The Dominatrix

It's kind of exciting to learn something new about your spouse after 17 years of marriage. Like Amanda just found out that I hate doing dishes. I have been doing them so dutifully since we got married that she never even had a clue. Well, I found out yesterday that Amanda has unearthed her competitive side and that she is ruthless. I went to watch her in her first singles tennis tournament. When I arrived the match had already begun. Amanda was dressed all in black -- black top, black, tennis skirt, and imposing black wristband. (She did have white shoes on.) She stared across the net, stepped forward into every shot, and pummeled her opponent. The poor lady, although many years Amanda's younger, never had a chance. After the match, she commented that she would probably give up playing singles matches in the future. The small child that Amanda's opponent had brought to the match sobbed quietly in the corner, having realized that his mother was not invincible as he previously believed.

I had heard of this competitive side of Amanda when we were dating. I heard that she had been a fiery competitor in ward basketball, track, and high school volleyball. But, frankly, I never really witnessed it myself. I had an inkling that the competitive Amanda existed. For example, when she told me that if a car turned left in front of me I should speed up and act like I was going to ram it, or when she insisted that I cut into the front of a long line of cars entering the freeway onramp. However, I was always exposed to the nice, kind, polite Amanda.

Until yesterday. The competitiveness could no longer be hidden. I felt it through the glass separating me from the court. It was awesome. My wife had transformed into a tennis dominatrix. And I was impressed. (Although I felt pity for the small sobbing child who had to witness the carnage.)

The Rest of the Story

True to Lewis form, (only 5 weeks later) here is the report on the remainder of our trip to Mexico. We got a great start in Phoenix and (I at least) thoroughly enjoyed the baseball game. From there we drove 4 hours south of Phoenix to Puerto Penasco, Mexico (aka Rocky Point). It is a little resort town on the Sea of Cortez. We met our friends the Storeheims at the Mayan Palace for lots and lots of fun and sun for the rest of the week.

The Pool and Cabanas with the sea beyond. The pool is empty because the water is FREEZING. Or so the kid say because I wouldn't even put a toe in. I guess it warms up as the year progresses.

The building next to our rooms. Here is where we had fun watching the "Mexican Crane" where 5 or 6 guys would hold onto a very long rope and run as fast and as far away from the building to hoist something heavy up to the top. It was very entertaining.

This is me reading on the deck. One of my favorite activities on this trip.

Claire Jake and Matt.

Kate with Miss L. just after they got their braids done - one of the highlights of the trip. Claire got hers done too (see picture above).

This was by far the favorite activity for the kids during the whole week. They probably spent 4 or 5 hours a day digging various holes and building various forts out of sand. It was great!

This was the #2 activity for the kids. When they were tired of digging they would come in to play the Wii.

Here is SanderDam. One of their favorite sand holes. Sadly it was ruined soon after creation by some Mexican hooligans.

The boys all got the chance to go golfing. Here is Matthew at the range.

Matt and Mr. J. took some of the boys out deep sea fishing which was fun. I believe they caught a lot of fish and enjoyed their morning on the boat. Here is Mr. T on the boat.

Matthew.

Matthew again with his fish.

Katie enjoying the sun.

Here is the awesome Miss M. taking on and beating the much older boy in soccer.

Matthew with his "Miami Vice"drink. It was a favorite happy hour non-alchoholic drink.

Jake.

Ahh Ms. P. My friend and tennis partner. We had a great time fighting the wind and crappy tennis courts to play. It was good to be playing with her again.

The girls braving the cold water for a pose.

Most of the kids. Boy did they have fun. We had 9 kids agges 12 and under and unbelievably not many fights or arguments. They were wonderful!

Our little family on our way home. This is in Organ Pipe Cactus National Forest in Arizona. It is really cool if you can overlook all the boarder patrol roaming around.

Our drive home went from this...

to this...

to this...
In 16 hours. We experienced every kind of weather imaginable but we eventually made it safely. Actually the snow and sleet made me extra grateful to have had time in the Mexican sun with our good friends. Thank you guys for the great vacation!

Spring Break Theatre

This Spring Break we were invited by our friends the Creers and Wards to go up to Ogden to the Treehouse Museum. It was such a fun outing with a whopping 12 kids between us. At one point during our time there they put on a little acting/storytelling show. Some of our kids were chosen for parts and it was really fun to watch.

Mr. M (on the far left) is a crow and Claire is a pig.

Claire again with Miss. K as Little Red Riding Hood.

Matthew is a bunny (very far left with the red shorts)

Mr. H as the Big Bad Wolf. He was very convincing.

The Pigs, Riding Hood, and the Wolf. There was a happy ending in which the cute Riding Hood was supposed to skip off into the sunset with the Wolf but he would have nothing to do with it. Just you wait buddy, just you wait.

Larry

Larry the Leprechaun comes to our house every St. Patricks Day and brings the kids a little something. I am not sure why he doesn't come to everyone's house but I think it just might be a matter of who you are related to. This is what we found this morning on our back porch!

He left a fine assortment of green items along with some chocolate coins!

Let the vacation begin!

Vacations are vastly overrated. We try to take our kids to exotic locations and all they care about is the pool -- whether it is in a hotel just off the freeway or some exotic location. So far, we have already experienced both. We left on Thursday evening and drove to Henderson (just outside Las Vegas). We stayed in a little hotel just off the freeway that had an outdoor, unheated pool. The kids loved it. They were so rowdy that some guests complained. The next day we went on to Phoenix, and this is the pool there. A little-bit nicer but only 3 feet deep all the way around. I guess it is made for small kids or adults who just want to walk around and strut their stuff. On our trip, it was mostly used by the kids.


On Saturday, we went to a Spring Training game. We went to a baseball game a couple of years ago in Yankeee Stadium and it was something of a disaster. We left after 4 innings (when we could no longer afford the non-stop stream of food required to placate the kids). We figured this would be better -- not as hot as New York in July, the kids are older and understand baseball better, and cheaper food. We were right and wrong. The kids still showed amazingly little interest in the game (except when the 2nd baseman took a grounder to the head). The only thing that would keep them satisfied was food. And they still complained it was hot and tried to take naps on the bleachers. However, we did make it to the 6th inning before leaving. Baby steps, baby steps.

OK, I have to admit that we had a pretty good time and the kids look like they did too.

Rewind to New Year's Eve 2009

I am not sure why I have such a hard time keeping our blog updated but I do. So without further adeiu here is a recap of our New Year's Eve fun...just 2 months late.

Have I mentioned our great friends who invite us to their home in Midway? Not only are we so lucky to have them as dear dear friends but they throw great parties. This past New Year's Eve we went to Midway with them for a big celebration. We all had a great time eating, karaokeing (thanks to Uncle Bri), eating, setting off fireworks, jumping over said fireworks, eating some more, and learning the thriller dance. Here are some of the pictures.

We are so grateful for these great people in our lives! We love you guys!

I heart Pandora

If you haven't already discovered Pandora, you need to click here to try it out. It is awesome and I listen to my "Glee Soundtrack" station all the time. Enjoy.