The Light Rail

Today, the kids and I took advantage of the last day of free rides on the new light rail. It was pretty busy, but not bad. We stood a lot, but standing up in a moving vehicle is a novelty for the kids, so no complaints.

(Don't worry, they're not leaning agains the door as the sign forbids. Just close)

We rode almost the whole line; from the second stop on the west side to the second stop on the east side. That stop is about two miles from my parents' house, so they picked us up and we hung out at their house for a while. We had lunch with them and visited for a little bit, and then they drove us back to the train stop.

I wanted to get on the train by 3:00 so we'd be on the way before rush hour, but that sort of backfired. Turns out the Insight Bowl started at 4:00, so ALL the fans were riding the train to Sun Devil Stadium. Oops.

We had to wait at the stop for two trains before there was one with enough room for us. Then there were more people getting on at the other stops, so we were packed like sardines! But that was only for a couple of miles and most of them got off. We got to sit down for the last half of our ride home.

It was a different way to spend the day. We had a good time & saw a lot of stuff!

Christmas 2008

It's about time I post about Christmas!

We had a great Christmas. Santa was good to everyone, the kids were happy, and the parents were happy.

We drove around on Christmas Eve to look at lights and get the kids sleepy. Then we came home and ate cinnamon rolls, and set one out for Santa. The kids had to go to bed right away so Santa wouldn't have to eat a cold cinnamon roll. The note Erin left let him know his cup of milk was in the fridge. Why would Santa want tepid milk?

My parents came over at 7:00 on Christmas morning and we got the kids up. Santa left a pretty good spread, and of course we all enjoyed opening presents.

After presents and stockings, we had more cinnamon rolls for breakfast!

Grandma & Grandpa went home after breakfast, and we got all the paper, packaging, etc., etc. cleaned up and presents mostly put away. Including all those wretched little plastic bits and rubber bands that secure every inch of children's toys to the packaging... I hate those.

Then it was off to Mesa to see Rob's family. We did stockings, presents, and lunch. Everything you need! I brought my camera, but it remained untouched. Erin had a fun time playing with her cousins, and it was fun to see Sydnie (Scott & Stephanie's 4-month-old) on her first Christmas. We stayed and visited for quite a while, and Erin ended up staying the night. We got home around 10:00 or so and we were glad we had put all the Christmas morning stuff away!

The next day, we got everything else put away and organized, and we just enjoyed our stuff and not having to really do anything. Robbie likes to wear his scooter helmet at random.

Rob's mom & Brigette and the girls brought Erin home that night, so we had another little visit with them.

It was a busy couple of days, but in a good way! We love Christmas!

Snow!

Today, we drove up toward Flagstaff to play in the snow. This was the kids' first experience with snow! We had a nice little patch all to ourselves. It was pretty powdery, so snowballs only went about as far as the fingertips, but we did everything else you're supposed to do in snow...

Snow angels

Eating snow (Robbie probably ate several pounds)

A tiny snowman, complete with baby carrot nose (we didn't have high enough expectations to bring a full-size carrot)

A 6-1/2 - foot pillar of crusty snow chunks courtesy of Rob

The best part about driving up to the snow? Leaving it there when we're done!

We had a great time, and the kids were happy to finally experience this mysterious snow they've heard so much about! Rob and I were happy that we both still fit into our ski pants. Something for everyone!

"Kiddie Tag"

My friend Alayna tagged Robbie with this one... what parent can resist this?

Five neat things about Robbie:

1. He's a multi-sport allstar. He always surprises us with what he knows about sports - like he knows to hug the football tight when you fall so you don't fumble. He recognizes Amare Stoudemire, Shaq, and Steve Nash. He will talk about hockey and the Cardinals when we drive past the arena & stadium on the 101. Surprisingly, this isn't because his dad ingrained it into his brain; he just picks it up.

2. He knew the entire alphabet before he could really speak words. In order, out of order, you name it. I know Erin taught him some, but he also spends a lot of time studying the alphabet blanket my mom made him when he's supposed to be taking naps.

3. He's very gentle with animals. Kind of surprising for a little boy with tons of energy! Our cat who is afraid of everything regularly follows him around for attention.

4. He loves music and regularly requests specific songs when we're in the car. Right now he's all about Vampire Weekend's A-Punk and Rihanna's Disturbia (don't worry, he hasn't seen the video; I just saw it myself - yikes)

5. He is a sweetie! If someone gets hurt, he's the first one to run over and kiss the wound. If he accidentally whacks the wall with something, he'll say "I sorry, wall" and go kiss it. (He's also a little weird)

Thanks for the tag, Alayna! Now I'll tag some friends' kids...

Canyon Brimhall

Julian Avila

Isaac Larson

Zachary Busch

Maxson Daley

Tell us about your kids!

Beauty School Dropout

I am mourning the loss of my boy's hair this morning. Yesterday, I gave him the worst haircut ever and ended up having to trim it all really short.

The hair on top was about 3" long, and I was going to trim about an inch or so off. I had cut his hair before with the clippers and did a pretty good job (if I do say so myself) so I didn't have any reservations about yesterday's haircut. Just like before: shorten the top to help manage his cowlick, taper the sides & back, and trim around the ears & the bottom.

Mid-haircut, I noticed that the hair right on top was like 1/4" long! The clipper guard hadn't slipped, so I have no idea what happened. My stomach sank and I knew I needed to trim the rest to match. How sad. I wanted to cry!

Yesterday, his hair was shiny. You could run your fingers through it and it would fall back down into place. It was pretty when it was tousled. This was a few days ago:

Now it's fuzzy.

Rob says it's fine, but I was just so sad. It took him long enough to grow that hair, and now it's gone! On our back lawn, in fact.

The cowlick isn't a problem anymore. And I've heard it grows in thicker & more even after it's trimmed really short. But for now, I'll continue to mourn.

Tucson gives me the creeps

Here's a little something to get us in the right spirit... for the ASU vs. U of A game today!

I tried & tried to post the video, but Blogger isn't cooperating, so you'll have to use this link.

Side note: if you ever hear Robbie talking about "stepping on the naughty bus" this is why. Enjoy!


In all fairness, here's a list of things I actually like about U of A:








There you have it! Go Devils!