Bowling with the Boys

Zac, Jay and Scotty

Zac's first bowl

Hi-Five

Scotty's first bowl

Yipppeeee

Chillin' on the lane

Bowling alley food is awesome!

Since Jay is departing here shortly, we wanted to do something fun with the boys for family night, so we decided to take them bowling for the first time.  That was a blast!  I didn't know they made bowling shoes that small!  The boys had such a great time and we have decided to make this a weekly event (when Jay is home of course....).  The place wasn't crowded or smokey like the old bowling alleys used to be when we were kids and it's a perfect atmosphere for little ones who can't quite control their excitement when the pins get knocked over.  And, surprisingly, we didn't have to chase Zac down any of the lanes like I was afraid of.  It was good old fashioned family fun.

Boy or Girl?

Looks like a mini-Jay already

I am 18 weeks and today I had the "big" ultrasound.  I am happy to know that baby appears healthy with all it's limbs and organs functioning as expected.  I had intended on finding out the sex, but since Jay wants to wait til the baby is born we compromised.  I had the tech put the results in a sealed envelope to be opened once Jay deploys in April.  At that time I can really start planning and he will never know :)  Won't be able to post it on the blog because Jay reads the blog when he's away....but everyone will know soon enough!  June 21 is the big day.  I guess with our third child, it's only fitting he/she will arrive on the longest day of the year!  A sign of what our days will be like once we are outnumbered....LONG!  Only five more months to go and I am getting really excited.

Makayla's 13th Birthday

Birthday Girl

(a.k.a. Rainbow Brite)

Jay and Scott pretending to fall (check out the retro glasses)

No joking here

Party Girls

Scott leading the pack

For a young girl, turning 13 is a pretty big deal.  Officially being a "teen" means finally getting to wear makeup, have a boyfriend and even open a Facebook page (gasp!).  My niece, Makayla, who we all call "Max", turned 13 yesterday.  She is fascinated with the 80s, so her party theme was 80s and all her friends were instructed to dress "80s".  The party was at the roller rink and her playlist included all music from the 80s.  Flashback for us adults and plenty of "I feel so OLD!" moments.  It is crazy to see the girls wearing things we were wearing back in the day like leg warmers, neon, jelly bracelets, colored denim and pony tails on the side of their heads.  They didn't even have to raid anyone's closets for this stuff, it is being sold in the stores again!  Think Madonna meets Britney Spears - OY!  I really wanted to skate and my feet were literally gravitating to the rink.  Afterall, it is what we used to do every Friday night in Junior High and I loved it!  But I was wise and didn't choose to risk a fall (even though I so wouldn't have fallen!...).  My brother and Jay braved skates.  Jay went a few laps holding on for dear life to the railing while my brother skated circles around the younger whipper snappers.  Some things just never change.  Here are a few pics from the evening.  The teens had a great time and it was a lot of fun to be a part of this milestone.  Happy Birthday Max!!  We love you!

Happy New Year 2010

Jay and Mark admiring their latest alcoholic concoction while it ferments

Jay and I brought in the New Year with fellow Coastie friends, the Bakers.  We left the boys at home so it was a short visit, but it was fun as always.  Jay and Mark do what they do: play Xbox, drink beer, brew beer and drink more beer.  And Suz and I do what we do: eat, read gossip mags, play sequence, eat and shop.  Then the four of us always play Tripoley while listening to 80s music, reminiscing over the good ol' days and making fun of gay 80s bands.  It may not sound like an exciting time, but we manage to have a pretty darn good time together.  Until next time, Bakers, thanks for a great visit!

Christmas 09

Christmas in Prosser.  It was so nice to be 'out in the country', away from the crazy, busy city life on the other side of the mountains.  My grandma hasn't had visitors for Christmas in quite some time, so it meant a lot to her for us to make the trip.  And of course, not knowing if we will be spending the holidays together next year, with my sister in law's potential transfer to Japan next summer and Jay's rotation in 2010, we knew this year was going to be even more important than ever to be together.  Though we had cell phones, we had no real distractions - no computer, no TV, no schedules to stick to - just simply enjoying the time with each other.  It doesn't happen very often, so it is a blessing when it does.  We hope you all had a wonderful and peaceful Christmas!

Christmas Cookies

Had our annual baking party yesterday and it was fun as always.  My brother, sis in law, nieces and my sis in law's mom, Dianne, came over to decorate and bake cookies.  I had baked several dozen sugar cookies the night before so everything was ready.  Naturally, my brother and Jay were in the garage throwing darts and having "guy" time while the ladies were in the kitchen - that is no surprise in this household.  It was a lot of fun this year to see Scotty really dive into the decorating - unassisted!  The inch-thick frosting and piles of sprinkles and candy that he would put on each of his creations was almost too much for me to handle, but once I finally relaxed and let him just be a kid, it was quite entertaining to watch.  He could not manage decorating without having to lick everything he touched....oh well, we're all family here!  We had a great time and the end result was dozens of fresh baked and decorated cookies to share with each other.  Sadly, Zac napped through the whole party, but maybe that was a good thing...??  There's always next year.  We are all looking forward to our trip to Eastern WA to spend Christmas with my Grandma.  It'll be the first time my brother and I have spent Christmas there together in over 20 years, so we are really excited to relive some of the old memories and make plenty of new ones.  MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!   

Preschool Christmas Program

Taking the stage

Brotherly support

This little girl was NOT having any of it!

This was just a bad picture of Scotty's teacher, but it could sum up the sentiments of the evening among the organizers?!

Scotty's school had their Christmas program this past week and it was every bit preschool.  Kids going here, kids going there, singing too loud, not singing loud enough.  As much as the teachers tried to organize it, there is just no hope when you've got 30 kids that are five and under.  God bless 'em for trying!  It was a joy to watch and pretty hilarious in some parts.  Scotty, ever the entertainer, did great and didn't seem to be bothered one bit by the huge crowd of parents and family members in front of him.  It was a great moment to be a mom and it just keeps getting better :)