Monster Jam!

If anyone ever says that couponing isn't worth it, please refer them to this blog post.  'Cuz we totally scored a sweet prize from one of Mommy's favorite coupon websites.  We've had pretty good luck with winning prizes from the websites this last year!

 

I managed to keep it a surprise until we got to the arena, and the kids were REALLY surprised!

First we went on Thursday evening & had a private meet & greet with the McGruff truck driver in the pits below the stadium.

 

 

Then we wandered around & saw some of the other trucks being prepped for the show.

Did you know that they transport the trucks with teeny tires so that they'll fit in the big rig?

You do now!

 

 

The real tires are a bit more impressive!

 

 

Then on Friday night we returned to the arena to see the show from the 4th row for FREE!!  Mommy was pretty thrilled with that surpise, because they didn't tell me that this was part of the deal.

Score!

 

 

The Diablo truck flipped right in front of us & the kids LOVED it.  Mommy was terrified that it was going to explode, but we all survived & were able to see Grave Digger with its real tires on.

 

 

Crushing these cars would've been pretty hard with regular tires!

 

 

Monster Jam- what could make a 6 year-old boy happier?

January!

What a crazy month!  January brought our family's first experience with organized sports.  Shocking, I know!  Especially since this Mommy played basketball & softball from the time she was 4!

 

But it took a phone call from a panicked friend who needed another player for their flag football team to make us jump into the fray.  And it turned out great!

 

Frank knew absolutely nothing about football, (I guess he doesn't watch with Mommy like I thought he did) but he caught on quick & soon decided that he loved it.

 

This is what I found one night after coming home from a date with my hubby.

Gee, can you tell he was excited for the next day's game?

 

Frank wasn't the fastest or strongest player on the team, but he worked hard & learned a lot.  Poor kid was robbed of a touchdown no less than 4 times this season.  He'd get within about 6 inches of the goal line & somebody would pull his flag.  He's informed me that next year he will DEFINITELY score a touchdown.  The extra points he scored obviously didn't satisfy his appetite for the end zone.

 

 

James REALLY wanted to put the belt on & go play!

This kiddo LOVES football!  He hikes the ball, can throw a decent pass & cheers like there's no tomorrow.

I guess being in my belly while I watched 3 months of nonstop football ingrained him with a serious affection for the game!

 

 

In other news:

Isn't it so embarrassing when you have to scream for Mommy & Daddy to come save you after you got stuck while trying to steal your brother's Pokemon cards?

 

 

 January was also the first of 2 CRAZY weather months around here.

First it was so warm we made our own pond to swim in.

 

Then it started raining- and what's more fun than jumping on the trampoline in the rain in your PJs?

(In January?  Really?  You'll notice this pic is taken from INSIDE!)

 

 

Then the rain turned into some serious ice.  It took the car over 40 minutes to heat up enough to melt the ice on the doors so that we could take the kids to school!

 

 

But we really had no idea just how crazy the weather was about to get!

To be continued....

Catching up!

Wow!  Did I fall off the blogging bandwagon or what?

A few things caused this, but no matter- I'm here & I'm on it!

December was a BUSY month!

 

This little guy turned 2!

 

 

And this little beauty turned 9!

 

 

We really liked our Christmas duds.

 

 

On Christmas we got some REALLY great stuff from people that really love us!

 

 

 And Santa did well too.

(Which isn't always a given at our house.)

 Then there's a BIG blank, because Mommy came down with one of the worst illnesses she's ever had.  Influenza B is NOT fun, exciting, or enjoyable.  She kinda wanted to die.

But oddly enough, life goes on & New Year's came anyways.

 

The kids threw themselves 1 righteous party!

(Mostly because Mommy was still completely useless.)

Why is James chewing on a pacifier & Emma wearing legwarmers as pants?

Who knows- but it made the party all that more fun!

 

And there you have it!  December in a nutshell.

The new year has been busy as well, with lots of excitement & pictures to share!