Author: Darwin Sayo

The Sayo Geo Dome

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Living in Arizona has been a challenge especially when it comes to the kids.  Our hobby back in Northern California was to go to different parks and try them out.  We must have visited three dozen parks.  Even when we travel we try to take breaks at parks that are on the way.  Anyway, here in our area there is one big park and it just gets too hot most of the time.  So for this Christmas we brought the park to the kids.  I present to you the Lifetime Geo Dome!  We still don’t have a consistent name for it.  I can’t believe how cheap it was. It’s super sturdy and the coating on the bars it perfect for tender hands.  It was a little bit of a challenge putting it together because at a certain point in the assembly i needed an extra set of hands but i managed by propping it up on chairs.  You’ll see what I mean when you attempt it on your own.  Don’t over torque the black handhold pieces or they’ll crack.  So no negatives and only time will tell if this dome holds up.  The kids are ecstatic over.  Grant in particular, in the video, doesn’t know what to do with himself.  Here’s a link to it on Amazon.

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Hello Arizona!

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So we bought a house. . . in Arizona!

Nancy got a job in Tucson and we moved just outside city limits.  We were super sad about moving away from the Bay Area but we got an offer we couldn’t refuse. Moving was relatively painless as Nancy’s company paid to have people come in to box things up and put it into a moving truck.  Even relocated our car.  Fancy!  There was even this company that came by to professionally package a painting.  The painting, which is awesome, was painted by my mother in law.  I think they misunderstood that it’s value was sentimental and not monetary. So that was a neat experience to have.

We’ve only been here a few weeks and we’re still awed by it all.  Also, we got here right when the monsoon season started so we experienced super hard rain at the same time it being 90 degrees.  Constant lightning and thunder. I’ve never seen anything like it. The clouds make for an awesome backdrop.  I even got to take my first lighting photos right at the front door. It’s just been amazing.

Bugs are bigger here and more deadly. And more scary. The other night I went to the van and had my first run in with a tarantula. The first thing that came to mind is that it escaped someone’s terrarium. I mean, tarantula’s aren’t wild. They come from pet stores and science classrooms. We stared at each other for about two minutes and he decided I had peed in my pants enough and so scurried away. It was big. Must have been half the size of the van in my professional opinion.

We seem to move every three years so we’re pretty used to uprooting ourselves.  We’ll miss our church, our family, our super cool friends, and the weather, but I think we’re moving in the right direction.  We thank God everyday for this blessing.  And we thank all of you who have prayed for us to have such a blessing.  Stay tuned for more desert adventures.

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We Bought The Space Shuttle

Ford Transit F150 XLT

Yup, we upgraded.  It was time to get a bigger van. and our old van was on it’s last leg so it was perfect timing.  Nancy hates it but I love it.  She said we should have gotten a suburban or something hideous like that.  I can stand up in it and not touch the roof.  There was nothing worse than trying to get into the old minivan without hitting your head on the headliner and elbowing everyone in the process.  I do miss the automatic doors and how you can lower those sliding door windows but those were more things to break and I was done fixing things that would eventually break.  And if any of you have “many” kids you know how much you gear can pile up.  I remember going on a trip for a family event and we had to bring two porta’ cribs, a double stroller, and of course our clothes.  It was not pretty.

Sayo Number Five – What I Pack

So this will be our fifth baby! But that doesn’t mean I know what I’m doing.  Especially this time when we haven’t done this in quite a while.  I’d like to share with you what I’m bringing with me.

Items:

  1. Bag (Camera Backpack)
  2. Camera (Canon 6D with 24-105)
  3. Lens (50mm 1.4)
  4. Extra camera battery
  5. iPhone
  6. iPad
  7. Wall adapter for iDevices
  8. Socks
  9. T-Shirt
  10. Electric razor
  11. Toothbrush
  12. Money and some change
  13. Personal business cards
  14. Pill container with Advil and allergy pills
  15. Rosary
  16. Ring rosary

Yes, I am very digital. Having a baby, in my experience, and as the dad, is a waiting game and a “social” experience.  We’ll try not to overshare but we give no guarantees. And pictures (photographer rant incoming)!  I don’t know about you but getting good pictures of the whole experience is key!  I look at those pictures time and time again. Smartphones today take great pictures but are lousy in low light so you get blurry pictures or the flash going off blinding everyone involved!   Video is even worse in low light.  So I’m coming prepared.  Another thing that’s important?  A shave. My kids hate stubble, “Owy! Your face hurt me daddy!” A

Testing out a new camera

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Just got a new camera today and wanted to test it out.  Eva did a great job at humoring her dad.

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Our 2009 VW Routan Review

I really like it.  We had a 2005 Nissan Xterra so I will be making most of my comparisons to our old SUV.

The Drive
It’s smooth. It goes from one gear to another very smoothly. It doesn’t roar to life and accelerate in an explosive way like our old Xterra but that’s not why we bought it for. I keep seeing reviews putting down it’s 197 hp but if you want more horsepower and performance then buy a car! I recently took it to San Francisco for the first time and it performed quite well. I didn’t once in frustration say “Come on go!” going up Van Ness. There’s a “manual” mode to where you can shift up or down.  It gets a little getting used to but handy.  It’s supposedly VW tuned so the drive is a little more responsive.

Driver

  • I feel very comfortable in the drivers seat. The windshield seems so huge.
  • It took a couple days to get the seat just right because there is so much play in the seat settings.
  • The steering wheel seems so much bigger. I do like the leather wrapped steering wheel on this van as opposed to a non leather wrapped one. It feels very nice and smooth. I never thought I’d ever appreciate such a thing.
  • All the controls are in arms reach. One small feature I truly appreciated in my old Scion TC was the Auto up AND down feature of the driver’s window. The Xterra had auto down only. The Routan has up and down on the drivers and passenger side windows.
  • On the other side of the steering wheel are controls for the radio. I like this so much better because it doesn’t make you look for the buttons thus taking your eyes off the road. The Stereo is a bit far away so the buttons are very handy.
  • The stereo is not bluetooth enabled, a feature I told myself I absolutely needed, so I can’t connect my phone to it but it’s a blessing in disguise because it’s become our policy to not use the phone at all if you’re driving.

Passengers

  • Seats six passengers or three cars seats.  Can only take one car seat in the third row with room for a passenger next to the car seat.  So if you have four kids that need to be in car seats this car is not for you.
  • I like that the passenger windows go down and the rear windows will slightly wedge open too for more ventilation.
  • Cabin noise is so much better than our Xterra.  That’s also due to the fact that it has less horsepower.

Conclusion

I’m not a great car reviewer but I really do like this van.  The two things I would change if I could would have been adding the OEM entertainment system and an automatic lift gate.

Number three?

We’re horrible at keeping secrets.  But we all know the power of prayer so the earlier people can start praying for us the better.

Yes, we’re expecting Baby Sayo #3!  It’s about time if you ask me.  But I’m not the one that’s going to have the baby but Nancy is such a trooper. She doesn’t whine or complain no matter how hard it gets. Always positive because I truly believe that negativity is so contagious to people around you and to the baby.  We’re a little nervous about the practical things but all that is usually taken care of.  Nancy is already starting to feel lousy and I think I am getting sympathy crappyness as well if that’s possible.  Spencer will have to be doing double duty once the baby is born late May.   Big brother has to help big time.  I think it’s a girl, Nancy thinks it’s a boy but she’s always wrong and three of our family members have had dreams of baby #3 being a girl.  Don’t forget to take the poll on the right. Very exciting. We’re looking for in-utero names so please give us some ideas.

Update: Sonogram Picture.  We’ll find out if it’s a boy or a girl in two weeks.