November 2011–A visit to AZ

So, in November, we planned on going back to Arizona to have Thanksgiving with our families. We chose Thanksgiving over Christmas because it was easier for Chris to get leave then and it was my sisters’ turn to go to the in-laws for Christmas. Arizona happens to be a central meeting location for all of Chris’s siblings, as well, so we made sure to let everyone know so they could plan on being there as well. In an attempt to save a little money, I opted to use the “Space-A” program that the military offers. Basically, if there is space available on an Air Force plane flying out, they will take military members with the proper documentation. The catch is there is no guarantee you make a flight and there are numerous destinations. Since I had nothing holding me down here, I thought my chances were good to play the waiting game. I hoped to start trying at the end of October and make it in time for Brooke’s baby shower (which was going to be a baby shower for the both of us). Well, it took me a good week of trying – going down to the terminal everyday with my bags packed to see if I got selected. I finally made it on a flight that was flying to Alaska and then to Travis AFB near Sacramento. They had 76 available seats, so I easily made it on. It’s kind of nice to be able to fly on an Air Force cargo jet. Once we were up in the air, we were allowed to get out of our seats and lay on the ground and sleep. That really helped pass the time on the long flight. I didn’t get any pictures of the jet because we weren’t allowed to take pictures on the flight line. So after arriving at Travis AFB, my brother-in-law, Daniel, came and picked me up and let me stay in their home for the night. Then my sister-in-law, Lisa, took me to the Oakland airport to fly in to Phoenix. Anyway, I didn’t make it for the date of the shower, but that was ok because Brooke wouldn’t have made it either. She started going into early labor, but luckily the little guy decided to stay in a little longer. However, she was then put on bed rest until she was considered full term.
Carter arrives!
On November 17th, I woke up to find Brooke wasn’t at my mom’s house like she usually was (she would spend the day at my parents’ house because it was closer for Keith to take her to the hospital from work there). I tried getting a hold of her but was not getting a response and started to get really anxious. I even called my mom to see what she knew. Finally, I got a hold of Keith and sure enough they were at the hospital getting set up to have the baby. Only a few hours later we find out she had him! So right after my parents got off of work we headed to the hospital so we could meet little Carter!

We all agreed Carter was a spittin’ image of Keith. This is how I met Carter, just chillin’ with his arms out. I wanted to see just how much Carter looked like Keith, so I had Keith do the “Carter Pose.”

This is Hudson doing the “Carter Pose”

Chris wasn’t in Arizona when Carter was born. He didn’t arrive until a few days later, so this is a pic of him meeting Carter for the first time. I think Chris is still getting over jet lag, what do you think?

Because we had both sides of the family all together, we had to get family pictures because we weren’t sure of when everyone would be together like this again. Here is the McDowell side on the left and the Mortensen side on the right.

 

Coyotes Game

My dad has a few friends the will hook him up with tickets to sporting events in Phoenix. One friend contacted him and said he had 4 tickets to the Phoenix Coyotes game if he wanted them. My dad didn’t want them, but offered them to me and I took them. I’m not a hockey fan, but I enjoy sporting events and thought it sounded like fun. Chris and I invited his parents to come with us. They were excellent seats; only a few rows behind the glass behind the goalie. The game actually goes a lot faster when there in person and we enjoyed the music they played. We discovered just how little we understood hockey because they would blow the whistle and a player would end up in the penalty box. The Coyotes were losing 0-2 and it was near the end of the game. The Mortensens wanted to know if we could leave early before the crowd rush. I told them I really don’t like leaving before the end of the game and so we stayed. The other team ended up scoring 3 more goals and the Coyotes lost 0-5. But it was still fun.

U of A vs ASU volleyball game
Krystal and I have made it a tradition to attend the University of Arizona/Arizona State University Women’s volleyball game ever since we were playing in HS. We both happened to be in Arizona when ASU was hosting U of A this year, so we got together and went to the game. We ate at In-N-Out and then headed across the street to watch the game. I can’t remember who won (I think it was U of A unfortunately), but it is always an entertaining game and it’s always a fun time with the Balls family!