husband and wife law team

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!)

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.

In 2009 the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that 10, 839 people died from alcohol related car crashes. To reduce the number of alcohol related deaths in the United States the NHTSA has created “No Refusal Weekends”.

Arizona is among the states that participate in “No Refusal Weekends” which allows local authorities to obtain search warrants for blood samples from suspected impaired drivers who refuse breathalyzer tests. Many counties have judges and magistrates on call for “No Refusal Weekends”. Having immediate access to warrants from judges and nurses on staff to take blood samples ensures that evidence will be available for a future court case. The NHTSA found that on average in the United States 22.4 percent of people pulled over refuse to take a breathalyzer test.

“No Refusal Weekends” are highly publicized and have had excellent success rates. “No Refusal Weekends” often occur over holidays such as New Years, Memorial Day, and The 4th of July.

Texas is among the states participating in the campaign created by the NHTSA. Texas began the campaign for safety in 2005 after about 5o percent of people pulled over refused a breathalyzer. Since the “No Refusal Weekends started, refusal rates are down to 10 percent.

No refusal weekends can make a difference and save lives.

As we hit the peak of the summer traveling season tire checks and maintenance are essential to the safety of your family. All motorists should check for proper inflation and wear and tear damage before driving in hot weather. The Department of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that over a 5 year period from 2005 to 2009 nearly 3,400 people died and an estimated 116,000 were injured in tired related crashes. “While it’s true improperly maintained tires can contribute to a crash at any time of year, it is particularly critical for motorists to check tires during hot weather, when families and luggage often overload vehicles for long vacation trips” according to NHTSA Administrator David Strickland.

Older tires combined with Arizona summer heat have the potential to cause a deadly accident. Aging tires are more susceptible to heat stress especially if they are not properly inflated. An improperly inflated tire can over heat and potentially cause a blowout. Read your vehicle owners manual to find out the correct tire pressure and if necessary adjust the pressure to compensate for hotter weather. Properly inflated tires will also improve gas mileage and the tires will last longer.

To ensure safety all summer, a “summer tire” is available through most major tire companies. Summer tires are made from a special rubber that is much softer than snow or all season tires. Summer tires need to be replaced more often then all season tires and are slightly more expensive. However they provide a great degree of safety especially before going on a high speed and long distance family vacation.

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.”)

Talia learned to ride her bicycle. The kids sometimes ride to school now and when I go by the place where they have the bikes it is so cute because Talia’s bike is the littlest one. Unfortunately, Talia didn’t get any height genes from us. She was all excited because she got a new helmet. (Editor’s Note from Mark: Alexis told me Talia felt bad because kids were making fun of her because she was short. I did not try to tell her she will be tall one day since that is unlikely. Instead, I told her the truth . . . she will probably always be short, but she will also always be smart, fun, and awesome. So, she has that going for her!)

This month, the elementary school had an opportunity for parents to visit PE class (gym class) for the kids. Mark and I went to Ariella’s PE class. Ariella is in 2nd grade. She was so excited to see us come into her class because we did not think we would be able to make it due to work commitments. Mark was able to move some appointments around to surprise Ariella and show up for her gym class. The PE (gym) teacher had everyone in teams and it seemed relatively non-competitive. The different groups of second graders were just having fun and doing their best. That is, it was non-competitive and simple fun until Mark got there. We got there a little late because Mark had to finish an appointment before heading to surprise Ariella at school. Well, Mark got into the relay race and immediately started telling the second graders on his team (including Ariella) how they were going to win… meanwhile they weren’t even supposed to be competing. It was just for fun and exercise for PE class. Mark had the kids in his team high fiving him and cheering each other on. Everyone knows Mark is competitive with winning cases, but even winning a second grade relay race….c’mon! (Editor’s Note from Mark: It was a close race, so I had to do some diving and sliding in my suit. Broke one button off and had to take my suit to the dry cleaners but it was worth it . . . We Won!)