Relay for Life 2010

This is our 5th year participating in the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life event with Team Super Jake. Our team raised $10,000!! Thank you to all who supported us.....we sincerely appreciate it! In addition to walking in memory of all our friends and family who have battled this horrible disease, this year we walked in special honor of Karen, who is in the midst of winning her 2nd fight.....she's kicking Cancer's ass (again)!! Her whole family was with us all the way from good ol' Texas and we had a great 24 hours out on the track together! Jake got to camp out with us for the first year, which he thought was SO cool. Our walk has definitely become a tradition and it's a good feeling to make just a small contribution towards the fight against Cancer.

Mia was just a tiny baby last year at the relay....this year she was running in circles!

What could be more fun than playing in the tent?!

My mistake.....SNOW CONES are definitely more fun than the tent :)

Super Girl!

Kelly, my trusty walkin' buddy!

It wouldn't be an "event" if I didn't make cupcakes (according to Karen)!

Karen with her mom and sisters....so cool!

Summer fun at the cabin!

We spent a fun afternoon at the Blue Lake Springs pool!

Mia is a nature girl! She walked around and played in the dirt while Jake and Daddy fished

Tutu and Jake helping Daddy reel in the fish!

So cute! Father and son fishing trip 2010. Tutu and I were amazed that they actually caught something....there were a few other groups of people who were there a lot longer than we were....we were thinking it was going to be a bust, but as usual, Brian proved us wrong!

The Fair

We're not sure how many years we've been going to the fair with the Braga Family, but we know it was before kids, and Ethan is 7. Sooo, we're thinking that it's a tradition that's gonna stick until the kids are all going on their own! Jake had tons of fun following Ethan and Colin around and even did some of the bigger kid rides like the tilt-o-whirl! Here are some of the pics from our night.....

Uncle Shaun sitting in the back of the helicopter with Colin, Jake and Regan sharing pilot duties

Mia's tired but hangin' tight while the big kids continue with the fun....

Ah, oatmeal cookie = a second wind for Mia!

Love that smile from Jake!!!

Post oatmeal cookie face

Uncle Shaun definitely gets the good sport award for the night! Here he is on round 3? of the tilt-o-whirl.....the rest of us adults were sick just watching them!

Auntie Karen introducing Mia to funnel cake....a fair favorite!

The kids waiting for the rides....not so patiently!

GOOOO YANKEE'S!

As a Father's Day gift for all of the dads, we got tix for the A's/Yankee game. It was the first game for Jake and Grady (Mia stayed home with Auntie Julie) and they had a blast! Fred and Peter were good sports, being the only A's fans in our section! It ended up being a good game and the Yankee's had a grand slam + home run by A-Rod. The only reason I mention it (because you know I could care less, really) is that Jake loved it when the whole crowd stood up and cheered. He was hootin' and hollerin' with the BEST of them! His only disappointment was that the players were not throwing the ball TO him. I think he may have been under the impression that he was actually going to get to PLAY baseball. All in all, we had a really fun night and a great memory of the boys and their first (of many, I'm sure) baseball games!

Jake sitting next to Grammie....this pic must have been taken before his mouth was stained red for ALL of the licorice (thanks, Grammie).

Our whole crew...12 of us total! A bit hard to see, but it was Papa, Tutu, Kerry, Fred, Uncle Kirt, Grammie, Gramps, Auntie Kelli, Uncle Rob, Grady, Jill, Brian & Jake

Cheering away for the Yankee's!

G-man.....so cute!

Rob and Grady cheering after A-Rod hit the grand slam!

Jake came ready to catch a foul ball!!

The Wallace Family Visits

Aiden reading to Jake.....SO cute.

They're all pretty excited to be having a slumber party....

They all finally fell asleep after 2 hours of messing around!

Mia looking cute in her bikini from Uncle Kaffy!

I'm posting this picture ONLY to show proof that I did actually exercise. Staci and Jason are really good about working out and since they didn't get to the gym, they jogged. Brian went with Jason one day, so I was pressured/forced to go the next. It's the first time since fulfilling a high school P.E. requirement that I have run more than 20 yards (no, I'm not kidding). Amazingly, I survived....though I was sore....still hobbling a bit, but it could have gone worse.

Brian and Jason stayed with the kids while Staci and I ran.....we
were not surprised to come home and find them all watching t.v. :)

Quinn and Aiden were so brave holding Ellie.....I think Staci almost had a hear attack.

Aiden and Quinn would fold the hose and then when Jake stared straight at the end of it, they would let go and it would spray him right in the face. PURE entertainment for all involved.

The Wallace family made the drive down from Washington and we were SO happy to have them stay with us. The kids ALL had a great time......oh, how I wish we lived closer and they could see each other more (sniffle, sniffle). Aiden, Quinn and Jake had a "slumber party" in Jake's room where they all slept on their blow up beds....Jake really felt like one of the 'big kids' and they FINALLY fell asleep the first night around 10:30. We all had so much fun visiting and the kids just ran around playing all weekend.

Happy 4th of July!

This picture is out of order, but I couldn't get the blog to cooperate! So, here are Mia and her buddy/neighbor, Max, enjoying the fireworks show. She LOVED them. Even though it was 2hours past her bedtime, she belly laughed at just about every one!

Here they are, the "good children". Grady and Mia are at the age where you can still force them to do what YOU want them to do (within reason). Notice that Jake is not in this "cousins" picture. He was having quite a day and absolutely refused to even sit on the bench. After a nap, he was a new person, and you can see the pic of him and Mia below.

Break from the bounce house for a rice crispy treat! Had a great time at the annual block pary!

The kids watching fireworks from behind the sliding glass door. They were thrilled to have a front row seat, minus the smoke and noise that they would have endured, had they been outside.
Our neighbor did a great job with an HOUR long fireworks show right in his backyard! Sometimes it is a good thing to have a pyromaniac for a neighbor ;) Thanks, Alfredo!

Jake, all ready to watch the fireworks with his warm clothes and earphones!

Roasting Marshmallows

Jake was due to start summer camp and when I told him, his response was "Yay, and we get to roast marshmallows".....and then as we headed to the car to leave, he added "Oh mommy, I'm so excited to pick out my campsite and set up a tent!". I gently told him that it wasn't "that kind" of summer camp. Boy, was he going to be disappointed with summer camp! So I promised him that we would roast marshmallows at home that night. We had lots of fun and even though it had been a hot summer day, it was a COOL summer night (which explains Mia's get up).

June 2010

She LOVES her brother!

And she also loves bath time!

A pic of her after she fed herself yogurt for the first time....big (messy) girl!

Maybe she'll join me in the kitchen when she gets bigger....but for now,
she does love to play with all of the kitchen tools!

Slip n slide

I remember having SO much fun doing the slip n slide as a kid....if we didn't have one available, we'd just nail down a bunch of black garbage bags.....the perfect summer activity! Jake had a blast with his!! As you can see, he had fun drinking the water as much as sliding. One thing is for sure....he has no fear....he would run full speed ahead and then SPLAT....looked like a really painful belly flop, but he loved it every time!