Last week: My parents came into town so I took the week off. Saturday we went to a Diamondbacks game…and took Carson. It was interesting, but surprisingly not horrible thanks to the friendly people in the row behind us. They entertained Carson and thought he was cute. All I could think about was making sure he didn’t kick the people in front of us (I counted 3 times). Needless to say, I didn’t see a whole lot of the “game” but the atmosphere was still fun. My parents thoroughly enjoyed it. We all thought it was pretty neat when half way through the game they opened the stadium ceiling.
Wednesday was Barack Obama night (as I mentioned in my phone post). Here are the details on that night. The drama of the events listed below is greatly increased by the fact that it was well over 100 degrees outside and we were standing in sweaty crowds on top of black asphalt.
3:00 PM – 3:30 PM Leave the house and drive to a park and ride for the light rail.
3:30 PM – 3:45 PM Wait in line at the park and ride as there are more people there/already on the car than can fit into the light rail.
3:45 PM – 4:00 PM Ride the light rail to the stadium (standing room only), and not really “to the stadium” – more like closeish to the stadium.
4:00 PM – 4:20 PM Get off the light rail and walk 20 minutes to the stadium.
4:20 PM – 5:26 PM Wait in line outside the stadium, sweat (that is all I did that hour)
5:26 PM We’ve made it through!!! Now we’ll go relax
5:28 PM Oh…we have a lot more walking to do…and lines to wait in. Yeah.
5:28 PM – 5:50 PM Walk up a small hill (which is a huge hill in my boiling brain), push our way through lame crowds who think it is a good idea to stand and talk in the middle of the walk way.
5:50 PM – 6:30 PM Make it to our seat section…realize our seats are still in the sun…sit on the dirty ground, in the shade, in the walk way outside our seating section. Hear Alice Cooper playing faintly in the background.
6:30 PM Take our seats and then wait another hour and a half for Obama. At least I’m in the shade! No complaints.
Obama gave a really good speech. He talked a lot about how success is not measured by material items, how our body of work is never complete, and challenged the students to contribute to society. Some of you probably watched it on TV. I agreed with pretty much everything he said. Putting our political difference aside, I can’t help but celebrate the progress of America. I gain such joy from observing human triumph. How amazing it must be to be the first African American president. The stadium was packed. The flashes going from cameras when Obama took the stage was a show in and of itself. We saw his limo pull up (pictured below) and I loved seeing all the security on the top of the stadium.
Wednesday was Barack Obama night (as I mentioned in my phone post). Here are the details on that night. The drama of the events listed below is greatly increased by the fact that it was well over 100 degrees outside and we were standing in sweaty crowds on top of black asphalt.
3:00 PM – 3:30 PM Leave the house and drive to a park and ride for the light rail.
3:30 PM – 3:45 PM Wait in line at the park and ride as there are more people there/already on the car than can fit into the light rail.
3:45 PM – 4:00 PM Ride the light rail to the stadium (standing room only), and not really “to the stadium” – more like closeish to the stadium.
4:00 PM – 4:20 PM Get off the light rail and walk 20 minutes to the stadium.
4:20 PM – 5:26 PM Wait in line outside the stadium, sweat (that is all I did that hour)
5:26 PM We’ve made it through!!! Now we’ll go relax
5:28 PM Oh…we have a lot more walking to do…and lines to wait in. Yeah.
5:28 PM – 5:50 PM Walk up a small hill (which is a huge hill in my boiling brain), push our way through lame crowds who think it is a good idea to stand and talk in the middle of the walk way.
5:50 PM – 6:30 PM Make it to our seat section…realize our seats are still in the sun…sit on the dirty ground, in the shade, in the walk way outside our seating section. Hear Alice Cooper playing faintly in the background.
6:30 PM Take our seats and then wait another hour and a half for Obama. At least I’m in the shade! No complaints.
Obama gave a really good speech. He talked a lot about how success is not measured by material items, how our body of work is never complete, and challenged the students to contribute to society. Some of you probably watched it on TV. I agreed with pretty much everything he said. Putting our political difference aside, I can’t help but celebrate the progress of America. I gain such joy from observing human triumph. How amazing it must be to be the first African American president. The stadium was packed. The flashes going from cameras when Obama took the stage was a show in and of itself. We saw his limo pull up (pictured below) and I loved seeing all the security on the top of the stadium.
Thursday was Karl’s graduation. We got there early and had great seats. It was so cool to see him “hooded.” After graduation we all went to RA, Karl’s favorite sushi place. We had a great time and enjoyed being with all the family…and got great sushi. Below are two pics after the ceremony. FAMILY - I know you got better/more pictures than I did and I want them. Most of mine turned out awful.
Friday, my sister Jackie and her family came in. We had a party at Karl’s parents’ house that night. We had great food and fun outside games. Once it got dark the boys set up white sheets and projectors outside and we had a Guitar Hero jam session. I kept waiting for the cops to show up – but apparently the neighbors like hearing amateurs sing “Jessie’s Girl” at 10 pm. Carson got to stay up way too late, but he was so happy to be running around outside. The video below is Carson and Cordell (his cousin) dancing to the Guitar Hero music. Cordell is so cute at the end. I know the video is kind of bad, but it's still cute.
Saturday night we went to Pizzeria Bianco. I had heard about this restaurant on Martha Stewart and on top 10 US pizza places on the Food Network. Warning - if you want to go, read the story below. Also, Martha Stewart just ran an 8 page spread on this restaurant in her May 2009 magazine, so I bet the crowd is even worse.
I had to go to extreme lengths to get the reservation (the other option is waiting in line for two hours or showing up 3 hours before opening to get in first round). They only take 3 reservations a day and start taking phone calls at 4 pm. You have to have a party of at least 6 to make a reservation. The first time I tried (on April 15th) I called at 4:15 and they had already taken their 3 reservations and were full through May 15th. They told me to try again the next day. So the next day I just hit call/end over and over, starting at 3:55, until they answered. Since our party was 9, the only reservation slot allowed is the 5 pm. They don’t sit incomplete parties and we couldn’t be late. They also called me a week before the reservation to confirm I still wanted it. It was ridiculous. But it was really nice when they opened the doors at 5 pm and called my name. We were able to walk right past the huge line that was outside their door and go right in. Very VIP. So…the food – it was pretty good pizza. Unlike anything I’d had before. The owner makes homemade mozzarella cheese (it was good) and grows his own herbs out front. I really loved the salads/appetizers we ordered. That was actually my favorite part. Prices aren’t too bad, but it isn’t Dominoes cheap.
While the family was here, we were also able to celebrate Cordell’s second birthday (my sister’s son). He and Carson loved playing together. Well, at least Carson liked following him around and copying everything he did. Here are them having some fun.
While the family was here, we were also able to celebrate Cordell’s second birthday (my sister’s son). He and Carson loved playing together. Well, at least Carson liked following him around and copying everything he did. Here are them having some fun.
Carson developments – he now knows when he has gone poop…I know gross. But I’m excited because that means we're one step closer to potty training. I think awareness is probably the first step. He’ll be playing and then look up at me and just say “poop” very mater-of-factly.
His new favorite thing to say though is “help me.” If I give him a time out or make him sit in his crib to get control, he’ll just sit in there saying help me over and over. It is so hard to keep a straight face.
We went camping over Memorial Day weekend. It rained pretty much the whole time which meant it wasn’t the greatest trip. Carson loves being outside, but we were constantly having to bring him in to dry off/warm up. He got really frustrated with all the “no’s” (I don’t blame him). He also didn’t sleep well because it was cold. I spent several hours each night trying to get him to go back to sleep – as he is screaming “no” at 2 am. Sorry other campers. So he was really cranky the whole trip, throwing tantrums every 10 minutes (not literally, but it felt like it). Lesson learned – to take Carson camping it has to be nice weather or we have to wait till he is a little older. He loved the outdoors so much though I can tell that someday we’ll have a happy little camper. He also loved riding Kari and Garret’s 4-wheeler. All he wanted to do was either go “outside” or go for a “ride”. He was a big helper building the fire. Whenever the boys would be working on the fire, Carson would find little sticks or bark and throw them in. He would try to help stack the logs too. It made me a little nervous but he was really good at staying back from the fire. He would point to it and say “hot” and then try to blow on it (like we do his dinner when it is too hot). We left the night before we had planned because Karl and I couldn’t do another night of 2 am parties with Carson. He slept 12 hours that night at home. He was so tired.
We went camping over Memorial Day weekend. It rained pretty much the whole time which meant it wasn’t the greatest trip. Carson loves being outside, but we were constantly having to bring him in to dry off/warm up. He got really frustrated with all the “no’s” (I don’t blame him). He also didn’t sleep well because it was cold. I spent several hours each night trying to get him to go back to sleep – as he is screaming “no” at 2 am. Sorry other campers. So he was really cranky the whole trip, throwing tantrums every 10 minutes (not literally, but it felt like it). Lesson learned – to take Carson camping it has to be nice weather or we have to wait till he is a little older. He loved the outdoors so much though I can tell that someday we’ll have a happy little camper. He also loved riding Kari and Garret’s 4-wheeler. All he wanted to do was either go “outside” or go for a “ride”. He was a big helper building the fire. Whenever the boys would be working on the fire, Carson would find little sticks or bark and throw them in. He would try to help stack the logs too. It made me a little nervous but he was really good at staying back from the fire. He would point to it and say “hot” and then try to blow on it (like we do his dinner when it is too hot). We left the night before we had planned because Karl and I couldn’t do another night of 2 am parties with Carson. He slept 12 hours that night at home. He was so tired.
So we have had a busy week and a half and I'm really looking forward to doing absolutely nothing this weekend! And in closing - sometimes he has so much energy it is exhausting to watch.
2 comments:
Thanks, we had a great time. We will send pics, too. I love the camping pictures. I love the little blue boots. Mom
Congrats Karl!! It was so fun to hang-out with you guys and your families. Sorry we missed going camping with ya - next time.
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