HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY CHASE!!!

(side note: I just did a major catch up for those who go straight to the newest post you might miss everything else I just did before this. So, check it out!)

Our little Chasers turned 2 on June 18th. If you ask him how old he is he is very proud to tell you. We had all the family over for cake and presents that night. Laura, Taylor, and Brooklyn were in town. And Ryan's Uncle Paul was here too visiting so it was fun having all this extra family around. He had a great little party. He his very into Buzz Lightyear right now so I decided to make that be his theme for the party. (Ya know you wouldn't know he liked Buzz at all yesterday. We took the boys to see the new Toy Story movie. We thought Chase would do alright because he'll sit and watch the other Toy Stories at home. Nope, didn't want to have anything to do with it. Him and I sat in the lobby the whole movie.) (Chase is actually happy. That is his smile now. What a crack up!)

(Love the cheeks! Blowing those candles out.)

And nothing tops a great birthday than a face plant into the sidewalk. This is the morning after his party and this picture does not do his booboos justice. Above his left eye, his nose, under his nose and under his left eye were hammered.

Anyways, you're growing up way too fast buddy. Slow down!

AGAIN, A CATCH UP!!!

Ya know I told myself I wasn't going to let myself get so far behind in my posts. But, here I am again trying to play catch up on two months worth of stuff. I've got to do soooooo much better!

*First, back on May 14 I was able to go with Evan on his 4th grade fieldtrip to Sacramento and visit the capital and other California museums. Just him and I drove down together in our car and caught up with everyone else down in Sac. It was nice to be able to spend some one on one time with him. Bonus for me too since I've lived in California all my life and I've never been down to the capital or Old Town Sacramento! So, it was a learning time for me too. Their first stop was the California History museum. It was very interesting, full of interesting facts that 9 year olds just don't appreciate yet so it would be nice to go again and be able to read everything. Then we went to Old Town and ate at a Round Table Pizza for lunch. Then back to the capital building for a tour.
Very neat. All the kids really cared about was if they were gonna see Arnold. Which we didn't. Then we went back to Old Town and went to the California train museum. That was pretty cool. Full on regular sized trains of all kinds and ages. Evan and I want to take the rest of the family back down sometime. It was a fun day!

*Next, on May 26th Chandler was in his first grade class's play "Going Buggy". He was a caterpillar. They all had lines, which Chandler memorized beautifully, but Chandler also got to sing a solo. He did great! He was clear and loud and we were all smiling very big. Anyone who knows Chandler knows that he is not into anything embarrasing like dressing up in a "silly" costume. But he was very big about it and manned up and did it. Great job Chan!

*That same night Ethan had his end of the year baseball party. He got his trophy and that is all that mattered.

*Beginning of June Ryan took the young men from church to a private large pond to fish. Our boys and I tagged along for fun and let the boys fish. My brother Adam even came along. The boys had a great time and I really enjoyed being out there on such a beautiful evening. It brought back a lot of memories when dad would take us fishing to Centimudi, by Shasta Lake dam, and go fishing on the rocks. I liked that. I remember putting my own minnow on the hook and everything. Chandler even caught one all by himself. He was a way from us and I we hear "I got one"! He was so proud!
*On June 10-12 Ryan had a seminar in Tahoe. So, we decided to take the boys along for the ride. We stayed at the Cal Neva resort and spa. I love how saying it is a resort and spa makes it sound really cool and fancy. Ya, no. It is really old and everything is falling off the walls. In its hey day it was the bomb I am sure- Frank Sinatra was part owner or something. But this is where the seminar was and so we stayed there. It was actually fine just really old. We got there on Fri. night. Sat. morning Ryan had the seminar downstairs and so the boys and I got ready and headed out to do some things. First, there was a cute really fun mini golf course down the road. We played a round. Then we had Subway for lunch. Then Ryan's Aunt Mary told us that there is a neat bridge down the way that you can see lots of fish. So we went and checked that out. (Of course this whole time the camera is burning a whole in my pocket and I didn't think once to take pictures! AGGGHHH!!!) But after that the only thing,besides golf, that the boys thought was really cool was the small arcade that they had back at the "resort and spa". So, we went back and waited for Ryan to be done. The boys wanted to take Ryan to the golf course so we went back there and did the other side. Then dinner. The next morning we got all packed up and headed towards Emerald Bay. It is almost to the south shore so we stopped and checked out various things along the way. We stopped and showed daddy the fish at the bridge again, and then at Emerald Bay we got out and the boys hiked some rocks and we walked out to an amazing waterfall. Ryan and I both said that we have never been to the top of a waterfall before. It was amazing!

(The edge of the waterfall is right over Chase's right shoulder!)

(Ethan wanted to climb every rock and then have his picture taken.)

Then after dinner in Natomas we headed home. Fun weekend!

LOS ANGELES!!!

Ryan's grandma, Virginia Reasbeck, passed away and so we all headed down to L.A. for her funeral. She was a great lady. It's fun to hear stories of her from the past or what Ryan remembers. She will be missed. The service was very nice as well as at the grave site. We all then went to a family favorite restaurant for a lunch. Very yummy. After that we went back to our hotel and let the boys swim. Well they did for a little while. It was so cold. (Why I didn't get pictures I'm not sure.)

The next day we were able to take the boys to Disneyland. There's just something about that place. I don't care how old I get I love that place and to share it with your kids its even better. Ryan even said that it is his favorite place to go with his family. We had a great time. Chase loved it all and did exceptionally well not having a nap. The park was open till midnight that night so we got in extra time. It was great!

MAJOR CATCH UP!!!

So, obviously I have really slacked in the blog area the last few months. So I am going to sit and catch up. We got to get through 2 1/2 months. Hold on tight!

First, Evan had his Pinewood Derby for scouts. He made his into a whale. It was very creative and he did well.

Second, baseball season started for us. Like last year opening day was at Big League Dreams. We were there from 8:30 am and we weren't done until 6 or 7 pm. It is a lot of fun to see all the boys getting pumped up for the season and play their first games. There are so many different uniforms/teams in each division its fun to see them all so proud to be wearing their team get ups. This year Ethan is playing t-ball and on the A's, Chandler is doing machine pitch and on the Diamondbacks, (Chan is the one with the black sleeves and I just noticed that Ethan is in the background. He is in the green uniforms sitting down in upper right corner second one over to the left)

and Evan is doing Minors and on the Brewers. With Evan it is kind of ironic. With Evan being diagnosed with Celiac disease he can't have anything to do with wheat. Well on Evan's baseball hat there is a capital M for Milwaukee and under it is a wheat stalk. We teased him that he should be allergic to his hat. So far just the opposite- he wears it everywhere! Ryan is able to be the assistant coach for Chandlers team again this year which he really enjoys. Because it was going to be such a long day we were able to leave Chase with Bill and Cindy (Ryan's parents).

Next, during one of Evan's games he ended up getting hit it the leg by a pitch. It hurt him but he was a champ and did great through the rest of the game. We got home that night and there was a little tiny bruise between his calf and knee. We thought, "see it got ya but not too bad", and left it at that. Well, the next day Evan gets home from school and says, "Mom, look at this." Ya that isnt't what we saw the night before! Holy Cow!! (The picture does not do it justice AT ALL!!!)

Then, there was Easter. Ryan and I were having all of my family over for Easter dinner this year. So our Sunday was a little full. So, the previous day Saturday we went over to the Reasbeck's for a breakfast and egg hunt. Like always they had way yummy food and the kids had a ball finding plastic eggs. Ethan was the lucky duck that found the egg with the 5 dollar bill in it! I was really glad that he found it cause his big brothers get everything and don't always include him. So, for him to get something that they wanted was kind of nice for a change. (Reading that back it doesn't sound very good but it sure boosted his confidence and for a change he was the envied one.) Dave and Laura, Taylor and Brooklyn were there too.

After the Reasbecks we decorated our eggs. This was Chase's first year to decorate or find eggs Easter morning. He thought it was the best thing ever! He only broke a few by dropping them and he could've put the eggs in the color and took them out all day if he could.It was a great Easter. Unfortunately I didn't get any pics of Easter dinner. :(

CONGRATS MATT AND ANGIE!!!

Angie, my baby sister (sorry Gee you'll always be that) and the love of her life Matt got engaged. He sent her on a scavenger hunt and the last place was the Sundial Bridge here in town. He was waiting for her all dressed up and with a rose and one heck of a ring! We are so excited for you two!
Matt had let me in on his plans so I was able to hide and then actually get pretty close to them, without them noticing, to take pictures.

CHAN'S BASKETBALL!!!

Since the beginning of January Chan has been playing YMCA basketball. He has really enjoyed it and he was awesome! He is a natural athlete and it is so fun to watch his enthusiasm and passion. He loves all sports. This was the first time he played basketball. At this age there is a lot of double dribbling, traveling, fouling but they just let them play and it's fun. Today was his last game. Now on to baseball! Great job Chandler!

THE SCOPE!!!

So, Evan still isn't feeling like himself and even now he's done with the antibiotics for the Giardia there is no change. So, Evan, Gee, and myself went down to Sacramento today and he got a colonoscopy/endoscopy. He was put out with general anesthesia and for anyone that is a little scary but he did really great. They were 2 hours behind schedule so the waiting was rough and made his anxiety a little high. He was very concerned about the IV. But all the nurses were really great there. Good ol' emla (?) cream and distractions from a child life specialist and as Evan put it with a smile on his face, "That was easy!" Then the wait. But they had a Game Cube and movies for him to watch. He soon asked his roomie (who was waiting for a procedure too) Max if he wanted to play Game Cube with him. They did that for a while. There was a great lab/retriever mix dog that came in and laid on the beds after the kids got their iv's. While waiting Evan says, "This hospital is fun for kids!" Then Max went in for his procedure so Evan knew that he was next, and then the anxiety started in again. Asking questions left and right and getting very nervous and scared. Anyone that came in the room he would ask them if he was going to be alright. As we were rolling him to the procedure room the anesthesiologist whispers to me, " I'm just gonna put him out real fast if that is okay". She knew he was working himself up and thought knocking him out quick was for his own benefit. He did great. Dr couldn't find anything with her naked eye. We are waiting for biopsies to come back that she took while in there. Still a waiting game.

Gee came with me because Ryan had a seminar that he had put together back in November and since he was the host he couldn't cancel. Thanks Gee for being there with me. You were a huge moral support (more than you know) and I really appreciate it. Love ya!