Small Family Reunion

Its definitely not the type of family reunion anyone is thinking about. Last year in June my sister in law Gina and her two kids moved to Washington State to be with her boyfriend. It was a bitter sweet move on every one's part. We all missed her terribly and she is really the first one to actually move out of state but she was so happy to be up there and the small town is absolutely perfect for her.

Finally over spring break her, Ty, and the kids drove down for a visit. Its about a 15 hour drive so it's not one that anyone is willing to drive a whole lot. But they made it down and I tell you James was over the moon about seeing his sister. It has been almost a year since he last saw her so there reunion was so sweet. He missed his big sister so much! Brock remembered his Nina and the kids like he just saw them yesterday, but Alyvia took a little bit to re familiarize herself with them expect for my niece Haley, Aly remembered her and went right to her.

We had a great time visiting with them while in town even if it wasn't a lot of time. Now it's our turn to drive up to see them, which we are hoping to in June or July depending on when James can get time off. That should be a fun drive with two kids but hey it worth it see family!

Walk with the Dinosaurs

Walk with the Dinosaurs was held at the Thomas and Mack center by UNLV. James and his buddies from work have been talking about this event for months. It was a complete guys night out! I think there were 4 dads and 5 little boys that all went together. Not sure who was more excited about it more, the boys or dads?

I was somewhat jealous about them all going because it sounded like so much fun. But the tickets were way pricey and I was given the hint that I was just not welcome! LOL Oh-well. James took Brock and everyone met up about an hour before the show started. The first thing those kids saw once they walked in was cotton candy. I already knew that Brock was going to be inhaling sugar that night, but i mean they hadn't even sat down before the adults got the kids sugar. I'm pretty sure that at sometime there was also snow cones and lord knows what else.

The show started and from what I gathered the dinosaurs were so life like and huge. Of course when the T-Rex came out all the kids screamed and then the baby t-rex came onto the stage and every one was like "awwww". That's the extent of the details of the show that I was given. Figures!

Afterwards everyone headed to Denny's for a late dinner. Terry, he works with James, then showed the kids all how to stick crayons up there noses and make funny faces. The night would have been perfect except once the food came out, poor Brock took one bite of his meal and needed to run to the bathroom to throw up. He was perfectly fine afterwards but that's what happens when there is to much excitement and sugar. I had learned that last year while at a football game with Brock, and now James learned that same lesson. Oh-well they all had a great time anyways and they are now talking about trying to get together at least once every other month for a boys night out.

(I am so proud of James for actually taking pictures... I've taught him well!)

Mom's Birthday Bash

I love, love, love having people over at our house. Don't know why but it makes me feel happy. LOL I know weird but whatever. So my wonderful mom just celebrated her birthday. How old is she you ask? Let's just say 21! HAHA inside joke but I will explain in a minute.

So, to make mom's birthday special this year, we decorated our house and threw her a mini party. There was only a whopping 7 people but hey doesn't matter how many show up just as long as someone does. It was great though. We put up a Happy Birthday banner and decorated with balloons and a fancy tablecloth. I also made her a super pretty cake (Harley and Shelby this one turned out perfect!) and her favorite meal which is french dip. My personal favorite was the french dip that I got from my grandma. It was to die for and I swear I could have kept eating if it wasn't for the deserts.

As tradition everyone sang Happy Birthday to the birthday girl and she blew out her candles. Now here is the funny part. I forgot to buy candles which is typical but I wanted her to blow something out. I rummaged through the drawers and I found a number 2 and 1 candle. So this year mom only turned 21! It was hilarious but it would have been mean to put the actual number up, not that you are old or anything mom. ☺

Afterward we sat around and just chit chatted. Nana and Alyvia were throwing socks at each other and so Brock got involved. He decided to put them on his hands in which I convinced him to have Nay-nay kiss them! LOL It was funny but gross and I swear each and everyone of us were cracking up so hard.

Mom, I hope you had a fabulous Birthday and I love you so much!

Ft. Huachuca Vacation part 3

So this is the last post about our mini vacation to Arizona. The third day we were visiting my brother we took all the kids to walmart to buy some toys from Grandma and Papa in Colorado. It was fun but the big kids (Arek and James) were having a little to much fun. They were picking out and playing with more toys then the little ones. It was great though because the kids got some neat toys and were all able to call them and say thank you. What was even cuter was how Grandma told me on the phone she could tell what each of the kids were saying. Props to grandma because half the time I have no clue what the two youngest say. LOL

Afterward we were off to the indoor swimming pool and park. The pool wasn't opening for about 30 minutes, so to kill time we all played at the park. And literally we all played. I got some great photos of everyone enjoying the spinning thing that made you beyond dizzy.

The pool was a blast except this time Aly did not want anything to do with the slides till the very end when it was time to go. Figures it would work out that way. James enjoyed himself as this was his first time there. He loved the wave pool and slides with Brock.

The next day was our departing day but we did manage to have a great time until it was time to go. There was this cute little park down the street from my brothers house that we all walked to. Well, everyone was on some type of scooter, bike, skate board, or jeep. I ended up having to sit with Aly in the jeep because she's terrible at steering. (Not that my track record is any better.) On the way back Kenzie drove Aly while Shelby rode her tiny little bike, but about half way Kenz ditched Aly for her bike again and Shelby and I had to help maneuver Lyv all the way back. That was a work out.

So we had a great time and can't wait to go back sometime in the summer if our schedules allow it. Thank you Brock Family for putting up with us and having us over!

Ft. Huachuca Vacation Part 2

I decided to make this vacation posts into 3 separate parts, that way no one gets bored reading and just exits. So, the same day we took all the kids to ride the horses my brother also drove us to Tucson, AZ so we could go to the zoo.

Now James and I have never taken the kids to any zoo before so this was also going to be a great trip that we couldn't wait to do. After finally getting the tickets and my brother and James parking in Timbuktu we made our way into the zoo and bee lined it to the giraffes. The weekend prior to our family visiting, my brother and his family actually went to the zoo then also. It was great because Shelby knew the best areas to go and one of the things was the giraffe. At a certain time of day for $2.00/person you can actually feed the giraffes so that was why we headed there first. Well, unfortunately there ended up being a small accident with my niece and a big ole tree and she needed medical attention. My niece Kenzie had tripped and fallen and my brother was trying to cheer her up, in the process of cheering her up he lifted her high to put her on his shoulders and out of no where this tree smashed her poor head. In the end Arek took her to the emergency room just to get it checked out while we all stayed behind. They did make it back just as we left the park and Kenzie ended up needing 1 staple in the noggin. She was brave and a real trooper!

So, while they where meeting the doctors and nurses in town Shelby and Titan were our tour guides through out the zoo. It was so neat to watch the kids see all the different animals. What amazed James and I was how Alyvia knew most of the animals. We knew Brock was familiar with all of the them but I had no clue Aly knew some of the ones she did. It was great and the kids had a blast. My personal favorite was of course the monkeys but that's an obvious one. Brock said his favorite was the alligator but it was still a baby and did absolutely nothing but he liked it, and Alyvia was in love with the giraffes, I think she could have stared at them all day long if we let her. Not sure about James but if I had to make a guess I would say the tiger. That tiger was really antsy and just couldn't stay still, he walked right next to the glass over and over.

That trip was amazing and now we can't wait till the kids are just a little bit older to do the San Diego Zoo. I just love watching the reactions through the kids eyes. They see things in such a different light and gets so excited over the littlest things.

Ft. Huachuca Vacation Part 1

Last weekend James and I took the kids on a mini vacation to see my brother and his family. Arek recently moved to a new base about an hour South of Tucson, Arizona called Ft. Huachuca. It's great having them so close by as before we never saw them because they lived across the nation, where now it's only an 8 hour drive. We ended up leaving about 4 am so everyone could sleep majority of the drive and the kids did great.

Our trip ended up being about 4 days long. The 1st day we just hung out and enjoyed each others company. Shelby taught Brock and James how to play Band Hero on their play station and it was hilarious watching everyone play. Brock loved the drums and James loved the guitar.

The second day we were there was the day Alyvia and Brock rode on their first horse. Alyvia has always loved horses and whenever we have errands to do we always pass this house by our area that has horses and she goes crazy. When we got to the horse stables the kids were elated to see a donkey just hanging out where we were supposed to wait. Brock and Alyvia wanted to just run up to it but I had to explain a few times how we had to use our inside voices or they could scare him away. Those two were in awe over that animal. Finally the horse came out ready and Kenzie rode first so the kids could see how it was done. My niece is the cutest thing ever and just like Aly she absolutely loves horses. When it was Alyvia's turn Arek helped her into the saddle and her smile was absolutely priceless. I think Aly was born to ride a horse. I walked the horse around a little ways all the while Alyvia is just hanging onto the horn and enjoying the ride. She was not to happy at having to get off so her brother could ride. Brock rode the horse for a few minutes also but he really wasn't all that into like Aly. Both the girls rode for a second time while the boys fed the donkey some hay.

It was such a great experience watching Brock and Alyvia ride a horse for the 1st time. I know this is something Aly will want to do again but Brock, who knows. LOL

Lets go METS!

So this maybe a little over due, but as my favorite saying goes, "Better late then never!" Brock's t-ball season finally started last week. His schedule is a little weird for me with having not only weekend games but also one game during the week. I guess this league does things a tad different but we are adjusting. The team name is obviously the Mets, and I love the orange shirts the kids wear, I can spot his team a mile away with how bright they are.

Any way his 1st game ended up being on a Tuesday but luckily James was able to go into work a few hours late so he could watch since he now works the swing shift. We were also so excited to see our fans come out aka Uncle Scott, Aunt Sarah, Kaylee, Nay-nay, Papa, Great Nana (Shar) and Nana (Laurie). Brock's face just lit up when he saw everyone cheering him on.

There were only 2 innings played and the 1st inning Brock played some where in the outfield and didn't get any ball time, but the 2nd inning he was catcher and was able to really get into the game. It's so funny to watch because a lot of these kids have a very short attention span so usually if the ball wasn't coming to them the other players were all fooling around. Now mind you Brock is the youngest player so once the other team would hit, he would usually start looking up towards the sky, and kicking up dirt, or something and wouldn't even realize the ball was being thrown towards home plate until the very last minute, but the few times he did actively pay attention he made some awesome plays! Now the batting is the best part of the game. For anyone who has watched Brock play before, you know how great he is. He really has a powerful swing for being so small. He hit the ball hard and made it to all his bases and the second time he hit the ball made it to the grass area. I do believe I am taking after my mother in being the loudest cheerer in the stands. LOL

It was great to watch and one of the cutest moments were both Alyvia and Kaylee cheering Brock on through the fence. Those two just absolutely idolize him. Thank you to everyone who came out to support Brock and we can't wait for the rest of the season!

Brock ready for his 1st game
Some of the fans!

Running for home plateCousin Kaylee cheering on Brock

On 3rd ready to run homeMe and AlyviaBatter up... The ball went soaring!Shaking the opponents hands