Saturday, February 27, 2010

Tucson Rodeo 2010


It's no secret that I've enjoyed a rodeo or two in the last year. What's not to love about sunshine, friendly cowboys and kettle corn? For someone who's a transplant to the Southwest, the rodeo can be quite the cultural experience. I think that's why I love it so much- because it makes me feel like a foreigner. And as the little blond white girl who grew up in the Middle East, feeling like an outsider... well, it feels like home to me.


Slide show here.

So I don't mind that I'm the only one at the rodeo in flip flops and not cowboy boots. And the cowboys don't mind explaining the rules of team roping to me. In fact, I think they liked it- they're friendly, remember? It was so much fun that we came back the next day... with my sister, her boyfriend and my mom.


And since it was just around the corner, we stopped by El Guero Canelo for one of Tucson's famous Sonoran Dogs. Yup, that would be a hot dog wrapped in bacon. Overkill, right? Wrong. It's delicious. Stop reading. Go there now. Ask for one Sonoran Dog, one horchata and one tortilla hot off the press. You will thank me.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Brotherly Love

Lately, my car trips with the boys have been very cantankerous. Booker sits in his seat, Ike in his, both sitting and staring out their respective windows. It's quiet for oh, maybe 5 minutes and then this starts up...

I: Car
B: DON'T SAY CAR. I'M NOT A CAR! YOU'RE A CAR! %#*@!
I: Doggie
B: DON'T SAY DOGGIE. THAT'S NOT A DOGGIE! THAT'S A HORSE!!!
I: Sit
B: DON'T SAY SIT! YOU SIT! I'M NOT A DOGGIE!
I: Daddy
B: DON'T SAY DADDY. I'M NOT YOUR DADDY! HE'S AT WORK! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

And on and on. Well, today started off no different. After about ten minutes of the most ridiculous argument I've ever heard, Booker managed to nod off despite his seething anger. Ike continued testing out his new words but soon noticed that he wasn't getting any response. At this point, I looked in the rear view mirror and watched as Ike leaned over and got as close as he could to Booker. And then he said...

No.

He took his finger and wagged it in Booker's face.

No. No. No. No.

Wag, wag, wag.

No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No!

And then Booker half woke from his sleep and yelled,

NO NO NO NO, DON'T SAY NO!

And promptly fell back asleep. It was hilarious and freaky at the same time. Even in his sleep, he has to dominate his brother. It's tough being Ikers.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Impetigo, Minerva, 5Ks

I've been a total blog slacker as of late.

The truth is, we haven't been up to much of anything.

That's not totally true, I guess. Clark and I took a quick trip up to Utah last weekend. It was a nice grown up vacation that consisted of skiing, visiting friends/family and a law conference for Clark. I always like spending time with my brother and his wife, now if I could only convince them to move to Arizona and not Japan. Vacations are fun but sometimes my favorite part of vacation is coming home to our boys. Even though one of them has impetigo and the other has an infected thumb, the reunion was sweet (and germy.)

While we were in Salt Lake, we visited the Church History Museum in temple square. When I worked at the BYU Museum of Art we worked pretty closely with the the Church History Museum borrowing and lending out pieces, but until last weekend I had never actually been there. They have a great collection (with more than a few from my beloved Minerva) and admission is free. Plus, if you happen to be Mormon and were wondering whether or not you have a weird heritage, this is the place for you. Be prepared though, we're a strange folk.

I'm proud to say that I made it out of the museum gift shop with only one book and one small Teichert for my wall. And now it sits in the big pile of things to be hung on our walls.


Which brings me to our empty walls and our not so empty house. Last week I unpacked our last box. It only took me 3 months! Things are slowly coming together. I'm completely satisfied with two rooms- the guest bedroom and the guest bathroom, which is perfect because my mom and sister are coming to town next week. I'm a little burned out on home decorating so the rest of the house is going to remain in a state of limbo... for awhile. Maybe forever.

But who needs the indoors when the weather is absolutely beautiful, like mid-70's. We've been trying to spend lots of time outdoors. This means I sit out on the trampoline endlessly playing 1) Duck Duck Goose (which is difficult with 2.5 people) 2) Sword Dodge Ball (exactly what it sounds like) and 3) Buddha Belly (stuff a ball up your shirt and jump around like a maniac, Ike's favorite.) This mom business is hard work.

Lastly, I want to thank everyone for the comments/input about running. I'm glad I'm not alone when it comes to being a running-hater. For the last couple of weeks, I've been running at night (so no one can point and laugh at me) with the best running partner a gal could ask for. If it weren't for her, I'd be sitting at home each night eating ice cream and watching figure skating. Running with someone else is a great distraction, plus peer pressure is a powerful motivator for me.

Speaking of peer pressure, our neighborhood does a weekly 5K. WEEKLY. 5. K. Yikes, I think I moved into the wrong neighborhood. I thought I requested the neighborhood with the weekly pie eating contest. Nope. This is one fitness oriented group of people. I've definitely got my work cut out for me, but if I can run a 5K without barfing in front of my neighbors I'll consider it one of my greatest accomplishments. Pathetic, right? I don't care. Running is hard.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Yet Another Bullet Blog

Here's what I've been thinking about lately.

- I used to look forward to tax season, not anymore.

- I like painting. We've painted three rooms so far and it's amazing how a coat of paint (or sometimes 3) can make a room feel so different. I especially like painting when I have someone to keep me company.

- Speaking of paint (and this is definitely not an announcement of any sort), I may have shot myself in the foot by painting the future baby room a very subtle shade of pink. That just guarantees that my third will be a boy, right? Subtle as it is (and believe me, it's SUBTLE), it's still pink. A girl can dream. About having girls.

- I'm glad we took out a life insurance policy on me before I knew about my gene status. I hate to think what our rate would have been if the insurance company knew I had such a high chance of getting breast cancer. Good timing on our part.

- I miss Clark already even though he's only been out of town for 2 hours.

- Teichert has unusual eyebrows. I think this means he will have a good sense of humor when he's older.

- I really hate buying furniture. It feels like such an important decision and I hate making important decisions. Hand-me-down furniture is the way to go. I have a panic attack when I'm faced with all the choices at a regular furniture store. I'll be sticking to Craigslist from here on out.

- I'm actually looking forward to the summer. I smelt something in the air yesterday that reminded me of summer. It just smelt warm and fresh (like sun-scorched clean) and I felt excited. I think this has something to do with the thankless relationship I have with our pool these days. I spend so much time cleaning, scrubbing and skimming it's ice cold water and for what? Well, nothing right now but this summer the pool is going to rock my socks.

- And lastly, I wish I was a runner. I wish I was lean and athletic and lithe like my runner friends. Really, I wish I was like my dad who has always been a great example when it comes to exercise (maybe I'll start playing squash- hah!) I just admire people who can run. It seems like one of the best forms of exercise out there. I won't embarrass myself by sharing my sporadic and pitiful running experiences here. Rather, I want to hear about your running experiences. Please give me hope! Tell me about how you absolutely hated running and collapsed on your driveway heaving after one mile and woke up the next morning stiff as a board. And then tell me about how now you LOVE running and sign up for every marathon within 1000 miles of you. Or not, maybe you still hate running but I want to hear about that too. I want your stories, your tips and your advice for a total running novice.