Celebrating a Decade of Life

Today our little guy turned 10, which according to him is a big birthday because he's celebrating his first decade of life.  You've probably heard the expression 'kids say the darndest things' and Spenser is no exception.  Although today is his actual birthday, his birthday party started on Saturday, the 25th.  He had three friends over for pizza, cake, and a sleep-over. 

They did what boys do for the night, playing video games and staying up til about 3 in the morning.  Of course they were all still sleeping around 10:00 am when they were supposed to be getting up and dressed for Jump Street.  They quickly ate Krispy Kremes, got dressed but didn't brush their teeth, and then it was off to Day 2 of the Decade Party.  Jump Street is an indoor trampoline facility which is way better than those tired, old bounce house places. 

Another fun aspect of Jump Street is trampoline dodgeball.  Here is what that sort of looks like -

After Jump Street we headed to Cici's Pizza for buffet lunch, and one last play session at the house.  Then it was time for pick-up and an end to Day 2 festivities.

So now we're at Day 3 and the actual birthday of Sir Spense.  He took cookies to share at school with his class, and chose Peter Piper Pizza as his dinner spot.   Here he is with his presents!

And the opening of cards...

And to close the celebration, one more cake episode.....

Happy Birthday to our Spenser, the best boy in the whole world!!!

Basketball begins....

Spenser finally started an organized sport, which pleased everyone, especially him and Rob.  We were notified that he was added to a team on Wednesday night, which was also the first night of practice.  Of course we dropped everything so he can attend that practice, and the first game - which happened to fall on the day of his already planned sleep-over party.  Sounds a bit hectic, but it all worked out.

Here is Spenser showing some moves on the first night of practice - 

After one practice session for only an hour, it was time to play his first game!

Here is some footage of Spenser in action...

not only can he pass, but he can also shoot!

   



Do You Remember.......the 21st day of September?

Well if you don't, the 21st day of September, forty two years ago, was the 'rump heard around the world' or shall I say, Rob's birthday!  Long story short - he was born breech and so.... the doctor knew it was a boy before his adorable face was revealed!  All 10 lbs. 2 oz. of him!  OMG!

I think his face is still adorable, even at 42!  To celebrate his special day he went to work (a deputy's job is never done), and then to dinner at his favorite chinese/sushi buffet.  Why he likes this stuff I have no idea.....

This is called a la carte salmon and tuna.  The cold drink to the left is called a Bud Light.  They were only 99 cents!  Wow!  Talk about a birthday present!

The plate on the right is called spicy salmon and tuna.  To the left, slimy, yucky stuff.

After dinner it was home again for presents and cake.  Here are the boys before the tearing of boxes.

And me too!

Here are the presents that helped make Rob's 42nd special.  They reflect his musical interests, as well as his love for family.  To the right you'll notice a book I had made for Rob of our music blog, probably his favorite gift.

And now, it's time for CARVEL cake, Rob's favorite!

To make you feel like you didn't miss anything, here is the birthday song!

And what better way to end this posting than with the classic Earth, Wind, and Fire song...

Happy Birthday Rob!  We'll never forget the 21st day of September!

Braces Bonanza

Lets play the braces game! Who do you think got braces?

Or......

You guessed it!



Yes, Sienna got braces. Surprised?

A New York State of Mind

Remember way back when I promised pictures of our summer vacation, however out of order they were?  Well I'm keeping that promise, so just imagine this is a flashback of our trip to the East coast.  While enjoying comfortable accomodations on Meadowview Drive, we planned excursions out of the Cranbury countryside to the bustling streets, sounds, and sights of New York City.  Sure there's a lot of walking, crazy crowds, questionable aromas, a plethora of beggars, expensive eats and wares, and oh man, the humidity! BUT, there are sights to be seen and in the span of two short days, we were determined to see them all. 

One of my favorites was Central Park.  Sienna and I love to watch movies, and many a movie has been filmed in that national treasure.  Our favorites are Enchanted, Made of Honor, When in Rome, and Elf.  The Bow Bridge is gorgeous (and featured in Made of Honor and When in Rome).  Here we are posing in this picturesque place.

 

Another sight to see is the Angel Fountain at Bethesda Terrace.  This feature is prominent in the movie Enchanted and Elf.

Sienna and I (or maybe just me) are so nerdy that we tried to recreate some movie scenes.  Here we are recreating the scene from Enchanted where Robert tells Gisele to go and basically get out of his life.  He gives her some money and watches her walk off.  While walking down the Central Park mall, she gives the money to an elderly lady sitting on a bench.  Sienna is the elderly lady and I'm Gisele.

If you haven't seen it, do!  Then this will all make sense.

We also did very 'touristy' things in the park which included a horse drawn carriage ride.  Personally, I think that's more fun than a taxi or a subway ride.

And of course you can't forget the Empire State Building!  The last time we were there Sienna was 18 months old and Spenser wasn't with us yet.  Eleven years later and stronger, here we are at the observatory -

  

On our first visit to this landmark, I snapped a picture of Rob holding Sienna's hand, similar to this one.  Of course I have to track that picture down and scan it in, but imagine the same picture, only with Sienna as a toddling 18 month old.   

Another awesome thing Rob and I did was attend a taping of the Late Show with David Letterman.  The guest was Regis Philbin and it was quite entertaining.  Unfortunately, we didn't get on t.v., even though we were sitting up front. 

Here are some other highlights -

So we conquered the concrete jungle where dreams are made of.  And we had fun too!

Welcome to the Club

My birthday week ended Friday night with food, drink, and a little dancing at Cadillac Ranch in Tempe.  None of my 'girlfriends' came, but there were still lovely people there to help us celebrate.  Two of Rob's good buddies from ADOT came, along with our NMSU college friend Joel Navarro.  When Joel arrived he wished me a happy birthday and said "Welcome to the club!" I hadn't thought about it until Joel said it, but now I realize I've joined the 40 crowd - and that's okay.  So to celebrate my initiation, I had two pina coladas and 'shook' a tail-feather as they say.  Thanks to Rob for hosting the party and for putting so much thought into my 40th.  

You did good, honey!

But nothing beats a birthday celebrated with these two - (plus Rob, he's just not pictured)

Lordy, Lordy, Look Who's 40

So the big 4 - 0 has arrived and I must admit the number is older than I feel.  Sure I can't play tennis like I used to, but I can teach 140 or so adolescents every day, and keep the house fairly clean, while making sure my kids and husband are healthy and thriving.  So perhaps all those things are what keep me feeling younger than my age.  Or perhaps all those things are what cause my migraines? Well I'm not going to ponder that for too long.  Instead I'll share with you some highlights of my birthday day.

It started with the following sight as I walked into the kitchen.  Roses aren't a surprise on special occasion mornings, but this one was different.

Aren't they pretty?  40 roses, arranged quite nicely I might add.

For dinner the family went to Olive Garden and dined on delicious italian food galore.  Then it was back home for cake and presents.

  I couldn't decide on the type of cake, so I thought 'why not get both?'  So it was good ol' carrot cake and chocolate turtle cake.  Both yummy!  After cake it was time for cards and presents.  Spenser wrote me a beautiful poem and bought me a stylish necklace, and Rob of course went all out and got me tickets to the American Music Awards in LA.  So I'm off to sin city to hob nob with all the celebrities.  That should make for some interesting blogging!  Thanks to my wonderful family for the fun, love, and support!

Rob is also throwing me a party this Friday night which will involve some drinking and dancing.  So stay tuned for more 40 festivities!