We were grateful for the invite.

The next day I had the honor of dunking Hulk Hogan and Warren Sapp on Ellen. We had a blast, they were troopers. We helped Ellen raise money for Breast Cancer Awareness month. A great cause and one close to my heart. The guys were so fun, Warren was on cloud 9 dancing away! He says he absolutely loves it! The Hulk let me in on his days at the ball park! He actually pitched in the Little League World Series, bet you didn't know that. A fun fact!

I headed out to Chicago after the weekend for an appearance with Dermabond. It was a National Convention for Emergency Rescue & EMT's. I had a good time, meeting new people, in not quite the usual place for an appearance from a softballer. It was interesting to see all the vendors and mingle! The highlight was meeting a military Sgt, who was so very excited to see and hold the Olympic Medals. His reaction was really great! I was in awe of his badges and full of gratitude for his service.

Came back to LA to meet up with Ace and Casey for a couple of hours before heading out to NY. I attended an event for Weplay, an online social network. (You guys should check it out weplay.com its amazing!) I was in good company with investors, Summer Sanders & Shawn Alexander. It was a very cozy yet elegant evening.

I just got back from a short trip out to Tucson. Finally, I was able to swap out some clothes. My winter jacket was a hoodie and quite pathetic in NY! I was able to grab some boots, warmer clothes, and a few jackets! I attended the grand opening of a Cinemark Theatre in Oro Valley. It was a great event, the Theatre is beautiful, it was nice to be among the Arizona community and be home!

I hope you have a great Halloween!!! I would love to hear what you dressed up as!

Dream & Believe!
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Ellen & Breeders Cup!

Check out Ellen today and Monday!!! More dunking! :)

We are heading out to the Breeders Cup at Santa Anita Race Track today! It will air on ESPN 2! Check it out today! I can't wait! Bustos and I and other female Olympians have the honor of being in the winners circle! Ace is going to love it! I will let you know how it goes!

Dream & Believe!
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Little Rock was Rockin'!!!!

Little Rock, Arkansas
Our Incredible Coaches
Mac Vandergeest, Toni Mascarenas, Caitlin Lowe, Andrea Duran, Kelly Kretchmen, Bustos

We had a blast in Little Rock, Arkansas! What a great time! The girls were such a great group! We were hosted by the "Battin' Babes" and the "Arkansas Batbusters"! What a fun time we had with them! We have grown relationships with them, being our third camp that they have either attended or hosted! We had a great dinner on Friday packed with over 500 people and finger lickin' BBQ! I love the south! Such sweet people & always great food! Bustos even had her own bat boy for the entire weekend! His dad dared the little brother and sure enough Bustos excepted. I don't think he left her side, it was really cute!

The University of Arkansas at Monticello helped us out this weekend for camp!

Bustos dropping Bombs!

Just when we thought it couldn't get any better, it did! Mr. Trace Atkins stopped by on Sunday during the camp! What a special treat for the girls!!! And us too of course! I was a fan before the Apprentice and even more so now after getting to know him and his sweet generous family! He made 400 girls giddy getting on the mike and I think all of their parents too! We were so delighted to have him! We auctioned off the glove I wore for the pitching demo, we both signed it and was able to donate to his charity! FAAN! Helping young kids with severe allergies! What an incredible day! Thank you Trace!


On cloud 9, we floated up to New York for the Women's Sports Foundation Dinner. They were gracious enough to invite our entire team to the event! It was so fun being a team together! I miss my girls! Monday we were able to continue floating, around NY on a dinner cruise. Tuesday we attended the Gala at the Waldorf, as always an inspiring amazing night. It always seems surreal to be in the presence of Billy Jean King and all the other amazing female athletes past and present! Its pretty incredible to see the past athletes and how they continue to succeed off the court and in the real world. The fun just continued! I want to thank all the many sponsors who came out and supported the Women's Sports Foundation, it continues to open doors and empower women and young girls!

We are now back on the bayou in Louisiana! Enjoying our southern roots, family, and friends. Casey has been non stop working the cows, fishing, clearing up the pond, and more. He is trying to soak it up as much as possible. Ace is loving the open air, animals, and rice & gravy! I'm along for the fun, soaking it all up too! Enjoying the golf cart rides and watching the boys have a blast!
Enjoying our family we don't get to see too much of! It's so cute to see the excitement of Sulphur, La for the camp coming up! The Sheriff's Department are so sweet, ready for our arrival. Its really fun being part of a small town and all the excitement for the football games and local news!

Enjoying a few days of down time!
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Ohio to Ellen!

Hey! We had a blast in Ohio! We were able to meet so many great people. It was a good weekend, Berg even came out and joined us for Sunday. Crystl has her own travel ball organization out here the Bustos Ultimates. How cool is that? They were really sweet, we had a good time. They even took us out to play Cornhole. Oh my! What a game. We had so much fun. Its huge out here. Its a slanted box with a hole on top. You have to throw a bag of corn in it for 3 points or 1 point if it lands on top. We dominated! Jenny, Aimee, and Military Mary introduced us to this fun game. Im so stinkin competitive, we were challenging everyone. It even led to me throwing them at Bustos! We had fun. We were spoiled with cookies, deer jerky, and even hometown hero hall of famer George Foster stopped by to say hello. Its a lot of fun traveling and meeting so many great people. Bustos extended family is out here and it was fun to finlly meet them and experience her Ohio group! Thanks for having me!

Tomorrow tune in to Ellen, a change of plans I am headed to LA to appear on Ellen! So much fun! She is so funny, I am really excited to meet her.

I was informed today Ace now has a football stance! Too cute. He says hike and runs! He is growing up so fast. I miss my guys! They are fishing & hunting having a ball in cajun country! I can't wait to join them!

Dreaming & Believing
#27

On the go!

We hopped on a plane and headed out to Arizona for 36 hours. Just crazy. We basically came here to catch our next flights out! We are unpacking, dropping stuff off, and repacking! The story of our life. Yes, we wear the same things pretty much over and over. Why pack anything other than your favorite outfits, right? Its hilarious, I really have no idea what my closet consists of I do know that there is no more room in it however. Many times I look to the suitcase only to find non matching stuff, what are you going to do? This is my excuse for my lack of style at times and some times non matching shoes! :) Casey constantly is asking if I'm wearing holes in the armpits of my clothes. We did try to go to shopping last week in LA, it was the usual! Leaving with nothing but a good lunch and Ace a few items! I did get a T-shirt, just what I needed another T-shirt. However, I am quite excited to swap out my wardrobe. I even packed my cowboy boots this time, look out. We'll see if I actually wear them. I tend to avoid the dressy clothes even though they are in my bag! Yes, cowboy boots are dressy, for me! Last night I was scattering through trying to find a dress for the Women's Sports Foundation Dinner. I was excited to find one, we'll see if it's still the one when I get there. We have quite a bit coming up.

I'm headed out to Ohio to do a clinic with Crystl Bustos for the weekend. I owed her at least this, she helps me out with all of our camps. I'm excited to get to meet more future champions and hang out with Crystl. Then from there to DC! I will be joining other Olympians visiting our veteran troops on Monday and then joining a larger group of the 08' Olympians for a celebration at the White House. It should be a fun couple of days!

We are gearing up for our Arkansas camp, we just closed it today. We are full unfortunately and fortunately!

Fun stuff ahead!

I hope you all are enjoying baseball playoffs! I am! I am a huge baseball fan, even Casey makes fun of me. I'm so sad when baseball season is over! I just enjoy the game and having the option to watch it and the highlights. I'm excited to see the Angels and Dodgers both playing in October! I have to admit I was born and raised a Dodger fan, but I do still cheer for the Angels being from so cal! Its so fun to see grown men so excited to compete and the intensity of post season. Watching the Angels, Red Sox game last night, I was in awe of the crowd and atmosphere! The pitching dominated. How about Jason Bay? I love it. Casey is somewhat tuned in, he says he's watched over 100 games this season, its really the last thing he wants to do. I completely understand. As you can tell I rarely win control of the remote. I am however enjoying postseason baseball, when I get the chance. Go LA!

Well better get back to packing!

Dream & Believe!
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