The Celtics Game!!!

Todd and Seth went to the Boston Celtics game on February 10th during our trip. I got Todd club seats for his birthday and he was so excited to attend this game. They played the San Antonio Spurs.
Before the game Seth, Chris and Todd went back to the IMAX theatre to see another movie that Seth really wanted to see the day before. Following the movie, Chris had to come back to Medford to meet us for the Baby Shower. Todd and Chris said that Seth was upset that he had to go to the game with his dad, he wanted to go with us to the shower. Seth had never been to a Pro Basketball game before and was not excited to say the least. His dad told him he was going despite his objections and they headed to the game.
The club level of the stadium in Boston has a sports museum that has various memorabilia from the local Pro teams including the Celtics, Patriots and Bruins.

Todd said that when they arrived at the stadium Seth's attitude completely changed and he really loved the whole experience. He saw some other fans with jersey's on, so he took his souvenir money to the pro shop and bought a jersey. He thought that the game rocked and as you can see was really into it once he was there.

Seth also really got into the Celtics gear while at the game, check out that hat! This is in front of a locker in the museum that had a variety of uniforms that players have worn over the years.
This is a photo of Steve Grogan's uniform. He was a New England Patriot Quarter Back for 16 years and still holds many passing records. He was acquired by the Patriots from Kansas State University in 1975.
Here is the Buddy in his seat at the game. He loved it can't you tell, he really wants to go to another game soon and he had a great time with his dad. We had season tickets to the Arizona Cardinals, our local NFL team, and he liked attending those games but I think he now likes basketball more than football.
This is one of Tom Brady's uniforms, as you know he is the current Quarterback for the Patriots and although they didn't win the Super Bowl this year, we still love him.

This is a photo of Todd's personal favorite Patriots Quarter Back. Drew Bledsoe spent ten years with the Pats and was a first round draft pick from Washington State who. Todd, Melissa, Chris and I saw him in action, defeating the Vikings in a very close game at Foxboro. Todd wanted to leave early, he was upset that they were losing with less than two minutes on the clock. We turned the radio on in the car and were all irritated with Todd's decision because they came back to win after we left. We were fans long before they were the winning team they are today, go Pats!!!

And finally, this is a photo of my all time favorite Celtics player, Larry Bird. It is a life like statue of him shooting a free throw. Bird spent 13 years with the Celtics and attended Indiana State University. I remember watching him play as a child, I thought he rocked.

Well, that is a synopsis of the Celtics experience for Todd and Seth during our trip. They are playing the Suns on February 22nd here in Phoenix, so we may try to get tickets. I love the Suns too, so may have to wear both my Celtics and Suns gear to the game. We'll keep you posted!!!

Boston!!!

We went to Boston for a long weekend to attend Christopher and Julie's baby shower. We had a wonderful trip and enjoyed meeting Julie's family and seeing some familiar sights around the city. We arrived on Friday evening and met Julie and Chris at our hotel. We ordered take out food at a great little restaurant and neighborhood shop called Bob's. Since moving from the Boston area to Phoenix we have really missed the pizza and subs in that area of the country, so we had steak and cheese subs, pizza and several other tasty dishes that we have had to do without since moving to Arizona. The following day Julie had to work so Chris, Melissa, Seth, Madi, Aiden, Todd and I all went into the city.

On the way to the childrens museum we stopped at Dunkin Donuts for coffee and hot chocolate. Seth was very happy to have some time with his big brother and wanted to spend every minute with him.

When we lived near Boston, Seth and Madilyn went to the Childrens Museum frequently and had a great time there. They have almost outgrown the activities, but I think they enjoyed seeing it again. They helped Aiden climb in this big apparatus and I think he liked it and felt like a very big boy.

They have a lot of water related exhibits and everyone seemed to enjoy those the most. Aiden had a great time getting soaked and didn't want to leave that area of the museum.

Following the museum we drove to the New England Aquarium and from there walked to Fanuel Hall to have lunch. We then went to the Aquarium IMAX Theatre to watch a deep sea movie that everyone enjoyed. Aiden was enthralled with the movie during the beginning and fell asleep about halfway through without making any noise to disrupt the film, I was very proud of his behavior.

We all had a great day and later in the evening went to Kowloon's, a great Chinese restaurant on Route 1. Following our meal Aiden and Madi got on the dance floor when the band began to play and danced the night away. Madi was a terrific leader and Aiden was so funny dancing with all of the young adults, I think he was very impressed with himself. It was a very nice evening.

The next day Todd and Seth went to the Celtics/Spurs Basketball game and Madi, Melissa, Chris, Julie, Aiden and I attended the baby shower. It was a great time and Julie's family was so welcoming and friendly. We really enjoyed meeting them and loved seeing Julie and Chris celebrate the impending birth of little Max. We are all so excited and will let you all know when there is any news.

The Father Daughter Dance!!!

Tonight was the annual father daughter dance at Madi's school. Madi chose a beautiful dress and even wore high heels!!! They had a quick dinner and then spent the rest of the evening "gettin' jiggy with it" (according to Todd!!!). Last year Madi was humiliated by her dad's dancing skills, so hopefully this year he did a little bit better job. The photos from the dance will arrive in a couple of weeks, so we'll see soon.....

Melissa at Work!!!

This afternoon Grandpa, Grandma Carol and I met Melissa at the hospital for lunch. She only has 30 minutes to eat, so we ate in the hospital cafeteria. She is getting used to being employed and is preparing for her boards. She will be given up to 5 hours to complete the exam that consists of 75-250+ questions over a broad range of topics related to her nursing degree. She is taking the exam this Wednesday, so keep your fingers crossed!!! When she passes she will officially be an RN.

She wasn't thrilled that I brought my camera to lunch and told me that she couldn't take a picture because she was at work. I snapped a few quick shots anyway, so here they are. Grandma and Grandpa enjoyed seeing her as well even though we had to eat quickly.

Miracle Morning!!!

This morning Seth and Madi were acting like they genuinely liked one another!!! This is a rare occurence, so I snapped a few photos. They obviously love each other, but have some rivalry issues so it made me very happy to see them being so nice first thing in the morning.

When Todd Gets Aiden Ready!!!

When Grandpa Todd is in charge of Aiden's wardrobe choices for the day, this is an example of how he ends up looking! Todd loves his 2007 Harley Davidson Road King motorcycle and I think he wants Aiden to love it too. He bought him this motorcycle vest shortly after he was born and wants him to wear it ALL of the time.

As you can see Todd is also a fan of the mohawk hairstyle and if given bath duty, Aiden's hair typically ends up looking like this!?!

Grandpa Todd, you rule!!!

Scuba Class!!!

Wednesday was our first group confined water dive scuba experience. Todd, Seth, Madi and I attended the class and had a great time. The first skills that we were required to complete included a 300 yard swim and 10 minute float. Seth and Madi did a wonderful job on those tasks and I was very proud their performance. We then moved on the the more interesting portion of the first dive.





We had several instructors with us in the pool and they were so nice and really encouraged Seth and Madi during their lesson. Some of the skills for this session included filling our masks with water and clearing them (under water), taking the stage 2 air source out of our mouth's under water and replacing them, purging the water from our stage 2, and practicing our entry and exit procedures with our dive buddy's.





While diving in an open water setting it is especially important to use the recommended buddy system. During this dive Madi and Todd were buddies and I was paired with Seth. I was very impressed with Seth and Madi's abilities to demonstrate the tasks the first time they tried and without any additional help from the instructors. All of the people at our local dive shop are so nice and helpful, we really like the facility that we chose for our lessons. They have a store in Tempe and in San Carlos, Mexico. The Mexico location also has a dive boat and according to everyone, the best local mexican cook who prepares the meals for the trip. They told us that we should go down there for the weekend to complete our four open water dives. They frequently swim with dolphins and see many other tropical fish, sting rays, eel, sealions and even the occasional shark! I think they have talked us into it, we'll keep you posted.

After we completed the skills required for the first dive, we decended to the bottom of the pool, about 10 feet, and were able to play torpedo and spent some time just having fun under the water.

Melissa was at work and couldn't attend this session, so I took her back on Friday and she got fitted for her equipment and scheduled private lessons that will enable her to work around her schedule. She is very excited to begin her classes.


Todd and I have done several dives at various locations over the years. We have always regretted not having photos of our underwater experiences. Last year in Maui we bought a disposable underwater camera with a flash in order to take photos of Madi's snuba experience. We took numerous photos, however when I had them developed none of them came out! This week we had the owner of our dive shop show some of his underwater pictures and videos and they were so awesome that we decided to get a quality underwater camera. We selected a Sea & Sea DX-1G. It is a 10 mega pixel digital underwater camera that has a flash and is able to be taken down 180 feet. You can purchase an additional flash that attaches to it by an arm if you will be doing photography at depths that require more light. He also gave me a PADI underwater photography class when I purchased the camera that I will be taking after we complete our current class. I will take some underwater photos this week and post them here soon. We will finally be able to have quality photos of our underwater experiences.

Photos Of Maximus 1-28-08

Chris and Julie went to their 3D ultrasound appointment tonight. Here are some of the photos from that experience!!! In my opinion he definitely has Julie's mouth and chin. He looks so cute, I am even more excited to see him now. We are going to Boston February 8-11 for Julie's baby shower and are all looking forward to spending some time with Chris and Julie prior to his arrival. Who knows maybe we will be lucky and he will decide he to make his first appearance while we are there (although I highly doubt it)!!! We will update you when there is any news, stay tuned.

Todd's New Toy!!!

Today Todd and I went to the Kruse Classic Car Auction in Phoenix. There were so many really cool fully restored classic cars there. We are not to experienced with these vehicles, so we were just intending to observe today and maybe go back tomorrow to bid. As we were almost ready to leave this 1965 Pontiac Grand Prix rolled into the lane. Todd knew the car and thought it was priced to high, but decided to bid. He outbid 2 other people, however the reserve price was about $10,000 more than his bid. At the last moment the owner took the reserve price off the auction and Todd got the car for a very low price. It is in wonderful shape with only a few minor improvements needed. He is very excited about his great deal and will be rolling down the road in his new Cream Puff in the near future. Congrats Todd!!!

Our New Appliances!!!

Last weekend we woke up and I went to the freezer to get a spoonful of ice cream but when I opened the container it poured all over the floor! Todd came to check it and it was completely off and not able to be repaired. We were really surprised because the appliances were new only 3 years ago when we built the house. Anyway, Todd and I went to Lowe's to look at refrigerators, since they typically deliver in a day or two, and decided to switch from all black to stainless steel. We were just going to get the fridge and microwave, but once they installed them I thought the kitchen looked silly with a black stove and dishwasher. I went back to the store and "surprised" Todd with a new stove and dishwasher (which did need to be replaced). Needless to say we love them and it made our kitchen look completely different. I told a couple of you that I would post the pictures, so here they are, enjoy!!!