July 2015 updates

7/26 - 7/31 - Landon at Allaso Ranch sleep away camp - This is Landon's commontary on camp
Sunday - They got to camp, did swim test and he passed.   This camp was star wars themed so camp at night was centered around that. Darth Vader was trying to destroy the earth.  R2D2 was trying to descramble message from Yoda to stop him.   Yoda picked 3 people to find the 5 pieces to decrypt the message.  The 3 were BuBu Fett, Demetri StormTrooper and Howard Wookie Wookiewitz
Monday - Did bible study and went canoeing.   Went Canoeing with Mike.   Did a mid day face off between teams and Green won.  Then went to lunch and went to the pool in the afternoon.  The pool had 2 waterslides and was fun.   It also had a lazy river with innertubes.  Ate dinner and did camp at night. Red team won

Here is actual Letter written by Landon on first few days:
Dear mom and dad,
I've been having a blast.  I passed the swim test.  It was hard.  We went canoeing.  I went in a canoe with Mike.  We also did a game.  It went ok.  We got 2nd.  We had lunch and then we took a 20 minute nap.  Then we used a compass to do a treasure hunt.  The treasure was candy.  Then we tried to catch water animals.  We caught 3 frogs and a riffle beetle.  We got in the pool and it was awesome.  
Sincerely, Landon  P.S. Thanks for the Chewie the Wookie

Tuesday - Landon and Mike and then Landon and Carter did the giant swing.  Got into harness and hung side by side in huge swing.  This see saw which is part of low ropes.   Then did mid day face off.  Green won.  Then had lunch.  Then went to the pool.  Then did bible study.  Went to camp store - bought little owl.  Then ate dinner then went to camp at night. Blue team won. Then had night swim

Here is Landon's actual letter from Tuesday
We did humongous rope swing.   It was amazing.  Then we did a see saw.  WE also did a game where you throw a ball into a bucket.   We won.  We went to the pool and gift shop.  I still having a blast.  Love you.  Sincerely, Landon

Wednesday - Went horseback riding for the first time.  Painted a horse.  Practiced with a Lasso.  Went on a hayride.  Had breakfast in the barn. Then went to the pool. Then mid-day face-off. Blue team won Then lunch and more pool time. Next was bible study and dinner. We did camp at night and blue team won

Thursday - Bible study then pool. Mid day face off and lunch. Then we went to the pool and ziplining. Next was dinner and camp at night. Green team won. 

Friday - Bible study then low ropes and basketball. Then Mid day face off and lunch. Next was pool and dinner. Blue got camp champs. I had a blast.

7/26-7/30 - I was traveling all over.  Went from Dallas to Hong Kong on a 16 hour flight, then about an hour car ride to Shenzhen on Monday early morning.  We had training conference there.  Meeting people and seeing how things worked.  Tuesday night we went to get foot massage.  I had gotten one before in Shenzhen where you wore you own clothes, we all sat in private room in recliners and had nice foot massage.

The place we went was a bit different.  We had 2 ladies and 2 guys.  They separate us guys and girls into a very nice locker room.  Since the ladies don't really speak English they told us to take clothes off, put on towel.  Then we had to take a shower.  Then we had to put on a special outfit.  Kind of like scrubs - shorts and shirt.  Then they led out out to big area where we met guys.  A little awkward with co-workers, but whatever.  We all got foot massages, and either got neck or head massage.  It was nice, but kind of noisy.  It was interesting.  The ladies working there all had outfits on based on what they did.  Foot ladies had an outfit, shoulder and head had a different outfit.   At the end a few other ladies with different outfits came over to guy that was with us that spoke Chinese.  They were basically discussing with him that he could do something additional to meet the minimum charge.   He got a coke :)

Wednesday we left at 9:30am for airport heading to Tokyo.  4 1/2 hour flight and then almost 2 hour bus ride it was a day of travel.   Thursday morning we had a good meeting with local TI team in Tokyo.   We had lunch at little Italian place that I've been to many times over the years.  Then I headed to the train for the airport.   I took Taxi to get train.  He tried dropping me at wrong entrance.  Then my credit cards wouldn't work to get train ticket.  I waited in line to have a person help, and missed the train I wanted to take, but there was another one sooner than I thought.  It all worked out but was stressful.   I got to check in and the lady told me that Economy was full so they put me in Business.  For a 12 hour flight I won't complain - even though it was a middle seat.  By the time I got to the gate they were calling my name to put me in window seat instead.  Business class makes a good difference in travel.  I got to watch movies, TV show, sleep for few hours.

7/26 - Greg with other friends took kids to Allaso ranch for first long overnight camp.   Landon had clothes in baggies for each day, a manly overnight kit, towels, & bathing suits.  He was on Green team, the Wookies.  The whole week was Star Wars Themed so the boys were excited.   We made him a care package.   Box with Star Wars pictures on top, a Wookie book, journal, envelops with paper to write home, a journal, disposable camera, Itty Bitty Wookie, Wookie container.  I also wrote letters to Landon for each day and included a couple cool facts (mainly star wars related).  

7/25 - Greg has left for College Station the night before.  We had Landon mostly packed for camp, me packed for China and Japan.  Landon had soccer game which they lost by many goals, and then Grammy and Gramps took me and kids to the airport so I could catch my flight to Hong Kong.  16 hour flight which is quite long.  I got to watch some movies which was good.  I finally got to see Big Eyes.

7/19 - we got up and took the dog for a long walk.   We came back for all of us to shower.  We went to Jersey Mike's for lunch.  Yummy.
We went to orientation for Landon's overnight camp.  Then went to the pool for a while with friends.  After that we went to try out a BBQ place in Allen, it was pretty good.  Kasey and I split a BBQ beef potato.

7/18 - We started the day with soccer.  Landon was supposed to have his first game in several weeks, and we got to the field and the other team couldn't get enough players so they forfeit.   Kids wanted to play so ended up having a game kids vs dads.  The dads won, but they all got some exercise and had fun.  We got to have lunch at Elke's.  Landon wanted the big hamburger. After lunch we went to get Dairy Queen blizzards. Kasey wanted a vanilla blizzard with nothing in it so she got vanilla ice cream in a cup.  Silly girl.

That afternoon Landon had cub scouts learning more about first aid.  That afternoon Greg went with Doug and Dave to watch US team play in Gold Cup - they won 6 to 0.  Then Greg went with Doug to FC Dallas game. It was kind of his birthday celebration with the boys.  Kids and I went with the Dowdy's to see Ant Man at Studio Movie Grill.  Fun movie.

7/15 - I had a friend take me to work so that Greg could come pick me up to go to coaches night.   Its fun to get excited about football season and hear the coach get excited about the team, new stadium etc.   Will be a fun year.

7/13 - Lyn was in town so we had a little girls night.  A few of us went to Village Burger Bar for a few drinks.  Fun to spend some times with the ladies.

7/12 - We got up today around 8ish.  Landon made the two of us breakfast - Peach yogurt and he put in strawberries, blueberries and peaches that I had cut up.  I made Kasey eggs and Greg had cereal as usual.   Kids and I went to walk the dog.  Landon had Patch, Kasey wanted to swing.  Landon took patch on short slide.

We went to lunch, and then decided to clean up the play room.  Mind you that we've bascially had an unusable playroom for at least 6-9 months.  We got it cleaned up pretty good.  We all kept saying it was weird to see the floor in there.

Grammy and Gramps came over so we could celebrate Gramp's birthday.   Kids had made cards, and gifts out of paper.  Both kids put planes on the cards, and Landon actually made a paper airplane.  Kids showed Grammy the play room, and they both played piano for them.  Fun to see them excited and doing well.   Then we headed to Uncle Julios for some yummy food.

7/11 - We had a fun busy day.  Got up, kids and I went for a walk while Greg mowed the yard.   Then Greg and Landon went to cub scout meeting.  After that we went with the Dowdy's to Trinity Groves.  We had lunch at Luck which was pretty good.  Then we went to have a beer at local brewery called 4 corners.  It was pretty warm, but fun to do something a little different.  We were celebrating Greg and Jason's birthdays so it was fun.  We came back and went to friends pool birthday party.
That night I got to go see Magic Mike XXL.  I liked it better than the first one.   Fun!

7/10 - Gramp's birthday.  Grammy and Gramps looked at some houses.  I had to be at work at 7am for a meeting so I actually left around 4pm.  It was a bit of a stressful day, but hopefully it will all work out as its supposed to.    Greg picked up some food so we could eat at home and watch the US mens national team game.  They won, but it was a tough game.

7/7 - US Mens National soccer team played Gold Cup game in Frisco.  Greg, Doug, Juan, Dave, Jason Dowdy and I went early to Jakes before the game.  We had some beer and burgers.  Dave was a good man and brought face paint so we all got our face paint on, took some pictures and headed to see the end of the first game.  We saw a few people in line for beer and met up with Marissa and Gaby for the game.   We saw few friends from various places and even saw few friends of kits - Brock and Sutton were there.
US won 2 to 1.  It was a fun time and glad US won

7/5 - Kasey woke up middle of the night not feeling well, so I ended up sleeping in her bed.  I couldn't go back to sleep thinking something might be wrong with Landon.  When we woke up got a call that he got sick in the middle of the night.  He was fine though.  Poor thing.

After getting Landon we chilled out for a while, went to lunch and then then went to Solis' for some pool and food.  We came home and watched the US women's team in world cup against Japan.   US scored 4 goals in firs 16 minutes.  It was fun to watch as a family.

7/4 - We took it easy in the morning, went to lunch and headed to friends for 4th of July party.  We had fun hanging out and swimming.  Kids had a blast.  Kasey was singing, dancing and doing fancy jumps off the diving board.   Landon was having fun playing with the water guns.

After eating Greg went to FC Dallas game, kids and I stayed.  After dark kids got to do sparklers, smoke bombs, snakes and little pops.  This was the first time for Landon and Kasey.  They had fun, but we didn't get to go see big fireworks.  Landon ended up staying the night and Kasey went home late and went to bed.

7/3 - I had day off for July 4th.  Greg had to work and take the 4runner in.  Kids and I went to Starbucks for hot chocolate and breakfast.  Kasey had a croissant and Landon had a sweet roll.   We went to hang out a bit then Landon went to a friends birthday party at Maine Event.  Kasey and I went to the salon for manicures and pedicures - such fun.  She knows what she wants.  The lady didn't do her toes like she wanted, but we both thought it was cute.  She wanted a pattern of every other toe a different color. She did big toe one color and little toes different color.   We had dinner at Mi Cocina with friends.

7/1 - Landon came home from camp today.  He had a great time, but is tired.  The boys met me for lunch so I could see him.  When they got home, Greg went to the bathroom and Landon was asleep on the bed in that short time.

Landon got to do several things - they got to play human foose ball, shoot bbguns, archery, their group won dodgeball tournament, they had a swim party, got to help serve and clean up dinner, made rockets and shot them off, did big slingshots.  They slept in tents.  Landon had a cot, small pad, sheet and blanket.  I think they slept ok because they were tired.  Basically slept 10-6 which is much shorter than normal 8:45 to 7 or 8

June 2015 updates

6/30 - Landon was still gone at Webelos camp so I came home a little early so Kasey and I could watch the Little Mermaid.  She's funny - she was kind of yelling at the bad parts and clapping when they got married at the end.  Fun!

6/28 - We had a fun day.  Greg drove Landon to Webelos camp - this first overnight camp away from us.  He was going with 3 other boys from our Den and a few others from our Pack.  They got there Sunday mid day and stayed until Wednesday morning.

I had planned for 22 ladies from various groups to go see Dirty Dancing the Musical.  We met at Taco Joint for a quick lunch and headed down.  We got a few pictures and headed in.  The performance was pretty good.  Few parts I didn't like, and the lead guy was a great dancer but not a great actor.  Other than that it was a lot of fun!

6/27 - We mainly hung out, and then went to Landon's soccer game at 4:30pm.  FC Knights won their first game and played really well.  Landon had a few assists and played well.

6/26 - I got back from a trip - I traveled to Phoenix and then to North Dakota and Minnesota.  I spent a lot of time traveling.  I got back Friday late afternoon, Grammy and Gramps picked me up and took me home.  I changed into bathing suit and headed straight to girl scout troop summer swim party.  Kids had fun in the water for a while.  Then it started lightning and thunder some.  We got kids out of pool and had some cake.  We wouldn't let kids back in yet.  So they went to play at the playground. 

One of the kids got stung by a wasp so we ended up calling the party a little early.   Greg had gone to watch Women's World Cup and then FC Dallas game.  Kids and I watched end of US game when we got home.

6/21 - Fathers Day - Patch woke me up a few times between 6-7.  Then Kasey woke me up saying she slept until 9:24am. She was excited and Greg and I were glad to sleep in too.   We got up and got ready.  We had lunch at Ten 50 BBQ with both of our dads.  Good food and low key which was fun.   We came home and basically hung out in the afternoon.  We got up about 5pm and headed to Roman Cucina which is good Italian food.  To finish off the day we got some dessert and Pacuigo.   I think Greg had good fathers day and home our dads did too.

6/20 - started out the day with soccer.  FC Knights played hard, but lost 5 to 3.  It should have been 4 to 4, but not great refs.   After that Kasey and I went to her friend Lucy's birthday party.  It was at Allen Community Ice Rink.  Kasey had never gone ice skating before but she did great.  She stayed along wall for most of the time, but by the end she was going out in the middle on her own.  She really liked it and asked if she could do the same thing for her birthday.   Fun idea.

That night we had neighborhood party.   Always a good time where we get food, drinks and kids can run around and play.

6/19 - We had a good busy week.  Kasey had Twilight camp every night til 10pm.  Landon had camp invention (for gifted and talented kids) during the day and Twilight Camp at night.  Because of some weather his Twilight was cancelled for 2 days.  The kids had fun.   I enjoyed being a leader at Eagles Nest Twilight camp.  It was fun leading 4th graders, and neat to see Kasey in that environment enjoying herself and being independent.

During the week the older girls I was with got to cook with fire and cut things with knives, light matches, climb rock wall, walk across rope bridge, shoot arrows in archery, get wet, go through maze and scavenger hunt.   They also got to dunk me in dunking tank - Kasey got to watch too.   Very fun week.  Last day girls got to have snow cones, hot dogs and smores, face painting and then watch the movie Brave til midnight.

6/16 - Storm Bill is heading in but somehow didn't get to bad tonight.  Landon's Twilight was cancelled because of lightning, but mine and Kaseys happened.   My unit had cook night.  We made Spaghetti and Meatballs and Apple Cake.  The girls (most 9 years old) all got to strike a match, cut something, help cook prepare and help clean dishes.  They did great!  Kasey had a blast as well and I even got to see her a few times running, having fun and they came by to say hi.  Needless to say I have no problem getting my 10,000 steps in this week.

6/15 - We started Crazy week.  Landon has Camp invention at Norton from 9-3:30, then Twilight camp until about 9pm.  Kasey and I have Twilight camp from 6-10pm.  Greg is working and keeping all of us fed.   I am a leader at Eagles Nest Twilight Camp, and Kasey is camper.   We are having a great time.  I got to shoot a bow and arrow with my girls for the first time.  my unit has 8 4th graders so same age as Landon, but get to see Kasey some.  Kasey and Lucy are buddies and run around having a great time with their unit.

6/14 - We started with FC Knights game.  We played another club team so it was tough and kids lost, but they played hard.  Going to be a tough season.  Hopefully we get to play other Rec teams.
 Today was Kasey's Dance Recital.  We went to Elke's for lunch and then came home to get ready for the recital.  The boys had to put slacks on (neither of them wanted to).   We headed up there.  Grammy, Gramps, Grandma, Pops, Cindy, Carlos and the 4 of us were there.   We got some pictures of the family and went to get our seats.  Kasey got to sit with us  for a while because her dance was later in the Act.  I took her back to dressing room around 13th dance and then came back, got her flowers and went to watch her.  She did a good job and seemed to have fun.   She was done right before intermission.   Got her back.  She got flowers from us, Grammy/Gramps, Grandma/Pops and Cindy/Carlos.  We got picture of her with all the flowers and she was just glowing.  So proud of her.  She wanted to stay and watch the 2nd act.   Because of crazy schedules Landon and I left to spend a little time together.

We took all the flowers home, then headed to watters creek.  We went to little chocolate place Landon had iced hot chocolate and I had Chia Tea.  We sat outside (even though it was a little warm for me).   We asked each other questions.  He told me his favorite project in school was Poems he wrote for mothers day, he's still not happy that I wasn't there.  I'm bummed that I wasn't.  We decided to go for a walk.  There was a group that had dogs for adoptions so we went to check them out, and then walked around some more.

We went home and we all headed to dinner at Razoos.  Then we went to Baskin Robbins for a little celebration.  I love baskin robbins.  I got to have favorite flavors I had as a kid - Peanut Butter and Chocolate and Chocolate Mouse Royale.  Yum!

6/12 - Kasey is starting to sing along to music on radio.  So fun.  I love music a lot and it makes me smile to see and hear her enjoy it.    I ask her which songs she likes and we'll talk about ones we don't like.

I took a 1/2 day off work for Kasey's dance recital rehearsal.  We got her dressed and got a little make up on her.  In the car on the way there she had to go to the bathroom.  Kasey told me I didn't tell her to go potty before she got dressed.  I told he she didn't remind me :)

We got checked in, went potty and went to get a seat.  Kasey gets to watch several dances before going backstage.  She wanted to make sure we were counting the numbers so that we went back on time.  I took her back stage, we got a few pictures and then the moms went back to watch dress rehearsal.  The girls did a good job and was fun to watch them.

We ran home.  Kasey changed and we went to get our hair cut.  I got almost 4 inches off and Kasey got an inch cut off.   Greg and Landon went to dinner at Mi Cocina where several others were. Landon ended up going to Top Golf with friends and spending the night.

6/11 - Landon started piano lessons today.  He's starting at a different level than Kasey because he's older.   Of course its not fair and they want to see if each other can play the others music.  Should be interesting.

6/7 - Landon decided he wanted to hang out with Grammy and Gramps instead of going to A&M vs TCU game.  So Greg, Doug and I dropped kids off and headed to Fort Worth.  A&M won that game.  The boys stood along 1st baseline again.  I brought a chair and decided I'd rather sit in shade in 90+ degree weather.   Aggies did win so got tickets to Monday game.  Ended up with schedule that just Greg and Doug went.

6/6 - We started the day at Landon's indoor soccer game.  We have a team of 6 girls and 8 boys who play soccer on different teams.  When we got there we found out that we play 7 + Goalie, and that the league is combined rec, competitive and club teams.  We played a club team so it was tough.  The team played really tough but lost by multiple goals.

After the game Kasey went home with Grandma and Pops.  Landon, Greg, Doug and I headed to Fort Worth to watch A&M and TCU play in super regional.   We first went to 3rd base line, but the wall was taller than Landon so he couldn't see.  We ran across the stadium to try and find some shade.  We sat in a little spot under bushes at the end of first baseline in outfield.  At least it was cooler.  Landon wanted to go exploring a few times.  I showed him how to call Greg on my phone and gave him my phone and wallet to go get a snack.  A&M didn't win....

6/5 - Today was the last day of school.  Kids had a good day.  AFter school kids had gone to pool with Greg and several friends.     I grabbed burgers on the way home.  We ate and headed to Montgomery Farm First Friday to hang out and visit with friends and let the kids play

6/4 - I worked all morning and went up to Landons end of year parfy at the park and pavilion.  Kids go to have popcorn bag with a few fun topings and sugar drink. They also had rice crispy treats and a few other things. They played nukem on volleyball coart and sat in shade on playground to eat snacks.  Kasey wore a fun shirt Grammy got her saying she was Norton kindergarten graduate.  She wore it to school to have friends sign it.

They had fun.  Greg went to get Kasey and we headed out.  Kasey and I had a little shopping to do for twilight camp.  Landon and Daddy went home.

That night we had a playoff baseball game.  The boys played hard.  Landon caught a fly ball in center field, got a hit/RBI, ended up stealing home, helped get a few balls from outfield to stop runnings

6/3 - Today was Kasey's Kindergarten program.  The whole grade sang 3 songs which were fun.  Kasey also had a speaking opportunity to say a sentence about volunteers - Greg and I both got our names on the list for volunteering.  She did a great job.  Grammy, Grandma & Pops, Greg and I were there.  Greg was sick, Gramps was sick.   We got a few pictures with Mrs Savitch and a few friends including a few of the daisy troop.

That afternoon was the kindergarten Party at the park and Pavilion.   Kids got to have pizza, ice cycles, chips/fruit and fun new water bottles.  The kids enjoyed running around to have fun.  Of course Kasey wanted to play with friends in the sand.  She had a good time  I had to leave a little early for all afternoon meeting

6/2 - Today was field day.  Greg was able to go up to school.  Kasey played on the water slide pretty much the whole time.  Landon didn't want to have much to do with Greg so he left a little early to have lunch with another dad.

6/1 - Landon had first game of baseball tournament.  Yankees won 10 to 4.  Landon got a hit, RBI, Caught fly ball at 3rd base, stole home, and got hit by ball.  Good game yankees!

May Blog Updates

5/31 - Another busy day.  We started going to brunch at Bonnie Ruth - yum.  Then we got ready with all drinks and Popsicles and we headed up to the pool for cub scout pack pool party!  Kids were setting up forts, and using water guns.  They were having a good time.  Kasey and I had to leave a little early to get home and shower for Kasey's piano recital.

5/30 - We had a ton of rain for a few days so last baseball game was cancelled.  We had end of season party instead.  We met at Rudy's for breakfast and fun.  Coach Jeff stood up and said something nice about all the boys.  It was pretty special.  The families thanked the coaches.

That evening we went to Rough Riders game with Cub Scouts..  The boys got to go on the field before the game, and then we had dinner and hung out in our seats.  Kids had fun. Kasey and I left a little early to get her in bed earlier.  The boys came home later.  After I left the game Landon started tracking the hitting for each hitter in the game.  Fun!

5/27 - Kids had higher education week  - they wore college shirts (A&M), college hats, bright colors and sunglasses and tennis shoes.  Kasey enjoyed dressed up some.  Landon could really care less.  Kasey was selected to have a speaking part in her Kindergarten program.  Its a pretty hard sentence for her but she was able to memorize it in a day.

5/24 - We had Landon's family birthday party today.  We had lunch at Uncle Julios which everyone likes.  Then we headed back to house for some ice cream cake and presents.  Landon picked to have ice cream cake over having Greg and I make something.  He chose Cookie Dough ice cream, chocolate cake, and chocolate outside of cake with hershey kisses.  Family got Landon Anki drive which he really wanted, cool circuit building (which he loved and by the end of the day had built an AM radio), 3D ball puzzle, Mindcraft lego and other fun things.

That afternoon we had girl scout meeting.  Girls got their cookie sale awards, and got to make some fathers day gifts.  Girls had fun!

5/22 - I worked up til lunch then came home since Landon's birthday party with friends was today.   About 1:30 a thunderstorm came through.  Pretty loud, shook the house.  It went through pretty fast and was about done when we got the kids at 2:55.  We all went home picked up stuff and headed back to park.  We had joint birthday party with one of the girls in his grade (Sutton) who has a birthday the day after his and Landon has a crush on.   We ended up with about 30 kids.  They played nukem, played on playground, played basketball and just ran around some.  Then we all walked to the pool.  It was in the 60s - in May in Texas, Crazy.  Almost all the kids jumped in the pool.  We had some drama between boys and girls, between few boys. Overall they had a good time.  Got wet, played outside, got some pizza, sugary drinks and some cookie cake.   Everyone seemed to have a good time.   

Kasey got to hang out with Chloe and have dinner.  They had fun.  She also got Knight of the week for the 3rd time this year.  Pretty good :)

5/21 - Landon had baseball game even with rain.  He got RBI and out at 3rd.  Boys won bottom if inning 7 to 6

5/19 - Tonight Kasey and I went to parent/camper night for Twilight camp.  Its Kasey's first year.  I have a unit of 4th graders so it should be interesting.

5/17 - With Landon's party cancelled for potential weather of course the day was beautiful.   Greg made French Toast for breakfast.  Greg went to watch soccer with the boys, so kids and I went to Spazo for lunch.  We shared some Alfredo and Stromboli.  Then we had some chocolate moose and Creme Brulee for dessert - yum.

The kids and I went to the pool for a little while.  They thought it was cold, but had some fun.  That evening we went to Taco Joint for going away party for the Kearns family.  We will miss them.

5/16 - From all the rain Friday we assumed that games would be cancelled.  Baseball and all but 1 soccer field were closed. Landon got to play soccer.  Bengals won 5 to 2.  They played a good game.  Landon had 3 assists, and 2 went in the goal as he says :)

That afternoon, Greg went to have a beer with Jason, Landon went to Mikes House.   Kasey and I walked/rode bike some, met the new neighbor Brad and worked on her school project.

5/15 - After work we had school carnival.   It threatened rain and morning had rained quite a bit.  So they set up everything inside the school.  Of course during the carnival it was clear outside.  They had In-n-out burger truck come bring food to those that ordered.  Several games for kids to play, cake walk, bounce houses in the gym.  They also had Kona Ice which kids liked.   Landon walked around most of the time with Sutton and Colin.  He said today its the best time he had in his life.  Hmm.  Supposedly Landon and Colin have a crush on Sutton.  Walking out found out that one of the boys down the street kissed Kasey.   Growing up to fast.

We left the carnival to walk Colin home.  We went by Crawfords house where some families having a few drinks.  All the kids were in the pool in their clothes.  Of course mine wanted to get in.  Kasey borrowed a bathing suit and Landon asked and he jumped in with his clothes on.  Kids had a great time.  Was fun til it was time to leave and kids didn't want to get out of the pool.

We headed home and straight to bed.  Of course it was past bed time.

5/14 - Greg was WatchDog today.  I didn't have to many meetings so I worked from home.  I went to Pie Five and got Pizzas and Salad for Landon, Greg and I to have lunch. Kasey's lunch is to early.  We had a little early birthday lunch.  We got to eat with Mike and Jason Dowdy.  

That afternoon I took Kasey to dance because they were trying on costumes for her recital.  Cute costumes but will require some pinning to keep them all together.  Right after dance we went back home.  Greg took me to Amy's as a few of us girls were going out for dinner and concert.  We went to a little place called Medina Oven and Grill.  Little Mediteranean place.  It was cute.  We got up front parking, sat outside.  Good food.  Then we headed to the concert.  Nelly, TLC and New Kids on the Block.  We were like teenagers again yelling and singing.  Very fun concert.  We danced a lot during Nelly.  NKTOB was great.  Mostly same songs we knew, same dances.   Joey and Jordon had solos where they were mostly shirtless.  Pretty hot.

We had a pretty easy walk back to car, and got out pretty quick.

5/10 - Fun Mothers Day.  Didn't get to sleep in to much, but Greg made breakfast.  Yummy scones from Fredel and cheese eggs.  Kids gave me their hand made gifts - Landon made a pretty paper flower and they created a whole book of poems which was fun.  Kasey made a picture frame that she colored many different colors and it had a picture of her that says I love you because you are sweet.  She also made a few sheets filling out questions about me.  I Love those!

We had lunch with Grammy, Gramps, Janice, Nanny, Buddy and Jody.  Yummy Paesanos.  Then Kasey, Mom, Janice and I went to see Steel Magnolias at Cinemark as part of classic series.  Fun movie - lots of laughs but sad too.  I think Kasey liked it some.  Hopefully someday she'll want to watch girly movies with me :-)

5/9 - We woke up in time to call and check if games were rained out.  They weren't rained out so we got up and got ready.   Landon had soccer game at 9.  Boys played hard, but lost.   We were sitting on sidelines under umbrellas as it rained.   At the end of the game Grammy and Gramps were taking Kasey and I to pick up my new glasses.  As we left they cancelled games for the rest of the day.  Grammy and Gramps took Kasey and I home then we went to get my new glasses.  Kasey said I looked weird :)

That night Greg went to FC Dallas game.  The week before Landon saw a preview for ET at school and decided he wanted to watch it.  So we did.  Kasey really didn't want to watch it, but watched the whole thing.

5/7 - What a day.  I presented to 102 people in my class.  Then I tried to get home.  What a crazy day.  I went to the airport.  Had some clam chowder one more time.   We got on plane, the pilot said prepare for take off.  He started speeding up down the runway and when he was going pretty good speed, the pilot slammed on his breaks.   I don't get scared often on an airplane but it was a bit scary.  We had to go back to the gate, wait for maintenance to check everything including the breaks and tires.  Several people got off to try to catch different flights.  One guy got escorted by the flight attendant off the plane.

We finally took off, of course I missed my connection.  Luckily I was upgraded to first so I had some wine.   By the time I landed they had booked me on flight leaving a few hours later.  They took several of us on a bus to different terminal.   I grabbed a bite to eat a beer and waited.  Then they came out and said our plane was broken but they had another one at a gate across the way.  Needless to say we didn't leave on time.   We finally took off, about 30 minutes before landing the pilot came on saying he was asking the flight attendants to sit down the rest of the flight because we were flying through weather.

Grammy and Gramps picked me up.  By the time we got a little ways down the road it was pooring down rain, 

very hard rain, little visibility.  Greg met us at garage with an umbrella.   I jumped out got my bags so they could go home.  They made it home ok, but I'm sure was long drive.   Needless to say I was glad to be home.

Landon and his class had a really cool mothers day tea.  Since I was presenting at conference there's no way I could change my schedule

5/5 - I had a trip to Boston to visit customers and present at Embedded System conference.  Landon had a make up soccer game tonight.   Bengals lost the game, but Landon scored 2 goals.  Of course I missed it :(

5/2 - Boys won in soccer.  Landon had an assist which is good.  They played hard.   The boys won baseball as well.  Landon got an out playing short.  He also pitched, but had a tough time.  He struck out and was pretty upset about it.

That night Greg and I went out with the Dowdys adults only.  We had a nice dinner at Capitol Grill then went to have a drink afterwards.  I think it was about 1am when we went to bed.  Thanks to Grandma and Pops we got to sleep in some.

5/1 - I got to go with Landon's class on fieldtrip today.  We went to Dallas Children's Theater and saw a play on Jackie Robinson.  It was a good play kept most of the kids interest.  There were a few language issues but overall good.  

That evening we went to Montgomery Farms first Friday for some beer, pizza and let the kids run around and play.  It was fun talking with friends and seeing all the kids play.

April Blog Updates

4/29 - Kasey lost her 2nd tooth, bottom middle left.  Greg just pulled it out.  Bled for a little while, but she'll be ok

4/26 - today was our busy day today.  We slept in some.  I went to get kiddos.  We had to get a birthday gift.  Then Kasey had to make a card and then practice piano.  We had quick lunch at home.

I went to girl scout training for Twilight camp all afternoon.  Kasey had a girl scout meeting at the Heard Museum which she thought was fun.  Landon and Greg had soccer practice.  Then Kasey had a birthday party.   Landon played for a little while, but Greg, Landon and I went to dinner at Village Burger Bar while Kasey was at the party.  I went back hung out some and then brought Kasey home.

4/25 - With rain during the week, Landon didn't have baseball game.   We had some breakfast.  Greg had to go to work for a while.  Kids and I watched Castle then we got dressed to take Patch for a walk.  Kids rode their bikes and we headed to Eriksson.  I walked Patch around, Landon drove his remote control car and Kasey mainly hung out in the shade.

We got home and I took a shower.   Greg came home and we went to lunch at Pot Belly.   

Kasey, Grammy and I went to Merle Norman to have express make over and they took pictures of us.  It was fun.   We got to try some new things which was fun.

After that Grammy took the kids home to spend the night.   Greg and I went to Trinity Grove to try a Spanish Tapas restaurant. It was really good, but not quite De Tapas.  Afterwards we went to have a piece of cake which was ok.   We then headed back closer to home to see a movie.  We got to see Kingsman which is a comedy spi movie.  i really enjoyed it and thought it was fun.

4/24 - Landon got knight of the week!

4/19 - We had a very lazy day.   Kasey wanted to decorate my nails.  I painted my toenails and let her decorate them.   she used multiple colors and decorated each of them separately.   Then Landon wanted to help.  I told them each one could paint one of my thumbs.  Kasey made a rainbow with multiple colors with a hat.  Landon painted an owl.  

4/18 - This week seemed to have kids downstairs more than normal.  Landon had bad allergies in the middle of the night, and with spring storms Kasey comes down scared every time.  No games today because to much rain.   Greg went to FC Dallas game in the rain - ended up staying through several lightning delays and got home after 1am.

Kids and I had left overs at home then watched some movie/TVs.

4/17 - Landon played in younger Yankee scrimage.  Tough game but Landon got an out at 2nd.

4/16 - I signed up to chaperone Kasey's field trip to Dallas World Aquarium.  She was so excited that I was going.  She sat with me on the bus.  I had 5 kids, 3 girls and 2 boys.   We started out the morning with one of the girls asking why my stomach was big.  I told her everyone is different and thats ok.  She asked if I ate to much junk food.  I said maybe, she said her mom did.

We got there and walked all around.  The  kids were pretty good and enjoyed the animals.  We got to see them feed the sloth which was cool.  After the field trip I took Kasey out of school because we could.  We went and had lunch the two of us at Freebirds - her choice.  Then we had yogurt across the street.

4/12 - Someone's phone went off at 6:45am.  We all got up, checked out the Elephant outside.  We got packed up and headed to have some breakfast.  Then we went to check out a few other animals which was cool.  Kids got to pet a few of the animals and learn about them.    We got free tickets for feeding giraffes.  We went to put our stuff in cars and went back in a bit.  Kids fed giraffe's then we went to Dino bird show.   After that Landon and I went home to have lunch with Greg and Kasey

4/11 - We had soccer and baseball games.   Tough game for Bengals, we had to leave a little early and rush to baseball.  I drove and Landon and Greg changed in the back.  Tough game, ended up losing by 1 run in the last inning.  Boys played hard though.

That evening Landon's Pack was spending the night at the zoo.   We got there and all had dinner outside.  Then we headed in.  We had a few tour guides who were really cool.  One lady was a teacher who did this on weekend and they other guys was a scientist of some kind..  They were great asking the kids thinking questions and teaching them cool stuff about the animals.   He was asking questions about flamingos.  Apparently what we think of their knees actually their anchors.   Kyle (one of tour guides) asked what else was different about them.  Landon did a quick experiment and shared that he thought they stand on 1 leg to lean down for balance.  He tried it and leaning down far on 2 legs was hard to stay up, but if you stand on one leg with the other going back you can balance.  We all tried and agreed.   I was proud of him :)

We had fun seeing and learning about different animals.  We learned that owl feathers make little to no noise when they go through the air.  We got to pet a few smaller animals.   We got to have a snack and the kids ran around playing chase.  We were staying in the big building in Out of Africa area.  We all set up sleeping bags and then got to have smores.

Kids finally went to bed about 11.  I went to sit outside where it was cooler and read some.

4/10 - One of my friends helped set up cameras for Animal Planet at the Dallas Zoo.  One of the Giraffe's was pregnant and they were showing live feed of the birth and the baby.   I signed up to get a text when she went into labor.  Landon and Greg had gone to FC Dallas game, a friend had Kasey and I met them at Mi Cocina.  While eating, we got a text that the giraffe went into labor.  Giraffe's carry their babies for 15 months and have about an hour of labor, but they deliver standing up so the baby drops about 6 feet.  We didn't get to see the birth live, but when we got home from dinner we got to watch the baby stand for the first time.  It was pretty cool.

That night Greg and I watched the live feed some.  Cool to watch the baby drinking moms milk, walking, etc.

4/6 - We booked our trip to Disney World and Universal Studios for the summer.  I'm probably most excited but it will be fun.

4/5 - Happy Birthday to me!  Greg let me sleep til 8 or almost 8.  He went and got Krispy Kreme donuts for breakfast.  We all decided we like the little donut shop near us is better.   We all got ready and met Grandma, Pops and Nanny at Ten50 BBQ for lunch to celebrate birthday and easter.  Then we went back to Grandmas for a little while to have dessert. We had German Chocolate cake and kids had ice cream.

That evening Greg went to Dallas cup game with the boys.  The kids and I had left over Chicken, dessert and I finally got them to watch Goonies.  They liked it of course. Someday they will believe me that the old movies I want them to watch.

It was a good birthday!

4/4 - Landon and Greg left early for soccer pictures.  Grammy and Gramps came to pick us up to head to soccer game.  Bengals had a tough game but boys played hard.  We had to leave a little early to get changed and get Landon to baseball.   Boys played a good game and won in baseball.  Landon got an out from short to first.

After games we went home for a while.  We went to early dinner with Grammy, Gramps and cousin Nina at Babes.  So good.  Then we went back to Grammy and Gramps for ice cream cake.  Kids go to play with Legos Grammy got them for Easter.  Grammy and I got to have some wine and got to talk some with Nina which is fun.  They boys watched basketball and maybe took a nap :)

4/3 - Greg went to Dallas cup game so kids and I died eggs and had dinner.   Landon and I got Freebirds and drink from Sonic and ate at home.   Kids had fun trying to make color darker. Landon added oil to make spotted with multiple colors.  Kasey got to add glitter and a little bling.    They enjoyed it.

4/2 - Since elementary school I've had a friend with my same birthday.  We now have families and are all older.  She's in Dallas for a little while so we planned lunch for early birthday celebrations for us and our moms.  We went to Chocolate Angel in Plano which is always yummy.  I had their famous spicy pimento cheese sandwich yum.  Of course we had to share some desserts.  Everything was yummy.  It was fun catching up talking about getting older, Disney World kids etc.  Good Times

March Blog Updates

3/29 - We had planned for many months to take several of the girls to see Disney's Frozen on Ice.  We met up at Taco Joint in Richardson, had some late lunch/dinner, had some cupcakes for Reese's birthday and then headed to American Airlines Center to see Frozen on Ice.   We had 8 girls and 7 moms so we had a good time.  Girls got to eat popcorn basically for dinner.  The show was great.  They had Minnie, Mickey, Goofy and several other Disney characters do introduction then they told the Frozen story with the characters.  It was done really well.

3/28 - With all the weather today was the first day of sports.  Landon had baseball at 8am after late night at scouts.   The boys played pretty good and won 9 to 5.  Landon got an out throwing from short to first.  He got a hit, but also struck out with his friend Maxum pitching.   

Then we headed to soccer.   We tied 3 to 3 but it was a great game.  We have a few new players and boys played really well for first game.  Landon had some good drives in the game.

That night Greg went to FC Dallas game.  Kids and I went to pick up Moo Yah, and ate outside a Rocket Park then played at the park.  They had me going to the top and going down the slides with them which is always fun.  Then we got home to get kids to bed.

3/27 - Landon had his big cub scout event of Blue and Gold where they bridge to the next rank.  Landon was a Bear and now he is a Webelo.  We got to eat, have lots of desserts that families made, watched the boys cross over the bridge, we also had a slide show with fun pictures from the pack.  Kasey even made the slideshow and was super excited.   Greg is taking over a chair position so he had to speak and help out with everything.

3/24 - 3/27 -  I headed to Boston for business trip.  We had some meetings.  Got to see areas that still had a ton of snow.  We got to our hotel and 4 fire trucks at the hotel and everyone was outside with towels and sheets on them.   We had to get to business meeting so thought we would come back later.   Once we did they had to move us to different hotel for a night because there was a water main break on top floor that affected several floors.  Both hotels I got to be in upper floor with nice view.   We had several good Italian meals, got to have Canolis from Mikes a few times.   Nico's was amazing food and wine.

3/21 - With rain there were no games this weekend.  We did a little shopping looking for possible birthday presents for Landon and getting a birthday present.   That night Landon had a friend birthday party playing lazertag.   We took Kasey to Bavarian Grill or as the kids call it Train place because it has a train running around the top.  Yummy German food, some beer and we even had some black forest cake and cobbler.

3/20 - Kasey had a friends birthday party so we got to take Landon to dinner just the 3 of us.  We went to Mi Cocina and then went to Braums for some dessert.

Landon sent Greg a text.  Took a picture of him sticking his tongue out, it used emojis for see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.  They he said I am the King (emoji), I love dog (emoji)  I have to go to the bathroom (emoji).  

Silly boy

3/19 - luckily the original open house was postponed because of weather.   It was rescheduled to tonight so I got to go.  Bad traffic heading home but got there.  Kasey took us through her room.  They had a book they had written and had a QR code that went to audio of Kasey reading the book.  They had several books they created pages for like what they would look like when they were 100, or what they would buy with $100.  We also got to see her notebooks they work on in school.  She writes a lot about Patch and family.  They also had something where they drew and wrote something the first week of school and then an example from March.   First week she had a scribble drawing and 1 word.  March she had picture and several sentences.

Landon we got to see his Greek mask he made in AIM and the Greek city they have created.  Landon's picture was sleeping on a bed in one of the buildings they made (all out of white paper).  In his class we had to find the drawing they did of the family.  Kasey found it.  Landon had some great art work, some good stories he wrote about his elephant, about harry potter and a few other things.  So fun to see how things develop over time.

3/12 – We had until about noon.  Greg set and alarm for 7 so we could sort of start getting back into normal time.  Kasey asked why isn’t Daddy sleeping in?  We all got up and slowly got showers and got ready.  Little later we headed down to Carnegie Deli for some yummy breakfast.  Another very expensive breakfast, but it was good.  We went back to the room, finished packing and just vegged out in the room til time to head to the airport.

We got to airport, checked in, got some sandwiches, fruit smoothies and a few other things for the afternoon and got ready to head home.

Kids favorite part of vacation

Kasey’s favorites

Michael and Melodi’s – playing on trampoline, eating pizza, spending time with Jewlia and Dillon, and going to the park especially the slides coming down the hill

Grand Canyon – ride on bus to see parts of grand canyon, hotel was pretty, liked Colorado river and Grand Canyon, liked the snow a lot

Las Vegas – Going to Eiffel Tower, Going to Secret Garden and getting Cuttie the cheetah, spending time with family in nice hotel.  Getting Ariel the balloon from Dick’s Last Resort in Excalibur.   Eating breakfast at Serendipity.  Going on Gondola ride in Venetian where our driver sang Let it Go.

Landon’s favorites

Michael and Melodi’s - Spending time with Dillon, playing on trampoline with Dillon and Kasey, Playing  Harry Potter Kinect with Dillon, Jewlia and Kasey, going to the huge park

Grand Canyon – watching the scenery, walking on trails at Grand Canyon

Las Vegas – Going to see Dolphins and Tigers, get Lighting the cheetah, going to see Blue Man Group show with Daddy, eating breakfast at Serendipity

3/11 – We didn’t set an alarm, but we all kind of woke up about 8am.  We decided to get up and get going.  We all got showers and decided to walk down to Ceasars Palace and have breakfast at Seredipity.  Greg laughed at me when I commented that it was really expensive.  Cheaper meals for Breakfast were $17.  Whatever we were on vacation.   We had a good big breakfast.  Then we walked down to Paris.  Kids really wanted to go up in Eiffel Tower so we did.  Greg and I had not done that before in Vegas.  We got tablets to go up there that show you what it would look like if you were at the top of the real Eiffel tower.  You could click on different things and learn more about them.   There were also slits in the floor that were just big enough to put your phone camera on so we got some pictures looking straight down from the top.  It was pretty cool up there.  We could see where we were the night before, and where our hotel was.

After that we took a taxi down to the Venetian.  We walked around some and kids and I booked a gondola ride, and Greg went to check out the Sports book and grab a drink.   We had to wait some so we got a few small chocolates from Ghirardelli where we were.  Once we got on the gondola the lady driver we had was talking to us.  She sang 3 songs to us – That’s Amore, Let it Go (poor Landon) and another song I wasn’t familiar with.   She was nice and a great singer.   Greg found us on the side and took a few pictures of us.

Then we walked back to the Sports book so Landon could see it, but we got kicked out because kids couldn’t be in there.  We walked across the street to Mirage.  Greg walked around some and kids and I went to the Siegfried and Roy’s secret Garden.   They had several dolphins they were training, and then in the back they had leopard, 2 big lighter lions, 3 lion cubs that were almost 11 months old.  They also had some white striped tigers and snow white tigers.  It was fun to watch the young lions play.  The tigers were tearing apart a few boxes.  The Lions were hanging out together.  One of the trainers was out there taking questions.  He said some of the animals used to be in the shows, but several of them were to young.  I guess they have about 60 animals that they rotate into the garden through the day for them to have a change in scenery and for people to see.

We watched the dolphins some more which is always fun, and then we walked back to our room to change.  We had reservations at 5:30 at Olived which is right on the water at the Bellagio.   Apparently to get on the patio you have to be there by 4:30.  We got there about 5 and couldn’t get on the patio.   We still walked outside to watch the water shows which is fun.  I got to see my favorite to the Bellagio song.  The kids enjoyed it to.  It was probably to fancy of a restaurant for them but we had some good Italian and even got some dessert.  After dinner we walked into Bellagio a little, and then headed outside to see one more show.  We got to see it from the strip  which was fun.  We sat kids on thick fence and held onto them to watch.  Then we started walking back.  We had about 12 minutes until the Volcano erupted.  We made it just in time.  Kasey was on Greg’s shoulders and someone let Landon up front so he could see.  It was better from the front time to see it.  After that we headed upstairs to our room.  Kids were tired.

3/10 – We got up about 7 again.  We got ready, had breakfast, packed up and headed out.  We headed to the Grand Canyon.   We drove for a while and parked then decided to take a bus down a little ways.  We went to a few stops to see the beautify Canyon.  It changed everytime you looked at it.  Just beautiful and many colors, some with trees and snow, some red rock, some Green.  We saw the Colorado river some at Hopi Point.  We hiked less than ½ mile from Hopi point to the stop before that to catch the bus back to near our car.    We had to head out to get to Vegas so we could get there in time for dinner and shows.

We got into town, got gas, returned the car in the parking garage of the Mirage and checked in.   Kids were excited to be big hotel with so much going on.  There were 2 backetball tournaments in town so many people had on their school shirts.

We got settled into our room changed clothes and headed out.  We decided to have a quick dinner in Excalibur hotel which was kind of between where our two shows were.  We decided to eat at Dicks Last Resort.  Maybe not best but it was pretty quick and easy.   We got some cheese sticks and decided we were all pretty hungry.  Later a balloon guy came around.  He made Kasey a really cool Ariel balloon and made Landon a rocket pack with spirals coming out the bottom.   Landon ended up giving his to a younger kid because it was pretty big.  Kasey carried hers around all night and got many comments on it.  It was really good.

After dinner Kasey and I took the free monorail to Mandalay Bay and we headed to where the show was.   We got a few pictures and then got in with one ticket, but the 2^nd one wouldn’t come up.  We went and printed them and got in just fine.   I thought the Michael Jackson show was really good.  Great music, dancing, hearing him talk, they even had a hologram of him singing and dancing some.  They had one dancer that only had 1 leg which I thought was cool.  Kasey was good for about the first half then she was tired and about done.  She spilled her drink and then got scared when they did Thriller and the zombies were in the Isles right by us.

Landon loved Blue Man Group and brought back a streamer.  Fun music, interaction, and a few things I had shown him on utube.  Probably should have sent Kasey to Blue Man Group too, but I think we all had fun.

On our way back kids got to see lights of the strip.   They boys stopped and watched the water show at Bellagio.  Kasey and I got to see the Volcano at the Mirage from the back.  The fire made it really hot right there so Kasey wasn’t to thrilled.

We got kids in bed and Greg and I sat there with our electronics in the dark until we went to bed J

3/9 – We got up about 7 to get all of us showered and out the door.  We were headed to Sedona area to a cool Out of Africa animal park that I had found online.  It was about a 2 hour drive which the kids love J  We got there a little after 11.   We headed to the first show called Feature Creature where they introduce you and let you pet a few of the animals.  There was a very large black and white lizard, a Cavy – large rodent that can run fast, and a Boa Constrictor.  After that we headed down to go on our Safari.  We got in an open bus to go into area where the animals roamed freely.   We first saw a giraffe.  Each of us had a little twig and leaves to feed him.  He basically came up to the bus to eat from our hands.   He even stuck his head in the bus to eat out of the drivers bucket.  Then we drove around and saw an Ostrich that was eating from the driver, and bit her as she stuck her hand in front of it – that’s how they figure out what something is.

We kept driving around and saw several zebras.  They had a few that were about a year old that didn’t hang out with the other Zebras anymore.  They also had a really young Zebra.   There were some bulls and several other cool animals like antelope.   It was neat to see them like that.

After that we went up for the Tiger Splash show.  They had a tiger in a grass area with a swimming pool.  They basically had to tiger starting to chase different blow up toys like it was hunting them.  He got in the pool a few times, jumped up pretty high on the fence to get one and then just chased the guys around.  It was pretty amusing.

Kasey decided she wanted to feed one of the tigers – through a fence, but she got to feed him 2 pieces of Chicken

Landon decided he wanted to try zip lining.  I told him I’d do it with him.  They had ¼ mile zipline for $25 each so we went for it. Kasey and Greg walked around the park seeing other animals while we did ziplining.  Landon was a little nervous, but I think he started understanding the holster we had on he was a little more comfortable.  He decided he didn’t want to push off, but just to jump and go.  I decided to push off some.  I was backwards and could see him most of the way.  It was pretty cool.  We could see Greg and Kasey below.   I would do it again, and Landon said he would too.   We could see the safari area below us as we went over.

After that we decided to drive back. I had heard that Sedona was really nice so we decided to drive back that way to see different scenery.  It was beautiful.  Lots of red rock areas that were very nice and changed over time.  As we got closer to Flastaff there were more pine trees and snow.  We stopped at a little rest stop to check it out.  Then we decided to take a smaller road 180 back up north.  It was beautiful.  Ton of Snow and trees and even open areas.  We went up just above 8000 feet elevation on that trip then headed back down.   Beautiful drive.  Greg and I liked it.  Landon enjoyed it some, but Kasey could care less.

Since we took the longer drive that was totally worth it, we decided to have dinner again at the hotel.   We opted to get both kids in bed at the same time which Landon doesn’t like.  Greg and I ended up in the bathroom with a stool and our electronics.  We last minute decided to book shows for Vegas the next day.  Kasey and I going to see Michael Jackson One and the boys going to Blue Man Group.  The Solis’ had just seen it and loved it.  I’m hoping Kasey likes the music and dancing since she doesn’t know the music much.   I’m excited.

3/8 – We got up about 8 and of course kids were up already.  Greg and I were the last ones up.  Melodi made yummy burritos for breakfast.  We were all getting showers, packing up.  The boys played some more mindcraft and Kasey jumped on the trampoline some more.  She loved the trampoline, and Landon really liked playing with Dillon.  Kasey had a whole plan how she could stay there and live on the trampoline.  Including having a snow machine to keep cool in the summer.  And of course they would bring her food to eat.

We headed out about 10:30am and headed to the Hoover Dam.  Landon wanted to check it out.  We could only do the Power Plant tour because Kasey was to young for the other one.  We got to see a video about building of it, then got to tour one of the bypass tunnels 65 floors below ground level, and then we got to see the Nevada power turbines.  There were some cool displays that showed how what we saw worked with water and everything else to make electricity.  They had a few things for the kids to turn or interact with to make power or create enough energy for say a city demand.   Then we walked up on top and saw the overflow area – Huge tunnel – they have only been used twice once to try out and once in 1983 when there was to much water in the lake.  We walked along the top of the dam, got to stand in Arizona and Nevada at the same time.  We got to see the Solis’ for a few minutes and get a picture with them.  They were going on tour and heading to Zion.  We had a quick really expensive lunch and then headed to the Grand Canyon.

It was about a 4 hour drive.  We got to town just in time to see the Grand Canyon at sunset which was really cool.  We took some pictures and walked along for a little while.  Then we headed back to the hotel.  We decided to just eat there since it was late and we had a long day driving.  I took Kasey to bed and Greg and Landon played a game of pool.

Greg and I sat in the corner of the room on our electronics with the lights out so kids could sleep.

3/7 – We slept in some.  Of course the kids were up before us playing with their cousins.  Melodi made a great breakfast for us and then we all got ready for the day.  We decided to head out for a fun park in Las Vegas.  Fran got to come with us as well.  On the way to the park there were several cop cars pulled over and had two guys on the ground at gun point.   We joked asking Michael where he was taking us.

The park was amazing.  All kinds of areas.  The boys really liked the climbing webs that were all over.  There were a few cement slides that all the kids liked.  Kasey liked being spit out of the snake – slide shaped like a snake where you came out of its mouth.  There were also some cool disk swings and parts that automatically turned you around if you stood or sat in it.  Then we went over to a part that was shaped like a huge tree trunk.  The kids could climb up stairs, slide down slides etc.  Then we went to little kid area, but that didn’t stop the kids from playing in the little kid bouncy things shaped like bee and ladybug.  I wasn’t sure they were going to be able to get out J

After that the moms and Kasey sat in a little shade from a tree while the kids and Greg and Michael played a little basketball game.  It was a beautiful afternoon about 75 degrees so great day to be outside.

We headed back to the house and had some cheese, meat and crackers for light lunch which was great.  The kids played some outside on the trampoline (I even got on the trampoline with her and jumped some.  Kasey was making up games to play), and played inside some with Xbox Just Dance and the boys played some mindcraft together.   The adults sat outside in the shade talking and having a few drinks.   It was just perfect.

For dinner we decided to order in Pizza and wings which were good, and then Michael got fire pit up and going so we could make Smores which you can never be to old for.   Kasey had gotten bacon and cheese pizza and Michael let her throw her pizza box in the fire pit.   She said she was smelling bacon and started singing It’s all about the bacon, the bacon no Trouble – like the song its all about the Base.   It was pretty funny.  We got our kids to bed and we all kind of crashed early from the fun day.

3/6 – I had spent the week in Bay area for work, so I had to get up at 3:45am to catch a 6:30am flight to Dallas to meet up with Greg and Kids to head out on our Spring Break vacation.  I got in on time and was able to have a quick lunch at Salt Lick.  Greg took the kids out of school about 10:30, got Kasey a haircut and headed to the airport.  Gramps brought them and traffic was a little crazy so I barely got to say hi.  I took my toiletries out, changed them to my vacation suitcase and off we went.

Kasey sat by me on the way out, and Landon sat with Greg.   We got a few snacks an water and were on our way.   We got to Las Vegas about 3:45pm.  We got our rental car and headed to the Hudgeons house.   They were making great dinner tacos.  We got to eat and hang out for a little while before we got our kids in bed.

3/4 - I was in San Jose for the week for work.  I had internal meetings and disty meetings.  One was up north close to San Francisco so I was 20 minutes from Andy Chun's German restaurant Schroeders.  It was great to see Andy for a quick beer and appetizers then I got to stay for another beer.  Great place with beer garden in front and restaurant in the back.  It was packed.

February Blog Updates

2/28 - luckily the weather cooperated and we got to play Landon's basketball championship was today.   We played at a middle school.  They game got a little heated with parents and refs not calling stuff, but in the end the Warhawks won first place in their division.  Was very proud of the boys.

After the game Grammy and Gramps took the kids.  Landon wanted to take his trophy with him - first place trophy he has gotten in sports.  Greg and I had a fun party to go to.  We hung out some in the afternoon and got ready.  It was 70s party.  Greg and I aren't to into dressing up.  He wore and old simpsons shirt, and I wore a shorter bell dress with waved shaw.  I tried to make my hair big wavy.   It sort of worked.  At any rate we had a good time.

2/27 - In Dallas we had crazy weather week.  After a few ice days everyone was back at school and work.  Friday it started snowing pretty hard.   It was beautiful to watch out the window.  I decided about 1 I was leaving to work from home.   The kids went outside after school and I went out there with them for a little bit to take a break.  Fun times when kids can play on the street. 

2/23-24 - We had some ice in Dallas so kids were off school for two days.  I worked from home and got to look out on ice during day and got to have lunch and be home early for dinner those days.  It was nice :-)

2/21 - Landon had playoff game in Basketball, and they won!

We went to lunch at Elke's afterwards to celebrate with Grammy and Gramps.

That afternoon Kasey and I went to the nail salon.  I got a nice pedicure and Kasey got manicure and pedicure

That night we had mother son dance.  A bunch of us went to Mi Cocina for dinner - kids played outside while we got to talk and enjoy drink.

Then we headed to dance.  Boys really wanted to run around and chase each other more than dance, but it was still fun.  The music wasn't as good as it has been in the past.  Not sure why.  Also a lot more line dances than before.

2/15 - We actually slept in some.   We celebrated Grammy's birthday.  We went to Babes for awesome fried Chicken, yummy sides and desserts.  Then we went back to Grammy and Gramps for a little while.  We got to watch Castle that Landon and I had not seen.    We went home so the boys could get to soccer practice.  Kasey and I finished her homework which seems to take some time.  We took the kids to Grandma and Pops House for them to stay the night.  Greg and I went to dinner at a new restaurant called Sangria.  It was good, still not De Tapas but good.

2/14 - We had a busy day.  We slept in a little.  We had to get up and go do food for ACO.  Landon went door to door asking for can food donations.  We had 15 houses to go to, and only 3 people were home.    I was driving, Kasey was writing down how many cans, and Greg was sitting in the back organizing.

Then we went home.  The boys went to baseball practice.  Kasey and I got ready, played outside some with Patch, and got lunch for all of us.  That afternoon Landon had a basketball game.  The coach was out of town so Greg was coaching.  Last game we played this team we lost 19 to 0.   We ended up winning the game - Greg was happy.   It ended up the way they did standings for playoffs that we got 2nd place for the playoff.

Right after the game we decided to go try Splitzville for some family bowling.  It was a short wait which we were surprised about.  So we got a few beers and Icees for the kids while we waited.  We had fun bowling and hanging out.

2/13 - Today is Grammy's birthday!  We'll get to celebrate with her this weekend.  We had a busy day.   I worked in the morning.  We went to the kids Valentines parties in the afternoon.  Landon's was first.  They had ice cream sundays, games and got to open valentines.  Landon and a few boys built a really tall cup tower, and they played games with chopsticks and heart conversations.

Then we went to Kasey's party.  They had valentine bingo, cookie decorating, snacks, make your own book mark and color by numbers.  The kids had fun!

After that Kasey and I went to the girl scout store and did a little Valentine shopping at Target.    Kasey then volunteered for a school project for a friend of mine's daughter where she was trying to see how influence boy/girl stereotypes.

then we all went to dinner at 5th street.  Kids got ready for bed and we called Grammy with Patch to wish her happy birthday

2/7 - Another busy Saturday.  Landon had a basketball game at 10.  It was a tough loss for the boys.  The refs weren't calling anything and they other team was playing quite rough.  We had a quick lunch afterwards. 

Greg had taken over owning the Pinewood Derby for the pack.  He had help from some of the other leaders as well.  They changed the setup, had a fun activity there to build a car with a twinkie, good snacks, and organized runs.

The pinewood derby went smoothly.  Landon got 3rd in bears, and it was fast enough for overall competition of top 12.   5 boys from our Den got in top 12 which is pretty good.  The other two boys in our He ended up getting 3rd overall.  He was so excited.  

After that Kasey and I went to sell some girl scout cookies with her troop.  Kasey was pretty tired and didn't want to do much, but the girls sold several boxes

We went home for a bit, and then headed to Mi Cocina to have dinner with a few other families.  Kids got to play outside in great weather and the adults got to talk some which was nice.

2/6 - We drove from the lake to Fargo, North Dakota which took about 5 hours.  Then flew back to Dallas.  We got home a little early.  Grammy and Gramps picked me up from the airport and brought me home.   That night Greg was leading up to get all cars checked in for the Pinewood Derby.  Kids were pretty tired so we got Landon's car checked in and headed home.

2/5 - After few days of meetings and trainings, 13 of us headed up near Canada for some ice fishing.   It was chilly with wind, but not to bad.  We had fun fishing in 2 huts for the day, and then we stayed a huge log cabin.   We had a good time hanging out and playing cards of humanity.

2/2 - I had to go to Minnesota for the week.  Kasey met with piano teacher for the first time.  She will start lessons next week.  The teacher emphasized learning to read the music which can be used with other instruments.  We'll see how it goes.

2/1 - We slept in some.  We all got up to go to breakfast at Froggy's.  We had yummy hot chocolate and breakfast.   Then we headed home to get some stuff done.  Greg took Patch and kids for walk and to play outside at the school.  I packed for my trip.

In the afternoon it was time to get ready for superbowl.   Greg and kids made brownies.  Landon suggested that they put extra chocolate chips in them which made them yummy. We ended up with chocolate on the floor as we all licked the spoons and bowl.

Then kids and I made guacomole.   Landon made him and Kasey chocolate milk and Greg and I got a beer.  I posted something on facebook and people thought we were having beer and chocolate milk together.

Greg and Kasey had bought stuff to make fajita nachos.  We put chips out, black bean refried beans, cheese and fajita steak.  Yum.  That with guacamole and some peaches with red hots made for yummy  super bowl dinner.