children

Kailey is taking a summer math class to skip ahead a grade in math. Somehow she has managed to still hang out or have a sleepover with a friend (or two) almost every night. I did get the honor of seeing her for one whole day this summer, so I guess I should be thankful! (Editor’s Note from Mark: I am not sure if Kailey ever sleeps. She wanted to take math over the summer (not sure I understand that) while doing dance and spending every possible spare moment with friends. On the other hand, at least she hasn’t memorized the Geico commercials this summer like her brother Tate!)

Talia has decided she is going to grow her hair like Rapunzel. She also has become the queen of texting. I text a lot of clients so if any of you get some crazy messages, please know it is probably from some 6 year old girl! (Editor’s Note from Mark: What is worse is when Talia tries to text me from Alexis’ phone and does not tell me that she is using her mom’s phone to text me. I have to be careful how I respond to text messages from now on!)

Ariella and Mark had a recent trip to Washington DC for a family event. Ariella was such a trooper – it was a 48 hour trip and half of it was spent traveling . . . a trip that began with a red-eye flight from Phoenix to DC that left at midnight and stopped in Chicago at 5:00am. At the family event, Ariella got noticed for her break-dancing moves. Everyone at the event gave Ariella rounds of applause as she was out dancing with the older kids all night. (Editor’s Note from Mark: Ariella was fantastic beyond anything you could imagine. We traveled all through the night and she never complained once. She stayed up all day and then spent her night on the dance floor. Then we ran over to see the White House and other sites before jumping on an airplane back to Phoenix. We were gone from Arizona for less than 48 hours and she was fun and energetic the whole time. In a room full of people, I am pretty sure the DJ learned her name first . . . she is practicing to be a future lawyer by making herself known!)

Speaking of the success of advertising to children, Tate has every Geico commercial down to a “T.” He has also taken the time to learn some of the commercials for other Arizona personal injury law firms. I told Tate he needs to work on a jingle for us! He didn’t seem too enthusiastic with that suggestion. (Editor’s Note from Mark: Tate is going to be spending time at camp this summer, just as he did last year. He and Zev will be at an all-boy, all-sports camp. Sounds like it is a good thing he will not be spending more time in front of the TV!)

Pierce has a birthday coming up and has been asking for something that has been advertised on TV for a while. I am amazed at how well advertising to kids works. It’s amazing how kids see something on TV and they remember it all. (Editor’s Note from Mark: I am not surprised Pierce remembers the commercials, because this kid remembers everything. When he was four years old, I coached a baseball team and we held practices at a park that is on the way to school. Every once in a while he will point to the field to remind me that we had practices there. That was well over a year ago. He sometimes will say things that he remembers from even further back, but my memory doesn’t go that far back, so I have no idea if he is right or not!)

Distracted driving has become a major problem in the United States and the number of injuries and deaths are continuing to rise. The American Lawyer Academy recently held its First Annual Viral Video Scholarship Contest to create distracted driving awareness. The Southwest region was sponsored by the Husband and Wife Law Team. The First Baptist Academy from Universal City Texas won first place in the Southwest region and received a $1,500 scholarship.

In total 45 students student’s ages 11 to 17 worked on the video for three months. Christi Stuebben, the student’s teacher said the entire community became involved. Phone calls to family members in other states were made, emails were sent, Facebook statuses were posted, church bulletins were printed, and local media stations were contacted to publicize the contest and voting.

The students originally planned to use the scholarship money to buy a digital SLR camera for school functions, sporting events, and yearbook photos. However, over Memorial Day weekend the school was vandalized and the windows were broken in the bus and transportation van. The students got together and decided that the scholarship money would be best spent if it was given to the school to pay for the damages. Stuebben said that the students reached the decision to donate the money on their own and she was very proud of their maturity and willingness to give.

Tate has been a star on his basketball team so every Saturday it has been fun watching him. Tate’s favorite sport right now is fishing. He wants to go deep sea fishing but we are not sure when that is going to happen. He was upset because one of the girls broke his fishing pole. Of course, you know that is going to happen when you leave your fishing pole in the middle of the kitchen. He asked if he could see a movie where the main character goes around killing people. I told him that movie did not sound good and why would he want to see a movie like that to which he told me, “Mom, don’t you know 10 year olds like violence and killing?” My response: “Hmmm, No, I didn’t know that. And, no, you can’t see the movie.” (Editor’s Note from Mark: Tate had an awesome basketball season. His team had the best record in the league and he had games where he scored as many points as the other team . . . by himself. Not sure basketball will remain his favorite sport but he is loving it now. He has been wanting to play tackle football for a long time, so his mom will be very happy if he decides to do basketball in the fall, instead.)

Kailey is getting ready for her dance recital and summer dance competition. She came with me, Mark, and Cade (the baby) to the community appreciation party in Glendale. We saw many of you there and it was a great time. Kailey was a celebrity at the dinner. I had told her there would be sushi but there was no sushi there, so she had a teenage moment over there being no sushi. (Editor’s Note from Mark: Kailey is having many teenage moments and she is only 13. The other day she went running outside before I could see her. I went to the car and told her to get out where I found why she had run outside: she was wearing shorts that I would never let her wear outside of the house. She insists that I am ridiculous and too conservative . . . she is right on both counts. So I make her go into the house and change. My mistake . . . because I assumed she would change into something of which I would approve. Wrong! I saw her when she got home and realized I need to make sure I make no further assumptions!)

Did you know that car crashes are the leading cause of death for children ages 3 to 14? According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) 8,959 lives were saved from the use of child restraints from 1975 to 2008. The NHTSA suggests that parents select a car seat based on a child’s age and size. The NHTSA also recommends parents follow their car seat manufacturer’s instructions and the vehicle owner’s manual on how to install a new car seat.

●From birth to 12 months old children should always ride in a rear facing car seat. Your child should remain in a rear facing car seat for as long as possible until they outgrow the height or weight limit because it is the safest.

●Children ages 1 to 3 years old should be placed in a forward facing seat with a harness after they outgrow the rear facing car seat.

●Children ages 4 to 7 years old should remain in a forward facing seat with a harness until they reach the height and weight limit per the car seats’ manufacturer.

●Children ages 8 to 12 should sit in a booster seat until they are able to fit in the seat properly. To fit correctly the lap belt must fit snugly across the upper thighs, not the stomach. The shoulder belt should lie snug across the shoulder and chest and not the neck or face. Your child should always ride in the back seat under the age of 13 because it is much safer.

If you have any questions regarding the installation of your child safety seat, Fire Departments in Apache Junction, Chandler, Gilbert, Goodyear, Mesa, Peoria, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tonopah, and Wittmann provide free assistance as well as all local hospitals and police stations.

I had mother’s day tea with Pierce and Karina at their school. They both go to the same Montessori and I had the choice of having tea with them together or going to each one separately. I chose to give them each their separate time with me. I went to Pierce’s class first and he was super-excited to see me. When we sat down to have “tea” he was all smiles. He wanted to have lots of sugar in his tea – mostly he just liked seeing the sugar melt. When I asked him if we could get our picture taken together, it was an instant “yes.” Throughout the tea, which wasn’t really that long, he told me multiple times, “Mama I love you.” How sweet is that! I took him back to class and it was a “Bye – I love you.” (Editor’s Note from Mark: Pierce is forever trying to get time with his mom and always pulling stuff like this. He wants to fall asleep next to his mom, so he will sneak into our room to wake up next to his mom. His excuse to avoid going to sleep every night is “I just have to tell Mama something” and that something is almost always “I love you, Mama.”)