SUNDAY NEWS
January 4, 2009
Happy New Year! Can you believe it is 2009! Lori had to work on New Year’s Day, so Karl and Vayden spent the day together. Vayden was good but likes spending time with her Dad so much that she refused to miss a minute of it all day. She stayed up the entire day, never going to sleep for more than 5 or 10 minutes at a time. Together they watched Planet of the Apes. Vayden liked it so much that they watched Escape from the Planet of the Apes. Then when Beneath Planet of the Apes came on, Vayden wanted more. They even went on to watch Conquest of the Planet of the Apes and Battle for Planet of the Apes. Vayden now has quite an appreciation for late 60’s early 70’s science fiction movies. Lori spent most of the week sick with an upper respiratory virus. She kept saying she would like to track down the filthy infested rodent that gave her this virus and punch him in the face. Karl is not sure how to react to such statements, but figures it is probably not the best time to remind her that she got it from him. Due to a lot of mask wearing we were able to keep Vayden from getting the virus. This week Brittney and Shelby returned to Indiana. Christian is also in Indiana visiting. Alyssa spent most of her week here in Arizona.
The Cardinals won their play-off against the Atlanta Falcons. We have now also converted Karl’s brother Erik to the Cardinals. After going to the game last week, he called and was faithfully wearing his #11 Fitzgerald jersey and watching the game with his boys when Kurt Warner #13 handed off to Edgerrin James #32, who tossed back a flea flicker back to Kurt Warner #13 who threw it all the way down the field to the end zone where Larry Fitzgerald #11 flew into the air between not one, but two defenders for the catch and the opening touchdown. Since the kids are away or otherwise occupied we get to fill their sections with stories.
Very Vayden
Vayden has started successfully using her hands. With concentration she can reach for and grab hold of things. She is growing fast. We have already had to donate a big bag of clothes. While she resisted bottles at first when Lori was away, she now sucks them down with gusto. She usually goes through 5 or 6 in a day. She has become a very happy baby who is easy to keep entertained.
Completely Christian
Christian’s Math
Every so often they have these fairs at Christian’s school where the kids can buy stuff. Christian takes something like 75 cents to school so he can buy something. He comes back from school with a whole bunch of stuff. It is obvious that 75 cents could not have possibly purchased all the loot that Christian scored. When questioned about it, Christian explained that one of his friends had 20 dollars and Christian talked the friend into combining their money with his so they would both be able to buy more things. Christian defends the logic and fairness of this scheme to this very day.
Young Jedi Breaks Master’s Nose
Christian and Karl like to sword fight. They actually have two martial art practice swords. Christian wears protective gear; Karl didn’t used to wear any gear, believing that he was skilled enough to protect himself from a mere boy. One day Christian attacks with a vertical slice of his sword which caught Karl by complete surprise and Karl is unable to block it at all. The blow lands on Karl’s nose with enough force to knock him out. When Karl comes to, he is flat on his back choking on the blood that is coming out of his nose and mouth. Christian is sitting on his chest crying and saying, “I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry, I am so sorry.” which Christian continued to say for the next hour or so.
Sooooo Shelby
The Hummer
Years ago Shelby came to Arizona to visit. Karl and Shelby got to spend the day together while Lori was at work. When asked what she wanted to do most while in Arizona, Shelby informs Karl that she wants to ride in a Hummer. Karl and Shelby head off to Scottsdale and go to a Hummer dealership. Shelby picks out a big white one and Karl asks to take it for a test drive. The sales guy tells Karl he should just keep it for a couple of days. Shelby’s eyes get big and a rapid barrage of “Please” ensues to which Karl eventually succumbs. They ride around town the rest of the day taking pictures of Shelby with her Hummer. When Lori gets home, she asks Karl and Shelby what kind of trouble they got into while she was gone. Karl and Shelby look at each other and grin. They tell her that they have a surprise for her. Now we can’t be certain of the exact date of this adventure, but Karl and Lori were already planning on spending their lives together. Lori is then led outside to the parking lot where Karl and Shelby announce that they have purchased a Hummer. Lori is not pleased! Let me repeat, Lori is not pleased!! Even after Karl and Shelby tell her they were just joking, Lori is so traumatized that she can’t even enjoy going out to eat in the Hummer. She can’t wait to take the Hummer back to the dealership. Also even though it was just a joke, this incident leads to a policy that was put into place in Lori and Karl’s marriage. The policy is that neither party is to make any major purchases without discussing the purchase with the other party.
All Alyssa
We were surprised this week to receive a call from Alyssa. Alyssa informed us that she was actually here in Arizona visiting Karl’s ex-girlfriend and her family and wanted to come over for an hour or so to meet her sister. Alyssa came over the morning of the 31st and it was a nice surprise for Vayden to get to meet all her sisters before the year’s end.
Giblets
Here is a holiday story involving Alyssa. One year Karl and Alyssa spent Thanksgiving together and Karl decided to take on the task of making a proper Thanksgiving Day turkey. After dinner, Alyssa was helping Karl carve up the remainder of the turkey, when they cut into a bag. Alyssa shrieked in horror and said, “Ewww . . . What is that Dad!?” Karl told her that it was no big deal he had just forgotten to take the giblets out. Alyssa still horrified, started questioning, “What are giblets?” “What are they doing in our turkey?” “Why have I never heard of giblets?” “This is very disturbing Dad.” Karl tried to explain what giblets are, and that her Great Grandma Mueller used to put them in the gravy. This explanation only served to disturb Alyssa even more. Here is the official Wikipedia explanation:
Giblets are the edible offal of a fowl, typically including the heart, gizzard, liver, and other visceral organs. The term is culinary usage only; zoologists do not refer to the "giblets" of a bird. Giblets is pronounced with a "soft g" sound (jib-lit) as opposed to a "hard g" (gravy). After that experience, every time turkey was served, Alyssa would peer at it with caution and ask if the giblets had been removed. Maybe she still does.
Being Brittney
The Half Day
When Brittney was little, her Cousin Josh and Shelby would all three play school together. Brittney was a little bossy and always insisted on being the teacher. One day Shelby decided that she wanted to be the teacher. Brittney begrudgingly allowed Shelby to be the teacher. Her comment was, “Fine! But we are having a half day.”
Really Roxy
Roxy has become a very obedient dog. However she must be in her teenage dog years. For example, she knows she is not supposed to get on the couch and would never get up there in front of us. The other night both Lori and Karl woke up in the middle of the night to find her sleeping on the couch. Of course she jumped down as soon as one of us walked in the room because she knows better.
Family Stories
Cinco de Mayo
In the Labor and Delivery section of the hospital where Lori works as a nurse, there just happens to be a bunch of blonde nurses who all wear their hair in a ponytail while at work. They are affectionately known as the ‘blonde pony-tail brigade’ by some of the doctors. One spring day Lori calls Karl to ask him when Cinco de Mayo is. When Lori asks him, Karl sees an opportunity to poke a little fun at Lori and tells her to ask around while he remains on the phone. Lori asks co-worker after co-worker who all remain as clue-less as Lori. Apparently someone was trying to plan a party for Cinco de Mayo, but no one on the blond pony-tail brigade could agree or knew for sure when Cinco de Mayo actually was. If you fail to see the humor of Lori’s question trying to be answered by a bunch of blondes, then we are sorry. Maybe it is only funny to those of us who grew up in the west. But to help you out, it is kind of like asking people when the 4th of July is.
