Another reunion

Saturday was the All Hallows All Alumni Reunion. Russ and I met Sonja and her fiancé at the restaurant and hung out at the bar. We haven't seen Sonja in so long, that I think I spent most of the evening talking to her and Jeff. Russ and I did happen to sit across from a guy that was two years ahead of me in school. He was one of the few people I just did not remember from grade school. It was nice talking to him and his wife. She told us that they were high school sweethearts who met up again after 22 years and got married. It was a really sweet story. It was so weird seeing all the kids from the other grades we went to school with. I was so worried about leaving Russ with no one to talk to that I tried to stay by his side most of the night. I shouldn't have worried so much, since he and Jeff actually went to grade school together. They talked about their memories of teachers and classmates and field trips. It was a nice evening, but short. Russ and I had to get home so we could rest up for t-ball the following morning.

The last snow day

Brandon had another of his early days at kindergarten, so we took Brandon & Dylan up the mountain to do some sledding. They were really excited when we finally told them where we were going. They watched a movie and fell asleep about 15 minutes before we got there. When we woke them up, Brandon was whiny and crying. He just wanted to stay in the car and sleep. Dylan took about 15 minutes to wake up and get going. His first ride down the hill was with me, and my feet sprayed snow all over us. He announced that he was done sledding. That didn't go over too well, since Brandon was sitting on the ground continuing to complain about how he didn't feel good and wanted to sleep in the car. Brandon spent the afternoon pouting and complaining from the sidelines. We were able to talk Dylan into sledding with Russ, and eventually he went down the hill all buy himself. It was so cute watching him slide down on the same disk Russ used when he was a kid. He thought that was the absolute best! He had a great day sledding and climbing the big piles of snow. In the mean time, Brandon decided to pout in one of the sleds so he didn't have to sit on the cold ground. Just before we left we found him asleep in the sled. He got his way. He just slept outside in the snow instead of the car. On the way home, he woke up and said he felt better, watched another movie and happily munched on chips.


Then that same night, Brandon woke up getting sick in his bed. It was just horrible. It was like he had a stomach flu, because he just couldn't stop throwing up. Talk about feeling like the worst parents in the world! We didn't believe him when he said he didn't feel good out in the snow. We thought he was just making an excuse to go back to the car for a nap. Turns out he really was sick... We just couldn't put it together, because he seemed just fine in the car on the way there and on the way back. Not one single complaint. I still feel so horrible just thinking about that day.

T-ball Photos

Play ball!

Saturday was Opening Day for River Park Baseball. This is Brandon's first year playing t-ball, and he's having the best time. Saturday was the Opening Day Parade through the neighborhood. All the teams were loaded up in the backs of trucks and trailers throwing candy to the crowds. I don't think Brandon stopped smiling for even a second. The parade was followed by team introductions and the first pitch of the season. We found out there are over 100 kids signed up for t-ball alone this year. Seeing all 6 teams sitting in the outfield during the introductions really hit home how many kids that is. After all the Opening Day activities, it was time to rush home for a quick lunch and back out to the park for team pictures. This was all before noon. Thank goodness we didn't have a game too. We were so exhausted, everyone napped that afternoon.

Sunday morning was Brandon's first game. He did pretty good. He got some decent hits off and ran the bases like he was supposed to. His catching needs a little work, but he tried really hard and that is all that matters. He never got frustrated like he did with soccer. The whole game was just plain fun for him. The free snowcones after the game sweeten the deal even more.

Deets and O discovered the pleasures of t-ball day: hanging out, running around like crazies, playing in the dirt and the snack shack...oh ya, and watching Brandon play t-ball.

A creative afternoon

It's been about a month now, but Owen remembers like it was yesterday. We had a paint day, and it was the best day ever for O. A day to get messy and creative...and maybe experiment with the taste of paint. Well! It looks so pretty it must taste good! No so, Owey-O! He found that out a couple of times. Dylan was a two fisted painter jabbing and hitting the paper. Owen was a bit more methodical. Owen kept venturing to the other side of the easel to see what Deets was doing. Owen asked to "color outside" almost everyday after that.

The artists at work (above & below)

Owen proudly standing in front of his work

Dylan refused to take a picture with his painting, so Owey stepped in

Photos: Echo Summit and Tahoe end of January

I finally remembered to download photos from the last month and found these. The boys had so much fun, we're thinking we'll go again soon. Maybe try a different snow park this time.

Finally a day with my boys

It feels a little odd to be the mom today. (I've been working so much and gone most days.) It really wasn't hard to fall back into the routine of stay-at-home-mom. I'm realizing how much I miss them now, though. I was tempted to take a nap with Owen & Dylan today, but I knew how hard it would have been to get us all up and out of the house to pick Brandon up from kindergarten. I just want to snuggle my boys today. Luckily they are snuggly in the mornings, so I was able to take advantage. I just may pop in a movie and make some popcorn after school today, just so we can all snuggle some more. Of coarse, Big O will probably get a bit territorial and sit on anyone who comes near me. Apparently I am his mommy and no one elses. He's such a brute!

Working, working, working

I have to apologize for neglecting our blog. I have been slowly increasing my hours at the paper, and now I've gone full time. One of my co-workers will be having a baby soon, so my work load is going to double as well. I'll do my best to write and keep you all updated on what we're doing. I may have to push Russ to finally make a blog entry. He really should start telling you all what's going on from his point of view. His wife is just crazy busy. . . sometimes just crazy. Last night I came home from work, gave the boys a bath, worked on a side job, and then made pink rice crispy treats for valentine's goody bags for Brandon's class. After wrapping and then stuffing the treats, Hershey kisses and Brandon's hand made cards into pretty little heart bags, I was pooped and just vegged in front of the tv. I forced myself to watch tv, because I so badly wanted to do some of the laundry that's just piling up in the laundry room. I'm actually blogging at my office right now, because once I get home, I'll probably tackle that laundry after I make myself some dinner. . . I'm rambling. I must be tired.

Snow day turned weekend

Friday we decided to take the boys sledding since it was an early day for Brandon. We even invited my brother and his daughter, Hadija, to come with us. What was supposed to just be an afternoon in the snow, turned into a weekend in Tahoe. We did some last minute packing and finally got on the hill around 2pm. Brandon, Dylan and Hadija had a blast. Brandon and Dylan couldn't get enough of the sledding...I take that back. Brandon had enough after he crashed. He was ready to come back to the car with Owen and me to watch movies. Owen was just miserable. He refused to wear his gloves, and freaked out every time he lost his balance and landed on his hands in the snow. He was happier in the car with movies and snacks.

It was a nice weekend hanging out with the kids and looking out at the lake. The boys wanted to build a snowman until they realized how much work it was. I had this small lump of snow for the bottom of the snowman, and the boys decided that it was the head and it needed a face. It was pretty funny.

Crazy people live in River Park

Russ and I were literally walking out the door Saturday when we heard a CHP helicopter over our house telling people to go back into their homes and lock the doors. They said an armed man was in the backyard of a neighbor's home. We looked down the street and saw several officers running onto a neighbor's property 4 houses down from us. It was a little odd that there were only 3 police cars down the street. It was also a little unnerving when the police blocked off our street beginning right in front of our house. Turned out the "crazy drunk man" was on the next street over. Also turned out that he wasn't holding a real gun. It was a pellet gun or something to that effect. By the time we could leave, we were no longer in the mood to go out. All I can say is that I'm thankful my children were not home. They were spending the day at their Lola's house.