Lights, Camera, Action

Last night we went to the Mesa Mormon Temple to view their spectatular display of lights. Our friends Chris and Beth, and their beautiful 13 month old daughter Riley went with us. Ian was extremely excited that Riley was in attendance. Whenever another child is present, he pretty much just tolerates us adults and focuses on the other kid. Needless to say, he absolutely adores Riley.

We parked, got out, and found Riley had fallen asleep on the trip over. Oh well, there was more than enough visual stimulation in the light display to keep her awake. Chris and Beth woke her and put her in a stroller, while Paul and I decided Ian could and should walk around to burn up some unused energy.

And burn up energy he did. The minute Paul set him down on the sidewalk, Ian took off running! He didn't really pay attention to where he was running, so he ran into lights, poles, plants, strollers and people. I have to say, everyone he ran into was more than understanding. A huge thank you to everyone for their patience. Now, I have to admit, I love to watch this little guy run, although it's not really running. It's more of a bounce and wiggle at the same time. When he races ahead of us, his little butt wiggles back and forth so much, you can't help but laugh.

While Ian sprinted, Riley relaxed. She kept saying "Ah, ah, ah," as she looked at all of the lights. Very sweet. Eventually, Ian got tired of just running and decided he should be the one to push the stroller. Poor Riley had no choice in the matter. Ian took over, pushing with one hand. Of course this caused the stroller to eventually steer left or right depending on which side he was pushing. Paul and Chris tried to compensate and help out, but Ian wouldn't hear of it. He kept pushing their hands away. Finally, someone got both of his hands positioned on the stroller. Huge mistake! This only made his steering worse and Riley was lunged in every direction. Actually, I think she really enjoyed it for the amusement park ride it turned out to be.

We had a great time looking at the light display, and highly recommend it. Bonus, it's free, except that you have to sell your soul to the missionaries. :-)