Happy Birthday, Mom!

As you all know, my mom is an absolutely fantastic woman. She can do it all and with a relative amount of grace (for those of you who don't know, she is a little accident-prone!). So, I was a little worried this year when she asked for electric hedge trimmers for her birthday. But, how could I say no? Hopefully my next post won't be from (another) trip to the ER!

She really wanted to see the movie Abduction on her birthday, which was Friday, so I dropped the kids off and we used her free movie passes (I know, I know, I should have treated, but she DID get free movie passes from her friend after all) to see the movie.

Then, another thing she has been asking me to do for the last several years is take her to Red Hawk casino (an Indian casino within about 15 minutes from her house). So, her friend Joanna and I took her last night and we had an awesome time. She loves buffets, and of course all three of us ate ourselves sick, but the food was actually quite decent!

She was a little upset that there weren't any "put your quarter in the hole and pull the bar" slots, but she made do. She parked herself here in the non-smoking section for a while and had a great time.

Yes, we did manage to make fools of ourselves most of the night; but, what else are your going to do on your birthday?

Then, because we hadn't eaten enough that night, we came home and had ice cream cake and all slipped into a food coma! Happy Birthday, Mom. Sorry for outing you, but you look absolutely freakin' fantastic and hot for 64! I love you!

My Favorite Birthday Present

My favorite present this year was my trip to Maui with just my mom and sister, Jenn. I still can't believe they paid for EVERYTHING! I barely had to get my wallet out at all the whole 5 days! It started out as a girls trip, but how can we go to Maui (albeit the other side of the island) and not see my three precious nephews. So, Crew joined us for the first night and then on day 3 we ended up going to see all my nephews surf. We had such an amazing time, and it was so good to reconnect with both my mom and sister without all our kids around. This first picture was a trip from our room at the Ritz.

We flew in and immediately headed for the pool for a few hours. Then, we got cleaned up and went to dinner and shopping in Lahaina.

Woke up the next morning, Jenn took Crew back to Wailea and then came back to Kapalua (where we were staying) and the three of us headed for the beach. A little windy, but such a relaxing time not to worry about watching kids in the ocean, etc.

Dinner at Lulu's (thanks for the tip, Loretta!), more shopping, and then we went to see The Help - great movie for any of you who have not seen it!

Playing around in the vines ...

There was a great south swell starting on Wednesday, so we met my nephews and brother-in-law, Geoff, so we could see all their surfing skills. They totally ROCK! I can't believe how well they all can surf ... even Crew!

Chase ...

Caden ... (a little blurry because he had to be a bit farther away from the paddle surfers)

and Crew.

Then, Thursday we woke up and took a gorgeous walk to the Ritz Residences and snuck into their pools ... more gorgeous pools and of course gorgeous views!

These chairs were so cool and relaxing!

This picture is for my friend Rene who always seems to taunt me with pictures of her perfectly manicured toes in some beautiful tropical location ... so ha ha to her!

On the way back we did a little climbing out onto the rocks to look at some tide pools (one of my mom's favorite things to do). I can't believe how young and sprite she is at age 63 (sorry for outing your age, but you are in AMAZING shape and have boundless energy!).

Me and my sis ... best pals forever! Thanks, Mom and Jenn for the perfect vacation ... I could not have hoped for anything more than to spend five days in paradise with the two of you. I love you both so much! And, thanks to Russ and Geoff for watching all our crazy boys so we could get away.

Turning 40? ... not all that bad!

Well, it finally hit ... the big 4-0. My mom and Russ threw me the most amazing Hawaiian themed party with about 75 people coming to share my big day. We noshed on sandwiches, salads, chips, and cakes. All my friends and family brought delicious side dishes to share. The kids were happy playing outside the whole time (yipee!) in the pool and a bounce house/waterslide that my mom rented for the party. I was able to catch up with a lot of friends and family I don't get to see all that often, which was so much fun. My sister made the most amazing video of my life from birth to 40 set to music (which I had already watched like 10 times before my party), and everyone at the party enjoyed watching that as well. All in all, turning 40 was fabulous!

We had a hard time getting my niece Rachel and Trenton out of the bounce house and water slide at the end of the evening. They had so much fun!

First Day of School!

Fortunately, my boys love, Love, LOVE the first day of school. They thrive on the routine. Today was no different. I got lots of giggles in excitement of going to school this morning.

I had to post this picture of Brennen and his teacher, Mrs. Reynolds (on the right) and one the aides in his class, Mrs. Perez. He is just getting so gosh darned tall that I swear he is growing EVERY day!

Both boys had a fabulous first day of school ... and mommy got so much done (doctor appointment, shopping at Borders, then home to do laundry and work). I forgot how much work I can get done by myself!

Camp Time

T-man is off to camp for the first time. It's a fantastic camp - Camp Grizzly Creek just north of Truckee. It's 5 days/4 nights and it's through the Autism Center for Excellence - the socialization group the boys go to at Sac State, so he knows all the campers, knows all the counselors, etc. His counselor, Meghan, was so nice and and texted me as soon as they got there (I had been having nightmares about the bus crashing) and told me to call her if I was ever worried about him. But, I know he will have a fabulous time. The camp director had passed out an itinerary letting us parents know what the kids would be doing at every hour of the day while at camp (what organizaton!). I just love these people!

Saying good-bye - Look, no tears from Mommy! (Phew!) Can you tell how excited he is? And, no, he is not as tall as me yet - he's standing on the curb!

On the bus and ready to rock and roll! The camp director said he'd be sure to take plenty of pictures and e-mail them nightly to us worry-wart parents - it's like he can read my mind! I am so proud of my baby going to sleep-over camp and can't wait to hear all about it!

Angels Baseball 2011

Trenton just completed his first year of Challenge Little League! He had such a fun time playing catch with dad before each game and having Russ teach him the ins and outs of baseball. It is so low stress ... each of the kids gets a turn to bat each inning ... there are no outs ... and it's okay if a kid thinks they hit a home run and runs all the bases with the biggest smile you have ever seen! Trenton was on the Angels this year (which was great since his favorite color is red!).

Here are some funny videos of Trenton (if I am able to upload them!). Whenever Trenton would wear his Angel's shirt, we would call him zombie man because he hated the feel of the shirt (even though we tried cutting off the buttons, wearing another shirt inside, etc.)

He also loved to shuffle and kick up chalk and dust everywhere, but that video wouldn't load! Gotta love this kid!

BEST ... MOM ... EVER!!!!!

I know everyone thinks their mom is the best mom in the world, but I can actually say for certain that I KNOW I have the best the mom in the universe! My mom is the kindest, sweetest, always there for you sort of woman. Everyone who meets her absolutely falls in love with her bubbly, energetic personality. And, speaking of energy, she is the most active 63-year-old (sorry Mom!) I know. She can keep up with my two boys and my sister's three boys like no one else can. She is the best teacher in the world; even though she is retired, she STILL substitute teaches whenever she is home. I can see her subbing until she dies because she just loves teaching and still keeps in contact with a lot of students from her past 40 years, who always say she was their favorite teacher! My mom will drop EVERYTHING to help someone in a bind. She thinks about everyone else before herself. When asked when I was younger what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would always want to be my mom because she is so much fun and so uninhibited. I still wish I could be half the mom that she is. She has more personality in her thumb than I do in my whole self! I love you so much, Mom, and I hope that even the tinest bit of you has rubbed off on me. Happy Mother's Day!