Aunt Becky's Wedding and the Little Ring Bearer

So let's talk about HOW FAR BEHIND I am. Aunt Becky got married in October. :) Oh well, better late than never...

So Becky and AJ finally tied the knot. It turned out to be a great wedding, although I had my serious doubts in the planning stages (oh, and the early morning hours THE DAY OF THE WEDDING when I was frosting 8 zillion cupcakes). Becky lives in Arizona, but had decided she wanted to have a "backyard wedding" at PJ's parents new house here. They have a ton of land, and it really is the perfect "party" yard. PJ's parents worked tirelessly for months to add on to their patio, build arbors, more roofing over the patio, etc, etc. But that was really just the start. PJ's Dad built a huge dance floor among other things.

In the end, the wedding ceremony was short and sweet, and the party was great fun. She asked Britton and Alex to be the ring bearers, and they were SO cute. Becky really has great taste, and she stuck hard to her casual backyard theme, right down to the ring bearers, sending them down the aisle in black converse high tops. I had my doubts about that as well, but seriously, it was super cute. Here's a few pics from the big day - keep in mind I'm no photographer... :)

The wedding party (during the ceremony):


Becky and her Dad getting ready to walk down the aisle. Isn't she just gorgeous?!? I love how serious Britton and Alex look. Funny story - Lexi, the flower girl, was walking pretty slow down the aisle, so Britton walked back down the aisle to "help" her deposit her flower petals faster. It was hysterical.

PJ walking his mama in.

Becky and my new brother-in-law - AJ. We LOVE him! He's a soccer player and has the same initials as PJ (whose initials are really AJ. Really. I know. Stick with me here.)

A little pre-wedding bounce for Ley-Ley with Daddy on the trampoline.

I LOVED the decorations she had - just beautiful! Tons of lights and these huge paper flowers. It really was a magical atmosphere.

My handiwork. Yep. ALL the cupcakes were frosted by me, or Laura, one of the bridesmaids. And this picture doesn't even show the half of it.



Britton and Leyton shakin it with Gigi. They just danced, and danced, and danced.

So now, it would all be perfect if we could just talk Aunt Becky and Uncle AJ into moving back to Tulsa (currently in Tucson)! We miss you guys!

Snow Monster

Britton LOVES the snow. Like could-stay-out-there-all-day-with-soaking-wet-feet-blue-lips-and-shaking-like-a-leaf loves it. So with the amount of snow we've had this year, he's been able to make up for lost time the last few years when it didn't seem we really had a "good" snow! Here's a just a few pics from the many trips out into the yard.

One note... It seems every time it snows, Leyton is a little under the weather. Never anything serious, but sick enough I'm not dying to let him play in the cold, wet snow. It breaks his heart (and therefore mine), but I generally make it up to him with extra special snacks (you can fix anything with Leyton with food) and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. :)

Britton took a snowball to the neck in a snowball fight with Daddy. Note he's still smiling - even with the cold snow IN his coat. Yikes.

Mimi is quite the snow bunny herself - in fact she played Frisbee with PJ on Christmas until her nails bled - literally. She had just had them trimmed, and I guess the ice and snow really reopened the quick on her nails. She didn't seem to mind though, and was not happy when we made her stop (as soon as we realized her nails were bleeding). I love that she is still such a pointer when she wants something!

Britton insisted on making a snow angel. On the driveway. Nice and comfy.

Check out how deep the snow was in front of our garage - well past his knees!

Let's make a Poor Attempt to Get Caught Up... Here's Christmas! (2 months late)

Our Christmas was a little different this year, thanks to Mother Nature. We had grand plans, which all went out the window with the blizzard. So it was a different Christmas this year, but a wonderful one. We had lots of time at home, just the 4 of us (or 5 since I can't forget sweet mimi). It was really very relaxing! Here's just a few pics..

On Christmas Eve, we spent the afternoon decorating Christmas cookies - always a favorite tradition at our house. We then went to my Dad's house to celebrate with him. The boys loved getting to play with the pinball machine they have there, and ate more cookies than I thought an almost 5 and 20 month old should safely consume. (THANKS Grandpa for the sugar high) They got some great gifts, and we all loved staring out the window at the incredible snow.

Leyton just prefers eating cookies to decorating them. Surprise, surprise.

Present opening at Grandpa's with Trenton... I just love the magic look to this picture, even if it is a bit blurry.

Britton and Leyton each got a HUGE beanbag with their names monogrammed on them (more pics of that to come). Leyton preferred to just hide behind them. :)

My Dad is not one to smile in pictures, so this one just cracks me up. Grandpa and two cheeseballs.

Normally, we go to church in the evening and then to PJ's Parents for the Garcia/Acuna family shindig, but no such luck this year. PJ's family had all gone to El Paso for a funeral a few days earlier, and were stuck in transit on the way home. PJ's grandparents actually slept in their car on the side of the highway Christmas Eve when the highway they were on was shut down! PJ's parents managed to get to a hotel in Waco, but that was as far as they could get. It was actually ok with us this year, even though we were sad not to see PJ's family on Christmas. "Santa" was able to get all the gifts set up under the tree at a reasonable hour, and I think we might have actually made it to bed before midnight (a new record for us on Christmas Eve)!

Christmas morning, Santa delivered big time with snow boots under the tree, and we braved the snow and ventured over to Gigi's house. The boys had a wonderful time playing ALL day with their cousin, Trenton, and we made it home just in time to play in the snow.

Here's a video of Leyton and the boots. Let me just preface by saying, he loves them now. At the time, not so much. :)

Leyton and Gigi (notice the boots? see, told you he liked them later):

Britton's big Santa gift - Golf Clubs!!

Leyton's Little People Airport - which he refers to as "People"

Andy Roddick or Michael Jordan?

This was a toy Britton got in his Valentine's box at school this week, and Leyton found it this morning while PJ and Britton were gone. I've been trying to keep this one away from Leyton, just because not only is it a cheap toy that probably won't last an hour, but it has a small ball which to me screams choking hazard (we certainly don't need any of that). But the second he found it, I knew I wasn't getting it back. For the record, I never left him while he played with it, and luckily, when it broke (you knew it was coming), I was right there to peel the little rubber ball out of his tightly clenched fist, while he screamed "FIX IT MOMMY!" Needless to say, I couldn't fix it, and I think it broke his heart. I'm just so proud of his coordination! He's dribbling better than BK at this point! :) Not sure yet if this is going to lead to tennis or basketball (hence the title), but it's sure cute to watch!

Why Hello, Sweet Justice

So I'm going to make this a quick one, but I just had to post it - I've been laughing about this for the last day and a half.

I was in a minor car accident last week - in PJ's truck. It was NOT my fault, I was the only one in the car at the time, and thank goodness the guy that hit me had insurance and is paying for the repairs. So while his truck is in the shop, they provided a rental... :)



The beauty of this is that PJ has been harassing me about getting a minivan for the last 10 years. (so not exaggerating) Even before we were married, he constantly made comments about how one day I'd be driving a minivan. Now let me just say to all my minivan-driving friends out there, I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH MINIVANS. As long as it's not me driving it. :) I blame my parents... They had vans (full and mini) until my senior year in high school. I was so embarrassed by the vans I swore I would never get one. Yes, I realize they are convenient. Yes, the sliding doors are nice. Yes, the space would be great. But so help me, I'm not driving one. It's just not for me.

So when PJ pulled up in the minivan yesterday, it was just perfect. I've even come up with a little song about PJ's purple-tinted minivan. And no, I won't be singing it for anyone else. Besides, I can't get through it without laughing hysterically.

But just do me a favor - the next time you see PJ, ask him about his "ride." Really. I'll thank you for it... ;)

the unlikely aunt

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I found this in my drafts folder and realized it was never posted. It's probably from late summer. Anyway, I wanted to post it - it's a great story about Aunt Amber. :)
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Britton and Leyton have 4 wonderful aunts - all special in their own way. But I want to brag on my sister for a minute. Aunt Amber's "special talent" is her ability to really play with the kids. She gets right on their level, plays their games (and teaches them some of her own), and can make them all laugh hysterically. Just this week I saw a great example of it I wanted to share. Britton and Trenton love to hide in the kitchen pantry at my Mom's house. Not sure what the big draw with the pantry is, but it's a hit. They go in and out of there constantly, giggling. Last Wednesday, Amber caught them in the pantry and shut the door and turned off the light. The giggling turned to hysterical laughing and squealing. In her best "monster" voice, she said, "WHO YOU GONNA CALL!" Silence. I know Britton hasn't seen Ghostbusters, and I doubt Trenton has either. After a few seconds of silence, I hear Trenton's little voice when he barely replies, "Ghostbusters?' Like he wasn't sure if it was the right answer or not. We just all died laughing. Now they are constantly wanting Amber to "trap them in the pantry and play the Ghostbusters game."

Kindergarten Age

Today is a huge day at the Garcia house - Britton turned 5 at exactly 4:28pm. I cannot believe I have a 5 year old. I cannot believe he goes to Kindergarten next year. I cannot believe he no longer needs naps, Mommy holding his hand all the time, and no longer calls me "Mommy." (I'm now "Mom.") And now you know why I spent a good half hour bawling to PJ last night about how he could NOT be 5. He could NOT go to Kindergarten. And the first time anything bad happens at school, I'm pulling him out. (No, not really, but it will be so hard to deal with all the ups and downs I know come with the school years) I'm just really having a hard time dealing with the whole "big kid" thing. I suggested this morning to BK that maybe we could just forget this whole birthday thing and stay 4, he wasn't game for that... Oh well, I tried.


So every year on his birthday, we let him choose what he wants to do for his special day. This year was a little different considering the temperature and current snow levels, so we had to change plans. We've been very lucky in that we have had good weather every year on his big day, until now. So no trip to the park on his bike, no playing golf with Dad (he got new clubs from Santa). But instead, he did go to work with PJ this morning, which he loves. We then all went to lunch at Red Robin (his FAVORITE), and came home to watch a new movie he received for his birthday - "Up." This evening, we celebrated with PJ's parents, and Britton ran around with his cousins for hours. All in all, I think he'd tell you it was a good day. :)

And for me, I hope turning 6 is easier than 5 was. Although I have a feeling it won't be.

Lunch at Red Robin:

Celebrating at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Can you tell he's scared to death of the candles? (Thanks to an sparkler fear from 4th of July years ago - not that he was hurt by one, they just scare him. The kid has a memory like an elephant) And check out Leyton's face in the background. He was mesmerized.

Happy Thanksgiving! (Britton-style)

Meet our little performer! The turkey song just cracks me up, and he sings it with such emotion! :) Happy Thanksgiving!

I hate that this thing is sideways, and I didn't realize it until it was uploaded (which took FOREVER). So I'm not going to redo it for now, but you get the idea. :)

halloween

This year, we made a number of stops on our "Halloween Tour 2009." We started with the Pumpkin Patch a few weeks ago, which both boys loved. On Friday, we went to a Halloween party at my office and the kiddos trick-or-treated from office to office, which is always fun. On Saturday, Mommy ran the Tulsa Run, we attended a church festival, trick-or-treated at my Mom's, my Dad's, and rounded out with a trip to the Garcia family party. We were beat by Sunday, to say the least. :)

And I have to brag for a minute. I made Britton's costume this year - all by myself. I know there are lots of you that are old pros at sewing, and while I LOVE it, we never sew from a pattern. My Mom and I are famous for "just winging it" and making our own designs, so this was a bit of a challenge. It was a much harder costume than I thought and my Mom did provide direction from time to time, but I'm pretty darn proud of how cute he turned out, and the fact that it was done on time! (thanks Mom for finishing the knee pads at the last minute when my machine decided to be "temperamental" - or maybe it was user error...)

Ok, this one is just hysterical. I'm not exactly sure what that look is on his face, but this is what I got when I said "show me your mean knight face..."

Trick-or-treating at Gigi's:

would you believe he's doing his best dragon roar in this one and not screaming to be put down?

the sweetest purple dragon...

watching the animals at the Pumpkin Patch:

Leyton was more interested in climbing on the pumpkins then actually letting me take a picture of him on them. Last year was much easier when he was less mobile...

Britton doing his best scarecrow:

the king

So for the first time in MONTHS (seriously like a bunch), PJ and I went on a date. Yes, for those of you "in the know," we were very spoiled and used to get date night ever Friday evening when my Mom would watch Britton for a few hours. But then came Leyton, and we lost date night. :) I'm not complaining in the least - on Friday nights, my Mom still takes BK for a few hours (and Trenton - my nephew who is just 9 months older than BK) and we get some one on one time with ley-ley which is great. Anyway, a few weeks ago Trenton couldn't come to "drop-off night" as the boys call it, and my Mom offered to come over and watch BK and Leyton. We had a gift card for dinner, so off we went! It was great - adult conversation, no screaming children, and no scraping food off all restaurant surfaces. Afterwards, we still had some time to kill, so where did we go? Target. Romantic, right? :) I needed a few things, and I LOVE Target. So as I cruised around the aisles looking at random items, PJ just kind of followed. I turned around at one point and found this following me around:


Nice, huh? Yeah, he thought he was pretty funny and wore that silently all over the store, while I frantically tried to lose the King. No such luck - he's pretty good at tracking...