Well, it's been the requisite 2 months so another post here. Since Christmas we've been speeding along the development path (both us and Hadden - and I guess the unborn sister - are developing). We have been doing the zoo a lot and we traveled to Phoenix to visit both Uncle Ron's (my brother and my mom's brother) and do what turned out to be a mini Kingma family reunion (my mom's family).
Spring Break in Scottsdale, AZ
We spent 4 days in the
FireSky Resort in Scottsdale. It's where my brother works so we got a good deal. For anyone going to that part of the work, I recommend it...even though Ron works there. They've got two pools, one of which has a wading area next to a small "beach". Pretty easy to just roll out there in the morning and stay out there as Hadden plays in the sand for about 4 hours. My parents also came and stayed in the room next to ours. Also, my mom's brother Ron lives near Phoenix and her sister (Jean) and her husband (Harry) flew down from Spokane.
Hadden at the "beach" at FireSky
We did two spring training games (Giants-Mariners in Scottsdale and Dodgers-Mariners in Glenndale) and Hadden had lots of fun at both. He didn't really watch the game but running around in a new venue is always fun.
Hadden taking a reading break at the Giants game.
The Muench family TRYING to pose for a picture
This time we bought and took a portable DVD player on the plane with us. Good choice. It's like hypnotizing Hadden. He's totally engrossed in whatever movie he's watching. Kept him silent on both flights. Although, on the flight back we forgot to change his diaper before getting on the plane and didn't do so until they gave the standard "sit down and turn off electronic devices" about 20 minutes out of Seattle. At that point I realized that pee had soaked through Hadden's diaper and onto my lap. Can't get up to change him, can't clean up my jeans. Bad parents.
We went for a walk around "Old Scottsdale" - it's kind of a topaz jewelery tourist trap but it does look nice. We stopped to see the caballo (horse) that was pulling a carriage there but as Hadden and Yvonne got close Hadden decided the horse was, in fact, quite big and a bit intimidating. Splashing around in the water feature of the nearby park was much more to Hadden's liking.
Not sure I want to get any closer to the caballo.
Hadden did his first hike in Phoenix. Uncle Ron (the elder) took us to Lost Dutchman State Park where the big group did a 2.5 mile hike. Hadden, Yvonne and I did about 1 mile of it then we turned back so Hadden wouldn't fall apart. He did great. He also learned the saying "touch a cactus, owie on my finger" although this series of events never happened. Also, if you see Hadden, ask him what he saw on the hike. He saw a burro and a caballo. Trust me, he'll tell you this. He told us about 50 times that day and the next. Of course he may get confused and tell you what he sees at the zoo at least twice a week - "I saw a daddy Gorilla...BIG" or some variation.
Hadden hiking with the group and doing what he really wanted to do on this hike - pick up as many rocks as he could.
All in all, quite a fun trip. We did Scottsdale in 2008 and had fun too. This may be an annual event. Who knows. I just got back from Scottsdale again. Went down there from 17-19 April to see the Subway Fresh Fit 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Avondale, AZ (just outside of Phoenix). Good fun. Don't laugh at a NASCAR race until you've been to one.
steve
