Camping 2009

My dad planned a wonderful trip to the High Sierras with the boys for 5 days this month (July). I wanted to go so bad but couldn't take all the time off work, so I went for 2 days in the middle of the trip along with Kel. Dad had everything planned, drove up there with Ethan, Brenden and Ethan's friend Owen, only to be stopped when almost there because of a fire int he area. The campground he was so excited about was closed!! So he drove on up for half an hour and found another area to camp near TOm's Place and Rock Creek Lake north of Bishop, CA. It was absolutely beautiful! The boys had the times of their lives, let me tell you. They were dirty and fishing most of the time and that was alright by them! There was a really cool stream where we fished most the time catching trout with salmon eggs. The firs nihg, we had a fish and potato fry. It was SO delicious. The boys and us are used to fish fries (we have all grown up with them thanks to my dad) but Owen was RAVING about the fish and how great it was! It was really cute to hear. That ight we also had a campfire (well they did every night but one night my sis and I were able to enjoy it), roasted marshmallows and sang songs. We sang The Ants Go Marching song where we went in a circle each coming up with a different ending. We sang the song about Bonnie lying over the ocean, taking turns coming up with strange ways she ould have died for each verse. We sang King of the Road and The Battle of New Orleans of course (both songs that my dad taught my sis and I when we were little tiny girls) and the kids loved it!! The second day we were there, we also visited the lake. Ethan caught at least 2 fish upon our arrival and the rest of us (Dad, Kel, Myself, Brenden and Owen) sat there for at least 2 hours without so much as a strike! So we headed back to our territory...the stream, and cuaght some more before lunch. Then Kel and I had to head out! Dad told me that they restocked the stream and lake on Thursday night! He said that Ethan was up at daylight on Friday morning getting his stuff together to go down to the stream all by himself! Awesome! When Kellie and I left, my Dad got teary eyed. It was the cutest thing. He was just so happy to have his daughters and his grandsons together on an amazing camping trip that he had been waiting years for!

Backwards Street Signs after Baseball

We all went to a baseball game tonight and it was so much fun!! We ate all kinds of junk food, and got to parade around the field before the game! Woohoo!

It was such a blast too to read the street signs backwards when you are driving home from a minor league baseball game with your boys and your sis and practical bro in law! Especially for your ten year old! :) Thanks go to Greg for getting the ball rolling on that fun game! or should I say "no taht nuf emag!"

Now I have to sleep like the rest of 'em!

Vegas Baby

This year, like all years, the boys and I wanted to do something fun for Spring Break. With two failed attempts to visit my Grandma in Lake Havasu, we opted for a trip to Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas....where we could venture to the sun and surf (albeit manufactured) with warm weather, comfy beds and Haagen Dazs. And at nearly the last moment, my friend Melissa E decided to grace us with her wonderful presence!

Day 1 Wednesday:

We got to Vegas and before we could even begin to unpack, Brenden and Ethan already had their swim trunks on and flippers in hand. It was the cutest thing, so I couldn't say no. We went down to the pool and they claimed to be closed! It was merely 5:38 and they didn't close till 6 officially, but they wouldn't let us in. So, we spent the next half hour walking around looking for the "ghost spa"...that's the spa (jacuzzi) that people were trying to help us find that never actually showed itself to us. So, we unpacked and went down to see the Shark Reef Exhibit! That was very cool and I got the boys shark tooth necklaces afterward. After that, we went out via a kinda scary rail tram to Excalibur, and walked through New York New York (the kids called out "THE STATUE OF LIBERTY!!" hehe - I explained that it isn't the statue) to the MGM Grand where we looked at REAL LIVE sleeping lions and ate Nathan's hot dogs and Haagen Dazs ice cream. Yum! Finally, we went back to the hotel and called it a night.

Day 2 Thursday:

We woke up early, put on our swim gear and headed down to the pools where we remained the rest of the day. To our dismay, they don't rent inner tubes there anymore, so I had to buy one for $23.71. YES, $23.71! The Mandalay Bay boasts 3 regular pools and jacuzzis, a lazy river and a huge wave pool with lots and lots of sand. The weather was 82 degrees and beautiful and the time spent there was absolutely fantastic. We all had a blast!!

That night, after a little R and R in the room, we went over to the Rio to try their buffet. We almost did the seafood buffet but opted instead for the "World Famous Carnival International Buffet." It was good, but a bit overwhelming if I do say so myself. The buffet itself is probably a mile long if you string it all together. They have so many food choices that my brain and my stomach didn't know what the heck to do. Brenden stuck with pizza mostly, and Ethan mostly crab, shrimp and sushi (that's my boy!). I can't remember what I had. It's all a blur! After Rio, we went back to our little home away from home and got ready for bed and watched Ethan make shadow puppets on the wall (very fun). Melissa went down and did some gambling, but my little ones didn't want me to go! I told them that I would just wait for them to fall asleep then (hehe), but I decided to stay and watch some MTV...that was actually fun since I almost never watch TV at home, especially dumb TV like that! hehe.

Day 3 Friday:

We woke up early again and headed for the pool. We only planned on being there an hour because we needed to check out of the hotel and do some other stuff in Vegas. We were out there for about 45 minutes when the weather turned FREEZING. There was a sudden mass exodus! So, we got ready, packed our bags and got outta there! We headed to Blueberry Hill for breakfast. Ethan and I each had the special: a Tiger omelet and pancakes. It was SOOO good. Best thing we ate in Vegas. Brennie had the kids Pancake special. Yum Yum!!
From there, we headed to Circus Circus for some game time. We ended up staying there for FOUR hours!! Melissa and I watched the kids enjoy all kinds of rides in the Adventuredome from Sponge Bob 4D to Laser Tag (their favorite). From there, we headed out of town, stopping only at Stateline to get gas at Terrible's in exchange for $20 in free slot play at Buffalo Bills. I did that while Mel took the boys to the arcade. Boy that was five minutes of FUN! I love Jacks or Better! Finally, after battling STRONG WIND GUSTS alllllllll they way home, we arrived in our home town at about 11pm!

All in all, an awesome family trip!!

First Weekend of 2009

The boys and I had a good time this weekend. Not only did we have a blast ice skating at my good friend daughter Isabella's sixth birthday party, but I also got to spend some quality time with Ethan hangin at my favorite all you can eat sushi joint and watching the Chargers kick some Colts bootie!

The ice skating was good ol' wholesome family fun. I wasn't going to attempt skating at first...my last memories of ice skating involve me and a wall. But when I saw Bren out there without me, hangin on to the wall, I just had to go. I am so glad I did! The freezing, not-so-fun party turned into a blast for me and the boys. Brenden has already asked to go again.

After skating, we dropped Brennie at his dad's because he didn't want to go with us to sushi. That time spent at dinner with Ethan, Kel and our friend La Nitta was one of a few times recently where Ethan just seemed so grown up. He will be 10 soon and he is definitely his own little person. He hung out with us just like one of the pals and had all you can eat sushi and coke. I didn't have to ask him to behave, I didn't have to give him any looks about manners, we just had a great time eating together. And he ate EVERYTHING we ate - green muscles, all the raw fish, wasabi and ginger. It was truly a special dinner just because I can see the relationship between me and my son evolving and it feels wonderful!! We even had time for a brief photo shoot. ;)