Love-Hate Relationship

I have a love/hate relationship with technology.  On one had I like to look at peoples lives on Facebook and shop online and create the cutest projects, on the other hand I strongly dislike what it has done to our society.  People have forgotten manners/tack/how to communicate face to face or even hearing a persons voice.   I am not a fan of Evites for weddings or baby showers.  I am not a fan of Twitter.  I barely like blogs, even though I have one. But like many I post things on FB or on my blog so that many family and friends can see what we are up to. It is mainly about the kids and I rarely post pictures on FB of people other than my children...I have gotten into trouble a few times.  I do not even do Skype, but may have to cross that barrier when my mom and Brian move to Atlanta.  Yep, Atlanta....pity party for me.  

HOWEVER....the kids and I were at the beach over Spring break this year and I did not bring my camera, but I did have my phone.  So, I took pictures and posted them to FB.  THANK GOODNESS I did because my phone crashed and I lost the pictures, but they were on FB so I have them.  I love these pictures and was really sad when I thought I lost them.  So today I would not say I 'love Facebook' but would 'Like' it.     

Love in Vegas

What I went to Vegas last minute? No shocking news there!!haha.
What was shocking is that I went WITHOUT my KIDS!  What-what?!  It was the BEST Mother's Day present I could have asked for.  Yep, I love to leave my children for the day every year:)  It was awesome and so dang quick, but I LOVED every minute of it.  Thank goodness I found Amanda to go with me.  Hell who would not want to go to Vegas, right!  Off we went on a Saturday after Amanda got off of work, sat in traffic for a bit and landed in Sin City around 8pm.  I am telling you it was a VERY quick trip.  By the time we checked into our hotel room, it was getting a little late.  You would think we would want to change and head out.  Nope, we laid under the covers, drank some wine and talked.  Finally, I was like, "we need to get out of here or we are going to fall asleep!"  Off we went to dinner and then a bar and back to our room...barely tipsy....at 1am.  I think we were out for about 3hrs.  Good times!

 

Next time we are FOR SURE staying at the Cosmopolitan.  Amanda is a blingy girl and was IN LOVE with it.  Derek and Kelly....December is calling you both.

Of course no Vegas trip would be complete with out a picture with a random person on the street.  So awesome.

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The night was fun and lunch the next day at one of the best Mexican food places I have ever been to, but the reason we were there was to see the Ballet.  Romeo & Juliet.  I brought Amanda with me, but Kels was already in Vegas for her mom's wedding so she met up with us.  It worked out perfectly.  Kels got to go to the place that she never gets to go with me, the ballet, because she is always watching Drew and Lilly.  Actually, when I called her she was very hesitant to go.  Come to find out she thought I was asking her to watch the kids since she just happened to be there.  I had to keep explaining to her that I wanted her to go WITH US.  It was funny.  

The ballet was BEAUTIFUL!  I can not explain how great it was.  I got chocked up a few times.  I just loved our seats.  They were in the FRONT ROW.  Literally the FRONT ROW!  I had a picture of the curtain, but for some reason I can not find it....FRONT ROW.  Amanda and I sat there and Kels sat pretty much dead center of the hall.  For her first ballet that was not too shabby.  

Many people know that since Em started dancing we go to Vegas at least twice a year to watch the NBT, particularly Krista, perform.  This time was a special treat because Jordon, who dances at TDAD (girls studio) was performing in this ballet.  

Krista and Jordon have also been a couple for 6 years.  So, to every one's surprise (except both sets of parents) Jordon came out on stage during the final bow and read a sonnet.  I thought no biggy, he does stuff like this all of the time.  However, when he kept talking after he read the sonnet I knew something was up.  Yep, he purposed to Krista on stage!  I have never seen something like that before.  The entire hall, a shit load of people, was sitting watching this declaration of love, him on his knee, and her crying.  All on a catwalk high up on the stage, dead center.  It was awesome.  Men were smiling and woman were crying.  It was just great.  Of course she said yes:)  Mrs. Brenda (grandma) was so excited and surprised.  Thank you Mrs. Brenda for the tickets!!!! 

 

Evan's Pinterst-Free Birthday Party

Last month we headed to the park after school for Evan's 6th birthday party!  The kids had so much fun!  As I am getting older I must admit that I LOVE simple quick parties.  I guess that comes with age right?  My 'older' family always thinks I am crazy when I throw big parties....I am now realizing why.  I also am realizing why old people hang out by themselves a lot, but that is for another post:)

Kaci and Jeremy threw a fabulous fun filled party for their middle son.  I am not exactly sure, but I think it was Davey Crockett themed...that or just the outdoors.  Either way, it was fun.  They had a flag football type chasing game, but with raccoon tails...super cute.  Then the best....homemade sling shots.  Super cool!  The dads at the party had a blast with that and Em seemed to be the best on the girls side.  I just feel in love with Kaci's 'cardboard' Alamo.

Then Kaci shared that everything was Pinterest Free.  I laughed because now a days everything is 'from Pinterest' and so on.  The kids parties at school are always being one-up'd from so many of the moms when it comes to cuteness and so on.  So I just had to laugh when she told me that.  PLEASE, do not get me wrong, I LOVE Pinterest, but things are getting a little out of control with it at school.

 

Look at the cake Kaci made!  It was yummy too!

Then there was our third monster, Lillian!  This girl is CRAZY!  She threw a huge fit, which I walked away from, but had to first take a few pictures.  Then she was all smiles.

Then shirts came off.....so muscular they are!  haha.  Thanks for a great time!

Wizard of Oz

It is DONE!  Drew and Emma were so excited to perform in the Wizard of Oz with so many of their friends from school this past weekend!

This was no ordinary school play.  They had three shows per cast, a beautiful set, and location at the Curtis Theater.  I had no idea that it was going to be like that.  I thought school play=at school.  Drew had just gotten done with his "Earth Worm" play at school and felt pretty good about it, but when he was told that the play was at an actual theater...I think he was a little scared.  But it all worked out.  He did awesome in his special role as a member of the Lollipop Guild, as well as a monkey.  Em shined as a poppy and munchkin.  You could really tell that she had been on stage before.  In fact, her first performance for ballet was at this theater.  The rest of the cast was great and you could tell that by the third show that everyone was more comfortable on stage.

The kids only rehearsed 5times at school then twice at the theater.  Being that this is the first time the school has used this company, Starlight, I was shocked at how organized and informative everything was.  The Shutterfly sites really do help.  If you have not seen one yet, go look at Shutterfly...they are awesome.  Also, one more plus about this play was that it was only an hour and a half!  That was awesome.

Thanks, Suzie, Dale, Hannah, Connor, Mom & Brian for coming to the show.  The kids are still talking about you guys coming to see them.

 

 *Em and Evan with their teacher, Drew had her too*

 *Em was in love with Dorothy.  She even saw her at a softball game and was so excited to say hi*

 Drew & his good buddy Cam

 Lollipop Guild

 Some of the munchkins and EM

Marlene's New Addition

The Zaka Family have a new BOY!!!  Mar wants me not to post his name, but you can probably guess if Derek's nickname for him is SeaBass:)  

He was born on the 27th weighing 7lbs 10ozs and 19inches long.  Mar was in the hospital for a little over 2hours before he came out.  Quick uh!  However, she was in labor for almost 3days..just not in the hospital. She also did her hypnobirthing which left the L&D staff amazed!  They are home now and enjoying a baby who likes to sleep.  Baby Sam was not that type of baby, so I am thrilled for Mar!  I can not wait to see him, when that will be I have no idea.  Since the baby came 2.5weeks early (maybe that is what happens when you run until 35wks) her family is going to NC at the end of the this week.  I miss her face...She MUST move back to Cali!

I was waiting until she had the baby to blog about her shower that I threw the same weekend as her brothers wedding (Austin).  I received a ton of comments like, "you are having it the same weekend as the wedding?" But it was the only weekend that it could be done.  After all, I told Mar I was throwing her one and she did not have a choice...I threw in some 'mommy & daddy' words when telling her:)

There was just a few family and friends here on a rather hot day, but there was a breeze and I made sure to have plenty of mimosas on hand!  It did drive me crazy that Mar was not finding out what she was having, but I think the colors went well for either a boy or girl. I made sandwiches and desserts (actually Costco did), we played some very simple games (Mar is not into stuff like that) and the only children that were here were Alexandra and Emma (nice to have a break).  It was a fun little shower and I know Mar loved it.    

 

**funny thing, I refused to get Mar a gift since she would not find out what she was having...now that he is here I guess a blue gift it is!**

*this is what Derek did with Drew and Lillian....shopping & lunch.  Fun, Fun*

Adios Spring Baseball!

SPRING BASEBALL IS DONE!!  I am sad for Drew, but MAMA is happy!  It has been crazy for me since February with all of the driving, different game schedules, dropping Drew off at warm up, then dropping Em & Lilly at ballet, then back to the field to watch Drew play for 45min, then back to pick up the girls, then race back to pick up Drew.  If I was lucky I would be able to watch a total of 2 innings.  Oh the life of having a husband that works a ton.  But I can not complain too much...I get to stay home with the monsters.

**Oh, did I mention I was team mom?**  Of course I was:)  Actually, that was not too difficult of a job because the team was awesome and extremely laid back.  We had no snacks, no banner, only one party, and no team fees.  I just set up a Shutterfly site and filled things out and that was it.  

**Oh, have I mentioned we were on the president of the leagues team?**  That was interesting because, I hate to state it, well he is the president of our Pony ball and Drew will be around him and these coaches for some time.  Good and bad, but he was great!  Super organized and taught Drew a ton, which we liked.  For a gabber like me it took me a bit to get use to his type of personality, but I did.  

Drew had a great time this season and only had one breakdown, thank goodness it was BEFORE a game.  He was getting a little discouraged because he was not getting a hit.  He did not get a hit this season.  That was a little frustrating, but he did walk all of the time, made some great plays, scored, and of course always had a smile on his face.  

He did improve a TON and is absolutely in love with baseball now.  Throwing, hitting, catching is all he wants to do now when he is home.  When Derek is home they play a lot and Derek sees the improvement in Drew too.  He really wants to pitch at some point.  We will see about that...we just want him to hit!

Pictures below are from Drew's last game.  They made it to the Championships, but lost.  Drew was just happy to get another medal.  We are very proud of him for hanging in there this spring in KID PITCHED!

 Funny, Emma and Lilly made a friend that had been there all season, but it was the last few games that they started playing together.

 Lilly being funny at the pizza party that follow his last game.

 The last cheer of the season

 Drew getting a pep talk after the game from one of the assistant coaches that really helped Drew this season. Brian was AWESOME with him.  In fact, Brian is the one that got Drew into thinking about baseball more and pitching.

Last Daut Weeding!

The last of my adoptive family GOT HITCHED!  I have known Austin since he was 6...too dang long...and I just love him to pieces.  Veronica is one lucky lady indeed.  They were so happy that day and Veronica was beautiful.  The near sunset service, the mariachi band, the courtyard filled with beautiful lights and the colors they chose of gold and red were perfect for the Villa Del Sol.  Don was the officiant and everyone was in the wedding!  They had 12people per side!  Dear lord, there was no room up in the front!  

Baby Sam was the best little man!

Look at this hot mama Leydy!  I can not believe she is in her 50's!  The last of her babies is married.  Love her hot dancing too.

Of course there has to be a person who answers their phone during the wedding.  Too bad it was Mar's father-in-law!  I just had to be a stinker and grab a picture of him.

Look at that hot BFF of mine.  Gorgeous and pregnant.  She looked like a Greek goddess.

Of course, kisses at a wedding are always a must.