Durango Doug!

We just got back from a quick Woodard camping trip in Durango, CO. By the way, I was singing the Durango Doug theme song the whole way there and back...I assume very few people will know what I'm talking about.

So I was so excited to leave Arizona. I am not a huge fan of the AZ, as I'm sure I've mentioned several times. Then I looked at the weather report for Durango...rain...everyday. Boo Hoo - I don't want to go. I was dreading the monster Carson that occurred on our last rainy camping trip. So we got there Thursday night and it was dry...one day down. Half way through the night Carson started crying. He doesn't do this at home, probably because he knows we would just let him cry and calm himself down. But we can't do that in the middle of a camp ground, surrounded by blissfully sleeping campers. So Karl and I are running around the tent at 3 am trying to keep him quiet. Luckily, all it took was bringing him into my sleeping bag...unluckily, that means I slept not like a rock at all. Carson also got up with the sun at 5:30 am, so...fun. He was a little cranky through the day...but again, it was dry! We did a little hike and put our feet in the freezing cold stream.

Saturday we headed up to Durango Mountain for a day of funtivities. Karl's parents watched the kids so we could act like kids. We rode the ski lift to the top of the mountain and then mountain biked down. It was my first time EVER mountain biking. As we are getting on the lift, the worker looks at our grinning, innocent faces and says "There is no easy way down this mountain, you guys know what you're getting into, right?" Karl confidently answered yes, but the smile had faded from my face. Wait...what? I was picturing the Sound of Music when they are all on their bikes in their new curtain outfits. "You mean I won't pretend I'm Liesl?"

I had a very long ski lift ride to contemplate my life and conclude that I could die happy. Just kidding - I was actually singing The Hills Are Alive, Do Re Mi, and Edelweiss at the top of my lungs (thoroughly embarrassing Karl). What is a ski lift ride through beautiful mountains covered in grass, flowers, and trees without a few show tunes?

So we get to the top and ask to be pointed in the direction of the easiest trail. OK - easiest trail...this is a good start, right? Everyone hops on their bikes and gracefully descends the steepest, rootiest, rockiest trail I have ever seen. I walk my bike down. I am now so sure I won't make it off this mountain alive, I shed a few tears (secretly under the protection of my helmet). If you haven't deduced from my previous posts, I am a bit of a cryer. Everyone is trying to be helpful and I'm getting tips every two seconds...which is helpful but also makes me feel like an idiot. I walk my bike on all the scariest parts and whine the rest of the time. All the sudden I see every one standing in a group...right next to the beginning of the chair lift. Wait? That was it? Oh, I'm a lame-o. Let's do it again! So we did it two more times and I'm proud to say the third time I felt really comfortable and only walked my bike a few feet. YEAH! I can mountain bike.

We also did the Alpine slide. Very fun. Also a bunji/trampoline activity. I thought I had done this before when I was in college but I was wrong. This one went way higher!! I tried to do a front flip (unsuccessful). But I managed a back flip. The harness killed me though so it wasn't the funnest. It was fun though every time I would soar up in the air and then my stomach would drop...I love that feeling (roller coaster anyone?).

Then we drove home. Carson did really well on the car trips, which surprised me a little. The last little leg of the trip we put Kenzi in our car too so the kids could have fun together. The first ten minutes was ridiculous laughing. Kenzi would do a silly laugh and then Carson would do one and then they would both laugh for real because they thought they were so funny. I was laughing so hard I was crying in the front seat - they were too cute. Carson adores Kenzi and does everything she does. Luckily, Kenzi doesn't mind having a shadow. Every time they would part Carson would cry for "Kenzie, My Kenzie." And every time we pulled up somewhere, Carson would ask "Kenzie? Kenzie?" (times 25). Kenzie was too cute as well with her "Tum here, Tarson."

Well - we had a great trip and I recommend Durango, CO to anyone outdoorsy. It would be beautiful in the winter as well - covered in snow. Back to life now...for a little bit (then I'm off to Spokane!)

2 Year Stats

Real Quick - Carson had his 2 year doctor's appointment and I thought I would update the fam on his stats (not that it is as interesting as when he was real little, but still fun for me).

Weight: 32 lbs - just under 90th percentile
Height: 36 inches - just barely off the charts

Carson has followed the same line on the curve so perfectly that it is a little crazy. He is always around 90% for weight and 95 - to off the charts on height. I think we are going to have one tall boy on our hands...and with a healthy appetite. We will probably go bankrupt in his teenage years from buying food and clothes...and milk if he is anything like his Dad (and me in my younger years). Maybe I will just invest in a cow now. Then if he wants to drink milk, he'll have to get it himself.

It was the first time they measured him on the regular big kid scale and not on the baby scale. It was also his first shot in the arm instead of the thigh. The arm shot made it a little more personal for me - I could relate to the pain because I hate shots with a passion. He screamed and bucked but then he got a cool band aid and said "Down, Shoes, Bye-bye." I think he wanted to get out of there. I love that he is communicating more. There has even been a few times where he started to throw a tantrum and then stopped and decided to talk to us about what he wanted instead.

Seattle, Birthday, Etc.

So I finally made it to Seattle. It was 2 am once I finally laid down in bed. But training was really good and it was fun when Karl, Carson, my Mom and Dad, and (surprise) my sister Jessie came on Wednesday. Jessie just got back from Jordan so it was fun to see her.

I had a lot of fun taking Karl around to all the tourist Seattle places he'd never seen. We did Pike's Place, Ivar's, Space Needle, Seattle Center, the Locks, Gas Works Park, Underground Tour, the temple, etc, etc. Unfortunately, our camera broke a day into the trip. I've pulled some we took off my parents' camera and I'll see if Jessie has any need-to-post pictures later.

Ivar's is a fish fast food restaurant right on the water. It's good, but mostly it is just tradition (oh, but really good chowder). You can sit inside or outside. Beware - outside means attacks by the seagulls. But in someways, that only makes it more fun. We chose inside, but then went outside after to feed the birds a few french fries. Here is a pic of the sign outside and then a pic of Karl, Carson, Ivar, and Me.

Here is a video of Carson feeding the birds, until I get attacked. And another of him yelling "hey" at all the birds.

The locks are cool - watching the boats go to and from the lake/ocean. Carson just loved when we went below and he could see all the fish swimming (although sometimes he would point at algae and yell fishy).

I love the musical street performers at Pike's. I could watch them for hours. The market was really crowded though and Carson was being a pill so we didn't stay long. No pics - but a must if you are going to Seattle. The flowers they sell are huge and gorgeous and cheap. You can get really cool spices and nuts too. Also - you can get a lot of junk, skip those vendors.

The underground tour is cool - you walk around under the city and they tell you the history of Seattle and why you are able to walk around under the city. Karl felt the tour was a little long. Here is a picture taken from under the sidewalk. You can literally see people walking above you.

For the flight home, Karl and I were on different airlines because the one I was flying for work wasn't the cheapest when we bought Karl's ticket. So I took Carson with me since Karl had done the flight up. It wasn't awful, but it is still not my idea of a good time. Carson did pretty good. By the end of it, I'd lost some of my patience and I was trying to juggle two huge, overloaded fun bags and a 2 year old. As we were walking to baggage claim, every time the ground would have a slight decline, Carson would get down on the ground and log roll all the way down. I just kept telling myself to pick my battles as I tried not to think of the germs and grossness. All that mattered was that we were moving forward. Every one that passed us thought it was pretty hilarious though. It was actually pretty funny, I just had to ignore all the thoughts of germs.

We got home and a few days later we celebrated Carson's 2nd birthday. The morning of he got donuts for breakfast as is Karl's family's tradition. They usually write Happy Birthday on the donuts, but I figured we would do that once he can read. We forgot to buy candles though, so we just used the one from last year...hence the "one" candle. In twenty years we'll look at the pictures and think he was the biggest one year old ever. When we lit his candle, he just kept saying "Hot" and leaning back as far as possible from the flame. He enjoyed dipping the candle in the chocolate and then licking it off though.

We also had a little party with Karl's family. I made a train cake (not as good as my snake last year) but pretty good...good enough for a two year old. It kind of looked like an alligator though. Carson kept calling it a truck...oh well. He loved all his new toys and would want to play with each one immediately. He got pretty good at unwrapping the gifts. It was a pretty fun night.

Now that looks like a happy boy! I can't believe my little guy is two. He is such a joy and I am amazed at how much I love him. Also, he has great fashion sense - as seen with the goggles he wouldn't take off. The green outfit was the first outfit he's picked out by himself and insisted on wearing...green pajama bottoms and a green top.

Our sweet Carson.

My Romantic Anniversary

For those of you looking for a romantic comedy post...please insert sarcasm into my title and read it again. Note: the lack of a romantic anniversary is not at the fault of my husband. In other words, this is not a bash on the husband post. This is a "Kasey, sometimes your elevator doesn't go all the way to the top floor" post.

So for my sixth wedding anniversary, which is today June 7th, I had/got to fly to Seattle for audit training. I'm excited about my training, so besides the fact that it required me to leave on my anniversary, nothing negative to say about that.

And let the story begin...

I procrastinated getting ready to go till the morning of. My flight left at 1:30, so I figured I would have enough time in the morning to do two loads of laundry, pack, and get out the door. Because I'm amazing, I did the above three things and I was 5 minutes ahead of the schedule I had set for myself. I did not put on my checklist anything like check the flight, check in, etc. So after waiting in the check-in line at US Airways for 25 minutes, I was a little surprised when they said they didn't have a reservation for me. Hmmmm...I pulled out my lap top real quick and checked my confirmation. Oh, I fly out on Alaska, not US Airways. Perfect. So I catch the shuttle to terminal 2 and run to Alaska check in. Well, the flight had already started boarding so they wouldn't take my bag. If I hadn't had anything to check I would have been fine. Being my emotional self, I started crying - which only makes me want to cry more because then I'm embarrassed I'm crying over missing a flight. So they booked my for a 6:30 pm flight. The funniest part is that the girls behind the counter felt really bad as I started blubbering that it was my anniversary and I had no way of contacting my husband. They told me my hair looked cute, that I was too pretty to be sad, and then they brought me tissues. That was nice...but we're still not friends. To make my anniversary an even better day, I had forgot my cell phone at the in-laws so Karl had given me his. So I couldn't call him. I called my mother-in-law and she was sweet enough to come get me and drop me off at home. So Karl was quite surprised to see me on the door step, but on the bright side I got 3 more hours with my hubby on our anniversary.

Fast forward 3 hours. I get all checked in and I'm headed to security. Some strange German guys stop me and ask if they can give me a hug and all they ask is that I pass it along. Too weird, I say no...I'm not comfortable with that. I was so sure they were going to slip some weapon into my pocket. As I'm leaving one of them says "Let us explain so you don't leave thinking you're a bad person." I reply "Oh, I don't think that...bye." Did that really just happen?

I get through security, stop for a water and some magazines as is tradition, and make it to my gate. Oh...my flight has been delayed till 8:50 pm. So I get to hang out in the airport for two more hours...and I don't get into Seattle till 11:45 pm. I have training the next morning at 8 am.

So I am blogging my wonderful anniversary experience as I sit, uncomfortably, in the airport...wondering if anyone on my flight hugged the weirdos and now has a bomb in their pocket. Hopefully, I am blogging about my fun Seattle trip in a weeks time.

Our Busy Week

I have my husband back! After a long semester, Karl has graduated and is actually at home every night. It's been so weird to have someone else here. I'm so proud of him for staying motivated and getting his masters. To review - here is the last week and a half.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I meant Obama.

Well...we just heard Barack Ooma speak at the ASU commencement. Very inspiring. More to come later. This is my first blog post by phone...fancy.