HeAPPENINGS

I'm sure as Ethan grows and grows and grows (he's got two uncles over 6' 4") I will relish the trumping moments. Moments like when I still take him down in a wrestling match, beat him in a game of H-O-R-S-E, or maybe out thrash him in a Guita Hero battle (provided our PS2 still functions and arthritis hasn't set into my hands).

I doubt today will be one of those trumping moments.

I was at an intersection not far from our house heading towards the last stop in my vanpool route. Traffic on Loop-101 had been thick and we were running about 10 mins. behind schedule. I had a momentary thought that I should take the path I always do going home. However, I decided to go South instead. The road South had just been widened with a left-hand turn lane - oh if you have ever had to suffer through one lane roads all round your house, left-hand turn lanes are a big deal!

As I approached the intersection to head East, construction barriers blocked the heaven sent left-hand turn lane. With the earlier frustrations of todays commute I wasn't about to let some measely construction restriction to slow me down! Plus there was no one coming North so what was the big deal? The black van 100 ft. in front of me apparently had the same thought and ignored the "traffic control device". Then I saw the motorcycle heading North. I slowed down a bit to give the motorcycle time to go through the intersection - it turned right. Then I made my illegal move, turning left. The flashing lights on the motorcycle turned on making my heart jump a bit but the officer sped up to catch the black van. "Oh that was I close one" I thought to myself.

I wasn't so lucky. Like the two person steak dinner my grandparents in Oregon enjoy at the Poor Brothers restaurant, this officer had him a "Two-For" as in two vehicles pulled over for the same violation (I pray he doesn't get a bonus for the lucky catch). Yup, after the black van pulled off to the side of the road the officer dismounted from his bike and flagged me down.

I was cited for failing to obey a "traffic control device" (see the attached picture). My little mistake cost me $180 and about 4 hours of my time for an online defensive driving class. Even though Ethan's boo boo cost more, his mistake was covered under our insurance. So ha son - I one upped you!

In January we went to see a movie at San Tan Mall since Ryan was on break. After the movie Ethan was a bit cranky and when he got in the car, he pushed the Equinox door as far as it would go - right into the truck next to us.


After a month of communication with the owner of the truck and the insurance company, a claim has been filed and were finally done. The estimate to fix the truck was about $675. We got lucky. The insurance company said that if it were more than $700 our rates would go up, phew! We're glad that it has been taken care of and are a lot more careful when our little one gets in the car.

Today we went to the NBA Jam Session in downtown Phoenix. We caravaned to the Park in Ride with our friends, the Rudnick's. We boarded the crowded train and got on in two different spots, so we couldn't even talk to them during the 45 minute ride. As we pulled up to one of the stops near ASU, Ryan spotted Addy's sister, Anjie, and her family. They boarded the train right where we were standing. Ethan was excited to see Aidan, but after a while the crowded train got to him and they started hitting each other. We went our separate ways and joined the Rudnick's for lunch at a pizza joint near US Airways Arena.



After lunch we headed over to the Phoenix Convention Center where the Jam Session was being held. We discovered a huge line... which unfortunately set the tone for the rest of the afternoon. Once we got inside we went to get on the elevator, since both of us had strollers. We waited and decided to collapse the strollers and go to the escalator. When we got to the lower level, we were a little taken back. It was loud and there were a ton of people and lots to look at. The Rudnick's found a booth where you could be an announcer and we saw a kid zone that Ethan would enjoy, so we split.


As we approached the Kid Zone we discovered another line. Ethan wasn't very happy at this point. He sat during the train ride, sat during lunch, sat in line and didn't want to do it again. He survived and made it inside and found... more lines. He had it and threw a fit which landed him in time out. When he got out, both Addy and Ethan had a nice wet spot on their jeans so we headed straight to the bathroom for a diaper change. He did a little better after he was dry and tried bouncing on a basketball and going through a bouncy maze (he turned around after the first turn). He still wanted to go on the bouncer and waited in a line worse than Disneyland. He finally made it to the front, got on the bouncer, discovered it was too much, got off, tried it again, and gave up. So did Ryan and Addy.

We found the Rudnick's, who seemed to have had it too, but David was in line for an attraction. Ethan really wanted to check out a Star Wars display, so we split again and planned on meeting the Rudnick's back at the Free-throw attraction. Ethan was excited to see Storm Troopers and R2-D2. He also tested his Jedi Knight Skills with Ryan. There wasn't much else, so we started looking for the Rudnicks without any luck.


We collapsed the stoller and started trying to get through the mass of people to get out. We saw another person that we knew from the ward we grew up in and finally found an exit. We headed straight for the train, only to greet it leaving. We waited for over 25 minutes and got on a way crowded train. As we departed, we saw the Rudnick's on the platform. We got to our stop and headed to the car when we noticed another train pulling up... with the Rudnick's. Overall, a crazy, loud, people filled day. The NBA Jam Session was not what we expected and something not recommended unless you really like standing in lines.

After we said our goodbyes, we headed to Pei Wei for a Valentine's dinner. As we pulled up, we noticed Ryan's parents sitting on the patio of an Italian restaurant next door. We surprised them, chatted, and then headed to Pei Wei to enjoy a romantic meal with a crabby 2-year-old.

We were beat by the end of the day and probably would have done it differently if the magic ball would have revealed the day.

ps... Ryan did make the day special. He woke up early and made french toast (Addy's favorite), eggs, and sausage and bought her yellow tulips with some wild flowers. She didn't do anything for him since she was going to the Jam Session, maybe she owes him.

We want to send out yet another shout out to our friends, Reese and Christi Jones, who welcomed their first little boy into their family today. We're excited for you and can't wait until Zander is old enough to go to Suns games.


Zander William Jones
7 lbs. 1 oz. ~ 20 inches

Just when Addy thought that she was done, she has started another class. Just before she finished up her last year of teaching she got her provisional certification for the Structured English Immersion (SEI) that Arizona is requiring ALL teachers to have. Well, the certification has to be complete by July 2009 and it was time to get in gear. It is just an online course that lasts for 8 weeks, but if anyone wonders why the blog isn't getting as much attention you'll know why.

Today we went to the Phoenix Children's Museum with Anjie and Aidan. We met at the Park and Ride and hopped on the Lightrail to head into Downtown. Ethan was excited that he could ride on the train with his cousin, but both seemed relieved when we got to our stop. We walked about a half of mile to the museum and were relieved not to see School buses. The first floor of the museum had some different kinds of bikes and balls for kids (and dads) to play with. There were also some tunnels to crawl through and a wall with pipes with air flowing through them. Ryan especially enjoyed the wall and had fun showing Ethan how it worked.

We headed to the second level where there was an art room that really didn't keep Ethan's attention and some 'Plinko' type stations. Ethan had fun and got upset when older school children got in his way - when you're 2, everything is yours. There was also a car wash that the kids could ride bikes through. Addy was impressed that Ethan sat on a bike and pushed his way through once. He prefers to push things instead of riding them and decided that was more fun.

We finally went to the third floor where we found the Noodle Jungle and the battery on the camera died. Ryan and Ethan had fun navigating their way through the Noodles that were hanging from the ceiling until some older kids joined in. We checked out a room that had tubes that went along the walls and down to the kids level. Ethan enjoyed sticking the balls in the tubes at his level and watching them go down. We got separated from Aidan and Anjie and decided to look for them. We found them in the 3 and under room and joined them shortly thereafter. The room had balls, things to climb on, a slide, puzzles and many more things that toddlers love. Ethan seemed like he was enjoying it, but all things have to come to an end and it was nearly lunch time.

After leaving the museum we walked to Copper Square and enjoyed lunch at a small Pizzeria. We jumped on the train and headed back home. The boys were more than ready to get back to the Park and Ride and seemed to be getting anxious. It was a fun day and we enjoyed the museum. The only negative, for those of you who may go, it was $8 per person... even the kiddos.

We wanted to send a shout out of congrats to our friends, the Scholes. They welcomed the newest addition to their family this morning - on her due date! What a lucky girl.

Paige Christine Scholes
7lbs. 9oz. ~ 20 inches

We can't wait until we feel better to meet her. Congratulations!

Ethan got a book for Christmas that has Pixar stickers in the back. He really didn't pay much attention to them at first, but these last few weeks has been a different story. He has been taking the stickers off and then sticks them in his tape player or rips them up and puts them down the crack at the top of his headboard. He also likes to put them on his face before ripping them up and discarding of them. All we have to say - we can't wait until they are all gone.

After inviting ourselves to Addy's brother's house to watch the Superbowl, we enjoyed spending this afternoon with family. Ethan had a great time playing in the backyard throwing dirt at the wall in his red cowboy hat, playing with cousins, and enjoying other kids toys. Ryan enjoyed the company of his brother-in-laws while watching the not-so-eventful game. Addy was just glad to be in an environment where there was someone to talk to.

At half time Trever fired up the grill and we enjoyed lots of good food - burgers, salsa & chips, potato salad, and lots of sweet treats. The second half of the game was a little bit better and energy filled the room when the Cardinals finally showed up and scored enough points to take the lead 3 minutes before it ended. Trever called it... too much time on the clock and the Steelers won.

The Cardinals put forth great effort, but not enough to taste the victory. Since we aren't huge fans we weren't that disappointed. Hey, at least we know that Hell is still nice and toasty.