Oh the weather outside is frightful....

Oh the weather outside is frightful,
But the kids think its delightful,
Outside to play they will go,
Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow...


Jacob ran out with me this morning while I was capturing the beauty of the snow. (Ask me in a month or two how beautiful I think it is ha ha ha). I told him to stand in the snow, so you could see how deep it was.

Here is a picture of our cul-de-sac this morning...

Isn't lake effect snow beautiful????

This is the tree in front of our house, I just thought it captured, the peacefulness that the snow brings. It was so quiet outside this morning.

When Tyler got home yesterday, he had to bundle up and go right outside. He had to wear his "stretchy" mittens because we could not find his winter gloves. I was able to find boots and snow pants (I was not ready for snow yet!!). We had to keep exchanging the gloves as they kept getting soaked :). So, after a few hours of fun then dinner, Tyler and I went out shopping. He had told me that his toes were squished inside the boots and his snow pants were tight when he bent over...do these kids ever stop growing??? So, we went out with what seemed like every other mom and child looking for snow gear...we were able to find boots, snow pants, and gloves. Of course, Jacob cannot wear mitten type gloves anymore, he needed the kind with fingers (even though his fingers do not even reach all the way in). We tested them in the snow, he can make a snow ball, or at least pick up a handful of snow and throw it. After spending too much at Target (which who can go in there and only buy "a few things"), we are now prepared for the snow. It will probably melt and we won't see anymore this year...UH Yeah Right :)

Our first "SLEEP??"over......

We were trusted with the care of Madison, Lincoln, Reagan, and Kennedy for a sleep-over!! I don't know who was more excited, me or the kids. We started with breakfast for dinner...BLUEBERRY pancakes. Then we made ice cream sundaes in waffle bowls, complete with sprinkles, chocolate shell, Redi-whip, and cherries. Of course, games were played..we played Wii and Zingo. The night's festivities wound down with sleeping bags, blankets and pillows and a Super Mario DVD.

Here are Tyler (bottom of picture), Jacob (green pjamas), Madison (purple sleeping bag on futon), and Lincoln (top of picture -cars sleeping bag). Lincoln was the firstto fall asleep. The other three finally fell asleep after I turned of the movie at 11:45pm!! Tell me again...why are these called "SLEEP"overs????

Here is Reagan...she got to sleep in Jacob's bed. She had a hard time falling asleep (she was able to hear the "fun" in the living room). So, Ed rested next to her until she fell asleep...so sweet :).

Yes, this picture was taken at 11:45. I guess these two win the prize of staying up the latest...Well, they both did sleep from about 6/6:30 until this point, but...they are awake and ready to eat :). They were both pretty happy - even though Kennedy doesn't look like it. It is as if she is looking at me saying - UMMM Hello lady, I wake up, eat, and go back to sleep...none of these photos, or playing with you...are you crazy or something??? After they ate, they had no trouble going back to sleep :)

The Morning After....

Ok, so the order is messed up, but you get the idea...Here is Tyler and Madison with their creations...a snowman with wings, a shark and a baby shark.

What sleepover would be complete without DOUGHNUTS???? YUMMY!! I wonder if that is why the kids thought it was a great idea to get up at 6:45?? Why is it so hard to get up at that time on a school day...HMMMM interesting!

Here are 5 of the 7 that we had for the sleepover. They are "feeding" their creative needs :) And creating a need for me to get into a "cleaning" mood ha ha ha.

Here is a close-up of the above mentioned creations.
Overall- The entire event was a success. The kids ALL played so well together, were good listeners, and were so polite!! It was fun for everyone...Although it seemed as if Ed couldn't get to practice early enough this morning ha ha ha = Seriously, I think he kinda liked having Reagan and Kennedy around - they seemed to adore him :).

Tyler the toothless wonder

On October 8th Tyler lost his first tooth. He had to have 2 teeth pulled earlier in the year because the adult teeth were growing in behind the baby teeth...think shark mouth!! So, this was his first tooth to be truly "lost". He put his tooth under his pillow and went to sleep awaiting the tooth fairy. To his dismay, the next morning, his tooth was still under his pillow. When he came to the living room, he was a little upset. I went to "check" on the situation...I found a note from the tooth fairy that stated she was sorry she was late, but she was used to him sleeping later into the morning. With the note was a $1.00 bill. This pleased Tyler:)
On October 13th, Tyer lost his 2nd tooth...however we did not get a picture...don't worry though because the 14th was school pictures, so we will hopefully get to see his "snaggle-tooth" in his Kindergarten picture. On October 15th, Tyler lost his 3rd tooth!! At this rate, he will have NO teeth by Halloween!!
He looks like our own personal jack-o-lantern :). I guess Tyler gets to sing " All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth".

Kiddie Land

Jacob went on his very first roller coaster ride. Tyler was brave enough to not only ride with a stranger (a kid he met in line), but he went "no hands" too.
The train was Jacob's favorite ride. I cannot say the same for baby Nate.
Here is Tyler completly driving the car (gas pedal and steering) as you can see Vicky is going "no hands and no feet".
Look closely, you will see Vicky, Jacob, and Tyler having a lot of fun...or trying not to lose their stomachs.

Joshua and Jacob start school

Jacob was so excited about his new Lightning McQueen backpack. He couldn't decide to wheel-it or carry it on his back.
Joshua was excited to go to school too. Actually, I think he just liked being outside and getting all of this special attention.
The two brothers...ready for school.
Here is Jacob in front of school, eagerly awaiting his teacher's arrival to come and escort him to class.
Jacob and Joshua are all ready for school...but is mommy???

Tyler ready for All-School Mass

Today is the first day for All-School Mass. The uniform is a little more strict...they must wear pants, their button down shirt, and a tie. I had to get a shot of this too!!
This is his friend Isaac.
Isaac comes over to our house a couple mornings a week while his mom goes and teaches her Kindergartners. It is working out nicely, we are sharing the whole driving thing..aka carpooling. One thing about catholic schooling...no buses.

Ed and Tracey 10 year anniversary trip to San Diego

Ed and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary on August 1st, 2008. This year, with the income I made from Pampered Chef, I was able to surprise Ed with a trip to San Diego to go to one of the racetracks that he has always wanted to go to - Del Mar. We are fortunate to have very close friends in our family. Jan, is a flight attendant and was kind enough to allow us to use her companion passes to fly there. We were able to fly stand-by and we got to fly FIRST-CLASS!! That was SO nice, especially for Ed, he had so much leg room! We were fortunate enough to get First Class on the way home too!! When we got to California, we were met by Jan's son John and his wife Pamela, they took us to their place and we were able to stay with them...another gift that made the trip possible! As you will see in the following pictures, we had a wonderful time. We are very thankful to John, Pamela, and Jan and Steve for their generosity and kindness...without them I don't think we would have been able to make the trip.

Sorry that the pictures are out of order, I forgot I am supposed to put the first pictures last, or something like that.

10th Anniversary - Day at the Del Mar Racetrack

After our morning at the track, and our hike on the beach and up the cliff, we went back to John and Pamela's house. Ed did handicapping and Pamela was working on the computer. I chose to take a little rest :) I don't get to do that very often at home. After we got going again, we got dressed and went to lunch. We just grabbed sandwiches and sat on this beautiful patio. We are on the balcony, a beautiful spot for pictures!
The night before we had dinner, on John and Pamela's patio, with Adam Kitchingham, horse trainer, and Ariel Beca, a Farrier (sp?) that is someone who puts horseshoes on the horses and he also, runs the horses in the morning to warm them up. Anyway, we were enjoying John's homemade recipe for Daiquiris, and I mentioned that when we go to Arlington, Ed takes Tyler to the winner's circle because the jockey's give away goggles. However, Tyler is not a cute little girl, or a little boy anymore, so he tends to get passed over (he handles it pretty well, I might say). Anyway, I asked if he knew any of the jockeys? He said who do you want? I said, I would LOVE Tyler Baze - I always pick the horses he rides because of his name :). SO, he text's Tyler and he said "No Problem".

The next day at the track we got a hold of Ariel and asked how we were supposed to meet up with Tyler. He said meet him at the jockey box. So, after Tyler's last race we went to the box and said we were friends of Ariel's. He said, well lets take a picture!! We got our picture taken and a signed pair of goggles!! Now Ed HAS to bet everyone of Tyler's horses! As you can see in this picture, Ed was having a great day!

SO, after we got the goggles, we wanted to take a seat for the last 2 races. For the previous races we would go from the Paddock (where they "parade" the horses before the races), to the finish line (where hopefully your horse crosses first)...back and forth all day:) Well, Adam has a box for guests and owners of the horses he trains. Well, we were all dressed up, so I felt like...special :) Anyway, we were sitting in our box and right in front of us there was a little commotion (positive), someone was trying to get this man to come with them...we thought nothing of it. However, when he left, Ed said that was Richard Jefferson (a past basketball player for the Arizona Wildcats and a current player for the Milwaukee Bucks). Anyway, I picked a horse, Ed put in his bets. My horse WON!! Then on the screen, we see the guy that was just in front of us!! He was in the winner's circle with the winning horse!! We congratulated him when he returned. Then we noticed he was with Luke Walton (another former basketball player for the Arizona Wildcats and a current player for the LA Lakers). I (being the shy person I am) asked to get our picture taken - I was still on a high from getting those goggles!! They kindly agreed. So, this is a picture of Richard Jefferson, Luke Walton, Pamela, and myself.



Not that that was not enough of a high!! Ed won a SUPERFECTA in the last race (that is when you pick the 4 horses that will finish 1st 2nd 3rd 4th - they have to come in the order you choose. Ed hit a pretty big bet - so he bought dinner :)

Torrey Pines State Park - The hike begins

Ed, Pamela, and I found a little point to get a cute photo.
Ed and I ...same spot :).
A little higher up, away from the water.


OK?? Is anyone else a little apprehensive to go ahead with this??
Here we are at one of the higher points. We stopped another group of hikers and they were kind enough to take our picture. Ok...another "blonde moment"...while we were walking down the hill (it was paved for cars), there were paw prints that looked as if a dog had walked through paint and crossed the road. (I cannot take all the credit for this moment). Pamela and I thought that a dog actually walked through the paint, so when we saw the prints again, we were interested...how could the paint stay on the dogs feet that long - is what I thought. Well, Ed and John were quick to correct and not so quick to forget our "moment". Obvious to us now, they marked an animal's foot and led them the way people were supposed to go...OH NO wrong again...actually, I guess they have a stick with footprints on it to truly show where to cross the street. I am still laughing as I write this. I am sure most of you reading this will find NO humor in it, but I still do!! It was a great morning!!

10th Anniversary - Torrey Pines State Park

I know my pictures are out of order...but AFTER we went to the track for the morning work-out (see following pictures - Morning at Del Mar) we went to Torrey Pines State Park. We walked the beach. As you can see there was some "Marine Cover" - not until a day later did I learn that "Marine Cover" is NOT something caused by the marines, rather "fog" lifting off the ocean, one of many "blonde moments". The "cliff" on the right side is where we are headed, there are paths that wind up and over it.Ed and I found this cool little cove in the side of the cliff. It was amazing to see the different layers!! I don't think the pictures did it justice.

John tried to back away to capture the magnitude of this cliff. We are still in that little cove.

These are our friends and gracious hosts, John and Pamela, for our trip. Ed, John, and I climbed down to the water. Pamela opted the safer option and stayed on top, someone had to be available to run for help...just kidding we were in no danger :). But, I love how you can see the ocean and the cliff in this shot.

Anniversary Trip -Morning at Del Mar

On the morning of our actual anniversary, we were able to go to the track but go "behind the scenes'. Adam Kitchingham, a trainer allowed us to come to his stables and see the horses warm up! It was so cool, because Ed was able to recognize some of the other trainers and even a couple of owners. It was so neat to see Ed get excited like a little kid.
Here is a view from the other side of the grandstand, we were watching the horses, run, jog, trot etc...by. It was an amazing experience to be behind the scenes. Every time we go to the track, I realize that there is more to it than just the horse and jockey, but seeing how many people have to work together to get 1 horse out to the racecourse to run a race was simply amazing. After the warm-up we at breakfast with Adam and a friend of his Ariel - he helps warm-up the horses and also puts on shoes for the horses...you know their horseshoes.

We were able to see the horses up close an personal! I think this horses name was "Run for Cover".

Right after we took this picture, the horse spooked a little because of the flash! To be honest - the horse spooked me a little!

10th Anniversary trip - dinner in Ocean City

I wanted to get shirts for the boys before we left and Pamela mentioned a T-Shirt store. We made it 3 min. before closing, but the doors were LOCKED!!! We pleaded with the clerk to let us in, finally they gave in and we had to shop fast!! After our shopping spree - we had dinner at one of John's favorite burger places - Hodads. It was down the street from the store. There was so much food- the most outrageous onion rings and a bacon cheeseburger that was SO good, but so big I could only eat 1/2! Ed and I got shakes, we had to eat them with a spoon because they were so thick!
Hodads is a restaurant with A LOT of personality!! There are license plates ALL over the walls, some personalized, but from ALL over the country! Also, there was this VW bus coming out of the wall, you can eat your meal inside OR take your picture in it as we did!

Pamela & John - Thank you for helping celebrate our 10th anniversary and making it a trip we will remember and cherish for a long time!!

My Little Professor Fizzle

This year vacation Bible School had a "Science" theme. Jacob was able to go into the Pre-School class! Because I was a crew leader, we got to learn the moves - Jacob picked up all the moves to the first song - therefore making it his favorite! He had so much fun. However, on Wednesday he woke up with Pink-eye and could not attend. So, we watched the music video and we danced anyway! It was crazy-hair day at VBS, since Tyler went with crazy hair, Jacob wanted crazy hair too. So, here is Jacob with his crazy hair and goggles doing his favorite VBS dance...POWER! "Play that air guitar Jacob"

Thanks Grandma & Grandpa

Joshua and Grandpa had a "talk" one day after Grandma and Grandpa came to help out with the yard work. We were given a gift from them to help out with the yard work. We are not completely sure, but we think Joshua may have "whispered" something in their ear about making Daddy's life a little easier by getting a riding mower. Grandpa gave us a call and said there was one waiting for us...Thanks Grandma & Grandpa!

I am really not sure which boy is most fond of our new toy/gift!

Someday boys...you will be fighting to see who DOES NOT have to drive and mow the lawn!!