Traffic for 2007 August

Yesterday was my fourth wedding anniversary. To celebrate, Susie and I took Maggie to the OC Fair. What a racket. $7 for corn dogs, $6 for a funnel cake, $5 for parking, $16 to get in (luckily we got in for free), and around $6 per ride (we didn't ride anything--why would we when we can ride stuff at Disney for free?) I commented to Susie that I guess it was fitting we go to the fair. In the three years here this is our first visit and we live two miles from the fair grounds.

This fair will deep-fat-fry anything. Twinkies, Snickers, Cheesecake, avocados, artichokes, cookies, onions, cheese. Disgusting.

The fairgrounds felt so cramped to me. Susie and I both felt our hometown fairs seemed more spacious, but that's probably because we grew up in places where space is a commodity, not a precious gem.

Maggie didn't really care about the animals. I tried to make her, but she usually just looked away from them. Though in the maternity barn, the baby sheepies were all bleating and the mommy sheepies were bleating back and she seemed quite startled by the whole thing. Conclusion: baby sheep bleat nicely, but mommy sheep bleat like foghorns.

Tomorrow night we are going to celebrate at The Melting Pot without the Beet. I anticipate it being better than the fair.

I didn't have to work this weekend! Yay! Friday the place cleared out by 4 pm, so I figured that was a sign that no one (important) was working this weekend, so I stayed until 6 pm and left for the weekend. It's like that old saying goes: "If you work on Saturday and no one is there to see it, did it really happen?" No....

So Friday night, as Susie mentioned, we relaxed at home, only to be disturbed by a girl screaming bloody murder upstairs. This is the fourth time I have heard such noises; Susie's first. So we decided to call the fuzz. I can't understand what makes a girl keep coming back to such a situation. Then again, they are just kids. Maybe it's nothing. But if it is nothing, then at least this girl will have learned not to cry wolf. And if it is something, well, we gave them a chance to work it out. Hopefully now they'll get the message. In their defense, they sure are quiet at night for Maggie (they used to like to play loud music at night).

Today we went and saw "Spiderman 3" at the $1 movie. I thought it was pitiful and the plot deplorable. The only good part was the big fight scene at the end. It's so sad to see a good original become so tarnished by its sequels. Which explains why we haven't seen Pirates 3 yet. Maggie must have agreed with me, because she was pretty fussy during the movie.

I can't believe it's August already. It definitely has been a cooler summer this year. I'm very grateful for that.

My wife and daughter are in UT while I burn the midnight oil back home. But my mission companion Shaun is coming tomorrow night for a visit until Monday morning. So I guess tonight is really my only "personal" night to do what I want (or not what I want, like working late). Should be an interesting few days--going from married with children back to having a roomie.

As Susie mentioned, Maggie had a ball swimming. She wants to be held out so that she can swim and kick her little feet on her own. She never complained about the pool water temperature or the hot tub temperature. But if her bath water temperature is one degree off, watch out.

Our Disney passes are good again starting Monday, and Susie and I are looking forward to going back. Hopefully the weather will cooperate--it's been hot the last few days.

Last Tuesday Susie & Maggie departed for the magical land of UT and left me to fend for myself. Wed night my mission companion Shaun came and stayed with us until Monday morning. Thursday I took him to the train station and he explored LA while I worked. I took Friday off and we went for dim sum and to the beach. Saturday Susie & Maggie rejoined me and we went out for Indian food. Susie's curry had what appeared to be tin foil stuck to the side of her chicken. The waiter told us that it was silver. I didn't get any of the silver-laced chicken, because I was holding Maggie while she slept. But I already have silver in my mouth, so I guess that's ok.

Yesterday I also had the day off and we went to Disneyland. Maggie really enjoys Small World and the Disneyland express. She went to sleep after that. Maggie took her first bite of the real world yesterday (in the form of mushy rice cereal) and she seemed to enjoy it, though she was really hungry and rice cereal isn't as efficient as is a bottle. We knew she was ready for this step (and so did she) because she loves watching us eat. She already loves drinking from a cup, I think only because we do it. She's growing up too fast!

I had to work today. I haven't worked on Saturday since Maggie was born. But I guess all good things must come to an end. I suppose I did work from home last Saturday before Susie and Maggie got back from UT. Susie brought me In-N-Out for lunch. Around 1:30 some coworker came around soliciting lunch orders. Hello. John doesn't do 2 pm lunches.

It seems as though the worst of summer is over. Last night we didn't even turn on the air--just opened the window. And where did summer go, I ask? I suppose I should be used to not having summer vacation by now, but I'm not. Being a grown up is actually more exhausting than being a teenager.

We went out for Mexican food last night and Maggie was extremely well-behaved in her high chair, while all the babies around us acted extremely fussily. I think we've got an angel in our midst.

Leonard sent us a link to an article that showed that Baby Einstein is actually proven to stunt a child's intellectual development. The study showed that those who watched the DVD's for an hour or more a day lacked a normal vocabulary. I think I've found a solution to the problem.

The Wiggles. They are like Baby Einstein (bright colors to draw in the attention of infants, catchy music, etc), except that the songs have words, which I would think would assist with the vocabulary dilemma.

I used to make fun of Tyler for watching The Wiggles. I really could not watch the show with him. But Maggie seems to like it, so I watch it with her in the mornings. The things you'll do for your own flesh and blood....