Cha ching, Cha Ching...Viva Las Vegas...Happy Easter!

Sonja and her sisters and two best friends went to Las Vegas this past week to celebrate Sonja’s birthday! Meanwhile, Zoe was home with Nathaniel and I while Sonja was out shopping, gambling, zip lining and taking in the sites in Las Vegas. She even went to the "Pawn Stars" pawn shop to see Chumley, who wasn't there...oh well!   Zoe went to her favorite restaurant “Ole McDonald’s for a happy meal, she went to a couple of her brother Nathaniel’s baseball games, attended a baseball fundraiser and got to ride her Dora Big wheel on several occasions.  I would say, all in all, Zoe had a great time.  However, she was thrilled to see her mom come home after being gone for 3 nights. The great news was Sonja and all had a great time and Sonja actually came back with about $500 winnings..not bad!

Carla, Lori, Sonja and Lisa on the fight to Las Vegas

I thought what you do in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas!!!!

Zoe also went with her dad to gymnastics and swimming.  I usually stay and watch her when she is practicing and I am just completely amazed how good she is getting.  Now she still has a long ways to go and there are a number of girls her age that are so much more advanced.  However, I think it is a great story to watch her as she continues to develop her motor skills, flexibility and strength. I find myself much more interested in girls sporting activities. Now when I am flipping the channels in the evening I find myself watching Dance Mom’s…and I thought Sports Dads were bad. Oh my! Those dance moms are something else…

What is really cool is Nathaniel goes outside and plays with her form time to time.  She seems to really like that. Get this…Nathaniel just got his school permit. So he can and does drive to and from school.  Zoe will actually ask if Nathaniel can drive.  She is more confident about his driving abilities than I am. I am sure my mother and father would just cringe if they knew he is driving…they worried about everything when it came to Nathaniel.  Zoe and Nathaniel also share one disappointing characteristic…messy, unclean bedrooms.  I try not to go upstairs as I am not sure whose stuff is whose as it’s on the floor, in the bathroom, on and under the bed.  You absolutely do not want to go to either room at night…either you will step, trip or get attacked by something…you are on your own in the dark.

We just heard from Phil and Tara, a great couple we really enjoyed being with. They were our traveling partners in China.  They adopted a beautiful girl Ada from the same area in China.  Well Phil just shared a great group of pictures which brought back great memories of China and the trip. We really had a great time…we hope to remain in touch and keep tabs of Ada as she is a precious little girl.

Finally, it is Easter weekend and  the Easter Bunny was really generous this year as Nathaniel and Zoe hunt for and collect Easter eggs.  Zoe had fun...for her first Easter egg hunt.  It took her a while to get the knack of hunting the eggs.  She would see one in the distance and run to it, and miss two or three that were right next to her. At one point she said during the hunt..."My basket is too heavy...can you hold it" and Sonja kept saying, "Zoe don't get on your knees, you have white pants on!" I promise you she will be a lot better next year now she understand how it all works.  I hope all of you have a great Easter or Passover holiday…

Zoe's first Easter Egg Hunt

My basket is getting too heavy...can you hold it!

I found one over here!

Whoops..forgot...my Mom can always wash my pants!

Do you see any others?

Tons of play time at the Baseball Field...Batter Up!

The weather has been so nice.  It’s the middle of March and we are seeing upper 70’s lower 80’s temperatures. As a result, Zoe is venturing outside more.  Which is great. She likes to go out and ride her scooter and big wheel.  She also likes to spend time in the dirt making castles and forts. This week in gymnastics Zoe was able to take in one parent so we could see what they have her working on. With Sonja traveling on business I got the pleasure to hang with Zoe.  During our time together, Zoe worked on the balance beam, uneven bars, pommel horse and the rings.  I was impressed on how far Zoe has come in the last 6 months.  Her balance and dexterity has improved significantly.  Now she is in the youngest group so their activities are relatively basic when compared to the older girls. I forgot how cool it was for your child to actually want you there versus our 14 year old who look for every excuse not to be seen with either of his parents (unless he wants something like food or money). Zoe really looks forward to  gymnastics, I am glad we found something she truly enjoys. Now, both Sonja and I have to learn a new sport...should be fun...

Sonja will be traveling again on a girl’s only mini vacation in a few weeks.  So Zoe gets to again spend time with her dad and brother. We will have to think of something fun while her mom is away at play. One thing I know for sure, I will be making at least one McDonald’s run. Zoe absolutely loves McDonald's cheeseburger happy meals.

The last few weeks for Nathaniel have been high drama as he competed for a slot on his high school baseball team.  He made the first cut and was waiting to hear the final decisions.  The good news is he made the team.  The coach said he was one of the three top players trying out and looked forward to having him on the team. During practice the coaches have him playing shortstop which is a new position for him. He had his first game and started playing shortstop.He made two really great plays.   One of the young men (Pat)  who is on his team.  Was on his traveling team for years. Nathaniel was always at First and Pat was at shortstop, now in high school it is reversed. Both sets of parents thought it was very ironic.  We are all excited to transition from wrestling to baseball. So this will be Zoe’s third season of baseball including last year’s spring/summer and fall leagues.  So she is now a veteran. She has already made friends with a few girls who are also their cheering on their brothers.  Zoe spends most of her time playing and does not take much notice of the game or her brother…great she enjoys being outside as she has another game to watch (scratch that)...I mean play at on Monday when Nathaniel plays against all his middle school and elementary school friends.

Zoe at the baseball park making mountains in the gravel

Nathaniel before his first High school game

Happy Birthday to Sonja (March 20th) and Nathaniel (March 24th).  Zoe your birthday is only about two months away! You will be five years old and you will have been with our family almosya  year! Wow...how time flies....

All is well otherwise…so glad we are heading into spring.  So many fun things to do…