The Year 2000
June 2000
June 2000 was a month wrapped in wonder. It was the month we welcomed our sweet son, Alex, into the world — a time of joy, awe, and a touch of the unknown as we stepped further into parenthood. In those warm Phoenix days and nights, life slowed into a rhythm of sunrise and sunset walks with Bo Bo up to Lookout Mountain Park, the scent of lantana and desert blooms clinging to the air. I thought often of my dad, who had passed just two years earlier — feeling his presence in the rustle of palm fronds when the wind would blow, as if he were quietly walking beside us.
There were moments of humor and adventure, like the evening we stumbled upon a pack of coyotes and found ourselves “hiding out” in a gated tennis court until they lost interest. There were late-night swims under velvet skies, afternoon monsoons rolling in with their slow, dramatic grace, and that unforgettable drive home from the hospital — me convinced the world was full of reckless drivers and homicidal maniacs , only to realize I was the one going half the speed limit with my precious cargo strapped int0 the backseat.
It was a month of anticipation and tenderness — of heat, light, and stillness — the very essence of summer, forever etched in my memory.
July 2000
Where Desert Meets Home
July 2000 was a month steeped in family — the kind of togetherness that roots itself in memory. My mom and her husband, Scott, came to Arizona to meet their new grandson, Alex, and the desert welcomed them in all its summer intensity. We shared slow mornings and long conversations, then ventured out to see the sights: a winding drive through Cave Creek, the shimmering expanse of Bartlett Lake, and a day trip to Tombstone that felt like stepping through a doorway in time.
Scott, ever the cowboy aficionado, walked Allen Street with a reverence usually reserved for cathedrals, imagining the days when Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp were more than names in a history book. The heat pressed in — the kind that strips away modern comforts and lets you feel, just for a moment, the grit of life in a booming frontier town.
In the desert, the Saguaros stood sentinel under a sky so wide it felt endless. We wandered through its sunlit vastness, the air warm with creosote and dust, the light shifting from gold to rose to deep violet as the day gave way to night.
It was a visit threaded with laughter, stories, and the unspoken joy of seeing family through fresh eyes, in a new place — a July that carried the heat of the desert and the warmth of home in equal measure.
August 2000
ConnorFest: Chapter One
August brought the very first ConnorFest—a new tradition to make sure Connor got extra love and attention with baby Alex now in the mix. We kicked things off with movies, braved the Phoenix Zoo on a record-shattering 123° day, and escaped to cooler Flagstaff. From there, we took the train from Williams to the Grand Canyon—the same breathtaking place where Debbie and I had our very first date. In between, I made a quick business trip to visit my team in New Berlin, Wisconsin, but most of the month was spent working and enjoying home life with Debbie, Connor, Alex, Bo Bo, and a few sweet visits from Grandma. A full month of family, milestones, and memories worth holding onto.
September 2000
Big Deals and Beluga Whales
Coming Soon
