Grand Junction or Bust

Weekend Part 1
We haven't been to Grand Junction in a year. That stinks! And I have been dying to go. So, I was thrilled when my friend Brooke's husband called me and told me he was planning a suprise birthday party for Brooke. Danny & I had to juggle a few things, but I just had to go. It was pretty difficult to keep it a surprise, because we were there a day early and couldn't let her know. She was pretty excited to see us, when she realized our faces were amongst the crowd of "surprisers." It was a short trip, but well worth it. I always look forward to visiting GJ. I love it there. We were able to spend time with my brother Eric and his family too (thanks for letting us crash in on Thursday night). It was a good short trip and we're anxious to go back for Labor Day.
Happy Birthday Brooke!

This is a beautiful picture from the backyard where the party was in Palisade. A pool nestled among a peach orchard with a backdrop of the Bookcliffs.

There's a great story about Isaac from this trip... Isaac went exploring. Danny went looking for Isaac about 5 min. before Brooke was to arrive. He couldn't find him. After calling for him for several minutes he sees Isaac peek out from behind a bush. Danny says, "let's go." Isaac says, "I can't right now." Danny curious questions further only to discover that Isaac had fallen into the small pond. With Isaac soaking wet up to his shoulders, Danny laughed out loud. Isaac asked, "You're not mad?" Danny responded, "I don't have time to get mad." He changed in time for the surprise, but boy did this give us something to talk/laugh about later. "Good one, son!"Marina & Maddox teamed up for fun in this great backyard. This is the most serious picture I could get from the 2 of them. No surprise there!

Weekend Part 2
Saturday after breakfast with our friends in Junction, we raced home to see Lilli compete in her State gymnastics meet. She didn't do as well as she would have liked, but she worked hard and earned 4th place on vault. She still has many years to compete. I think experience helps to take care of those nerves. Next year, both Marina and Lilli will be competing. It will be a busy, but fun & exciting season.

The 3 B's

1) BRONCO training camp was a highlight for Danny and the kids. Danny played hooky from work to take the kids to see the Broncos practice. He wouldn't tell them where they were going, but when he picked out the Bronco attire the evening before...they made some pretty good guesses. Isaac was in heaven and Marina thought they were somewhere in the opposite to heaven based upon the heat! She was begging to go home. While Isaac was begging to go back again! Next time Danny will probably make it a "guys" thing. But it did free me up to get some work done without kids.
2) BIRTHDAY 36: Officially had another year pass me by. Not so crazy about it, but I am crazy about my new gray hat. That I sported on Friday for the school's meet and greet. I should've taken a picture. It's super cute. Thanks to Danny and my kids they made sure that my day didn't go by without a cake...chocolate. Yum!

3) BACK TO SCHOOL: Here are my beautiful kids... Growing up way too fast!!! Marina did her first day in first grade without any tears. That's quite an improvement from last year. And lots of smiles. Isaac is as usual very excited even though he's a little apprehensive about having a "tough" teacher "like his mom." But he was so excited that he was up and dressed by about 6:02 am this morning... before Danny and I managed to pull ourselves out of bed. So, I think he will be just fine!

Speaking of Sports!

Isaac just had his 9th birthday on May 8, 2009. He got a new basketball hoop for the driveway, and is signed up for a summer basketball camp. I have actually been pleasantly surprised at how well he is doing playing basketball. Basketball is actually a sport that both his mom and dad played. I (Vycci) loved playing basketball. So maybe we've found a sport that he can enjoy, and play well enough so as not to embarrass himself. He also got a Chauncey Billups Denver Nugget jersey. Which he sports proudly, telling everyone that his Grandpa Joe was Chauncey's middle school principal. The following pictures show Danny and Isaac setting up the basketball hoop in the rain. We bought it off Craig's List one Saturday evening, and although it was raining... they HAD TO set it up immediately. They have been out playing every chance they get!!! Happy Birthday Isaac!

BIG FROG FIVE

Here's the whole clan.

The bars are her favorite.

Marina just turned five years old yesterday! On the 27th of September. We have been building up to this for quite sometime. It was the first full week of school without any tears. YEAH for everyone! It's just like my kids to wait till their birthdays to fully "arrive." Let's hope it holds out. (Actually we didn't have any tears at the party this year either. She is growing up...whew!)

She woke up Saturday morning and said, "Today I am five, next year I will be 21." How fitting is that???! I had a good laugh.

Most of all her presents were centered around her High School Musical. She was very pleased.

We had a family birthday party to celebrate the monumental event. In case you don't know when my kids turn five they have their "Big Frog" birthday. This is my dumb idea, and it dates me a little. When I was a teenager, I used to listen to Y108 radio station while I got ready for school. The morning DJ would recognize kids turning five on the air. They got to call in and talk to him. He called it their Big Frog Birthday. I guess I got such a kick out of listening to the little kids, that I carried it well past my teenage years and applied to my own children's lives. Kind of weird I know. But I do happen to just like frogs and it was a great way to throw a frog party for either a girl or a boy party. As you can see our frog for Marina's cake is PINK! Yes, Isaac had a Big Frog party also. For Marina's birthday we did what any good girl frog does, and that is lots of hopping and flipping in the gym. I actually sugarred them all up on cake(made by my mother this year-thanks Grandma Layne) first and then let them run around the gym and get nice and tired. I'm no dummy.

It was a fun day. Happy Birthday to our beautiful Big Frog Girl!!!

Can't forget to mention Lafai. Poor kido dropped a 45 lb. weight on his foot the day before the party. He can't walk in it yet. At least they had an air castle he could play in.