It's been a long time since I posted. A lot has happened. Beth, Alex and I just got back from Phoenix very early yesterday. We flew out there to visit my parents for Christmas. Overall we had a very nice visit but Alex was not a happy camper for most of it. We flew out on the 18th, a mere 2 days after I had a nasty bout of the stomach flu (puking all day, spewing both ends...that kind) and just 4 days after Beth had the same thing. I don't think Alex felt quite right at all. We drove down to Indy the night before, which turned out to be a good thing because he ralffed in the van on the way down, big time. I'm glad we didn't have to get on the plane with that all over him. The flight out was just as bad as I thought flying with a 9-month-old would be, except 1) he didn't puke again and 2) he didn't poop on the plane. We had very little space and he likes to move around. No nap, and he fussed and cried for the last couple hours of the flight. At least it didn't seem like his ears bothered him. He never slept well, often waking up 2, 3, or 4 times during the night. He came down with a mystery rash...all over him...that put us in the emergency room the day after Christmas. However, he didn't act sick, and it turned out to be just some kind of virus that is mostly harmless and was gone by the next day, so that was a big relief. I don't think he ever really adjusted to the time change. We had a good visit, but we were both glad to be getting him home. The flight back was much better...we got the front row in the plane, by the bulkhead, so we had some extra room for him to move around. He slept for a good hour and a half and played the rest of the time. Again, no problem with his ears. BUT...our luggage never got on our plane, so we were informed that it wouldn't be in Indy until midnight (we got in about 8 pm). That included our car seat, so we had to get a loaner from the airline to get on the road. There were some people from Warsaw with a baby on the plane (including a guy who works at Zimmer) and they lent us a blanket to keep Alex warm. We'd left the van parked at the motel while we were gone, and we got on the road BUT...the van wouldn't start when we stopped for gas a block from the motel. We had to get someone to give us a jump (good ol' Hoosier Hospitality). We got back in town without further incident at about 1 am, and our luggage finally was delivered to our home at about 6 pm Sunday.
But back to the visit. Nothing like Jeeping trips or a day trip to Lake Havasu City this time (see 1-6-2001), mostly a relaxing vacation. Mom and Dad just moved into their new house, which they built in the desert a long way from most things in Scottsdale. It takes something like 30 minutes just to get to Wal-Mart from their house. They have a nice view of Weaver's Needle and Four Peaks and *no* baby-proofing. We mostly stayed around town, shopping, going out to eat (I highly recommend Reatta Pass Restaurant), opening presents on Christmas (mostly for Alex). We did get a babysitter (Dad's boss's wife, an RN who raised 5 kids and a few grandkids) so we all could go see "LOTR: The Return of the King" on the biggest screen in Arizona...Awesome movie...gotta see it again. I got the 4-disc set of "LOTR: The Two Towers" among my presents. Beth, Alex, and I went for walks in the desert every day, often to visit the horses on the ranch next door (Alex likes horses). We spotted some coyotes on one of the walks. Overall it was a very nice visit but I'm glad to be home. I have another whole week off work (since I was sick the beginning part of the week we left, it's going to be three entire weeks off altogether).

I rented a digital camcorder for the week. I plan to get one sooner or later and was interested in seeing how one works and checking it out cheaper than buying one. I even got a firewire card for my computer so I can make some DVDs of the videos. The clerk seemed really taken aback when I returned it...was there a problem with it? Did you even use it? Why are you returning it? I get the feeling that most people keep the stuff they rent from there. BUT it was a $400 camcorder, and they wanted a cash-&-carry price of something like $920 for it, or if I rented it weekly until I owned it the sum of all payments was about $1800. Get real. There is a Sears next door that sells the same model a lot cheaper.