Coop's First Swim

We took Cooper swimming for the first time yesterday. I have been wanting to take him for a while now and we finally made it to the pool. It was so much fun and such a good family day! I am just in love with my family!

But first, the boys could not stop watching motocross...

(don't mind the dates on the pictures, I have to reset my camera.)

We finally headed off to the pool.

Coop did not like all the noise and activity at first, but soon enough he warmed up.

And then after all that playing it was time to go home and nap.

(we caught him in mid-yawn, so dang cute!)

It was such a fun day and good way to celebrate Coop turning 8-months!

The Sweetest Thing

Heating Up

the days of 90+ weather
are not a welcome site
I'm burning up, I'm dying
I'm ready for a fight

I have a little heater
he keeps me warm enough
I don't need mother nature
flaunting, showing off her stuff

the humidity was worse
thank God there's no more rain
but this heat is killing me
it's becoming quite the pain

so I'm ready for my son
I'm ready to be cool
but I'll survive a few more weeks
so auntie can win the pool :-P

Showerd with love...

...and, of course, cake!

San Diego

Levi and I were able to take one last trip before we became a family of three. We visited Levi's best friend and his wife, toured the aquarium, took a dinner cruise and while Levi went off to ride dirt bikes I got to go shopping and...the Glee concert! (squeal) It was so much fun! I could not have asked for a better quick get-away for us before we welcome our new little buster. Here are a couple pics from our dinner cruise.

This is while we were passing under the Coronado Bridge. The "legend" is that if you kiss the one you love while passing under the bridge you'll have eternal love and happiness.

This is a picture of a ship at dock and it had red, white and blue twinkle lights strung across it. So beautiful. (You can't really tell from the picture :/)

Crooked Angel

About three weeks ago I pulled out all the boxes labeled Christmas. I was so excited to decorate for the holidays because last year I didn't. I had the the next two hours planned....

Levi with his controller in hand played PS3 while I put up the tree - supervising me as he put it. I had no Christmas music to get my feet tapping, no Silent Night to sing along with (even though I cannot hit the high notes), just me, a tree and the call of war. : / I should have known this was not the end of it.

After setting up the tree, wrapping lights and decorating the tree I was done. Three weeks later, I have a crooked angel, a strand of lights has gone out in the middle (kind of middle), and the presents under the tree have been attacked by the silent and stealth ninja kitty. To top it off, we received handcrafted glass ornaments from Levi's parents two years ago and I refuse to take them out of the box because I don't want to them to break...so they are on my tree...still in the box...and Levi loves to make fun of me for it. Somehow it all seems fitting...as with life, just when you think everything is set in order you get another curve ball - or in this case a strand of lights going out. ;) No matter what, this will be a wonderful Christmas with an ill-lighted tree, a boxed ornament and a crooked angel.

Merry Christmas!

Cronies

Eclipse...
Once again my girlfriends and I immersed ourselves in the twi-hard, twi-mom, teen, tween and everything in between crowd so that we could be one of the first to see the new Twilight Saga: Eclipse movie at 12 AM on June 30. IT WAS AMAZING! I think this is the best of the three thus far. Don't get me wrong, I love my Twilight and New Moon movies but this one was...fan-freaken-tabulous! This time we did not get in trouble by a group of teens, in fact we were actually asking the teens in front of us to quiet down. Maybe in the past six months since the last movie we have grown more mature...or maybe we have aged enough not to act like fanatics. Probably neither. Before we went to the movie Sabrina had a Twilight movie marathon and hosted dinner which she and Mike made for us. It was fabulous. OM-Gosh, no...it was amazing! They are awesome chefs and I love going over to their house because they make the best food...I feel so classy. :) (Levi still raves about the truffles Sabrina made from scratch!) Mike made us dessert - crepes with berries - they were so good that I had to take a picture. Luckily I thought about the picture before I dug in...otherwise you would see an image of an empty plate to the right. : The movie was great and if you are a fan of the series you are going to love this new installment!

Tiffany...
Last weekend I was so lucky to be able to spend lunch with one of my oldest friends. Tiff lives in Arizona and so we don't get to see each other much, actually we only see each each other when she comes to town. (I need to make it out to AZ to visit her!) It was so good to catch up. She is such an amazing friend and it is always as though we just pick up from where we left off the last time we saw we saw each other. Tiffany is a constant. She never changes, only gets warmer with the years. She is an amazing mother to her two little girls and 10 month old boy. She is one of those friends that you realize how lucky you are when she is right there, but when she is gone it is like a hole in your heart for the void she leaves. I wish I could bottle up a little Tiffany for each one of you so that you would know how wonderful both she and her friendship are. Even though it would be just a little taste of the wonderful blessing I get to experience all the time, you would know what a blessing she is. I am thankful to God for the friends He brought into my life. Without those friends, past and present, and my sister I don't know where I would be. Ten years later, after graduating and going our separate ways (so to speak), Tiffany, Tess and I are still friends. (And by the way Tess you owe me a lunch :D) I love these girls because they are my past; they know me as the person I was and now the person I am. They understand me in ways others can't because they have seen the changes that come with growing up, moving on, and enduring life. They have whiddled their own niche in my soul that no one but that them can fill, and I wouldn't want it any other way. I love my Tiffany (and my Tess)!

Older but Wiser

Whew. That about sums it up. This past week was a subtle reminder that while my mind and body believe they are young...I am not. On Saturday, I subbed for a friend in her volleyball tournament. On Sunday, I had an all day tournament of my own and this was after playing two matches Wednesday night, and four matches on Thursday. My body is beat, literally. Although I am grateful for the ability to play and to be able to keep on performing at these high levels of competition, this past weekend was a reminder that, no, I am not 18, or 21 or even 25 any more. And while I do take care of my body, the realization that forever playing four nights a week or two long days over the weekend at division one or division two levels of competition is no longer a luxury I can accommodate. My knees ache, my hips and back tight. Even with stretching, training and pills the pain still pursues. Thus, it is my older and wiser mind that resurfaces to remind me I cannot go on forever. I must cut back. At this point in my life, training for the many years I expect to fulfill rather than the big game is more important. I will not be giving up the game, though, but I have realized that I should work to preserve my knees, and joints and body before the hard dives, constant jumping and countless twists cause me to find real injury.

Ah, enlightenment. I know I am a different person than I was ten years ago. At 18, when I dove for the ball and hit my head on the announcers table trying to get the ball back into play I was fine. I shook it off and got back to it. Now, after a day of reflection on the aches I endured last night and slightly today, I realize it is better to take care of my body before I break it. If that wasn't motivation enough...Levi keeps threatening to trade me in because as he put it, "I got a broken one." :)

Silence

The slumber party is over and our family is back to five. We managed to have only a few dramatic moments over the week. The most significant was with Butch; he became more edgey as the days went by and on the last day there was a scuffle. When Levi and I got into the back yard to break it up Butch had Champ locked down at the neck. Luckily Champ was fine and just shook it off. Butch was in trouble and separated from the group. It was meant to be punishment but I think he was actually relieved. : /

The puppy, Baker, was curious about everything. In fact she was so curious she chased after Aspen one night only to be met with a vicious hiss and claws. Baker never went near Aspen again. She tucked her tail and went back to the other dogs when every she saw Aspen after that.

Gracie was a sweet heart, only a spaz when you stopped petting her...but what dog isn't? And our Champers, well he was patient. Gracie would growl at him and get teritorrial, but he just looked at us like are we done yet? Baker would chase after him, jump on him and bite at his neck (sometimes actually hanging from him while he walked) but he just moved along as though it was nothing.

It was a definite adjustment getting used to taking care of four dogs, each with their special needs and different personalities. I have to be honest and say it is nice to have our home back to normal with the silence that ensues from only having our two dogs. With that said, I would do it again in a heart beat. I loved having our little pack of dogs. But silence is golden. :)

Slumber Party

For the next week, Levi and I have grown our household from a family of five to a family of seven! While Marilyn, Ron, Carolyn and Cliff are on vacation we have taken in their little buddies Baker and Gracie - both females. We now have four dogs and a cat under our roof.

Aspen is not happy about this at all. When the dogs are out doors she sniffs their beds, then rolls all over them so that her scent is left behind - how ornery is that! She hisses at Gracie and Baker when ever they are in her eye line...she is so high maintenance. Butch was curious for about ten minutes but now he is over it. He looks at me like, "OK mom, you can send my friends home." Thankfully they are all getting along and it is fun to have a house full of little buddies.

Here are a couple pics...Gracie is in front of Champ and Butch (the rotti) and Baker is the 9 -10 week old puppy. She is a red healer that Marilyn rescued when she was left at a reservoir.
(I tried to get all four in the same picture, but Baker wouldn't listen and pose with the rest of the dogs...she is still a puppy after all.)

The Happiest Place on Earth

Wednesday night I flew into Orlando to meet my parents, my sister and the kids for a vacation.  (My brother actually flew in today.)  It will be a quick trip, no doubt, but it will be so good.  It has been almost a year since I have been able to hug and kiss those kidos...way too long.  Plus it is good to have my sister's company.  She has always been a stability in my life and not having her around these past few years has been an adjustment.  Thank God for Levi.  While he can't replace my sister he is my best friend and takes care of me just as my sister always has. 

It is so amazing how fast the time goes.  Arianna has grown into such a little girl, with a fun personality and a little bit of diva attitude.  I just love her so much.  Antonio has gotten so big and in fact is almost as tall as Arianna even though he is two years younger.  He is such a little love bug and loves to play.  Here are a couple pics from the past few days.  I miss my husband like crazy, but having this time with my family truly does make this the happiest place on earth. ;)

The Price of Victory

Last night was the second night of a two-night tournament for my women's volleyball league.  (We won on the first night and advanced to the second round last night.)  Last night we won the first of our matches (VB is played in matches with the best 2 out 3 games) which advanced us to the championship match.  All the ladies on my team were awesome - diving, falling and just plain hustling around the court so that in the end we won!

This morning I woke up to an injury.  Somehow during one or both of the matches I did something to my knee.  It was a crazy pain I have never felt before...what a nice reminder that I am no longer 18 and invincible.  I can walk with a slight limp but bending my knee is not something that is getting done today.  What a bummer.  I am hoping that it is just a strained tendon :| Levi and I are both a little nervous that I could have torn something.  If that's the case this will put my VB days away, for a little while at least.  It was worth it! :D Those games were so much fun and the team we played in the championship match was a group of younglings.  They were easily 18-20 year olds that did not give up or quite.  It was a great win and my injury is simply the price of victory!  I'd do it again in a heartbeat. ;)


A quick update...
I know some of you have been wondering about our Champers and I am so sorry that I have neglected to update you.  He is doing so much better and in fact is back to his old self.  He jumps like crazy when he thinks that we are forgetting him, his tail goes a million miles a minute when he sees Levi and he is very quick to let us know when he is hungry - which is always.  The whole ordeal with him being sick was so hard because he is our "kid" and we could not imagine our family as complete without him.  Thank you all for your loving words and your prayers. 

Let's Get Physical

Oh My Goodness!  This is the best thing to start your week and it will tickle your funny bone. 

While Levi and I were at his parents' house this past weekend, Ron gave him an old Iron Man magazine that talks about fitness and the body building competitions of the time.  This is easily from the 1960's, maybe even earlier.  (I can't find a date.)  Anyway, the advertisements and articles are so funny because the information is outdated and we know now that this information is no longer relevant or better things/ideas have come along.  Thank God, could you imagine everyone walking around with these shoes?  "I'm just getting my workout in for the day."  LOL!  I thought I would post a picture of one of the ads...too funny!

1. These are weighted shoes.                                                  

2. These are exercises for those shoes. Check out the bottom two where he is actually holding the shoes and doing upper body with them as weights.  They're versatile shoes! 

I hope you are getting as big a kick out of this as I did. :D

1.

2.

David Shield

When I started this blog a few months back I decided I wanted something fun in the header. I looked at a lot of blogs and every one was unique to the author of that blog that I couldn't decide what I wanted to do. I thought a goofy picture of the family, or maybe the one of Levi and I watching the sunset on our honeymoon, or maybe just a cute one of our three little guys hanging out together, but I couldn't decide which I liked most and thus I created our collage.

It just so happened that while I was creating our collage Levi was creating a little something of his own. He was creating what we now call our family shield. He sent me a few different versions to choose from (you can see a different black and white one in Deuces Wild)...and I wanted to put them in our header...but I had just worked on that collage...and since I have been the blogger....his lost out. :{

So with the new year, comes a new header. Our new header is one of the shields that he created. It is the Aries Ram and the Taurus Bull. (And yes we do lock horns at times.)

Happy New Year!

The Twilight Saga: New Moon

This morning at 12:01, after what seemed like a half hour of previews, we saw New Moon. We got to the theater at 9, waited in a line that had already wound itself through the theater building and were allowed into the theater around 10:30. After all the wait and anticipation finally the movie began!

Definitely worth the wait and so much fun to go and see one of the first screenings. I don't want to give my review because I don't want to sway any one's perception of the movie before they have the chance to see it. I will say that the graphics, as you have probably seen in trailers with the wolves, really are amazing. The soundtrack is great too. I need to see it again because there were so many swoons or screams at certain scenes that I missed lines. If you are a big fan of the books it is worth seeing in the theater. If you have the patience it's worth waiting for it to come out on DVD. As with anything when there is a lot of hype, the chance that your expectations will not be met is there. I left the theater having a small amount of that feeling, but I have also been so excited, following the fans sites, and soaking in every interview the stars had for such a long time that my excitement was beyond control. Still a great movie, still a movie I will see again and still a movie I will buy on DVD when it comes out.

Two Days!

In exactly 54 hours and 11 minutes I will be seated in a movie theater watching New Moon! I am such a dork I am following all the cast appearances this week on the shows, watching the fans sites like crazy and starting to countdown (I am turning into my mom!) to showtime. I am so excited and I absolutely cannot wait. I think I will be on such a high from the anticipation that I will probably fall asleep when the movie is about to start. Wouldn't that be my luck. Now we just have to make sure we all get to sit together. :/

This one's for the boys

The new "Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2" XBox game came out on Tuesday. Levi has been so excited for this new game for so long that I had to give a little shout out to the boys. I've tried playing a version similar to this before with Levi and find that I can only make my guy turn in circles starring at the floor. Needless to say, I don't play this game with Levi anymore. This has been a highly anticipated and much coveted game. So, in recognition of the game and Levi's excitement, I am inserting a link to the trailer. You have been officially called to arms.

Tickets

It is official...we have our tickets for the midnight showing of New Moon. (When I say we, I mean the girls and I - Levi does not get nor want to be a part of my obsession.) We are braving the possible weather and the crazy tween and teen mob to see the midnight showing. While I am not looking forward to the overzealous crowd I do know the bar just happens to be right next to the theater - this could be a pretty entertaining night. You're only as old as you feel! ;)