Halloween Part 1

Last weekend we made our way to the pumpkin patch at Schnepf Farms (www.schnepffarms.com). The kids had a blast playing with all the pumpkins. We also rode the carousel, saw a pig race, rode the train, and visited the petting zoo. We decided to skip the corn maze since we didn’t think a huge double stroller could make it through all the corn stalks. This year, they created the maze in the shape of Muhammad Ali (a local resident of Phoenix).

This past weekend was super busy. Our friends Brenda and Aaron had their baby boy on Saturday morning. So, their daughter, Kayla, spent the night at our house Friday night. She’s Noah’s age, so they had fun playing together. We were delighted to return the favor since they watched Noah when Bella was born.
Noah started soccer lessons on Saturday. It’s really funny; all the kids basically run around and try to learn not to touch the soccer balls with their hands. They are just so tempted to pick up the balls and throw them in the nets. After soccer, Bella and Noah also started swim lessons. We thought it would a good idea considering we have a pool now. They really enjoyed the swim lessons. We had to drag them out of the pool to leave. Bella was in the infant class and Noah was in the toddler class.
The last big event of this past weekend was a Halloween costume contest at Superstition Springs Mall. Both of the kids looked very cute. Unfortunately, Bella didn’t win, but Noah claimed the 3rd place prize. Not too shabby considering there were about 35 kids in each age category. We will make sure they both win next year

Home Sweet Home

We finally officially closed on our new home today! We are super excited. It is a 4 bedroom, 3 bath, 2 story home… with a pool! We are moving in this weekend. Noah and Bella seem really excited. Noah already knows which room is his. Amanda can’t wait to soak in the master tub. Sammy is excited because he will have a lot more room to play. We are very much looking forward to having people over and just enjoying the new house. Here are some pictures. I’m sure we will have lots more.

The Segura’s Have a Dog?!?

So, a couple of weeks ago our doorbell rang. It was a teenage boy with a small dog. He said the dog looked lost and asked if it was ours. Apparently, the dog had been hanging out in the front of our house for some time. Of course Amanda says that we don’t have a dog, and at the same time, Noah is screaming, “It’s our dog! It’s our dog!” The teenage boy then walks away, but without the dog. So, here we are, a dog (no collar) standing at our front door, 113 degrees outside, wondering what to do. We bring him in and gave him some water and dog food (my Dad had forgot it during his visit this past Christmas).
That night we put up flyers around our neighborhood, and posted a found ad on craigslist.com. We had some inquiries, but not for the dog we found. A couple of days later I took him to the vet to see if he had a microchip. He didn’t. That night we put him outside to do “his business” while we were out running errands. When we got home, he had escaped by tunneling underneath our gate. We did search for him by driving around for over an hour with no luck. So much for him.
A few days later we decided to check the Maricopa Animal Control Center (the pound). After looking at hundreds of dogs, I told Amanda that I didn’t see him and we should go. She thought it would be great to show Noah some of the dogs. Guess what she saw 30 seconds later… the dog that showed up on our doorstep. Like all dogs in his situation if he wasn’t adopted soon, he would be put down. So, what did we do… we bailed him out of jail and adopted him. $150 dollars later he was ours.
So, introducing the newest member of the Segura clan… Sammy!

They Have Parks in South Dakota?

A couple of weekends ago we traveled to South Dakota to visit Amanda’s family. Flying to Rapid City wasn’t too bad. It was Bella’s first time on a plane and Noah acted like a frequent flyer watching movies on the portable DVD player.

We stayed at Amanda’s grandparents’ house in Rapid City. While in Rapid we visited Story Book Island, which is a huge park filled with storybook characters and scenes from all the classics. We also stopped by Dinosaur Park, which had great views of the city. To go along with our park tour of Rapid City, we fed the geese and ducks at Canyon Lake Park.

Of Course we went down to the Whidby Ranch in Kadoka, where Noah got to see the cows, horses, dogs, and deer. His favorite with Aunt Denise’s English Bulldog, Sophie. I’ve never seen a dog take so much from a little kid and not bat an eye. Those are definitely dogs suitable for toddlers. And, yes, we did go to the Kadoka city park. I think we’re addicted to them.

We surely enjoyed our time in South Dakota and can’t wait to go back!

Happy 4th of New Mexico!

This past weekend we traveled to Albuquerque to visit family. Some advice to everyone with small children... Don’t take road trips. Our regularly 6 hour drive turned into a 9 hour extravaganza. We had to stop every 100 miles to either use the restroom, play, get gas, eat, stretch, change clothes, etc. It was the same on the way back, plus a 2 hour traffic jam through Payson and lots of rain. Next time we travel, we’re flying!
Albuquerque was great. We stayed at my Mom and Stepfather’s new house. Noah had a blast playing with the dogs and running around their gigantic backyard. We cooked burgers with my Dad, my brother Stephen, and my Grandparents at my Grandparents’ new house. We also lit fireworks and had a family BBQ at my Mom and Stepfather’s house. Of course we stopped by Great (in Noah and Bella’s case Great Great) Grandma Mary’s house. Overall, it was a really fun trip (except for the driving).

Romp N Roll... In More Ways Than One

This past Saturday we attended the opening of a new indoor play-gym called Romp N Roll. Noah had tons of fun running, jumping, and climbing on everything. Unlike our house, it's OK to do that here. The indoor play-gyms are always great during the Arizona summers. I believe the high on Saturday was 111. We might have to stop by a few more times this summer.

Since Bella is too little to enjoy Romp N Roll, she decided to do a little rolling herself. Yep, she finally rolled over on Tuesday. However, since she hates being on her stomach, she screams after she's rolled all the way over. Noah though she was being funny and had to try rolling a few times himself.

Amanda's sister, Denise, also came into town last Wednesday for a visit. She got to hang out with the kids and then went off to Mazatlan for a week with her parents. We will see her again this weekend on her way back to South Dakota.

Give A Quarterback

Today we traveled down the street (literally, about 25 houses away) to Dolce Luna Italian Café and Gelato Bar, for what else… some gelato! One of the moms in Amanda’s mom’s club told us about an event being held there tonight to help raise funds for the Matt Leinart Foundation. Matt signed Noah’s football and of course gave Noah “knuckles”. However, Noah’s favorite part of the night was… you guessed it, the gelato. He gobbled down his birthday cake flavored gelato in record speed. He did try to share some with Bella. Of course Bella’s too young for gelato, maybe next year Bella!

For more on tonight’s event check out the Give A Quarterback website at http://www.giveaquarterback.com/.

Meet the Cards

This past Saturday Noah and I went to the Arizona Cardinals Fan Day at their Tempe training facility. Yes, we are still Broncos fans, they just happen to be located a little farther away in another state. The Cardinals training facility is right across the street from where I work. It was a neat event. They had booths, inflatables, and other activities for the kids. They also had an autograph session and an open practice. I bought Noah a little football and he had a blast running around the field with it. We also got to meet some big name football players like Kurt Warner, Bertrand Berry, Darnell Dockett, Edgerrin James, and Anquan Boldin. I had them sign a football for Noah. Kurt Warner was our favorite. He was very friendly and said he really liked Noah's name. The other guys really liked Noah as well. Instead of giving them high 5's, he game them knuckles, which they thought was hilarious. Besides, running around with the football and giving the players knuckles, Noah's favorite part of the day was drinking his big Coke!

The Wiggles

Last Saturday we took Noah to see the Wiggles live (http://www.thewiggles.com/). The tickets were one of his many birthday gifts. He absolutely had a blast. He was singing and dancing for the entire hour and a half! We were hoping he would make it through 30 minutes. I think it helped that we had good seats. We were center stage on the floor! Even with the good seats Bella didn't care too much for the Wiggles. She slept the entire time. Noah was funny trying to sing and dance. He recognized every song and all of the characters. Since Amanda and I have sat through every episode of the Wiggles, we knew every word to all of the songs as well. We just might have to see them again next year...

Tri It Again...

After a 3 year break from triathlons, I finally decided to compete in one this past Sunday. The triathlon was the 7th Annual Tri-Family Racing Scottsdale Adult & Youth Sprint Triathlon & Duathlon (http://www.trifamilyracing.com/). It is a neat and scenic race, winding through the Scottsdale Eldorado Park and Aquatic Center. My buddy James and I completed it a few years back. James decided not to drink any fluids throughout the race and was “driving the porcelain bus” for two days after.

My preparation for this race was running about twice a week since October, swimming 3 times in the last week, and not riding my bike for two years. So, as you can tell, I was very prepared. I did actually pass an old-timer in the swim. I completed it in about an hour and a half. Not too bad for being inactive for the last couple of years. I plan on keeping the motivation rolling by planning my next triathlon for Sunday, May 18th at the Tempe International Classic Triathlon. I have also raced this one in the past. The only sketchy part is swimming across Tempe Town Lake and back.

Easter Fun

A mom’s club brunch and hunt at Thunderbird Park kicked off our weekend fun starting on Good Friday on ending on Monday. Noah thoroughly enjoyed hunting for eggs once again. However, this time he knew what was inside of those eggs. So, every time he picked up an egg, he had to open it. After a little bit of convincing, he finally decided to pick up the eggs first. Then he open them all up at the same time to get the candy. Saturday brought more Easter egg hunts at both Pecos Park and the Ahwatukee Community Park (thanks to Grandma DeYoung for babysitting Bella). Sunday was Easter dinner with Grandma and Grandpa DeYoung. Monday… Monday was recovery day.

Bella is Home and Meet the Suns

Well, it’s been just over a week since Bella came home. She’s into her normal routine, waking up every hour during the night. Fun, fun, fun. I’ll admit it, I’m a heavy sleeper. So, Amanda is usually the one short on sleep. But it’s worth it, Bella is such a beautiful baby. We are so blessed to have her in our lives.

Noah and I started a new tradition last weekend. I recently bought him a Phoenix Suns Basketball and we are trying to get as many of the Suns to sign it as we can. So far we have Grant Hill’s and Leandro Barbosa’s autographs. Grant was signing at the Roomstore in Scottsdale last weekend and Leandro was signing at the Maytag store in Goodyear this past weekend. The lines are a little long, usually about a half hour to 45 minute wait. But we’ve already met some friends. Noah, Mr. Smooth, sparked up a friendship with a girl about a year older than him. She was with her mom, dad, and new baby sister. So, now we are all line buddies. We met them at the Grant Hill signing and again at the Leandro signing. We all said we will see each other at the next one.

Chandler Regional Hospital Post

Hey all, check out Bella's hospital announcement at the Chandler Regional Hospital Website (http://www.chandlerregional.org/). Amanda dressed her up really nice. Once you get to the site, go to "Medical Services", then to "Maternity & Newborn", then "Newborn Photos" under "Related Links". If you can't remember all of that, use the link below, and just click on "March". http://www.chandlerregional.org/About_Us/Patient_And_Visitors/Online_Nursery/CRH_MDV032015

Isabella Grace

Our baby finally arrived today! Right on the Due Date, March 7th! How often does that happen? This morning, we welcomed the arrival of our baby girl, Isabella Grace. She is such a beautiful baby, just like her older brother was. We now have our Noah and Bella! She came in at 7 lbs 11 ounces and was 20 inches long. Amanda is doing great!

Exclusively Little

This past Saturday, we took Noah to the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park (http://www.therailroadpark.com/) in Scottsdale. They were having an event called “Exclusively Little”. As you can tell from the title, it’s for the little guys (up to 6 years of age). They had game booths, face painting, a petting zoo, and those inflatable jumping rides. The also hold a stuffed animal contest with prizes to the most loved, cutest, and best dressed. We got there 10 minutes after the contest deadline. So, we didn’t get a chance to enter Noah’s best bud, Barney the Dinosaur. That thing goes everywhere with him, even to the bathroom. We can’t wait to tease him about it when he’s older. Can you say “Blackmail”, just kidding. Because it’s a railroad park of course we rode the train. We rode it last year when we were at this event, but it’s still fun to ride, ask Noah. However, his favorite part of the whole day, like any event we’ve attended, was the carousel. He’s addicted to them. He could ride them for hours if you let him. We rode 5 times in a row before he started to do the head bob. If you are unfamiliar with the head bob, it is when you start to close your eyes, begin to put your head down, then pull it back up trying to stay awake. Then you repeat. He was finally getting tired after a long day at the park. As soon as we got off the carousel and put him in his car seat, he was out. Check out the McCormick Park sometime, it’s clean, and not too crowded.

Transportation Day

Yesterday we went to an event called “Transportation Day” here in Ahwatukee. It’s a big event, over 3000 people attending. They had numerous types of transportation vehicles. Some of them included: tractor trailers, a city bus, police cars, an ambulance, a UPS truck, a garbage truck, many boats, a race car (NASCAR), an ice cream truck, a helicopter, ATV’s, dirt bikes, motorcycles, custom cars, and many others. Noah really liked the UPS truck, the city bus, the NASCAR race car, and the helicopter, the best. Check out the pictures. I think the NASCAR Fusion is a bit faster than our Fusion. They also raffled off some amazing gift baskets. Each had an average value of a few hundred dollars worth of goods. We didn’t win the trip to Hawaii basket or the Babies R Us basket, but Amanda did win the living room/bed room decoration basket. It had candles, frames, a mirror, a lamp, blankets, a pillow, and a few other items. It’s at least a couple hundred dollars worth of décor. The only thing I managed to get was a deal on the bake sale; two bags of muffins, a brownie, and a rice crispy treat, for only $1, total! It pays to stick around until the end. Actually, we stayed late because Noah was having so much fun checking out the different vehicles. We will be back next year, for sure!

Noah's 2nd Birthday!

Today was Noah's birthday party. He actually turned 2 on Wednesday, but we decided to celebratate it today at Toy Town (http://www.aztoytown.com/). It was a ton of fun and the best part about it... we didn't have to clean up! Amanda made a wonderful Barney cake. She even got some requests to have her make cakes for other kids. Everyone thought she had taken classes. Nope, just time and practice. Noah, Mr. Social Butterfly, had a blast. Don't forget to check out the video of the party.

Oh yeah, only 19 more days until the baby's due date!

Welcome!

We've started a Blog! Welcome to the New Adventures of David, Amanda, and Noah! We are not to be confused with the New Adventures of the Old Christine, Adventures in Babysitting, or anything else with the word "Adventure" in the title.

Merriam-Webster defines "Adventure" as:
1 a: an undertaking usually involving danger and unknown risks
1 b: the encountering of risks
2: an exciting or remarkable experience
3: an enterprise involving financial risk

Therefore, our blog will about the dangerous, unknown, sometimes financial, risks and remarkable experiences that our family enterprise undertakes and encounters.

We hope you all enjoy!

David, Amanda, and Noah