You Going to Roads and Streets?

This was quite an ADOT week for the Samours!  It started with the Gateway Freeway opening and ended with the annual Roads and Streets Conference in Tucson.  Held in Tucson every April, it is the place to be as engineers, dignitaries, and contractors from state and federal entities come together to celebrate the fine work and progress they've made. 

Even Sienna and I picked up on the frequent said query - "You going to Roads and Streets?" while at the freeway opening.  We heard it so much that we were excited to reply, "Why yes, we are going to Roads and Streets!"  Of course not being employees ourselves, there are some events we are not privy to, but staying on property luckily is not one of them.  So here is a view from our room at the Star Pass Resort.

 



 



 

Many of the people who attend the conference are people we have got to know over the years and some have even been to a Samour Sounds Bash, so although not official registered attendees, Sienna and I had many people to talk to and mingle with. 

 

They had some cool things to interact with at the Expo, including what Sienna and I would look like as engineers.

 

 

Kinda cool!

 



 

Of course you've seen some pics of our favorite display!

 



 

We all got in a picture with Dewey and Comic Dewey, including Sharon Gordon, the cool chick who works for the FHWA.

 



 

Jennifer, Dallas, and John were also caricatured, unfortunately I was not able to photograph them all.

 



 

The sun did not show the next day, so pool time was not a possibility.  Instead, Sienna and I headed to the U of A to watch men's tennis.

 

 

 Believe it or not we were back home at 4 pm to get a practice session in!

 

Definitely a good Good Friday, but certainly a long one!

 

 

 

 

AZ 24

Arizona State Route 24, otherwise known as the Gateway Freeway, held its ribbon cutting tonight and of course the Samours were there to celebrate the event.

 

There were a lot less people in attendance than most freeway festivals, but the intimate atmosphere made for an enjoyable evening.  There were several guest speakers, including John Halikowski (Rob's boss) and Governor Brewer.

 

After speeches it was time to cut the ribbon.  John is happy about it!  Next to him is Halliday, Director of DPS.

John is joined by his boss, Governor Jan Brewer.
 

Here are a few shots of John and Jan, with the fly-over bridges as a backdrop.
 

Did you check out the size of those scissors?

 

Photo op!  Selfie!

 

Selfie #2!

 



My favorite pic of the evening, me and Doug Nintzel!  Love him!

 

Another ADOT achievement!

 

 

Too bad you missed it Grandpa!

 

CaliHolidaze

Two days after Christmas we set out for the shore of California. 

 

It was rather warm, beautiful weather for morning workouts on the beach.  Can you spot Rob?

 

 

Here are the kids with Papa, enjoying a walk on the pier in Pismo Beach.



 

We had a great view of the surfers!

 



 

Somewhere behind us is The Cliffs, our wedding site.

 

In case you can't find it, look for the heart!

Feliz Navidad!

A view of the front of the house in the daytime....

 

and at night.

 

Christmas morning or better known as PRESENT TIME!

 



 

The boys with some of their presents

 

 

and the family in their silly hats.

 

 

After presents we enjoyed a breakfast of egg and potato burritos, and then a lazy afternoon of tv watching (Sienna), computer gaming and card sorting (Spenser), Guitarsmithing (Rob) and de-migraining (Mony).  Luckily, appetites were back by dinner time.  What was on the menu?

 



 

Spenser's favorite, green chicken enchiladas, and Sienna's choice, tamales.  I also made home-made refried beans, bought some awesome locally made salsa, and one can never forget the tortilla chips and Coronas!

 



 

All added up to a delicious holiday meal.  Now it's time to pop in a dvd and wrap up the day.

 

Merry Christmas y Feliz Navidad!

 



Spenser for Kid President

If you've never heard of Kid President, then you are in for a treat.  He's a kid, and he's got some great ideas!  If you go to YouTube you'll find a myriad of videos of his inspiring (and hysterical) life lessons.

I was warmly surprised today to come home from a long day's work, turn on my computer, and see an e-mail from Spenser entitled "Mom."  So I open it, click on a link, and I'm led to....

I laugh a little, cry a little, and my heart smiles a lot!

 

 

Fall Break Feats and Felicities

If not away on a vacation, Fall Break is a great time to get some things done around the house!  Starting with something easy, here are Frank and Frankie, ready to welcome Bartlett Place trick-or-treaters.

 

 

We finally bit the bullet and decided to upgrade our television downstairs, where let's face it, the majority of TV viewing is done.  Another fact to face, the RCA was never going to stop working to give us an excuse to buy a new one!  So while shopping around to find the best place to buy it, we dismantled the entertainment center that Rob and Grandpa so expertly wired.  Here is what it looks like all cleaned out and ready for an upgrade.

 

 

Here are the new purchases, 50" flat screen from Costco, surround sound and DVD player from Sam's Club.

 



While Rob was at work Spenser and I opened the boxes and got as much as we could pre-wired.

 

They really don't make surround sound systems like we had before, so we went with a soundbar.

 



 

When Rob got home the installation process began. It was not an easy task, as the new technology came with more intricacies.  But I had faith in Rob, and although it took longer than expected, it works and is WAY BETTER than what we had before.

 



Here is a daylight shot
 











 and an evening one.

 

A neat thing about the unit is that it is a SMART TV.  Basically it can act like a computer, so yes we can check Facebook on it, stream Netflix, and watch YouTube too.  Take my word for it - the blog looks awesome on a 50 inch screen!

 

That was a pretty big shock right?  Well if you think that's big.....WAIT FOR IT.........

WAIT FOR IT....

 

WAIT FOR IT!!

 

SURPRISE!  Spenser got braces!

 



It took about an hour in the chair to complete the transformation.

 



 

He's excited!

 



And he still looks as cool as ever!

 



 

 

 

 

Birthday Weekend

Spenser's birthday weekend started with dinner at The Olive Garden.  He had fettucine alfredo, chicken gnocci soup, and breadsticks.

 

At home we had cake

 



and he opened presents.

 

The next day around 5pm his buddies started showing up for a sleepover.  Here's how they knew they were in the right place.

 

 The next day we took the boys to Peter Piper Pizza for lunch and games.  It was a great weekend

 

 

and it's definitely been 13 years of awesome!

 

 

 

Enjoy our bilingual version of the Happy Birthday Song!