Crazy Hat and Sock Day

Today was Crazy Hat and Sock Day at school as part of the dress down day to help raise money for cheer. Bryce made his hat out of pipe cleaners and was very proud of his creation. Kyle and I pinned some of my socks to one of his baseball caps. Both boys also borrowed some of my socks and mixed and matched them to wear to school. They both were super cute!

Birthday Picnic in the Park

Today for Kyle's Birthday we went on a picnic in the park with his friend Christian and his family. We bought some fried chicken at Walmart and some cupcakes, packed some balls, and drinks and headed off to the park. It was a fun afternoon/eve and he even got to pick out his own present at Walmart from mom and dad. What more could a kid want? Oh yeah I guess a Drive in Movie birthday party that will happen on Sat. be on the look out for pictures to come!

Who wants to unpack for me?

I hate un-packing! I really dislike packing after a trip. Once you get home all you want to do is relax, sleep, put your feet up. NOT UNPACK! So it is now 11 PM and I have yet to unpack anything! Not a single thing! Well there is always tomorrow, or when I need clean clothes.

Parade of Trucks and Main Event!

Today is the BIG DAY. We took it easy today knowing that we did not have to be at the event until 5 pm. We ended up there at about 3:30 pm. to do a few of the pit party events again and also to catch the parade of Trucks. The parade of trucks to the arena and inside the arena is always a fun thing to watch.Last night we made signs out of pillow cases we picked up at Walmart (on clearance) and used them to root for our favorite drivers. The racing finals came down to Max-D vs. Grave Digger and Grave Digger ended up pulling out the Win! Racing was also full of thrills and spills as several drivers ended up flipping or having some amazing saves! It was almost like a mix of racing and freestyle.During freestyle we had spill after spill! It was GREAT! A quite a few drivers really put on an awesome show including Escalade, Grave Digger, Max D, Avenger and Monster Mutt. But Monster Mutt ended up pulling out a GREAT win.


We really did have an awesome time and as an encore they introduced a few new trucks. Escalade introduced Mohawk Maniac, Madusa Introdued her new Susan G Koman Breast cancer truck and Grave Digger came out with his two sons and 2 new trucks!

Double Down!

Friday was the day for Double Down. This is where people who bought the special Double Down Deal get an extra day of pit party events as well as watch the qualifying events on Friday night. We took it easy today since Kyle was not feeling well yesterday. So today we got a few signatures, played on a few bounce houses, watched some RC cars, got the boys arms painted and balloon guns, signed the Graffiti truck, walked the track, and sat at the stage to relax. While taking a few breaks at the stage the boys were chosen for a few give aways. Kyle was chosen to go on stage to demonstrate the Birthday Packages that Monster Jam has available since his birthday is on Wed next week. After that he was allowed to keep all the items in the package. Then later Bryce was near the stage when one of the drivers was giving away hats and t-shirts. Bryce scored a hat!

Later that night was Qualifying. The drivers put on a great show and had the audience pumped up for a great show tomorrow night!

Yum! Chocolate!!!

Today on the way into Vegas we stopped in Henderson at the Ethel M Chocolate Factory and Botanical Cactus Garden. Here we got to see chocolate being made by hand and by machine. We also got to sample some chocolate as well as pick out a sampling of our own to take home. After we toured the factory we took a stroll outside in the cactus garden. There were all sorts of Cacti that are found here in AZ as well as other strange types we do not see here.


Once in Vegas we stopped at the hotel but were too early to check in so we headed to Caesars Palace to watch the Atlantis fountain show. The show uses lifelike animatronic figures to recount the fall of the city of Atlantis. After the show we were able to do a behind the scenes tour of the 50,000-gallon saltwater aquarium and the show. We got to meet "godfather" the purple clown fish who does not want anyone to share "his" tank and do not dare to plant a plant near his coral. We also met a puffer fish who like the Godfather loves to live in seclusion. If placed in one of the larger tanks he is unhappy. We also saw a unicorn fish with scoliosis. It was a very informative tour and after we saw the fish side of the tour we got to see the animatronics up close and see the behind the scenes of the show. We also got to touch and feel them.

To top off the day we ended up at Sam's Town to go to dinner and watch the laser and fountain show. Once we got there Kyle was feeling a bit queezy and a little sick. Since he wanted to see the show we sat down to a light dinner and then he felt a bit better so we went to see the show. I had read that it might be a but cheesy but our family liked the show and the lasers were really neat. Mark tried his best to get some good ones on film.

Sleeping???

So the only hotel room in Laughlin that they had for us was with 2 queen beds! So the boys are sleeping in the bed since there is no room on the floor for the air mattresses we brought. So here are the boys can you tell which one is faking sleep?

Mark and I will have fun trying to figure out how to sleep in a queen! We can do it but thank goodness it is only for one night!

Rain Drops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens!

Kyle ran inside while playing out back asking to use the camera. When he came back inside he was so proud of the three photos he took. Two pictures are of the cats playing outside in the nice weather and the last one is of a rain drop on some leaves. I may have a budding Photographer on my hands!

Birthday Party for Three

Today we went to the In-Laws to celebrate Jerry's, mine and Kyle's Birthday. It was just like every visit with playing board games, Mark cooking dinner, movies and family. But tonight we celebrated 3 birthdays which means presents and cake! Since I am on a diet Mark and I got strawberries and whipped cream while everyone else got yummy chocolate cake. I love quiet nights spent with family!

County Fair

Today we drove to Casa Grande to visit the Pinal County Fair. Our friends Sydney was showing a pig for auction and we thought it would be a good day out with the kiddos and a great way to spend my birthday with Nana and Uncle Jerry. We arrived about 10:30 and went in right away to see Jenny, Tony and Sydney. Oh and Porkers of course! After that we took Sydney with us to ride some rides before we went to eat a GREAT BBQ lunch. After lunch we rode a few more rides and played a few games. We also walked around and saw some of the exibits, photos, cakes, animals and 4H booths. We saw a few shows, touched a sting ray or two, Nana got a Characture and we saw a presentation on electrical safety. We then took a break to watch some of the auction and wait for Sydney and Porkers turn in the arena. Porkers sold for $1.50 a pound :( After the auction we rode more rides and played a few more games but the best part was AQUA BUBBLE where the kids got to walk on water (well kinda). Aqua Bubble is a giant inflatable bouncy ball in a shallow pool of water. Once you shove the kid in the ball you inflate it around the child, seal it up and let them roll off into the pool bumping into other children doing the same thing. It was a GREAT day at the fair and we will definatly do it again next year. Who knows the boys may even be in 4H this year and have something to do for the fair next year!

Birthday Big Mac!

Ok, so I know that the Big Mac is not on my diet plan but hey it is MY BIRTHDAY! Since we were babysitting 3 kids tonight we decided that Mc Donalds would be a great place to let the kiddos blow off some steam. One of my favorite things to eat at Mc D's is the Big Mac so when I told Mark I wanted one he told me NO. I told him that it was my Birthday and I should get what I want! So Happy Birthday to me! I really only cheated a little bit and I will make up for it tomorrow as I walk around the Pinal County Fair! Only thing missing was the candles (forgot them at home).