The Last Day

Today was the last day of the trip, so we decided to make the most of it. Dad had a phone conference with his boss early, so Nate and I got ready while tht was going on, and then we all made it to a nearby sacrament meeting.

Afterward we made our way west to Glendale, home of the new Spring Training site for the Dodgers and White Sox. It's a 140-acre site with a stadium, 12 practice fields, and offices, and it's quite nice. We got seats along the third base side, right at the edge of the scant shade (our torsos were shaded, our legs were not).

The game itself was grand; the Dodgers took an early lead over the Rangers with a 2nd-inning two-run double by the pitcher, who was perfect through three innings. As Nate and I were flying out later in the day, we were able to stay for the whole game, which the boys in blue won 11-4.

Here's a panoramic view of the stadium from Nate's camera:
We then made our way to the airport, where Dad said goodbye and Nate and I went to our gates. Thanks, guys, for a great weekend. Three ballgames at three parks, four trips to the pool, a couple of great meals (and some fast food and ballpark dogs), a game of catch, and some legendary sunburns. Here's to next year in Florida.

Day Two, Or, How Much Sunburn Can You Get In One Day?

Day 2 began early for me, as I woke up at 5:30 local time (6:30 back home, which is still sleeping in). After a shower and breakfast, I made it down to the pool for a while. After Nathan was up and about, we took off for an errand that turned into an outing. I needed a haircut, and we needed a baseball to play catch, so Dad and Nate went shopping while I got coiffed.

Quick side note. I got my hair cut at a little place in a strip mall, and the older lady who cut my hair was a riot. She carried out a few choice soliloquies, one on her need for new bifocals (never trust this person to cut your hair) and the ills of getting old (quoth she: “Never get old, and if you get old, just get drunk.”).

After picking me up, the guys told me they had found a great hike. So we detoured to Papago Park, where we climbed a few hills and got a great view of the valley. It was already warm, but not uncomfortable, and we did a good mile or so before heading off to lunch. After dining we found a park and played catch until our control deteriorated to the point of being dangerous.

Here Nate and I scale one of the hills:

After another jaunt to the pool, we got ready for the game. Today we were in Scottsdale for a 3:00 pm Sand Diego vs. San Francisco game. We had lawn seats, which was fun, but right in the sun, where we baked thoroughly. So, here we have the game, followed by my matching tee-shirt and skin:

The Rites of Spring, Day 1

My quasi-annual spring Training trip is underway, and it's been a wonderful break so far. After a crazy week (we were out late every evening Monday-Wednesday), I stayed home with the sick little boys Thursday and got ready to fly out that evening. After a considerable delay leaving ABQ (the plane had to have its battery replaced earlier that day, so they were checking it scrupulously), I finally got in to Phoenix around 9:30 local time. When I arrived at the hotel, Dad was soundly asleep, but once I was ready for bed he was awake enough that we chatted for an hour or so.

This morning we got ready and returned to the airport to get the rental car, although I was able to get some work done in the morning. But the real fun was the game.

I had purchased tickets to the San Diego-Chicago Cubs game in Mesa, so we made our way east, driving past the Mesa temple, to HoHoKam Park. A quick note on Mesa. It's clearly got a large LDS population, and, to be honest, it reminds me a lot of Simi Valley; in fact, the whole valley has a very Southern California feel to it. Mesa was kind of a backup option for kids from my ward who weren't going to go to BYU or Ricks, but still wanted a good LDS group at college. ASU wouldn't be a bad place for LDS college students, I believe.

The ballpark itself is quite nice. You can tell it's got some miles on it, but the Cubs and the local community clearly CubbieLand. You wonder if Chicago is a ghost town this time of year.

Our seats were among the last ones left a week ago when I bought them online, so we were in the upper reaches at the corner of the first-base line, just off the foul pole. We got there early enough to eat before the first pitch and get a good sunburn by the second inning. The weather was great; near 90 degrees, a few clouds, light breeze. March in Phoenix is quite nice.

The game was nice too. The Cubs got two away in the top of the first before an error by the second baseman let to a Padres rally and two runs for the visitors. But the Cubs came back with 1 in their side of the first and three more runs in the next few innings, and the good guys lead 4-2 after five.

At that point, jet-lagged and baked nicely, we left to get lodging, stopping on the way for ice cream. This evening Nathan flies in, and tomorrow we've got another game on tap. Right now, I think I'll hit the pool and toast the other side until I'm one solid sunburn.

On Being Mature

This is really the kind of thing I would typically post to my other blog, but I have the feeling that this blog gets more readers, and I would like to disseminate this to a rather wider audience. A few members of the ward have made mention of the recent/upcoming controversy over the depiction of temple ordinances in an HBO series; since we don't pay for TV (we're too cheap/disinterested in TV to buy the converter box for our circa 1999 set, we're a few months awat from losing all TV—and looking forward to it—for the most part), I have no context to discuss this specific show/network. But I have been waiting to see what—if anything—the church might have to say through its official channels.

So I was interested to read this commentary on the church's newsroom site late yesterday. I was struck by the measured, mature, intelligent tone of the piece. There was a moment of snideness when referring to the right of individual church members to boycott HBO and/or its affiliates ("Last week some Church members began e-mail chains calling for cancellations of subscriptions to AOL, which, like HBO, is owned by Time Warner. Certainly such a boycott by hundreds of thousands of computer-savvy Latter-day Saints could have an economic impact on the company. Individual Latter-day Saints have the right to take such actions if they choose."), but on the whole this was the voice of the responsible adults in the conversation.

I think this speaks well of who we are becoming as a church and how we can expect (and be expected) to respond to the inevitable controversies that will arise as the church achieves even greater notoriety. Clearly there are parties who wish us ill, both among right-wing and traditional religions and among left-wing and radical groups. We find ourselves staking out an odd middle ground, one that I personally find very comfortable, between these two extremes. And I think the opportunity this presents for us to redefine ourselves—not as the dogged victims of persecution, but as confident and therefore open-minded agents of tolerance and pluralism—is valuable. In many ways it allows us to align our rhetoric, which has historically tended toward the loud and caustic, with our theology, which is one of deliberateness and patience.

Springtime in New Mexico, or, In Like a Lion

It’s fully spring in the land of enchantment. The unseasonable warmth of this February has passed, and with it we have the tempestuous nature of March. On Thursday I came home in the midst of a windstorm that pelted me with sand for the entire half-mile walk from the bus stop to the house. I t was like being sandblasted for 15 minutes. I promptly took a shower and a nap.

But it’s also the gentle reawakening that attends spring. The cottoneaster out front has new growth, bulbs are coming up around town, and sunrise is moving gradually earlier (although I suppose a dose of daylight saving time tomorrow will nip that in the bud).

It’s been a fun season for our family as well. There’s plenty of stress to go around—Summer’s the cookie mom and has a new calling with the Cub Scouts, I was out until after 11 Wednesday with a ward temple trip and cleaning assignment, and there’s a gnawing sense that life is getting less simple as we get more into it.

But this also has the side effect of making us enjoy the free time more. Last weekend we made a day of a North Valley trip—a hike along the bosque, a trip to the best toy store in the world, and lunch at Blake’s, a local burger place that, even after 6+ years in town, we had never tried before.

This sense of adventure has defined this year for us. Our trip to Bosque del Apache last month embodied a sense of spontaneity that I don’t think we’ve ever really embraced. Yesterday we packed up for an evening out. We ate at another new place—the Route 66-style Owl Café, and loved it. We did some unexpected shopping and then drove around looking for a place to get a treat. And even though we are up to our eyebrows in Girl Scout cookie season, we stopped at ABQ Uptown to visit the newly-opened Nestle Tollhouse shop and get some warm cookies the size of Evan’s face. (Ryan ate a brownie bar that weighed as much as the baby, I swear.)

And so here’s to the other signs of spring, to short-sleeved shirts and no more coats, to Spring Training this month and Isotopes games next, to an end of allergy season, to General Conference and Easter, to spring break and field trips, and to planting growing things in the ground, smelling the earth and getting your hands dirty once more. And, I suppose, some windy afternoons, just to make us appreciate it all that much more.