Blazin' Up the 303

Arizona celebrates the birth of its new freeways with a pedestrian party and we have participated in several celebrations since Rob began with ADOT 15 years ago.  Today's events commemorated the completion of a new section of freeway called the 303. 

It's a fun time to be on new pavement before the motoring public, and to also honor all those involved with its inception.  Many dignitaries are on hand as well, like the Governor, the Director of Transportation, and the various involved city mayors.

And to make it official....

In Rob's absence, the rest of the family stepped in.  With Rob's dad and niece in town, it made for an interesting and fun thing to do.  Here's the crew.....

and me too!

And of course all of Rob's cronies were there and I took pictures to prove it!

Here's a panoramic view, something my new camera does.

Hope you enjoyed the new Loop 303. 

Happy Hoppy Easter

Easter Sunday started with sleeping in (and for some - recovering from migraine) and then heading to Mass.  Easter Sunday is one of two days the whole Samour clan attends church (the other day is Christmas Eve), so it's pretty special.  One of Spenser's best buds sat in front of us so that made it a bit more fun.  Here we are as we arrived.

After Mass it was errand time at Walmart, and then lunch at Filiberto's.  Once home, the family changed into work clothes and the Easter meal preparation began.  Sienna assisted Rob in the kitchen, I did household cleaning and laundry chores, and Spenser managed the whole operation.  Lasagna was our holiday meal of choice.  For some that may seem strange, but it's special to us because it's something we never eat.

Our yummy dinner consisted of caesar salad, lasagna, chicken sausage, and garlic bread.  Dessert included strawberry shortcake. 

Cheers to another great holiday.  I'm so glad the holidays are spread out.  Eating like this every day would definitely contibute to junky trunkies, and nobody wants that.  Unless of course you're Jennifer Lopez.

A Good Good Friday

Who doesn't like a three day weekend?  Obviously there are no hands up so I will proceed with my story.  The day started with sleeping in, always a great thing to do on a day off, and then to K1, an indoor go-kart facility in Phoenix.  Sienna and I attended this family trip for moral and tech support, as we had no plans on driving.  Rob and Spenser on the other hand, had dreams of taking the checkered flag first and bumping a few other cars in the process.  You know what they say - rubbin' is racin!  (By the way, Good Friday Eve started off with a bang as well for the girls - check Samour Sounds soon for more scoop).

The facility is very clean and quite nice.  Those kids are cute too!

First up to race was Rob.  Here he is getting helmeted up, not an easy task when you're bespectacled.

Here is the Deputy, #5, ready to race.

Look at the scoreboard!  Yeah boy!

Sure there may have only been three other racers, but a win is a win, so booh-ya!

Livin' his dream....

Here are Rob's skills in traffic.....

Not too shabby.

Here is Buddy, strapped in and ready to put the pedal to the metal!

Still looking good in the turn.

Check the leaderboard.......booh-ya!

Here is Spenser in action.....

Both boys made good showings.

They're both number ones in my book.  But we'll give the little guy the edge.

Happy Good Friday!

Hippity Hop

Spring has sprung in the Samour household.  As Easter nears, we await the arrival of E.B. (that's the abbreviation for the Easter Bunny) and isn't he adorable?  Can you believe that E.B. plays the drums too? 

How cute is that?  Just like my little bunny, or rather my little buddy.   If you haven't seen Hop, too bad for you.  It's cute and gets you all sweet on candy, cuddly things, and a drummer's big dreams of Hollywood.  Okay, shameless plug over. 

So we have some very special guests headed our way soon and we have been busy like little easter bunnies trying to get ready.  Rob had the air conditioning units serviced to make sure our snowbirds don't experience a meltdown, and is completing landscape duties so that the curb appeal is up to 6 Meadowview Drive standards.  Sienna and Spenser have even lent a hand by pitching in to build a new patio set.  We know how much our guests enjoy sitting out on the patio in the morning to read the paper and have their coffee.  We don't want to disappoint.  To further the outside ambience, we upgraded the decor.  Drum roll please............

Here is Sienna enjoying the fruits of her labor.  (She's writing war poems for an anthology due in Social Studies.....quite serious stuff)

The sight of this new patio set makes me want a strawberry margarita for some reason!  Tee hee!

Mony was the foreman of this job, since the Deputy State Engineer is so busy overseeing the Valley Freeway Transportation System and hitting the gym to stay svelte.  Building things can be fun, although I can only say that now that the job is done.  In the middle of it, it was frustrating and yes, even involved one structural error and one trip to Home Depot.  Well Grandma, Grandpa, and Tara - hope you like it.

Up, Up, and Away in a Tramway

It's hard to believe that while lying poolside in 80 degree weather, or sweating it out in the bleachers of the BNP Paribas Open, a 10 minute tram ride will take you to a winter wonderland.  Well believe it!  It's just one of the secretive wonders that the Palm Springs area has to offer.  The Palms Springs Aerial Tramway boasts that it is the world's largest rotating tramcar and that as you ascend from 2,643 feet to 8,516 feet through Chino Canyon, the views are spectacular. 

I can't attest to the experience, but Rob and Spenser can.  Here is Buddy as he waited to board the tram.

Here is another vantage point that shows how the tramway is engineered.  I'm sure Spenser is thinking, "I'm going to get on that and go up there?"

Brave and adventurous boy that he is, here is what he got to see on his ride up.  It's not the best picture but keep in mind it was taken with a disposable camera as Mony had the digital camera with her at tennis.

The tram actually rotates as it ascends, I guess to provide a 360 degree view.  Spenser seems to be taking it all in.

Here are the guys atop the mountain. Whew!  They made it!

Can you believe this is what they found at the top?  S - N - O - W !

Well the winter wonderland was Spenser's spectacular spring break playground, so he went to work.  Rob said he spent over an hour trying to break the ice that formed over a stream.  Here is the boy at work.

Yes, I know the picture is landscape when it should be portrait, but no matter what I did I couldn't get it to work.  Darn disposable camera and Walgreen's photo software!  Ughh!  But it's important that you see the before and after shot.  The sideways picture is the 'before.'

Here is the 'after.'

Can you find Spenser? 

Time for some hiking!

Here is Buddy, carrying a tree up the mountain!  Just kidding, he's only hiking, using the tree as a rail.

Don't mean to leave Rob out.  He's there enjoying it all too!

As the pictures portray, you are definitely rewarded by taking the ride up the mountain.  The pristine wilderness offers fun year round, whether you're a summer or winter enthusiast.  From camping to hiking, or snowshoeing to fine-dining, this place has it all.  Maybe next time the girls will make the trip too. 

Spring Break

Spring has sprung here in Arizona and to kick it off we headed to the Palm Springs area to meet up with Papa and Papa Rose to enjoy tennis and casino/resort vacationing.  This time we tried a new hotel casino called Agua Caliente.  It was quite upscale as far as the decor and the quality of the rooms.  Let's start in the bathroom.

Any time there's a flat-screen television in the bathroom, you know it's fancy. Here's Spenser modeling the size of the bathtub.

And Spenser, channeling the 'thinking man.'

Here's another neat feature, tempting goodies in see through jars!  Of course to the Samours, those were just decorations.  Can you see the price of breaking one open?  Yikes!

Here are Papa Rose, Sienna, and Rob lounging poolside. 

Rob and Spenser doing the flex.

After enjoying the hotel amenities, we dined at the nearest Red Robin for dinner, then headed back to the hotel for cocktails and some gaming. 

On Monday Ray and Mony headed to tennis while Rob and Spenser ventured to the Arial Tramway.  Unfortunately Sienna was too sick to go either place, so she and Papa Rose spent the day at the hotel. 

The BNP never disappoints, and this year was no exception.  Although only there one day, I was able to watch a few matches and quite a bit of the pros at practice. 

This is Juan Martin Del Potro.  He won the U.S. Open in 2009.

This is Victoria Azarenka, pretty in pink.

This is Novak Djokovic, currently ranked #3 in the world.

This is Jo Wilfried Tsonga.

This is the man, Roger Federer.

And to top it all off, I also met up with my teammates from Cuesta.  It was a cool reunion.

After fun in the sun in Palm Desert, it was time to head back to Arizona, sans kids!  Sienna and Spenser are now spending the rest of their spring break on the Central Coast.  What lucky kids they are! 

Trophy Time

Spenser's first football season ended and his team came in 3rd place, a great effort for his first time.  All he wanted out of the season was to get a trophy, as he didn't like the feeling of finishing in 4th place in basketball, and missing a trophy by one spot.  YES!  A goal achieved!

So here's one last look at Flag Football Season 1 and Spenser's skills......

 

Here's the team celebrating an overtime win to clinch 3rd place.

Stay tuned, season 2 starts in April.