BeckBliss

Vegas Baby

2009-04-16T16:51:00.001-07:00

Day One:

Travel

Stop for rocks

Chilis in Flagstaff

Motel 6 (the kids new favorite!)

Day Two:

IHOP

Travel

Meet a mermaid

Carnival Buffet

Show in the sky

At this point they were already worn out.

We took them to FAO Schwartz to get them things from Nan. They watched the talking fountains at the forum shops. We took them to Popovich that Mommo paid for. It is a show with animals that perform, some comedy, acrobats...they absolutely loved it. Bellagio has always been a favorite, so we watched the fountains several times. Then on for some Haagen Daaz. The kids loved Circus Circus. They saw a couple of shows there and Blair won more toys than would fit in the car on the ride home. We went to Bonanza where the girls found some fancy Vegas hats to wear to Fremont Street. We ate crab legs and on for the light show. We saw the sax guy and listened to some music. We ate a fancy breakfast at Paris and took a train to MGM. We saw the Lions and walked to the M&M factory. They liked M&M factory, where they even got to hug a real m&m, Coca Cola store, where we sipped a fizzy and then we saw a live statue at Venetian.

We saw a new fountain with dancing flowers at Wynn. The volcano was huge this year and a real hit. We took the train to Luxor and the kids got to see the pyramid. Then we took them to an awesome playplace. Brooklyn is in the maze, as you can see. They had a stage, little things to ride on, climb and slides. We went toV, the variety show that Poppo paid for, and saw a rain shower in the mile shopes. The kids enjoyed some Ben and Jerry's and off to sleep. By the last day we took it easy and went to the conservatory to see shapes made of flowers and live butterflies from all over the world. Then on the road home. I don't feel like this paragraph does the vacation justice. We had the best time as a family and you can only see a tiny portion from pics. Wish you all could've been there!

Santa Fe and Mommo and Mimi

2009-04-03T20:05:00.000-07:00

We decided to take the kids out of town one weekend and let them toot around and see something different. We went to Santa Fe and let them buy some indian things. Leyton got a dreamcatcher and Zoe bought a bracelet with Turquoise on it. We got one for Brooklyn too. We took them around to see downtown and eat at the Burrito Cafe. They danced there to Spanish music. Leyton calls it Spanich. Then we went to Kid Zone. Oh, man. They had a blast.

Mommo and Mimi came up and we had a great time. We tried the Range Cafe and then onto Baskin Robbins, a usual for us. Always a dance performance for them to watch in the living room!

Visit with Aunt D and Marlys

2009-04-03T20:02:00.000-07:00

Before D and I went on a mini trip to Tucson for Other Gram's wedding, we had a family visit. the kids smothered Marlys. They love her! Max was sure missed...and Greg.

Zoe the chef

2009-04-03T20:00:00.000-07:00

Zoe made banana pudding all by herself for dad as a surprise! Cooking is the best thing to do when there is snow outside!

Leyton turns 3

2009-04-03T19:51:00.000-07:00

Leyton had his choice of where to do a birthday party and much to our dismay, he chose Peter Piper Pizza! We did a Thomas the Train theme and invited all of his friends. Most of his friend's siblings are Zoe's school friends so she had a blast too. He was so excited and it turned out to be a big success. We didn't get Brooklyn for that weekend and she was missed, but we did a separate family party when she came. This is a pic of his best friend, Beckett. They are in school together. Jenner had so much fun eating the cake. Leyton got just about everything he wanted as far as trains go.

Family time

2009-04-03T18:20:00.000-07:00

The kids love to wrestle with Blair. Jenner didn't have a rash, he tried some raspberries! These are pictures of the three little ones making Valentine cookies for us. Jenner had more fun eating and playing in the flour! They actually did it all and they were edible!

Uncle Kimo and Jamie

2009-04-03T18:15:00.000-07:00

We had a great visit with Kimo and Jamie on their way through to Cali. The boys had an affinity for Jamie and Zoe didn't want Kimo to leave. Leyton nicknamed Jamie "James" because he has a thing for Thomas and the Train. We went to Dions with them for pizza and back to the house for some hang out time and a dance party.

park time

2009-04-03T18:09:00.000-07:00

Bear with me as I update the blog. We will mainly post pics until we get to the present. These first are of park time with the kids and a trip to the zoo.

Big Fat Update!

2009-01-11T14:27:00.000-08:00

Long time wince we have updated you all on the family. So much has happened since the last entry. We are expecting again and so excited. We are a month behind on this one. The other little ones are each 20 months apart this one will fall about nearly 22 months difference. We are due Aug. 2 roughly.

We took some pics of Brooklyn in her tournament softball uniform. She has gotten to play in a couple tournaments, but said she had missed a few too. She is the only 8 year old on the team. She is continuing to reach her reading goal and getting to participate in parties for being such a smartie. Can't imagine where she gets the love for reading....She sang a solo for her school talent show and we were so proud of her. She sure makes Alycia Keys sound like an amateur!

Zoe is still on the dance team here. She was the youngest to ever be on one of the teams at 3 and is still the youngest to the 5 year olds that are on her team. Last year they won the entire Albuquerque junior division and took 1st place to girls 3 times her age! The trophy was 3 feet taller than she was! She is a budding pianist like her grandpa Jim. Plays completely by ear and taught herself Ode To Joy and also changed a song Brooklyn learned when she was doing lessons here and made it a different tune. She is dying to take lessons so she will start this summer.

Although Leyton is continually praised for being so talented at the dance school right in Zoe's footsteps, he is determined to play sports. He is one of the strongest kids I have ever seen. He holds himself parallel to the top of his bed with only his hands. He refused to take part in music and movement at school as a butterfly for his class. He stood, arms folded and said, "I am a boy and a football player...not a butterfly!" That's our boy.

Jenner started walking on Thanksgiving day while Brooklyn was here. She was so glad to get to be a part of it. She hates missing those things so it is so important to her and us when she is here for them. He is such a precious child. He loves to taunt Leyton and is a tinkerer. He wanders around with objects he pics up quite content.

We have had quite a bit of snow. Brooklyn missed them all, but got to sled with Zoe, Leyton, Jenner, dad, nan, uncle Greg and Max when we met them in the mountains for New Year's. We got some pics of the kids new mittens and hats from nan. The beautiful Christmas outfits as well.

Poppo came up and we hit the kid's museum here and had a blast. He played some games with the kids and did puzzles and coloring.

Zoe and Leyton were in their school program. Zoe was an angel. How appropriate!

You can tell Leyton was a bit disinterested at times...Hee~

Mommo and Mimi came up and we spent some great time with them and went to Mimi's Cafe for a delectable dinner. Leyton ate all of my french onion soup. Jenner ate his weights worth in spaghetti and Zoe was such a lady.

We did Christmas 2 times this year since we got Brooklyn 2 days after this year. Then Blair and I hit our tradition date place for new years. One of the nicest places here. We make reservations at the beginning of Nov. They do a prix fixe dinner four courses and the MOST AMAZING FOOD EVER! We had the sea bass for our entree. They have live music every year too. It is in a cellar and dark and romantic. Becca, our nanny and my best friend, came to hang with the kids for the evening. She is awesome. They were glad to see us though and all thanked us for coming home before they went to bed. Brooklyn said she was glad she could just feel like she was safe and we were safe before they fell asleep. That is so important to us. Noone will ever be able to say we weren't involved with these kids. They, outside of our marriage, are our lives. We love what we have been blessed with. A PERFECT HOME! Not a lot of people can say that honestly. The kids ask us why we are so happy and never fight. Just blessed. That's it. Zoe thanked me for marrying Blair because she said he is such a great dad to them and because he sings to his wife and dances with her. I nearly cried.

New Year's we took the kids to a play place where they all bowled, rode roller coasters, played video games and did the jump gym. The next day we went to Red Lobster and chowed down on a feast of fish and shrimp and clams. We went to the mountains with nan, poppa, aunt D, uncle G, Max and baby Marlys.
The kids went sledding, rode the tractor with poppa, the four wheeler with dad, did some digging for treasure activities, played games (you can tell hide-and-seek for Max and Leyton in the box) and we ate tons of Christmas cookies. The girls stayed two nights at nan and poppa's cabin about 50 ft away from our cabin to bake cookies and sleep with nan. We ate at our fave pizza shop. Our three older ones threw rocks at the frozen pond with Blair.

signing off for now!

Fun weekend

2008-11-27T14:12:00.000-08:00

We took Brooklyn to school for crazy hair day..can you tell? Then we went to Mommos and Poppo's to play air hockey, trains and tea. Leyton loves trains now thanks to poppo. We went to Juanita and Grady's to do puzzles and play with Rosie. Then on to Nan and Poppa's to play with the Dora house, motorcycle and marbles and make-up.

We had a lot of fun this weekend. We got back home and began working on the pumpkins. We had soccer and dance most of Saturday and Zoe had a halloween party to go to. She had a lot of fun and decided to go as Anakin to be a Star Wars character with Nolan. Took some pics of her friends too.

We did church and then family time at the park where I got most of the shots. The kids had so much fun that day. Brooklyn didn't want to leave so soon. Next visit...

Thanksgiving!!!

Brooklyn's Game

2008-11-01T21:04:00.001-07:00

We drove to get Brooklyn and she was so surprised! She knew dad was coming, but ran to hug us when she realized it was the whole crew! Great game! Brooklyn played so well. Mimi brought cookies to top off the Subway from Mommo. It was chilly, but we stayed warm and had a great night. Brooklyn was so excited to come home she said. We had lots planned for a pre-halloween with the kids. Brooklyn wanted to be a rollerskating barbie, but switched to a cheetah witch that she picked from some magazine pictures, Zoe was Anakin Skywalker, Ariel, then A gold princess and about 3 other things for all the parties we went to and then the actual night, and Leyton was a surgeon in mini scrubs and Darth Vader and lots of other things he pretends to be. We aren't sure if Brooklyn went trick or treating, but we will let you know along with the pics of these three here going to fall festival and trick or treating. We spent great time with our family for the day and got to spend time at Brooklyn's school. We played at Nan's and the girls got Sephora makeup and Leyton a motorcycle and bag of marbles. We played at Mommo's with all the fun toys and made tea. The time with Poppo and Mommo playing air hockey, spin the wheel, and the amazing train set was so much fun. Had the chance to see PawPaw and Mimi and do puzzles there. Will post those pics next.

Jenner turns 1

2008-10-12T20:33:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday to our baby boy! We had a party for him and celebrated with a yummy cake and opening presents. The pictures speak for themselves. He loved his gifts. Zoe and Leyton loved them too. A great weekend this one was. Great time as a family. We will never regret the time we spend with the children. We love our family and are so happy. Thanks be to God!

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-11T20:36:00.000-07:00

What a great family day we had at the pumpkin patch. It was one of the coolest places I've seen for kids. Between huge tunnel slides, every kind of farm animal, a 2 story haystack to climb, outdoor playhouse with cast iron stove and baby cradles and a sand box filled with corn, our kids were in seventh heaven. Blair took the day to be there with us. He is such a great dad. He always gets involved for our kids. We took a hay ride to the patch with the kids' school friends and families and picked out our own pumpkins. We each got one so we will give one of ours to Brooklyn to carve when she is up. She loves doing that at our house because we really get creative...I'll post pics when they are done...The kids played the majority of the time in the corn box. They LOVED it! Some of Blair's and my friends were there so it was a lot of fun for us too. Just time together and seeing our kids so happy was great for us. When we were done we drove to McDonalds and ate with friends while the kids played. Then home for nap for the kids and a fun night

Mommo and Mimi

2008-10-03T19:58:00.000-07:00

Great weekend with Mommo and Mimi. We had a lot of great meals and great time with two of the grandmas this weekend. We also had the pleasure of seeing Katie in between her crazy hours of studying for a big test. Leyton was so excited to see her. Mommo and Mimi got to see Zoe's Jazz and ballet class on Thursday and Leyton's dance on Saturday. Friday night we hit Rudy's BBQ and then on to Baskin Robbins. The kids had so much fun there. We all rooted for Zoe on Saturday at her game while chowing down some great Mexican food. Saturday night we went to the mall and had burgers and rode the tea cups and ponies. Sunday they went home and we went to church. Zoe is in her big kid Sunday school class now. Jenner and Leyton play so well in the nursery. Back to school for the kids and they had a wonderful week and looked forward to the Pumpkin Patch friday. Will post those pics in a day or two.

Spirit Week at School

2008-10-02T20:35:00.000-07:00

This week was spirit week for Zoe and Leyton. We had to include "big truck" too.You can see what they all wanted to dress up as for sport day. Go Huskers! The next day was crazy hair day and Zoe won by a long shot for craziest. She told me I was the best mom because I always do so much for her and work hard. It made my day! I love my job! The next day was cowboy/cowgirl day. She wore her pink cowboy hat from Vegas...for those of you who don't know, the last time we went to Vegas she bought it and wore it all over Vegas. She had on a shirt and skirt from Nan that had a horse on both and said I Love Horses and a pair of little horse shoes. She looked precious. No pics of that day. The next two days she didn't want to dress up. She refused to wear her clothes backward Thur. and was appalled that they wanted her to wear pjs the next. Great weekend. Leyton did great at dance after having been kind of ill during the week. He finally had some energy back. Zoe loves soccer. Lots of family time this weekend as usual. We went to Boston Market and ate dinner Sunday evening and then went to Walmart so the kids could spend some of their allowance. Zoe got a tea set that we have been having parties with each day and Leyton bought...yes, that's right, a ball. They got the new Barbie movie from Mommo and it has been a hit for both of them. They sing all the songs together and even Jenner pipes up here and there.

Putt-Putt

2008-09-21T18:54:00.000-07:00

Dad took Brooklyn to do putt-putt on Friday while the others were in school and I had my hairdresser at the house giving me a new coiffure. For those who don't know french, it means hairdo! Hee! They had some good father-daughter time. We took Zoe and Leyton last weekend and again this weekend so we wanted Brooklyn to have a chance too. That night was zoo night for Blair's division at work and what a blast we had. We hung out with our dear friends and their beautiful seven kids. We heard a live band and Brooklyn knew most of the 80's hits due to her extensive time at guitar hero...her fave game. So she sang along. Zoe strutted her stuff with her loud pink hat and the wild face painting the girls had done. Leyton wanted a darth vader on his cheek, but settled for baseball. They played on the huge playgym addition for a while and we wandered looking at the animals. We ate a great dinner of bbq chicken, beans, potato salad, apples, hot dogs, and burgs. The moon was amazing that night. The pic hardly does it justice. The next day was Leyton's dance, which he is amazing at already. We get so many compliments from the teachers there on the kiddos. The owner said he is just like Zoe... will probably be good at everything...That made us so proud. We got a lovely note from Brooklyn's teacher praising how well she is doing in school with all A's and she is also now in accelerated math. Jenner is precious. He is such a happy child and makes us even more excited for our next little baby Becker. We will probably wait until I ween Jenner this time!!! A couple of weeks from now...hee! After dance was Zoe's game. She scored the first goal of the game and two more after that. She is a tiger! They are the Firegrowlers...as picked by the team...and are a strong team. They absolutely love Coach Blair. Then on to Peter Piper Pizza for games and lunch to celebrate our kids and how well they are all doing in their activities. That night the kids played with all the neighborhood kids. Sunday was church and then back to the house for some grub and family time.

Last week Blair was gone, but returned early as a welcomed surprise. Leyton and Jenner were under the weather, I think they all just missed daddy. Friday night we went to have some good BBQ as a family and the kids had lots of fun goofing around. Then we did some wrestling at home and to bed early because Saturday was Blair's and my 5th anniversary and we were so excited. Feels like just yesterday. We went through our engagement pics and wedding pics all over again. The girls keep asking to watch our wedding video so will do in a few weeks when Brooklyn returns. Saturday was dance and soccer again and then our nanny came to watch the kids so that Blair and I could go out. He gave me this key (5th anniversary material is wood) and it had directions to a special resort here for a date and wonderful dessert. I bought him an original oil painting as a surprise, that looks like our favorite place in British Columbia that we visited a couple of times. He will hang it in his soon-to-be new office. We talked a lot about our family and how very blessed we are by our children. God is so good to us as we enter our sixth year and we are still honeymooning...

The house painting is almost done. Tony will be up soon to finish it with us. Wait til all of you see the remodeling!! What a kitchen it will be!!

Mommo and Mimi will be up next weekend and we can't wait. Soon Nan and Autn Marlys will be here too. Look forward to you all!

Tonight was Putt-Putt with Zoe, Leyton and Jenner and then out for a burger. Zoe always dressed to the nines and Leyton was excited about his hole in one or two or nine... The pic of Aaron, our neighbor and like another son to us, is of his bow that he was using to kill some poor little birds. Of course, that is if he hits any.

Time With The Kids

2008-09-07T20:36:00.000-07:00

School is back in session and Zoe and Brooklyn started two weeks before Leyton. They are all enjoying their teachers and the activities both in and out of school. Zoe is doing a hip-hop and gymnastics combo and jazz, ballet and tap combo. Leyton is doing tap and ballet, but not the sissy stuff. He is all boy, believe me. He has been participating in Zoe's soccer practices as though he were part of the team. Brooklyn is enjoying soccer playing offense and her dance classes as well. The competition team that Zoe is on hasn't had a practice yet as there are no upcoming competitions yet. She and Leyton will share the stage in June which will be so fun.

We went to a church picnic and Zoe, Leyton, and Jenner all found some friends. They did the sack race, danced to great bluegrass music and did a water balloon fight.

The next weekend we went to the zoo. They have another big jungle gym their that the kids played on forever and we wandered around to see the animals. We got to see a lot of neat things that day. A tropical bird was carrying a mouse around in its mouth, the zookeeper was cleaning the snake pit and had a python slithering around way to close to him for comfort and the kids got to feed the swan, ducks and huge koi. Then they posed by the big beautiful trees there.

The last set of pics are in the yard. Almost every evening lately we have eaten outside and just played as a family. We play soccer together and the kids love to swing, play in the dirt with the dump truck and just have good family time. The milder weather lately has allowed this. Come on fall!!!

Some pics of Zoe and Blair at the soccer field. Not too bad for the first game and considering it was right in the middle of nap time. Not worried. She can't wait to play next week and she is really good.

We have been on a kick of going to kid places again. They love to play video games, bumper boats and putt-putt. Tonight we did games and putt-putt and took Aaron, our neighbor. Zoe and Leyton had a blast with him and Blair and me. Blair won of course, but each of us got a hole in one. Zoe jumped up and down every time she told us about it. Leyton had more fun hitting it in the water and then retrieving it. No pics tonight, but nevertheless a great memory.

Weekend with Nan and Poppa

2008-08-16T15:00:00.000-07:00

We went up to the mountains to visit Nan and Poppa and Danica, Greg, and Max. The trip there was fun and the kids were fabulous. We stopped at a Sonic and we all had the pleasure of watching Blair swat flies for 30 minutes while we ate. Quite entertaining!

We arrived and took some pics while we waited to see the family. We hung out for about an hour before Blair took Brooklyn to meet her mom to go back for school.

The weekend was filled with fun activities. A highlights were the tractor ride they each had with Poppa, the fourwheeler with Greg and Blair, and the golf cart rides into the woods. They have their own mini golf cart. They got to lift the scoop on the tractor and drive it. Poppa got stuck in the rain putting the tractor back in the garage. We got to see lots of rain up there. However we all missed the hundred head of elk walking through the yard at 5am. Danica and mom and I went shopping and got a cup 'o joe together. It was great catching up.

The kids had a blast catching butterflies with Nan. Elefun was a hit. Greg lost at wrestling wars with the kids when Max and Zoe through in their right hooks.

We had the best steak dinner with shrimp thanks to Nan (and Poppa grilling) and the next night D and I made lasagna soup. We had plenty of coffees and hot cocoas and the kids were snacked out. Max had his share of Aunt M's gross snack foods like Oreos.

Overall, great weekend in the mountains with family. Couldn't ask for a more beautiful place and the cabins are gorgeous. The kids keep asking to go back. We will make another trip soon.

First Communion and Last Weekend

2008-08-16T14:44:00.001-07:00

This was the last weekend together as a family so we hit a favorite pizza place here. We had good family time and the kids got to play haunted house with dad (running through the house in the dark with nerf guns).

Sunday was Brooklyn's first communion. She completed the teachings about it with Blair and understood what it means and was ready. She has been so looking forward to it all summer. Normally the church teaches the kids in a class, but the class is during the school year. So, Blair worked on it with her each night all summer until it was finished. You can tell she was very excited. We wept like a bunch of baby's when she sat and took communion.

The first set of pics is of the kids at the mall doing the spinning cups; one of our regular places to take them. They all love it!

Weekend with MOMMO and MIMI

2008-08-02T21:05:00.001-07:00

Busy, busy! Thursday, Mommo, Mimi, Justin and Brandon came up and off we went to a kid fun center that has a great buffet, roller coaster and bumper cars, bowling and video games. While you eat you watch the old fashioned cartoons on a theater-size screen. Brandon, Brooklyn and Justin had a blast in the bumper cars and Zoe and Leyton braved the roller coaster with Katie and Blair. Then Zoe won the jackpot at Deal or No Deal and won 500 tickets because she picked the winning number out of 20 suitcases. Go figure...time to take her to Vegas! Juanita sent us home with a peach pie that we stuffed ourselves with this weekend (only Blair and me of course).

Friday we attempted the theme park. We did it all. The three older kids rode all the scary ones. I did a few with them and Katie. Blair and Johnnie and I took the little ones to the small kid section where we rode the frog hopper about 10 times...Then on to the water park. We swam and Leyton did the water slide by himself, per his request. He landed it just fine! What a boy! Brooklyn and Brandon braved the water bucket dumping on their heads and Justin stood and secretly doused little kids. Zoe did the slide with dad. Katie and I took Brooklyn and Brandon to the SeaDragon. You can tell by the picture of Brooklyn and me that we thoroughly enjoyed it..UGH!

We did a few more rides and then off for naps. That night, Brooklyn went to Abbie's birthday party with Becca, our nanny and my very precious friend, for a rock star night. She came back with painted nails, a rock star hairdo and great gifts. She did karaoke and a dance jam. I hit the mall with Mommo, Mimi, Justin, Brandon, Leyton, Zoe, Blair, Katie and Jenner to go to a diner and the play gym. We stuffed ourselves with yummy chicken strips, burgers, shakes, onion rings and fries. YUMMY! Then I went school shopping for the kiddos and they played on the gym for a bit.

Today we had a big mexican lunch and cake and ice cream for mimi's birthday celebration. The kids enjoyed time together outside and then picture time inside. Mommo did "little red wagon" on the piano, a long-standing tradition in our family now. Then they headed home.

Tonight we hit Souper Salad with the kids. They loved it. It had a small Vegas diner feel to it for some reason tonight, and we had a wonderful time. We met Faith, our waitress and mom of five on her own. She had the pleasure of listening to Zoe and Brooklyn in the bathroom discussing Zoe's bowel movement. We became immediate friends as she fully understands with a houseful herself.

Tommorow is Brooklyn's first communion. We are so proud and excited. She has been so ready to partake all summer and finally understands and has finished the class for preparation. Zoe will be there to see and will receive a blessing as well. Leyton and Jenner will terrorize the nursery. They love our church and we are so thankful. Will update with pictures from the communion in a day or two.

Altogether, a great weekend with family and so thankful to have visitors.

Gardens

2008-07-27T19:01:00.000-07:00

We had a busy week with haircuts, dentist appts, and going out. Tuesday Blair took the kids to the park and Brooklyn met a girl from France. She played well with her and Zoe played with the little sister. I cleaned the house top to bottom...again...Wednesday, Blair and I went out to a steakhouse with his mentor from work and his wife. Great time and food. Friday, I went out with my friend Traycee and had some spicy Thai food while Blair took a pizza and went to the park with the kids again...per their request. They saw the girls again and were so excited to tell me all about it. All the while Blair and I have been watching movies every night for dates!! Saturday, last day for dance class for Zoe and Leyton until the fall when they will move up. They will be in the concert together next summer!! After naps we went out to Blair's mentor's house for fun and dinner. What a blast! They have 7 children and with our 4 it is a houseful. It poured rain and we went mudding out of their driveway! Then today, church and out with Kerri and Zach and Justin and Brandon to a fun center. Then to Fudruckers for lunch and shoeshopping for Zoe's tennies for Dance Camp tomorrow. Busy, busy!

Last week I had taken the kids to the gardens and aquarium and got some great pics...They got to touch a real eel scull!

Weekend With Poppo

2008-07-20T21:04:00.000-07:00

What a treat this weekend for the kids to spend some time with Poppo. We did lots of outside time playing soccer with the new nets he brought that we will use for Zoe in the fall. Plenty of magic tricks, eating at yummy places and kid fun centers. Friday we went to a bluegrass concert at the zoo. The kids loved it. It was in the early evening and it was nice and cool outside with an occasional sprinkle. Somewhere in the rush, Blair forgot to put a pull-up on Leyton and we wondered why he kept saying "Pee Pee on my leg hurting." Then, duh, I finally looked at his pants only to see a soaking wet leg. Much to my surprise, when I took off the pants, he was standing there naked! Always an adventure. This Saturday we celebrated Brooklyn's birthday at a fun center here with her friends Abbie and Thomas. One room had a huge jungle gym with a slide, swing, and tons of climbing stuff, like an obstacle course. The second room had the big blow-up gyms and slides...the biggest I have ever seen. The kids kept saying it was the most amazing thing they had ever seen. They all had fun. Leyton is fearless. I think Brooklyn's face hurt from laughing so hard with her friends and Zoe. Zoe flew through that jungle gym so fast and believe it or not, Jenner liked the slides too. Today we went to church and on to Toys R Us where the kids got to spend some gift cards from Poppo. Brooklyn got another Cabbage Patch, Zoe got a e-toy, Leyton got a Playmobil pirate set and Jenner got some drums.

Tonight we got barbecue and went to Chuck E Cheese to play for a couple hours. Altogether, it was a VERY eventful and very fun weekend. They are all sleeping very hard tonight...

Rainy Week

2008-07-11T20:53:00.001-07:00

We have had such lovely weather this week. Perfect for indoor and outdoor play. We made a trip to the zoo where they got to make elephant ears and see a giant land turtle. We had a picnic with my friends, Rose and Tiffany and their kids Hailee, Ethan, Maliah, and Chase. We had fun feeding the ducks right from our hands. It was a first for the kids. The next day, Zoe and Leyton and Jenner played for a couple of hours at the indoor play gym at the mall with Kenzie and Jane, Isaac and Geneveve. Zoe used her allowance from Mommo and some money from Poppo to buy a barbie and Leyton got a little airplane with some money from Nan and Poppa along with a Power Ranger DVD he picked out. We hit McDonalds for some food and the next day we rode bikes in the rain with dad. We went to a great barbecue place and sat outside under a covered patio while it sprinkled. Leyton loves barbecue sauce!

Jenner had a nine month check-up and our doctor was not surprised to see that we had yet another smartie. He waves, can rock-out, stick out his tongue, give kisses, suck in his breath and head-butt. He has 3 teeth now. He is in perfect health she said and most likely has outgrown his food allergies by now she said. Still we won't risk any of those foods for a while. He eats everything else!

Brooklyn had her birthday today, but is so looking forward to the surprise we have for her next week with friends. All of them are going to have a blast at this place we found...

DANICA AND GREG, MAX AND BABY GIRL ARE COMING HOME!

Back to work

2008-07-06T16:26:00.001-07:00

Dad is going back to work after being of since Wednesday...not sure how we will cope. We have been spoiled by all this time as a family.

It is about time I put our pics of Red Robin up now. Crazy how much the kids have change since the beginning of the summer. I took this pic of the kids in May in front of Mimi's and when comparing them to the ones last week, you can see how much they all have changed! You can tell they have all had a good summer so far.

Yesterday was the annual water balloon fight. I won. I was smart enough to just grab the hose...

Zoe and Leyton are looking forward to a trip to play at the spray park, Wednesday night at the church, and some Chuck E. Cheese playtime this week with friends... Now, as for mommy...

Jenner has his 9 month check-up and shots this week. Yuck! He has learned how to clap and is almost waving. Brooklyn has her 8th birthday on Friday, but we'll have her party next week when she returns. In just 2 weeks, Zoe starts dance camp! Leyton has written another song called "kung fu pandy" and learned the "dumpty dumpty" rhyme. Yes, I said Dumpty dumpty.

We have been spoiled for dates this summer. We have so much help here now, it is wonderful. Last night we split a fat cheesecake slice and coffee at one of our favorite diners after the kids went to bed and Becca came for an hour and a half. We have so enjoyed Wednesdays together knowing that the kids are having fun and we are out together.

It is so rewarding when you hear your kids say you are the best parents they could ever have. Zoe and Brooklyn said I was the best mom and Blair was the best dad. That is when I feel like the effort we make to be so involved really pays off. Most of the people we know stick their kids in daycare or in front of a TV all summer. I am proud to say that the girls have only watched tv this summer in the morning when they first get up ,at 6:30 to around 7:15, when I am out of the shower and ready to start the day.

We look forward to school starting for Zoe because she talks non-stop about pre-k and when it is going to start. Leyton is excited too for his first year. Brooklyn will be in the big 3rd grade and I will have some time at home with Jenner-boy maybe getting some stuff done.

Off for now.

Red Robin

2008-07-02T21:26:00.000-07:00

Last week finished up another round of VBS for Brooklyn. she had a great time and we got to watch her little performance at the church on Sunday after chowing on some breakfast burritos. Those Baptist women can sure cook!!

We went to Build a Bear last weekend on a giftcard from Nan and Poppa. The kids did a big jump gym and ate at fun diner. We went to Claire's on a gift card for the girl's b-days from Poppo in case you notice Brooklyn's fake nails in the picture! They both got a pair along with Brooklyn's hat and Zoe bought a veil. We took it easy Monday and Tuesday painting, besides Leyton falling and hitting a drum right between the eyes. The kids have been painting a lot. We can't even see the fridge through all the art! Then Blair and I took the kids to a Fun Center on a gift card from Mommo and Poppo to do bumper boats and video games. Brooklyn and Blair did the go-carts and Zoe won 130 tickets on deal or no deal. Then tonight we went to Red Robin's family night and they had their faces painted and got balloon hats.

As you can see we keep busy. In a few weeks we will hit the roller coasters with Mommo and Mimi and the boys! Leyton doesn't stop talking about it!! Zoe said we should take them to Chuck E. Cheeses, but I think we will spare us all!!

I don't think Jenner knows what to think about all that we do! He just happily goes along for the ride and takes it all in. He is crawling full speed and rocks out anytime he hears bluegrass music...don't ask. He rocks back and forth really hard!

I will put the pics of the kids from tonight on the blog tomorrow after I download them. We will go swimming at the country club pool tomorrow and will be at a Fourth of July party the next night at my friend Erika and Josh's house.

Update

2008-06-22T20:48:00.000-07:00

Crazy week. I broke my thumb, Brooklyn hurt her foot on a sprinkler head and Zoe bumped into Brooklyn and busted her gum. She thanked Brooklyn for making her tooth loose so that she could get money.

Brooklyn has completed a course about her faith in Christ and is meeting with the pastor so that she can do her first communion. She is so excited. She is attending another VBS this week at a different church per her request. She hasn't even had so much as a sniffle here all summer. This will be the first month in a year to not be on antibiotics. She naps every day and I feel that has made a big difference.

Zoe is loving dance. She is doing so well at tap and loves her new ballet technique teacher. She had decided to grow her hair out. It is so red now! She has learned the word freaking and uses it all the time...usually totally in the wrong context!

Leyton has written a song called "Cheetos Ready". Don't ask. He has been pretending to be the uncle to Zoe's cabbage patch doll and he feeds her and rocks her. He is speaking so well now and he now can tell us his needs completely. What a blessing.

Jenner is almost at a complete crawl. He now has two teeth and cutting some more and he is so joyful. Very Big Boy! He laughs so hard when daddy lies on the ground and Jenner grabs his ear to make him jump.

BeckBliss

2008-06-15T19:27:00.000-07:00

This weekend was crazy. We went to the amusement park and the kids all rode rides and played in the waterpark for 4 straight hours! We are beat.

Today for Father's Day we went to church and then on to swimming lessons. Another day in the sun.

Last week completed the Vacation Bible school for Zoe and Brooklyn. They both had fun and made some friends. It is amazing how much they learned in just a few short hours there each day. Zoe came home having learned about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and could say all of the names. Brooklyn learned about the blind man and the paralyzed man and could tell even some of the exact scripture quotes.

Leyton has learned his own dance to the High School Musical baseball song. He gets out his bat and ball and glove. Jenner has 2 teeth and is scooting almost to a crawl.

Hope you like the photos!

BeckBliss

2008-06-15T17:56:00.000-07:00

Great Father's Day!