Sunday, September 30, 2012
Our "Man"ny John
John has been watching Thor since March and it's worked out really well for Thor. John practices Thor's swimming with him--it's really cute!
One of Thor's favorite things is to play with the hose. It helps bribe him to get out of the pool.
Thor and the Park
We have a community park a block away next to the school. John and Jenn take Thor there every Friday morning. He loves it! He climbs and slides on everything. He has to do everything himself, though--no helping!
It really wears him out, which is great!
Monsoon Season in the Valley
This was a really wet year in the valley. While the rest of the country is going through a drought, we are getting drowned out! While we were gone, Phoenix was hit with the largest haboob in recent history. For those of you who don't know, a haboob is a giant dust storm that precedes the rain in a monsoon. You can't see in the dust storm, so it's best to take shelter off the roadways. This one was more than a mile high. It shut down the airport and caused accidents along the highways.
And the rain continued almost every day during July. Thor could not figure out where the water was coming from!
He would go out into the rain and then get scared to come back under the patio. It really freaked him out that he couldn't tell where it was coming from except up!
And the rain continued almost every day during July. Thor could not figure out where the water was coming from!
Driving Home (Days 9 and 10)
As we were driving to Albuquerque the next day, the rain that threatened to overtake us yesterday finally did.
It poured on us all the way there. The hotel was way better there than in Clinton. We went swimming as soon as we got there and went to IHOP for dinner. Swimming always seems to calm Thor down.
Chris hadn't been feeling well all trip so we dropped her off at the airport in Albuquerque to fly home to Tulsa and Bryce, Thor and I made the final 7 hours to Phoenix by ourselves. It wasn't that bad--Bryce was a big help with Thor.
And then finally we were home! I always love driving down into the valley. There is something so soothing for me about seeing the trees fall behind me, the saguaros rise out of the rocks, and the rocky mountains turn from foothills to flat, lush desert. But there is nothing like the smell. The rain we brought with us hit the creasote bushes and gave off the smell of desert rain that you can't find anywhere else in the world. It mixed with the smell of hot rubber from the freeways for the unmistakeable smell of home.
I drove for a total of 58 hours in the past 10 days. I went through 7 states, the entire southwest and most of the mid-west. But there isn't one place I would rather live than right where I am.
Chris hadn't been feeling well all trip so we dropped her off at the airport in Albuquerque to fly home to Tulsa and Bryce, Thor and I made the final 7 hours to Phoenix by ourselves. It wasn't that bad--Bryce was a big help with Thor.
And then finally we were home! I always love driving down into the valley. There is something so soothing for me about seeing the trees fall behind me, the saguaros rise out of the rocks, and the rocky mountains turn from foothills to flat, lush desert. But there is nothing like the smell. The rain we brought with us hit the creasote bushes and gave off the smell of desert rain that you can't find anywhere else in the world. It mixed with the smell of hot rubber from the freeways for the unmistakeable smell of home.
I drove for a total of 58 hours in the past 10 days. I went through 7 states, the entire southwest and most of the mid-west. But there isn't one place I would rather live than right where I am.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Driving Miss Kathy (Day 8): the drive home
Before leaving Joann's house we took one more dip in the pool. Then Thor and I headed off to pick up Chris and Bryce. For those of you who don't know, Chris is my ex-mother-in-law and Bryce, her son, is Sabre's cousin. They were going to drive home to Phoenix with me, visit with Sabre a day or so and fly back to Tulsa. This was going to be great for me because Thor would have someone in the back seat with him to hand him food, talk to him, hold his laptop with his movie on it, play with his toys with him, etc.
We got all packed in the cab because it looked like it would rain. Even with someone in the back, Thor started screaming before we made it out of Tulsa. He just did not want to be in the car anymore! And then he pooped while we were on the turnpike to Oklahoma City, which means there is no where to turn off and we weren't close to the McDonalds yet. So I pulled off onto some weird dirt road to change him.
Eventually we made it to Gary's dad's house in tiny Shawnee, Oklahoma. It was an hour or so out of our way, but Grandpa Terry had never seen Thor before so I wanted to make sure to let them meet up. Thor was a little leery of him, but he loved his cute blue heeler puppy. And he loved the pupy's chew toys! Terry even let him take one home.
Then we drove a mile to see Cindy, Garys' mom, and Emma, his grandma. They had just seen Thor a month before at his first birthday party, but they were glad to see him again.
Thor hadn't had his afternoon nap (because he screamed the whole way down there), so he was a little booger. We ate dinner there but had to leave fairly early because Thor started having a meltdown. We started back towards the interstate and Thor was asleep before we got out of town.
We stayed on the west side of Oklahoma City in a small town called Clinton, OK on Saturday night. We got a suite so we could all rest up well, but it wasn't that great. The hotel room was nothing like on the website. It smelled funny and one of the two toilets was stopped up. But it didn't have bedbugs and we were tired, so we stayed.
We got all packed in the cab because it looked like it would rain. Even with someone in the back, Thor started screaming before we made it out of Tulsa. He just did not want to be in the car anymore! And then he pooped while we were on the turnpike to Oklahoma City, which means there is no where to turn off and we weren't close to the McDonalds yet. So I pulled off onto some weird dirt road to change him.
Eventually we made it to Gary's dad's house in tiny Shawnee, Oklahoma. It was an hour or so out of our way, but Grandpa Terry had never seen Thor before so I wanted to make sure to let them meet up. Thor was a little leery of him, but he loved his cute blue heeler puppy. And he loved the pupy's chew toys! Terry even let him take one home.
Then we drove a mile to see Cindy, Garys' mom, and Emma, his grandma. They had just seen Thor a month before at his first birthday party, but they were glad to see him again.
Thor hadn't had his afternoon nap (because he screamed the whole way down there), so he was a little booger. We ate dinner there but had to leave fairly early because Thor started having a meltdown. We started back towards the interstate and Thor was asleep before we got out of town.
We stayed on the west side of Oklahoma City in a small town called Clinton, OK on Saturday night. We got a suite so we could all rest up well, but it wasn't that great. The hotel room was nothing like on the website. It smelled funny and one of the two toilets was stopped up. But it didn't have bedbugs and we were tired, so we stayed.
Friday, September 21, 2012
Driving Miss Kathy (Days 6 and 7) Thor Has a Meltdown
It was sad to leave Amber's house on Thursday. She was such a good hostess and Thor loved playing with her and Branden so much! I was sad, too. Our visit wasn't long enough! But Amber had to work and I had a long way to drive before I was home.
We got about 30 minutes down the road to Tulsa when it finally dawned on Thor that he was on his own in the back seat for an indefinite amount of time. And he started screaming. Not just a baby cry--we are talking a full on tantrum. I drove for about 45 more minutes thinking he would give up at some point, but that just made him madder. So I pulled over, pulled him out of the carseat, and he immediately shut up. Arrrggghhh!
So back in he went. 30 more minutes of screaming, out he came. Walk, walk, back in carseat, more screaming and seat kicking, back out, run, eat, back in, 45 more minutes of pure shrieking at the top of his lungs, stop the truck again, back out, eat some more, walk some more, back in, red face, tears, back out, AAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!! Holy cow that kid can throw a tantrum! For hours apparently! I thought he would eventually fall asleep during the 6 hour car ride that turned into 8 and a half. But no, I was mistaken. He did not like being by himself, unentertained in the back, nor did he want to be in the carseat one more minute.
We made it to JoAnn's house--he's lucky that he is really, really cute or I might have chucked him on the side of the road. I was about to tear my hair out. I had 22 hours to drive from St. Louis home and this was going to be a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG trip.
Thor loved swimming at JoAnn's again and he loved hanging out with us. We stayed there until Saturday just hanging out with JoAnn and her family. We saw Chris, Robert and Bryce too. We went shopping and swam a lot. It was a nice visit.
And then we had to leave.
We got about 30 minutes down the road to Tulsa when it finally dawned on Thor that he was on his own in the back seat for an indefinite amount of time. And he started screaming. Not just a baby cry--we are talking a full on tantrum. I drove for about 45 more minutes thinking he would give up at some point, but that just made him madder. So I pulled over, pulled him out of the carseat, and he immediately shut up. Arrrggghhh!
So back in he went. 30 more minutes of screaming, out he came. Walk, walk, back in carseat, more screaming and seat kicking, back out, run, eat, back in, 45 more minutes of pure shrieking at the top of his lungs, stop the truck again, back out, eat some more, walk some more, back in, red face, tears, back out, AAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!! Holy cow that kid can throw a tantrum! For hours apparently! I thought he would eventually fall asleep during the 6 hour car ride that turned into 8 and a half. But no, I was mistaken. He did not like being by himself, unentertained in the back, nor did he want to be in the carseat one more minute.
We made it to JoAnn's house--he's lucky that he is really, really cute or I might have chucked him on the side of the road. I was about to tear my hair out. I had 22 hours to drive from St. Louis home and this was going to be a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG trip.
Thor loved swimming at JoAnn's again and he loved hanging out with us. We stayed there until Saturday just hanging out with JoAnn and her family. We saw Chris, Robert and Bryce too. We went shopping and swam a lot. It was a nice visit.
And then we had to leave.
Driving Miss Kathy (Day 5): July 4th!
We woke up early at Amber's on July 4th and she made us a yummy breakfast.
Then we went to City Museum. What, you have never heard of City Museum in St. Louis? Well, neither had I, but Amber assured me it was fun. It was crazy and almost impossible to explain, but here goes. A bunch of architects bought a ten story abandoned brick building in downtown St. Louis that had at one time been a shoe factory. Then they recycled, reused, and re-purposed a whole bunch of crap into art to build a giant, life-size chutes and ladders game for adults.
When you approach the door, there is a true to life firetruck, gutted. Above your head are two gutted fighter jets. And when I say above I mean 2-3 stories into the air. You get to them by climbing a series of welded stairs of through the old elevator shaft. then you can sit in the cockpit and pretend you are flying. The ticket window is repurposed from an old movie theater. The floors are tile mosaics, made of broken glass, tile, rocks, etc. the flight of stairs goes up 5-6 stories and the railing is old conveyor belt rollers each hand painted with wild scenes. They designed a cave complete with water, slides, black lights, and crystals that was 3 stories tall--you really could get lost in the maze. There is a HUGE treehouse with slides down from the top and "burrow holes" at the roots under the floor. There was a lifesize replica of a white whale in the "ocean room."
There was an old carnival room, an old pieces of buildings room, a science room, a circus tent, a skateless skatepark, adult sized ball pits, "gerbil runs" meant for people that circled the ceilings overhead.
They even had a tiny tot room for Thor-sized people. He got to play in rooms full of wooden blocks, lifesize foam blocks, and legos.
There was a small ball pit just for the little ones and slides just for them too.
We ran all over the place until Thor was so tired he was having breakdowns. It was a blast and we HAVE to go back there.
We all went home and took a nap before heading out to the St. Louis Cardinals baseball game.
Man, was it hot! It was 106 with humidity through the roof!! And they don't have airconditioned baseball stadiums like we do in Phoenix. I spent most of my time watching Thor run around and around making the concession people laugh. They gave him free food for entertaining them. Then the fireworks display started over the Mississippi River. The stadium was the perfect place to watch them from! Even Thor could see them--he was fascinated. We headed home tired, but feeling like we had a lived a lifetime that day!
Then we went to City Museum. What, you have never heard of City Museum in St. Louis? Well, neither had I, but Amber assured me it was fun. It was crazy and almost impossible to explain, but here goes. A bunch of architects bought a ten story abandoned brick building in downtown St. Louis that had at one time been a shoe factory. Then they recycled, reused, and re-purposed a whole bunch of crap into art to build a giant, life-size chutes and ladders game for adults.
When you approach the door, there is a true to life firetruck, gutted. Above your head are two gutted fighter jets. And when I say above I mean 2-3 stories into the air. You get to them by climbing a series of welded stairs of through the old elevator shaft. then you can sit in the cockpit and pretend you are flying. The ticket window is repurposed from an old movie theater. The floors are tile mosaics, made of broken glass, tile, rocks, etc. the flight of stairs goes up 5-6 stories and the railing is old conveyor belt rollers each hand painted with wild scenes. They designed a cave complete with water, slides, black lights, and crystals that was 3 stories tall--you really could get lost in the maze. There is a HUGE treehouse with slides down from the top and "burrow holes" at the roots under the floor. There was a lifesize replica of a white whale in the "ocean room."
There was an old carnival room, an old pieces of buildings room, a science room, a circus tent, a skateless skatepark, adult sized ball pits, "gerbil runs" meant for people that circled the ceilings overhead.
They even had a tiny tot room for Thor-sized people. He got to play in rooms full of wooden blocks, lifesize foam blocks, and legos.
There was a small ball pit just for the little ones and slides just for them too.
We ran all over the place until Thor was so tired he was having breakdowns. It was a blast and we HAVE to go back there.
We all went home and took a nap before heading out to the St. Louis Cardinals baseball game.
Man, was it hot! It was 106 with humidity through the roof!! And they don't have airconditioned baseball stadiums like we do in Phoenix. I spent most of my time watching Thor run around and around making the concession people laugh. They gave him free food for entertaining them. Then the fireworks display started over the Mississippi River. The stadium was the perfect place to watch them from! Even Thor could see them--he was fascinated. We headed home tired, but feeling like we had a lived a lifetime that day!
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Driving Miss Kathy (Day 4)--Breaking my Heart
Tuesday July 3rd, we woke up, checked the load--check out the pics:
Yeah, it was a mess! But we only had 3 more hours to go before we were in Evansville, Indiana. Halleluja! I was on pins and needles the whole way thinking we were going to lose something out of the back. It was a pretty drive through Illinois and then to Indiana. We found Kathy's sister's house pretty easily and unpacked in no time.
Kathy's niece has a baby boy 2 weeks younger than Thor so he played with him and some of his toys while we unpacked. Then it was time to say good bye to Kathy and Faithanne. I had tried not to think about this moment from the time that we had started out 4 days ago. Saying goodbye to them was really hard for me. When they were here and we didn't see each other for a month, it was ok, because I knew they were still there. But I don't know when I will ever see them again.
Kathy helped me out a lot when I first moved here. She introduced me to Shane. She watched Sabre when I needed her to. She helped me get over Derick. She gave me a place to stay when I left Derick. She lent me money. She bought me dinner. She kept me entertained. She introduced me to Gary. She lent me her daughter to keep Sabre company on roadtrips and vacations. She was always up for a good time. We borrowed each other's clothes (ok, until I got too fat!). I really love her. And I met little tiny Faithanne when she was only 7 months old. She was the cutest baby! Round chubby cheeks, blue eyes, and curly brown hair! It had been fun watching her grow up and scrapbooking about her like she was Sabre's sister. I have her whole childhood documented. What was I going to do without them? They kept me grounded. So even sitting here in my 14th floor office looking at the heart of downtown Phoenix, I remember where I came from. Who would beg me for me pumpkin chocolate chip cookies now on Oct. 1? (I refuse to make them before then because they are for fall, people!) It breaks my heart to think that Thor won't remember them. Who will be Thor's Faithanne?
But I know they have to do this. So we say goodbye and Thor and I start driving back to Amber's house. I waited to cry until we were on the road again. Then I had to pull over at the McDonalds a few miles down the road until I stopped. I hate saying goodbye to friends.
Thor did pretty well for this 3 hours. I wondered if he would scream being the only one in the back seat. But he fell asleep most of the way. This is what the drive looked like:
That night, me, Amber, Thor, and Branden went to Aunt Jen and Uncle David's house. We got to meet cute little Annabelle who was born a mere eleven days before Thor. Instead of teaching her "eyes" "ears" nose" etc, Dr. I'm-an-orthopeadic-sugeon-David had taught her all the bones in her body! She could point to her patella, clavicle, sternum, it was really really cute! We had a really nice time visiting with them. I hadn't seen David for a looooong time becasue of our school schedules. Hopefully now that they are back in Utah we will see them more. (They moved a month after we visited.)
Then we got ready for the Fourth of July at Amber's!!
Yeah, it was a mess! But we only had 3 more hours to go before we were in Evansville, Indiana. Halleluja! I was on pins and needles the whole way thinking we were going to lose something out of the back. It was a pretty drive through Illinois and then to Indiana. We found Kathy's sister's house pretty easily and unpacked in no time.
Kathy's niece has a baby boy 2 weeks younger than Thor so he played with him and some of his toys while we unpacked. Then it was time to say good bye to Kathy and Faithanne. I had tried not to think about this moment from the time that we had started out 4 days ago. Saying goodbye to them was really hard for me. When they were here and we didn't see each other for a month, it was ok, because I knew they were still there. But I don't know when I will ever see them again.
Kathy helped me out a lot when I first moved here. She introduced me to Shane. She watched Sabre when I needed her to. She helped me get over Derick. She gave me a place to stay when I left Derick. She lent me money. She bought me dinner. She kept me entertained. She introduced me to Gary. She lent me her daughter to keep Sabre company on roadtrips and vacations. She was always up for a good time. We borrowed each other's clothes (ok, until I got too fat!). I really love her. And I met little tiny Faithanne when she was only 7 months old. She was the cutest baby! Round chubby cheeks, blue eyes, and curly brown hair! It had been fun watching her grow up and scrapbooking about her like she was Sabre's sister. I have her whole childhood documented. What was I going to do without them? They kept me grounded. So even sitting here in my 14th floor office looking at the heart of downtown Phoenix, I remember where I came from. Who would beg me for me pumpkin chocolate chip cookies now on Oct. 1? (I refuse to make them before then because they are for fall, people!) It breaks my heart to think that Thor won't remember them. Who will be Thor's Faithanne?
But I know they have to do this. So we say goodbye and Thor and I start driving back to Amber's house. I waited to cry until we were on the road again. Then I had to pull over at the McDonalds a few miles down the road until I stopped. I hate saying goodbye to friends.
Thor did pretty well for this 3 hours. I wondered if he would scream being the only one in the back seat. But he fell asleep most of the way. This is what the drive looked like:
That night, me, Amber, Thor, and Branden went to Aunt Jen and Uncle David's house. We got to meet cute little Annabelle who was born a mere eleven days before Thor. Instead of teaching her "eyes" "ears" nose" etc, Dr. I'm-an-orthopeadic-sugeon-David had taught her all the bones in her body! She could point to her patella, clavicle, sternum, it was really really cute! We had a really nice time visiting with them. I hadn't seen David for a looooong time becasue of our school schedules. Hopefully now that they are back in Utah we will see them more. (They moved a month after we visited.)
Then we got ready for the Fourth of July at Amber's!!
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