Flagstaff

Monday morning we went up to Flagstaff with Dan and his family.
The boys had so much fun sledding down the hills. It was not that cold, so I was happy. I am glad Coby went down a few times because he is not as crazy, I mean adventurous as Trey :)
Trey of course was on the big hills and having snowball fights with Mark. The first time we went up there Trey was 3 or 4 and would go down the hills by himself. I need to find the videos we have of him and post them. I remember people stopping and laughing at him because he was so little and he would be laughing the whole way down.
That evening we went out to dinner and had a little party in the hotel lobby for my nephew.
Everyone went swimming after. Coby was so proud of himself because he did the "monkey walk" all the way around the pool. I am glad he is getting more comfortable around water, he even asked about swim lessons! Trey started swimming when we were in Rocky Point and he had just turned 3.
The next morning Mark went out and got us all donuts but unfortunately it took him about 2 minutes to get all the ice off his truck. I don't know how people live in cold weather! I guess it just becomes a way of life.
We left Flagstaff around 9:30 because Dan and family were on their way to San Diego. We stopped at Mark's parent's house for a short visit.

Christmas 2010

We had a great Christmas and a lot of fun leading up to it!
We are lucky that each year Mark is able to take the last 2 weeks of the year off, so we are all together during the holidays.
On Thursday we took the boys to Jumpstreet, and indoor play center. The boys had a blast! We then headed over to my grandparent's house in Mesa for a short visit at their place and then ate dinner at Organ Stop Pizza. The boys loved the music and the dancing puppets. We stopped by the Mesa Temple to see the lights, so pretty! When we got home we had a package waiting from Uncle Charlie full of crab legs and fish! Our freezer is full :)
On Christmas Eve we went out to dinner and then took the boys around to see our usual Christmas houses.
They woke up close to 8 on Christmas day and had so much fun checking out their gifts. We were able to Skype with my family so they could watch them open the gifts they had sent. We are going down to Tucson on Jan. 8 so this is the first year in a while that we didn't actually see them around Christmas time.
We always end up with hardly any pictures Christmas morning because we are video taping instead so sorry for the lack of pictures.

Railroad Park

I love this time of the year! It is so fun having small children around and teaching them the true meaning of Christmas.
We did our annual shopping for the canned food and toy drive. I love watching my boys select the toys and deliver them. This year we got girl toys also, funny asking them which Barbie we should pick. We delivered them to one of our fire stations, actually the one my cousin works at, but she was off. They got to watch a new guy do one of the drills.
We went to the Railroad park in Scottsdale on Saturday. The boys loved the train ride that took them around the park to see all the lights and displays. We made the mistake of going on opening weekend and had a while to wait in line. Good thing they could peek through the windows at the model trains and some hot chocolate to kill the time.
We spent that morning finally getting all our decorations up. I had wanted a new tree, so it took a while to find one. Mark got all the outside lights up. I love the boys reactions to the decorations and lights...priceless!

Las Vegas and Turkey Day

Mark and I celebrated our 10th anniversary in Vegas this year. It was supposed to be a surprise, but I kept asking what we were doing because I was going to plan something. He finally gave in and gave me 1 letter a day and then gave me all the letters on our anniversary...it spelled out Planet Hollywood. It was fun and relaxing. We just ate a lot, shopped and relaxed.
Mark was off that whole week so on Wednesday we all went to Trey's Turkey Trot race and then went and picked up lunch and went back to the school to eat and play with the kids during recess. Mark was the quarterback. Trey won the race for the third year in a row. So proud of him! He and I would love to have him join track but momma is not getting up at 6:30..hee hee
For Thanksgiving we all gathered at Dan's house for the feast. My whole family was there plus my grandparents, aunt and uncle. The food was yummy as always. I make pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. My mom and Crystal did all the other cooking...lucky me!
After eating we took some family pictures. Have to get one around this time for the Christmas card.
The next day, all my boys, Dan and his boys, my dad, Alyssa and her boyfriend all headed to Lake Roosevelt for camping. Ohhh, what to do with myself! I stayed home all Friday and completely cleaning the toy loft.
Saturday I went to eat with some of the girls and Jason before they headed back to Tucson and then did a little shopping.
The boys came home late Saturday, boy did they smell!
Mark finished his sabbatical at United Way right before Vegas. He also interviewed and got a new position at Amex while he was at United Way. Way to go Mark!
We really do have so much to be thankful for!

Trick or Treat

We had a pretty low key Halloween this year.
Friday we went to our church trunk or treat party. The boys actually got a lot of candy. Of course a lot of kids came to our car a few times so we ran out and had to stop at Walmart on the way home. The boys dressed up as football players with their jerseys on and a little black makeup under the eyes..didn't get pictures though :(
For actual Halloween Trey was the guy from Scream...no, he hasn't seen the movie :) he just liked the blood squirting through the mask...yeah he was a hit while treat or treating. He had a "heart" in his hand that when squeezed would drip "blood" inside the mask...nice, huh? Coby was Ironman.
We carved out pumpkins on Saturday night. This year we were smart and printed up a pattern. I think he is the best one we have ever made with Mark and I lacking in the artistic department.
Mark went around with us on our street and then went back to hand out candy. We have a quiet neighborhood so we usually end up with a lot of leftovers.
The boys checked out their loot and shared a lot with mom and dad. I love that quality about my boys and I am sure most children. They always find the candy Mark and I like and make sure and bring them to us. They both are great about sharing.

Pumpkin Patch

We went to a pumpkin patch out in Cave Creek on Saturday after Trey's football game. The boys had so much fun! There are quite a few in the valley and we are hoping to check them all out. They really enjoyed the hayride, picking a pumpkin and hay maze. They had to go through the maze a few times.
Trey has started another season of football and is loving it. Coby wants to do t-ball but sure loves playing catch with Mark at Trey's practice.
Trey made the principal's list this quarter and got perfect attendance. I did let him skip school right after that for a day in Scottsdale with Emily :)
We are so proud of him! He is such a sweet boy and tries really hard in school. Who could ask for more?? :)
We are glad the weather is getting nice so the boys can enjoy playing outside and we can start hiking again!

9/11

We took the boys to the Healing Field again in Tempe. It was really neat this year to see Trey interested in reading the bios. As last year, it is humbling to see and hear all those flags.
Emily met up with us and then we all walked up Mill Ave. and ate at a burger joint.
We have been keeping ourselves busy and have a lot more coming up.
Mark starts school again this week and Trey will start football in October.
After Trey gets home from school it seems like I don't see my boys at all! They are always outside jumping on the trampoline, playing football and baseball.
We are headed down to Tucson for the weekend. Mark was lucky enough to get a ticket to the U of A football game...jealous!

Weekend fun

Last weekend Alyssa and her boyfriend Joe came up and we went out on the boat. The water felt good because it was so hot! Trey tried wakeboarding! I am so proud of him!
After boating, Emily came over and we all went to the Cardinals game. It was really fun and the boys enjoyed themselves.
This Saturday we had a Black family party for the boys. It was also Macey's 1st party.
We went to Dan and Crystal's friends house because they have a pool. The boy's were in there most of the time of course. They did play a few rounds of basketball with the adults also.
They each wanted a different theme for their cake, so I just let them pick out sugar decorations and place them on.
Trey is still loving school and playing sports. He did a science experiment the first week that he was excited about. He is such a good brother. Coby looks up to him so much.
Coby is infatuated with all the Shrek movies. He watches a part of one at least once a day. Trey loved Monsters, Inc. and then Spiderman. At least he will still do flashcards and run errands with me during the day. He always wants to know when it will be time to pick up Trey.
I feel very blessed to be able to be at home with them! I still watch a little boy a couple days a week and my niece and nephew one morning. Probably a good thing because I might be out spending money all week! We bought a new comforter for our bed and I have been on a mad search for throw pillows.
Mark is on "loan" to United Way until December. I guess they don't really have to many actual employees, a lot of people are on loan from big companies in the valley. It has given him an appreciation of all we have. I am sure when you hear peoples struggles and visit homeless shelters that will have that effect on you. We want to try and volunteer our time more and hopefully this will give us more avenues to do so.

3rd Grade!!

We just sent Trey off to 3rd grade!! So excited for him! He seems to have another wonderful teacher.

Coby's Day

Coby turned 4!! See him trying to hold up 4 fingers..hee hee.
He got to pick all his meals, as our family tradition, but fell asleep during dinner.
Both of my sweet boys gave their brother a present to open first. We gave each boy a gift to open on the others birthday.
We got some cupcakes and sang to both of them since we were in the car on the way to San Diego the evening of Trey's birthday. We are going to have parties at a later date. I am seriously considering doing half birthdays because it is just to hot in July!
I cannot believe he is 4! As like his brother, he is such a blessing! They both have VERY different personalities. He definitely has my personality so I can relate to him. Case in point..he started swim lessons a couple of weeks ago and screamed bloody murder for the first few lessons. Trey would have to sit on the side of the pool. He followed directions and participated really well, in between the crying.
Love them both!! The good and the challenges :) They are mine for a reason!!

Birthdays and San Diego

Trey's birthday was the 12th and that just happened to be the day we could leave for San Diego. He was a good sport to travel the evening of his special day. He got to open his presents before Mark went to work and then go get Krispy Kreme donuts, his favorite. We will have a party for both boys eventually, it is just to stinking hot!
I cannot believe he turned 9 and will be starting the 3rd grade. He is so amazing and I could not imagine my life without him. We are blessed to have a constant reminder of why we should become like little children.
On Tuesday, Mark was working virtual so I got to spend the day with the boys. We ran a couple of errands and then went to the park and the bay. It was beautiful weather. We walked around Sea Port Village that night.
Wednesday we went to La Jolla and explored the tide pools. We went to Point Loma for some yummy seafood with grandma for dinner.
Thursday we went to Belmont park. Trey and Mark rode the old wooden roller coaster at least 4 times. Coby also got to go on a little boat ride and some bumper cars. After that we walked along Mission Beach and then over to a park to play.
Friday we went to Sea World pretty much all day and then we went back to grandma's for dinner and back to Sea World for the night shows. We met up with my sisters and their friends. Trey rode Atlantis with them after the fireworks until closing time. Coby was more interested in the animals, while Trey wanted to go on all the rides. He did enjoy the dolphins and the shows though.
Saturday was Mark's B-Day. We went to the swap meet with my sisters in the morning, then Mark wanted another crab cake sandwich so we went back to Point Loma and got take out. We parked by the water and relaxed and watched some boats. After getting Mark his Chicago pizza for dinner we took the boys to a beautiful park in my grandma's neighborhood.
Sunday we went to church with grandma, had lunch, hung out in her backyard with my sisters and friends and then we headed home.

Summer Happenings

We are trying to keep ourselves busy in this dreadful heat!! I ask myself every summer why do we live here and then winter comes around and I tell myself it is great to live here..can't win!
We went down to Tucson in June to surprise my dad for his 60th Bday (see picture I stole from my sis-n-law). We had a nice weekend with family.
Trey is playing basketball and loving it. He has a really good coach. He is so excited for his upcoming bday...every morning I get a countdown of days :)
Coby loves having him around, they play all day.
We had a quiet 4th, we watched the fireworks from a parking lot and ate some popcorn and licorice.

From BARONS

NYC Day 6

Our last day :(
We got up and headed to Central Park and rented a row boat for the reservoir. Mark was kind enough to row us around.
After we grabbed a bagel from a place featured on Seinfeld. Then we went next door to Zabars gourmet store/deli. Yeap, pretty much every kind of cheese, meat, veggie, fruit, etc. you can think of. We grabbed some food from the restaurant section. I must say though that my mom makes better blintzes :)
Overall the trip was a success!! Although we missed our boys terribly, they were safe and had fun with family. We did "skype" with them in the morning and at night everyday.
We were able to do everything we wanted to, but I am sure there is so much more!

NYC Day 5

Today was the only day we had to get up and be somewhere. Of course we were a little late, what do you expect with 3 girls getting ready and the subway train we were supposed to take needing repair! Today we had our tickets for the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island...good thing I got them in advance! We did have to wait a while to get on a ferry. First stop was the statue. We were lucky enough to get crown tickets. Boy was that a climb! The last steps were in a small, spiral staircase. The crown was tight quarters, but a nice view.
Next stop was Ellis Island. How humbling to know the sacrifices my family made to come to this blessed country. How different my life would be had they not. We were able to search the records for family, even though my family has the copies, it was still exciting to find them and see their information and a picture of the ship they came over on.
After the ferry ride back we found a yummy pasta restaurant where we stuffed ourselves...can't let good food go to waste right?
The girls and I went and saw Wicked at the Gershwin Theater while Mark went to watch the Suns game. Wicked was very good! This was my first time seeing it and the girls second time. My aunt got us amazing seats.

NYC Day 4

We went back to Rockefeller center to get tickets for the top of the rock. We wanted to go at night to see the city lights, but it was sold out. Mark wanted to get an NYPD shirt from the official store so we stopped there and got some shirts. We walked around Madison Ave and did a little more shopping. We went into Grand Central Station, another beautiful building. We saw the Empire State Building. We went up the rock at 5:30 and stayed until around 7. Amazing views of the city and very scary if you look down! We walked back through Time Square and then went and got a hot dog and frozen yogurt.

NYC Day 3

We started today at Battery Park. You can get a nice view of Lady Liberty and Ellis Island from here. Displayed in the park is a large round sculpture that was in the plaza between the 2 towers and was moved to the park after 9-11. We walked around the Financial District and saw Wall Street.
We walked through Trinity church and saw the root sculpture (see picture for story).
Next we went to Ground Zero. It is overwhelming to see that where once stood 2 massive towers there is nothing. It is also sad that we do not have a memorial built after almost 9 years. We did see the construction on one of the freedom towers and the plans for the memorials that will be in the footprints of the towers. We went and grabbed lunch at a really good sandwich shop. After we walked to the American Express building and walked through the museum in the lobby. We also stopped to see the memorial for the 11 employees who died on 9-11. It was a beautiful tribute. You will see in the picture there is a giant crystal suspended over a black granite pool. All of their names and a little message is inscribed in the granite. Also one drop of water falls from the ceiling at different times into each person's section which represents a tear drop. We walked over to St. Paul's, which amazingly has survived a few tragedies (see pic).
We walked around the memorial store and saw all the large pictures on the wall which are a time line of the events on 9-11. You could also record a message about where you were on 9-11 and they had a statue encased with notes, ribbons, badges, flags, etc. taken from make shift memorials. We all bought a memento from the shop.
We walked to South Seaport and saw the Brooklyn Bridge. We saw City Hall (where Law & Order is filmed). We went and saw the big Macy's, the temple, Julliard and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We wanted to watch the Suns game so we went to a sports bar and got some really good buffalo wings and nachos.

NYC Day 2

Today we had Kathy as our tour guide...she is very knowledgeable about NYC!
We went to the Flat Iron district and Madison Square Park. This happened to be the weekend for a street fair so we stopped by. Good thing we walked up and down because we had a lot to walk off...roasted corn, crab cakes, fried Oreos, Italian ice, Mozzarepa (2 corn pancakes with fresh mozzarella inside and then grilled) and Zeppoles (fried dessert dough). After that we walked to Washington Square Park and sat and enjoyed the beauty and more street performers. We walked though East and West Village and Greenwich Village where all the beautiful brownstones are located. We walked through a small portion of Little Italy and stopped at Lombardi's Pizza (first pizzeria in the US) and luckily got a table because there was a wait. Nothing like eating pizza with fresh slices of mozzarella, sauce and basil...yum! We walked through the tenement buildings where the first immigrants lived. Some of them are turned into museums and you can see all the tin ceilings, wood floors and detail work. We walked through Chinatown...pretty gross, the smells were not pleasing to the nose..hee hee. We went back to Little Italy for the nighttime street fair. We went to a bakery and got fruit tarts, cannolis and gelato.

NYC Day 1

We had the opportunity to take a trip to NYC last week...it was amazing!!
Hopefully I can chronicle everything we did!
Mark, myself and my 2 sisters, Emily and Alyssa all went. We stayed with my aunt Kathy who lives in Manhattan.
After we all cleaned up after our red eye flights we hit the town. Our first stop was Central Park, it really could not be more beautiful. Especially coming from the desert, the trees, grass and flowers are breath taking.
We stopped for a late lunch at Shake Shack...yum!! Best hamburger, fries and shake I probably ever had. It was right next to the Museum of Natural History were Night at the Museum is filmed. We walked back through Central Park and sat on some benches to watch the street performers. From there we walked up to a shopping area and went into a huge FAO Schwarz (we were all like kids again) and huge Apple store. At that point Kathy met back up with us. We walked to 5th Ave. Walked through St. Patrick's Cathedral, the size of the church, the stain glass and detail work are amazing. We then walked through 30 Rockefeller Plaza, saw Radio City, walked through Time Square and then grabbed some pizza at a place by Kathy's for a late dinner. We also stopped at a few bakeries along the way and got cupcakes and cookies.

Enjoy

For those of you who don't read nienie...I LOVE Mormon Messages :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHDvxPjsm8E

Bragging Rights

Trey continues to impress us with his abilities :)
2 Fridays ago he competed in the Hershey's Chocolate Track and Field meet. It was very well done, just a lot of events and kids. They started with opening ceremonies and then we had to wait a few hours because he was racing in the last events. He raced 200m and 400m and came in second both times in his heat. He was competing against 10 other cities in the valley and against 9-10 year olds. His final placement was 8th in the 200 and 5th in the 400. Best of all he enjoyed it!
He has also been amazing in football. Saturday he had 3 touchdowns, a 2 point conversion and 2 interceptions! As I said before, don't know where he gets it from :)
The best part is that he gets to use his energy in productive ways and meet new friends...and no it does not tire him out, we have yet to find an activity that does! Maybe cleaning the house??? Ha ha
He is looking forward to summer break but will keep up on his reading and sports.
He loves playing with friends and scouts. His last den meeting he got to participate in the retiring of a US flag and then eat donuts. This past week they were working on a food/cooking badge so they had a BBQ at his leaders house.
Coby loves going to practice and the games. This Saturday as I was filming he was taking self portraits...see below.
Nothing else new going on, enjoying a lot of family time. I am also loving our new cleaning schedule...each day of the week all of us together thoroughly clean one room.
Disclaimer on the video...you might need some anti-nausea medicine before watching and no, I am not the one yelling go, go, go :)
Mark is working on editing the video, so for right now jump to about 55 seconds.
Okay, so now just try going to this link since the video was taking over my blog :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWpsORk2TwA

Easter

Last night we decorated some eggs. The boys love seeing the vibrant colors when the eggs come out! They put sticker faces on them after.
They were so excited to find their goodies and candy this morning. Coby kept talking about getting jelly beans out of the eggs...guess the Easter bunny better stick with jelly beans. He also had to hide the goodies up high so Layla did not get a midnight snack.
After we relaxed a little and then went for a hike. With all the rain and Spring season the mountain is covered with wildflowers. The boys loved pointing out the colors.
We are just spending the day together, tonight we will cook a ham and sides. Does it get an better??
Mark and I grew up very different when it comes to holidays. My family never went anywhere and rarely spent holidays with extended family/friends. Mark's family has large gatherings every holiday. If you know my personality, large groups are not my thing :)
Trey had his first football game yesterday. So exciting, I love having boys! He was the quarterback the first half and then got 2 touchdowns and Mark is the coach! He must have taught him something right. Although Trey has always been very athletic and competitive. He doesn't get it from me :)

Spring Break and Off to the Races!

Last week was Trey's Spring break. We stuck around town. We all went to a Spring training game on Tuesday and got burnt, well at least I did! The boys did have fun and Trey got a ball from a player. Mark took the boys and 3 cousins to see Diary of the Wimpy Kid movie on Friday. It was crowded but they got good seats and enjoyed the show. Trey has read all the books now and is re-reading them.
We did bring the boat down and the boys went out with Mark and some family. He said the lake was at full capacity and there was a lot of debris from all the rain. On Saturday we went to Mesa to celebrate my grandparents birthdays. We had a yummy cookout and then hung out the rest of the day.
Last night was Trey's Pine Wood Derby...he was so well behaved and excited. The boys were all yelling and running around the gym and Trey was sitting quietly. My guess he just didn't want to miss his car racing! The guy who runs the meetings is a little hyper and loud himself.
They do the races for fun to eliminate any competition or hurt feelings. They got an award with their average speed and candy. Trey's car did win every heat it was in :)
Luckily a man in the ward cut and sanded all the boy's cars. All that had to do was trace the outline on their car. He did an amazing job! Mark said it definitely would not have been as nice if he did it :)

Aloha

Mark attempted to take the boys to a Spring training game on Friday but they got stuck in traffic and at that point to pay to get in so late was a waste and all the starting players would be gone. He took them to Westgate and got ice cream instead.
Saturday was the Aloha festival in Tempe. The food was great and the weather was perfect. We got Kalua pig, Malasadas and POG shaved ice. A little reminiscent of our trip to Maui, just missing the beautiful ocean...Tempe Town Lake just doesn't cut it :)
The lake is really full because of all the rain so we did get the watch the overflow at the dam. We walked by the Tempe Art Center which is a beautiful building and they have a negative edge water feature. The boys loved watching and touching it. Trey did go to a performance there this year for school.
We will be picking up our boat soon from Mark's parent's house. My brother in laws parents bought a winter house out here, so now we will be able to store it in a garage for free! I have a feeling it is not going to be fun trying to get it into a three car garage at an angle...we will see.

Baseball

We went to 2 baseball fanfest's recently. Although Trey hasn't played in a while, they both still enjoyed all the activities.
Last weekend Alyssa and Emily came up for a couple days. My boys LOVE having visitors! They went to a fanfest with us also and then we did a little shopping at H&M and then headed over to Dan and Crystal's for Alex's b-day party.
Trey is still doing great in school and loving reading. He is working on his pine wood car for scouts.
Coby is still loving being at home with mom and running errands. He will go for a car ride and errand anytime! He is also enjoying playing with some cousins one morning a week that I started watching.
Mark and I have decided to use our Delta points for a trip to NYC. We will go the end of May after Trey is done with school. Both grandma's will take turns watching them...we are lucky to have them both close.

Hard Worker

So, our Trey got Student of the Month for January! He has been doing great in school. All of the kids in his class are into reading a series of chapter books called The Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Trey has gotten all but one and finished all but one. I am glad he enjoys reading now. He has his blue and gold banquet tomorrow and him and Mark have to make a cake for it...should be interesting!! They are making a chain of good deeds to go around the whole cultural hall. He is always such a great helper and good brother. It is nice when you have children who like to be around each other a lot. Although with that comes the bickering and lucky for Coby, Trey is very patient and kind to his bossy brother.
Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! We just finished Trey's...they are really cute!

Happenings

Not to much going on around our neck of the woods.
Last weekend we took a little drive out to Bartlett Lake and walked around a bit. Coby was loving the port-o-potties...I know, gross. We have some by us for the road construction workers and he always asks if he can go in.
Trey is doing awesome in school and scouts. He is on a break from city sports but he plays football or basketball with Mark every afternoon...poor guy can't even get in the door without the boys asking him to go play ball.
Mark started back to school on Wednesday nights and plays church ball on Tuesdays. He took a project management course for work and passed the lengthy certification. He was reading non-stop!
Speaking of reading, I am trying to get back in the habit. I saw Lovely Bones this weekend and I had read it years ago, I had to call and ask Emily questions about the book because she just finished it. I have read all of Nicholas Sparks' books except his most recent ones. I figured I would skip Dear John since that movie is coming out and read another one.
Mark and I are talking about cashing in our Delta points and taking a trip this summer...just can't decide where.
Life is good and we are grateful for our blessings!!

Flagstaff

So we took a little trip up to Flagstaff to play in the snow. We stayed the night with Mark's mom and Russ and took family pictures in the morning. It was a nice day and the park was really beautiful! The boys and Layla all enjoyed exploring. Layla was running around like crazy and stopped for a few drinks from the river.
When we got to Flagstaff we stopped at Oregano's for some yummy pizza. We just stayed on the NAU campus and the boys had a blast! Coby even went down the hills.
G&G Frassa give us a gift for Christmas to use for the family and that is what we did!! Snow and pizza..thanks G&G Frassa!