Brian's Birthday Weekend

It's only fair that Daddy gets a weekend of birthday celebrations so we started off right on Friday night with dinner and bullriding at Buffalo Chip!  We had quite a bit of time after we finished dinner until bull riding started but the kids did great waiting!

Silly kid!

Getting the area ready!

Trevor's version of Heaven...up close and personal with a real live front loader!

Although using Daddy as a bridge to climb under ranked right up there for Ashley!

Ashley learned all about farm animals at summer camp the past week so she was all about checking out the bulls and horses!

On Saturday, his actual birthday, we swam all day with a quick break for a birthday lunch and cake/brownies!

At night Brian and Sara went to Fleming's for dinner. 

As usual, we ate too much but it was so so yummy!

After that we met our good friends Bobby and Julie at Dave and Buster's because the birthday boy wanted to play shuffleboard.  Well after a series of mishaps with the shuffleboard scheduler, they put us up in the bowling alley with free bowling.  Julie thought Brian needed a birthday shot...

 But he took a little then passed, so Sara stepped in and took it.  Yum!

Birthday kisses...awwwwwww...

 

Back to bowling....same area as a few weeks ago. 

Up until frame five it should be noted that Sara was ahead but then it went downhill.  Sara and Julie got a kick out of the socks we had to wear.  We hadn't planned on bowling so we came unprepared!

'Twinkle Toes' broke out a new move for this special evening.  LOL

After another screw-up by Mr. Shuffleboard Scheduler we each got $40 in free play cards so we hit the games.  Basketball...

Skee ball!

Trivia....

Photo booth fun...

And then finally the birthday boy got his wish!!!  Shuffleboard!!

Group shot!  Weekend warriors :-)

And before we called it a night we used up some of our players points on the big wheel.  Sara hit a lucky streak and got 500 tickets!  So did Julie...or maybe Sara did twice.  The night got a bit fuzzy...

In any case we won big...

...and took away some great prizes LOL

Happy 39th birthday babes!  We love you very very much and can't wait to see what this coming year brings!  And to the Yangs...thanks so much for celebrating with us.  We always have such a fun time together.  Must plan our next adventure soon!

Ashley Last Day of Camp

Ashley had her last day of summer camp on Friday.  She had her best day yet according to her teachers, Mrs. Soto and Mrs. Dahldein.  She walked right in, waved good-bye then played with other kids and had independent time.  Apparently they did an art project and a while after they were done Ashley went over to where the art projects were and tried to do it again!  The teachers were impressed that she knew where everything was!  Our smart girl doesn't miss a thing LOL

We know how good it is to be around other kids her age so we are going to look for a place for Ashley to go to a little bit starting this Fall.  Guessing she'll end up at Primrose or 'Firetruck School' as Trevor used to call it, but we'll see!

Treats

After swimming lessons the kids usually get to get a treat from the front desk.  Best $0.25 spent!

After they carefully select their treat they sit on the bench outside and munch away. 

Trevor requested that Mommy take a picture and then proceeded to act like a clown! 

Future Alma Mater!

Last summer when we visited the University of San Diego and Grandma Pauline purchased Trevor a shirt.  Well, it's starting to finally fit him so he proudly wears it for his Daddy and our babysitter Bethany who both went/go there!  Go Toreros!

Buddies!

We feel very fortunate to have made friends with some people in the neighborhood that have kids our age.  For instance, our friends Katie and Neill have Jack (almost 6), Claire (almost 4) and Grace who just turned 1.  Trevor loves Jack and Claire... and Ashley and Grace are becoming quite the little buddies!

 Trevor also has become fast friends with a boy named Thomas (4 and a half) in Fireside and luckily he has a little sister Zoey who is 2.  It's good for Ashley to hang out with Zoey because they can practice sharing LOL.  We saw them at this past weekend's bagel and brew event and Zoey was so excited to show Ashley that she got matching shoes!  Ashley is starting a trend among her friends to have these gladiator shoes!  Thanks Julie and Remy for introducing us to them!  You started a great trend among little girls! Cute!

So Smart!

 When we announce that it's time to leave the house you will find our big girl getting her shoes and putting them on!

What a big helper!!!  She's so proud to be a big girl!  And the kicker...she even puts them on the right feet!!!

Nuks are not forever

We've been reading 'Pacifiers are not Forever' to Ashley in preparation for the day that her nuk disappears.  With Trevor we waited until after his ear tube surgery at 18 months to take away his nuk and we followed the same protocol...weeks of reading the book then the nuk just wasn't given at nap time one day.  He cried for the longest 20 minutes of Mommy's life (yes she still remembers it) and she almost caved and went in to give him his nuk because she felt so bad but then he laid down and went to sleep.

Diva though is a bit different.  After crying for 30 minutes at nap without her nuk Mommy went in and picked her up and put her back down and walked out.  30 more minutes of crying and Mommy rocked her to sleep.  When Mommy thought she was good and asleep she put Ashley in her crib but nope, she woke up and cried for a few minutes before settling herself down and going to sleep for a whopping 30 minutes before waking up and fussing.  Looks like we waited a month to long to transition Ashley :-(

But yet we were going to hold strong until bedtime she cried for 20 long minutes and Daddy said to give her her nuk.  He doesn't like to see her cry either so our new plan is to only give her her nuk at naptime and bedtime for a month and then bye bye nuk.  We kinda forgot that step with Ashley...we definitely did that with Trevor and actually he was in daycare full-time when his nuk went bye-bye so he for sure didn't get it all day which was the daycare's policy.  So, fingers crossed things go better the next go around in a month!

Mine!

Ashley is talking up quite a storm lately...but the word she likes to say the most is 'MINE' and has the actions and look to go with it!

 Pure diva this one!

Swim Lessons

Trevor has been taking swim lessons at our clubhouse lap pool again this summer and boy is he doing very, very well!!  We thought he forgot how to swim correctly but nope, he is a fish!

Hard to see him here because he is working with Miss Emily on his back stroke....learning chicken, star, rocket for the leg motion.  We are doing two-week session bootcamps so Monday through Thursday every day for 30 minutes.  The first two weeks we paid for semi-private lessons, so with one other person but the little girl only showed up once!  So he had private lessons.  Now the second session started on Monday and we paid for a group session (3-4 students) but because of a mix-up they had 5 students so they lengthened the lesson to 45 minutes.  Well after the first class the instructor asked Sara if she'd want to move Trevor to a different time and do a private 30 minute lesson for what she paid for the group session because Trevor was more advanced than the other students.  Ummmm....okay!  So he's getting quite good at swimming with all of this one-on-one attention! 

Happy Father's Day....in Laughlin!

The Fathers in AZ decided that they wanted to spend Father's Day weekend checking out Laughlin!  We started out Saturday morning but not before opening up their Father's Day cards and gifts!

Trevor was so excited for them to open up their matching Captain America shirts that he picked out!

Then we hit the road!  Ashley was content reading her book upside down!

And Trevor loved raising his hands in the air as we went over large hills.

Mommy checked out Papa John's list of potential things to do in Laughlin.  He's such a great travel agent!

After a few 'are we there yets' Trevor fell asleep alongside Grandma Pauline!

And Ashley took a snooze too!

After getting settled in our hotel we went exploring.  We had a quick lunch at Panda Express and then walked along the Boardwalk to Riverside where Sara's parents sometimes stay when they get a free trip to Laughlin.  Sara found it funny that there was a place called Loser's Lounge!

We hit up the children's arcade there.  Ashley really wanted to get her picture taken in the booth...or just press any button that would light up!

She really got into this ball game.  She would insert the token and press the button and wait for tickets to come out.

Pretty soon Trevor and Daddy wanted in on the fun too.  Not sure who had more fun in the arcade...Daddy or his kids!

We went back to the hotel for a quick swim for our family to help wear out the kids so that they would be ready for bed after a late dinner and so that Grandma and Grandpa Hillins could gamble a bit.  After that we headed back to Riverside for happy hour!

Ashley was eying people's martinis.  Good thing Mama sticks with wine!

Kisses for Daddy!

We then moved next door and enjoyed a wonderful Prime Rib dinner.  Our table was right along the window by the river.  Such a great view!

When we got back to the hotel we put the kids to bed while Brian's parents went to gamble and then at 9pm we met up with our friends Bobby and Julie who decided to check out Laughlin as well.  Sara ran into Julie at the clubhouse on Friday morning and they talked about what they were doing for Father's Day.  Julie wasn't sure why anyone in their 30s would go to Laughlin but the next thing you know, Sara receives a text in the afternoon saying they were going to go too!  Funny!!!

The boys played black jack while the girls played the slots. 

And by girls we mean Sara, Julie and Pauline.  Only Papa John came up to watch the sleeping kids!!  Grandma Pauline was hoping to hit it big like the person we saw when we first checked in that had just one $6,119.19 on a penny slot!

After Pauline went to bed, Julie and Sara went to check out the live band and were surprised to see not one person dancing.  So of course we got the party started.  When the boys were done gambling we walked over to Riverside to check out a karaoke bar but we got there with just one song to go so that was a bust.  But we did find Losers' Lounge and there was a live band so we danced the night away there!  Dance with random person?  Not a problem for Julie!! 

The crew that took Laughlin by storm!  Another fun night with the Yangs!!

So backtracking a bit...when we say Papa John was watching the kids sleep, we should have said they were supposed to be sleeping.  Diva here apparently didn't like her pack and play or the room was cold or who knows what but she was determined not to sleep which kept Mommy up all night.  So much for feeling comfortable to vacation with kids again!  Grrrrrrrrrr!  Both kids were up and raring to go at 6:30 AM!!  Grandma and Grandpa Hillins helped to keep them entertained so Daddy could sleep a bit longer since he'd be driving home.  Ashley seemed to like getting beautified in Grandma Pauline's rollers! 

After everyone was up and ready, we walked down to the Colorado Belle to eat breakfast.  It's hilarious how cheap things are in Laughlin.  Our happy hour tab was less than $20 and breakfast for 6 people was $32!  Crazy!  The kids ate well and then played.  Ashley loves going under brother's legs. 

After that we caught the 10:30 boat cruise with the Yangs.  Ashley is definitely comfortable around Julie!  She doesn't go to anyone but these two were best pals on the cruise!

Heck Ashley even looks like she's just a member of their family ;-)  (Bobby's Mom was on the trip as well!)

Mommy's baby girl who really is not a baby anymore.  Tear.

Trevor found the perfect little spot for him on the boat when he wasn't playing with Remy.

A family photo!  Diva is wondering why Daddy still has his sunglasses on!

After the cruise we went to 12:00 mass and then hit the kids arcade one last time for a few minutes.  Trevor won enough tickets to get two more finger light sabers so he was excited about that!

After that we hit the road for home.  Both Ashley and Trevor were asleep in no time.  Actually Ashley fell asleep before we even had the car loaded!  Mommy wanted to fish hook Trevor but she kept her hands to herself.

We stopped once on the way home for bathrooms and treats.  The kids each got a DQ star because having a lick of Trevor's without holding it just wasn't going to work for the diva.  Mommy and Daddy each had a blizzard.  YUM!  The next day Sara sported her new Laughlin tank that Julie gave her.  Representin' for the 30-40 age group!

Thanks everyone for a wonderful Father's Day trip!  As Brian said, we can cross Laughlin off the list.  Glad we went.  Had a super great time.  But no need to go back ;-)