Nothing new to report. Just messing around!

Well, like I said...nothing much going on in Chandler. We have been lucky enough to have near perfect weather the past couple of weeks. That's allowed us to spend many afternoons out in front of the house lately, drawing with chalk on the driveway, riding the Plasmacar around, just in general enjoying the outdoors. We have to take advantage of it while we can, since the scorching days are right around the corner.

Easter was fun. We spent it at Deb and Ted's house, where we had a wonderful meal with contributions from everyone. Delicious! AND we got to watch the NCAA tourney. What a combination. A Burns Easter if I ever saw one.

Anway, like I said, not a lot to report. I am now experimenting with embedding videos off of Youtube, so hopefully you've just watched or are about to watch one of Elliot and one of Zane. If not, that probably means I haven't figured it out yet.

Have a good one and check back soon!

Elliot's the Big 3!

Our little 11 pound baby just turned 3 on Saturday! It seems like only yesterday that Kate woke me up to very calmly tell me "I think it's time to go to the hospital".

We had a birthday party for her on Sunday. All the Arizona family came by to have some fun, as did Marya from Globe with her kids Jackson and Bianca, and neighbor Nicole with her kids Brianna and Avery.

The kids ran around for a couple of hours while everybody visited and hung out. It was a perfect day, weather-wise, with clear blue skies and a high of about 76.

We got out the parachute and played for a little while, played "Pin the flower on Dora's bracelet", and kids took turns on the Plasmacar (as did Uncle Jeff and Uncle Ted) and just generally ran around like crazy little kids. Jack befriended Bianca and Jackson, Kelsey ran the show like usual, and Marley was just her sweet, little self and participated wherever she saw an opportunity. Elliot just took it all in and had one heck of a time.

Kate did her typical hard work in preparing for the party. We had the regular snacks out and ready to go. Raspberry chipotle on cream cheese, fresh fruit, cheese puffs, etc... When it came time to eat we had turkey burgers, a chicken caesar pasta salad and watermelon. Then, of course we had the birthday cake, a chocolate number with an awesome Cool Whip-chocolate pudding frosting. Way better than regular frosting if you ask me.

The main event, like always, was the unwrapping of gifts, and Elliot made out like a bandit. She's very fortunate to have a kind and loving family and friends. She got a Barbie phone that actually says her name AND names of her friends, and even "knows" her favorite foods and colors. She got a "Bug" tent to hang out in, a little golf set, some awesome clothes, a Strawberry Shortcake doll, a mini-trampoline like they have at babysitter Diane's, a Big Sister Dora, a jewelry box, a new computer game, a necklace. Grandma Mary even got her a personal Bounce House for when she's over at her house!

Well, it was a wonderful day and we thank everyone that came out for their well-wishes and gifts and good company.

Thanks for reading and check back soon!!!

FABULOUS? Yep.

A cool, crisp March night found a Fabulous Yep Nopes team hungry, with a #1 seed and with their eyes on the prize. They would still have to win three straight games for that to happen, however, and things took a negative turn early in game one at Snedigar Park in Chandler. Pitching stalwart and quiet team leader Ramon Rivera-Diaz suffered a painful dislocated shoulder charging into second base, attempting to stretch a single into a double. As paramedics set up a triage in the Nopes’ dugout, the distracted team re-concentrated their efforts and dispatched a woefully overmatched Richard Cranium squad, 31-7.

Game two found a 500 Club that would prove to be a tougher test. Clutch-hitting and some stellar defense allowed the Nopes to erase an early deficit and up the lead to nine by the time all was said and done, knocking off the feisty 500’s, 19-10.

It came time for game 3, the one for all the marbles, and this match-up was going to be the toughest yet. The Rip It Bombers came into the championship game having split the regular season with the Yep Nopes, their win being an emotional last-inning rally that propelled them to a 24-23 victory. A crafty, good-hitting team with deceptive speed, the Bombers made it known right off the bat that they were in it to win it, jumping out to an early lead.

The Nopes started slowly, partly due to nerves, but never got down. Playing for their fallen leader, the dugout became verbal, players urging their teammates to not get down and to focus. Starting off the 6th inning in an 11-4 hole, the Nopes knew it was now or never. Pat MacDonald walked early in the inning, bringing Jim Stringham to the plate. Stringham promptly hit a two-run moon shot that would serve as a catalyst for a furious rally that saw clutch hitting from every single spot in the line-up, catapulting them to a 14-11 advantage.

Defense was now at a premium and the Yep Nopes held up in this regard. They gave up a run in the bottom of the sixth but still held a two run lead as the final inning loomed. The top of the 7th saw three more very important runs tacked on with some more clutch hitting by a very determined Yep Nope ball club.

As they took the field in the bottom of the inning with a17-12 lead, the players could reflect on an up-and-down season and the adversity they’d dealt with that night, but realized there was a task at hand that needed to be accomplished. The Bombers were spent, however, getting two quick outs on fly balls to centerfield. The final play of the game saw a lazy fly ball sent over the 2nd baseman into short right center. As he’s done all year long, utility-man Brian Gorsuch charged hard, clinching the game with a sliding basket catch worthy of a Sportscenter “web-gem”.

As the teams shook hands and the fields began to clear, chants of “mustache, mustache” could be heard among the high-fives and congratulatory hollers. The Fabulous Yep Nopes had dug down deep, had played hard for a fallen teammate and had earned the right to call themselves “CHAMPIONS”.

Sedona, Flagstaff, Physical Geography?

We're back from an enjoyable trip to the cool pines of Northern Arizona! It was quite a whirlwind trip, but lots of fun for several reasons. We stayed at the Poco Diablo Resort in Sedona, where Kate had her workshop. The room was very nice, and while the resort was nice I wouldn't say it was plush, which I guess I was expecting. That's o.k., though, it was for sleeping. The room had large windows and a sliding door that opened onto the resort's par 3 golf course. No one was playing, so it was just a giant backyard where Elliot could run with the ducks!

Zane, Elliot and I spent Saturday morning wandering Sedona, driving around and eventually finding Sedona city park, which had plenty of swings and apparati to help blow a couple of hours. The weather was absolutely PERFECT, which helped. The morning flew by.

We met Kate at 1:00 and loaded up the car to head to Flagstaff so I could re-visit my college days and Elliot could see snow for the first time. We headed through Flagstaff and made it almost to the Snow Bowl turn-off where we found a day-use area. Perfectly clear skies and warm temps made for an enjoyable time where Elliot could run as well as have Mom help her build her very first snowman. It was an impressive snowman, the whole 12 inches of it.






























Now for the edu-blog portion of my ramblings. See the brighter white line running down the middle of the mountain?






















THAT, my friends, is known as the Monte Vista Trail. It used to be not as distinct, but while yours truly was attending the Harvard of the Pines, circa 1996, an avalanche occurred while two snowboarders were in the backcountry in this very spot and one of them was killed. I happened to be in a Physical Geography class at the time, and wouldn't you know it, my professor, Dr. Dexter, just happened to specialize in avalanches. He told us all about it. Just think of a "fluid" composed of Volkswagen Beetle-sized ice chunks careening down the slope, scouring the trail of trees. One guy made it to the side and was hurt. The other guy did NOT make it to the side. Geez, sorry to bring everyone down.

Anyway, after the snow fun, we headed back to Flagstaff and had lunch at Collins Irish Pub. Good burger, good beer. The trains going by reminded me of the old days and also made me wonder just how in the heck I ever slept in that town. Elliot got a kick out of them, too. Then it was back to Sedona. We did venture out to Oak Creek Brewery for a quick bite and a couple of beers on Saturday evening. Actually, I had seven beers, but it was via the "Seven Dwarves", which is seven five-ounce samples of each of their brews. They were some tasty brews. At this point we had some tired kids AND some tired parents. Bedtime!

All in all, it was a fun, if whirlwind, trip up north. Sedona's nice. Not to cold, not too hot, and the scenery is pretty spectacular. I'll admit, though, the copper cowboys and watercolor kachinas would eventually wear on me. Kate loved it, loved the workshop, loved the town. We'll probably be visiting again.

Thanks for reading and I'll post again soon!