Poor Baby!

Last week Peter was pretty sick and we stayed home most of the week. He held on to a temp of about 101 degrees for a couple of days and slept an awful lot. He got to spend lots of time cuddled up on the couch with his pillow, blanket and Chewy. Even our dog Gizmo kept cuddled up close to him to keep an eye on him.


Peter slept ALOT. He was coughing and had a runny nose. He liked to repeat "Baby...baby..." I think because I kept saying "Poor baby..." and it became his way of saying he needed extra comfort. He now says it if he gets hurt or is super tired. He'll climb into my lap or want up in my arms and give me a super sad "Bay-beee" :(


He still has a runny nose sometimes and a little cough, but he is MUCH better this week. I hate when my baby is sick, there's only so much you can do! Thankfully he still had some smiles for me.

Tucson Peace Fair (video)

Yesterday Peter and I went to the Tucson Peace Fair. It was held at the main city park. Peter was very excited when he saw the park. He started shouting "Park! Park! Play!" Yup, this boy knows what a park is!


After circling the parking lot to find parking we followed the sound of the bands to the main stage. Of course, Peter got distracted on the way there and we ended up playing on a playground for about 20 minutes. By the time we got to the stage he was starving so we laid out a towel on the ground and got out a cooler of food.


Peter had a ham sandwich but he likes to eat the ham and the bread separate. I don't think he understands the concept of a sandwich yet. He also ate a bit banana. He even showed the camera what a big bite can fit in his mouth!

Peter had fun dancing to the music and clapping with all the people. It wasn't too busy so he was able to get up and run around a little bit.


I even let him get a ball out and chase that around the field. It turned into a way for him to meet people. I am always amazed by how easily he can make friends just by throwing a ball back and forth. He makes so many people smile! Here's a little video I took when I was watching him play with his ball.

Our Walk With Dinosaurs

After the MMOT picnic we went home for a nap. A lot of our friends had been talking about a show down at the convention center called Walking With Dinosaurs and we had been debating going for weeks. Since Peter took a long nap we decided to take him down and see if there were any tickets for that nights show.


Walking With Dinosaurs is a stadium show that brings out life-size dinosaurs. They are HUGE! I think T-Rex was 3-4 stories tall. We lucked out and got a great ticket lady who said that Peter didn't need to buy a seat, then she found us an aisle seat with extra seats next to us anyway. Awesome!

Peter was a little tired and cranky because he was starting to get sick from playing without socks earlier in the day. He didn't know what to think when the lights went down and music started to swell. He was curious with a baby dinosaur hatched from an egg, but then a big dinosaur came out and ATE HIM! Oh NO! Peter did not like that one bit. He spent the first half hiding his face in mom's armpit and kept putting my hands over his ears. Poor boy!


During intermission he perked up a little bit. I brought out a brachiosaurus I brought from him and Peter marched it up and down our legs and arms growling at us. He even gave the dinosaur kisses. He must have seen SOME of the first act.

During the second act he turned around and watched the show still huddled in mom's lap but with his eyes wide open. We saw a pteradactyl, triceratops, stegasaurus...all the famous dinos. Of course they save the T-Rex for a surprise entrance at the end. It seems like he comes out of nowhere! All of a sudden there is a great big ROARRRRR!!! Peter nearly hit the ceiling! His fingers snatched my hand and flew it up to cover his ears and he watched the rest of the show with me muffling the roars.


We all had a lot of fun. The show itself and the special effects were cool. The dinosaurs looked amazingly real, better than I thought they would. But mostly I'm just glad that Peter didn't scream and cry after we spent the money on tickets. It obviously made an impact on him though. He likes to cuddle my Little Foot stuffed dinosaur when he goes to bed at night now. And he likes to shove his little plastic ones in our faces (and the dog and cat's) for kisses.

I even snuck a little video posted on the website if you want to see some of what we saw!

MMOT Annual Picnic

This past weekend was the Meetup Moms of Tucson Annual Picnic. Always a fun time! We were excited to see all of our friends again. It had been a while since we were gone for so long visiting Guam. Unfortunately this year the weather wasn't on our side. The morning started out grey, overcast, and cold. Boo!



I made some BBQ Chicken in my crockpot the night before. I figured hot BBQ sandwiches would go over well on a cold day. I was right, one of my friends commented that they were super yummy and she wondered who made them. I just winked at her and smiled. :)


John was working but Peter and I got all cuddled up in coats and hats. Didn't seem to matter to Peter though. It may have been in the 50's but there were bouncy houses and he didn't want to keep his hat or his socks and shoes on for that! I put his socks back on his feet probably 4 times.


I brought a towel for us to sit on but Peter liked one of his friends chairs. I couldn't get him out of it! Atleast not until the train started running.


They also had a "fishing pond" complete with a bubble machine. Peter went fishing.


He caught a new duck for bathtime! Yay!


Peter had so much fun bouncing and playing with his friends again. We were there about an hour and a half trying to stay warm and then it started raining. That was enough for me! I packed up the car, grabbed Peter and we headed home for naptime.


Sadly, I think taking off his socks repeatedly did him in. He got sick with a runny nose and cough and wound up with a 101 degree temperature the next two days. We've spent the week so far at home just trying to relax, stay warm, and get better. He's now on the mend. I'm hoping he will be better for some other events coming up this weekend!

Guam: Sunsets & Trucks

As we were ordering our food and relaxing on the patio Peter was busy playing on the beach. He has turned into a complete beach bum!


He loves playing with the sand and putting it into his truck. His new favorite past-time is throwing coral back into the ocean.


We brought a few sand toys with us. He had a shovel and rake, but could care less about those when we brought out his big truck. This truck got so many miles on it while we were in Guam! We shipped it home in a big box. We had rinsed it off and cleaned it before packing, but when it arrived there was still nearly a cup of sand floating around the bottom of the box!


Peter liked to drive his truck out into the ocean too. I was scared that a wave would suck it out to sea as the tide went out.


Thankfully that never happened and Peter happily drove it in and out of the waves until our dinner arrived.


We got several new beach towels in Guam. Our personal stash was down to 2 beach towels and home so I figured that would be a perfect souvenir. I almost wish I had gotten a few more! Peter likes to cuddle in his new "tow-wells".


It was a beautiful sunset, and Peter seemed to have the beach all to himself. He is such an adventurous boy. He is a little cautious approaching new things, like waves, but after he does he has no fear! He has so much fun! I am so proud of my little boy!

Guam: Family Dinner

We went out to dinner down at the Santa Fe Hotel. They have a nice open air patio restaurant right on the beach so Peter was able to play in the sand while we kicked back and enjoyed our meal. John's mom and Uncle Dwight came for a nice family dinner.


We went to catch the sunset. John was trying to see the "Green flash". A phenomenon that if you catch it just right, when the sun sets the sky flashes green. We didn't see it this night, but it was a beautiful sunset anyway.


Peter liked to explore the beach with Dad and Grandma.


Grandma even tried burying Peter's toes in the sand. He ended up yelling "KICK!" and sending sand everywhere!


We had a yummy dinner with some sashimi appetizers and mexican dinners. Grandma splurged and got lots of greasy junk food!


Peter was happy with a big pile of rice and fresh fruits and veggies.


Afterward John cuddled Peter and gave him hugs while the band played sappy love songs. It was a fun night out.


Oh, and I realized the downside of going out to see the sunset. I arrived with my sunglasses on. After the sun went down I put them on the table and FORGOT THEM!!! Of course since it was dark I didn't look for them as I was leaving. The next morning I was going crazy looking for them and was heartbroken I couldn't find them. We drove past the restaurant and THANK GOODNESS they were there! Phew! I have been much more careful with them since then!

Guam: Fishing Boat

Valentine's Day morning John, Jen and Uncle Dwight dragged ourselves out of bed at 5:30am to head down to Agana Marina to go out on a fishing boat, Island Girl 2.


As the boat was leaving the dock it was still dark out, but the sun quickly started to rise and we had a beautiful sunrise out on the ocean.


We were going trolling, which means that the boat moves the entire time and there were 5 different fishing lines out waiting for fish to bite. We each got a couple of turns reeling fish in but there was a lot of time spent just kicking back and relaxing.


John enjoyed being out at sea. He really misses that open ocean and seemed right at home with his sea legs.


Uncle Dwight used to work as a deck hand on this boat and knows the owner. Somehow he worked his magic to book a fishing trip on 24 hours notice! He was right at home fishing there too.


Jen tried to stay in the main fisherman's chair to try and not get seasick. Despite staring at the horizon and taking 2 dramamine for motion sickness she still ended up throwing up off the side of the boat! It actually felt a bit better after that!


Peter had stayed home with Grandma & Grandpa and played all morning. We figured he wouldn't understand being trapped on a boat for 4 hours and having to stay out of the way of all the action. When we arrived back in the marina he came down to see the boats and all our fish. That was all the excitement he needed!


We ended up catching six mahi-mahi, they were each probably about 30 lbs. Jen had the famous "one that got away". My first fish I nearly pulled a muscle trying to reel him in and then on the last tug to get him in the boat he broke free. It was a beautiful big blue fish. I hope my pretty fish is swimming happily still.


Our fishing crew!


John's fish!


Jen's fish. They tried to get me to hold it by the tail like John did, but it was so slippery it kept slipping through my hand. "Just grip it really tight" Yeah, right! After dropping the poor fish on his head about 5 times they gave up and I held it this way! Atleast I didn't drop it back into the water! Poor fish!


Hey look! Peter got to hold a fish too! It was almost as big as him.


The captain of the boat came down and started cutting the fish up right there on the dock for some fresh mahi-mahi sashimi. I think the fish was still wiggling. John was in heaven! (Totally not for Jen though.)

You Know you Live in Arizona When...

(Now that we are back home in Arizona, I thought I'd post a little homage to our home state. Note: NONE of these are jokes, all things we experience!)

YOU KNOW YOU LIVE IN ARIZONA WHEN...

...it's February and the A/C in the car is already on high.

...it's February, and you can comfortably sport a tank top and flip flops to the park.

...you're worried about the little ones getting a sunburn when the rest of the world seems to be bundled up just to keep warm.

...spring means checking the yard for snakes before the kids go out to play.

...spring means it won't be long before you melt into a puddle in about 2 seconds flat upon stepping outside.

...summer means the park is pretty much off limits...leaving you scratching your head to come up with alternate means of fun.

...people still think the same old saying "Yeah, but it's a dry heat" is clever. It's not. Not a little bit.

...half the population doesn't own a lawn mower. Who needs to mow gravel?

...you navigate by a mountain range

...you see air force jets more often than you see wild animals.

...you know not to leave trash where the javelinas can find it.

...you know that there's no sand in the real desert, just dirt and cacti and some shrubs.

... the best parking spots are in the shade, no matter how far away they are from where you're going.

...your drivers license doesn't have to be renewed for 50 years

...you notice your car overheating before you drive it.

...you no longer associate bridges (or rivers) with water.

...you know a swamp cooler is not a happy hour drink.

...you think someone driving wearing oven mitts is clever.

...you run your air conditioner in the middle of winter so you can use your fireplace.

...the water from the cold water tap is the same temperature as the hot one.

...you experience third degree burns if you touch any metal part of your car.

...you know better than to get into a car with leather seats if you're wearing shorts.

...people who have black cars or black upholstery in their car are automatically assumed to be from out of-state or nuts.

...you know hot air balloons can't rise because the air temperature is hotter than the air inside the balloon.

...kids ask, "What's a mosquito?"

...everyone's smiling and talking about the great weather on rainy days.

Home Sweet Home

Just a quick note to let everyone know that we arrived safely home in Tucson. Our flight back was a little more hectic. We weren't lucky enough to get a seat for Peter because the planes were packed so we had to hold him in our laps for a long time. Thankfully we were seated together and traded back and forth every so often. He slept a lot and was a good boy. We did do a couple laps of the plane when he needed to burn off energy.

We also had mechanical problems and delays so our connecting flights were on top of each other. It was frustrating because we had to run between gates and didn't have time to get any food or drinks in the terminal. That really sucked for the Hawaii to Houston flight. All they fed us was a muffin on that LONG flight. ARGH!

But, in any case, we are now happily home and fully jet lagged. The dog and cat are very happy to see us and sticking close to our sides for lots of pets. Gizmo got to go on a few field trips to visit our friends house, his parents have offered to adopt Gizmo at any time. He's such a love bug.

I have unpacked about half our bags, we came home with twice as many as we left with! Lots of souvenirs and toys from grandma and grandpa. Tomorrow we will probably be sleeping, unpacking, and I need to run to the grocery store to restock the fridge. I'm also looking forward to catching up on American Idol on the Tivo!!

Guam - Talofofo Falls

Yesterdays gorgeous weather pushed us to go to Talofofo Falls, an attraction I never made it to when I lived here. We got a little lost trying to get there because all the signs to it are in Japanese, Chinese and Korean.


They have a bunch of little ride attractions, but it seemed like there was no one there to work them for us. There was an abandoned train track that Peter liked to play on.


One of the newer features there is an air gondola ride over the jungle down to the waterfalls. It was a nice little ride. Once we got to the bottom we ran into some ducks. They were hunting for food and came right up to us. When we broke out a banana to snack on I thought one of them was going to jump in my lap.


Near the waterfall there is a little "rail" ride through the deep jungle. It was fun to go through the trees.


The ride was basically a bunch of chairs on a track pushed by a lawn mower engine. You gotta love the creativity!


Peter loved the choo-choo. He liked looking at the trees and frogs that jumped away as we went past.


Talofofo Falls was beautiful. There are two different falls, one is about 30 feet tall.


Peter did lots of climbing and hiking through the jungle. He was scared of the history museum that had lots of war scenes. The museum was a little annoying for me, the exhibits were made for the Japanese and the English translations were awfully confusing.


We had a fun outing though. Such an amazingly beautiful scene.