MY NEW CAR!!

I hope you love my new 2009 white Altima!!
After way to much research and headaches, I am very relieved (mentally and financially) to have actually made a decision and pulled the trigger on a new car! I was so nervous to change from a SUV to a car and thought I would not like it, which is probably why I had such a hard time making a decision. But I am happy with my purchase (actually lease) and definitely feel that this was the best deal and fit for me. It is almost 2 days old and so far, I don't miss my Pilot at all (granted I still have it and haven't attempted to move any large objects with my car)... HaHa! It is so much fun to drive! It feels so light and quick and easy to handle. It has lots of fun features that even Anthony appreciates! Such as, the intelligent key (meaning I never use it, just keep it in my bag), an Ipod connection, a sunroof and a very sporty, cool look inside and out. The pictures don't do it justice, but the chrome trim is nice and the color is beautiful! Thanks to everyone who voted and helped me with the decision!

Matthew's Bounce House Heaven Birthday Party

Mitch has the best neighbors. Lissa and Jeff who live across the street have 2 cute boys, Matthew (5) and Jared (almost 2). We love to hang out with them and let the kids swim or ride bikes in the street. These pictures are from Matthew's very fun 5th Birthday party.

Anthony is on the bottom right next to (or on top of) his other friend, Asher.

Mitch, as he frequently is, was the largest kid at the party and the first to attempt the rock wall... yes, even in a harness clearly meant for 5 year olds...


Good job babe!

Thanks for a great party guys!

Fun Times... Silly Stories.... and more pictures...

THE NEVER ENDING POST... Take a deep breath and jump in... the water is warm (pun intended - Ha Ha)... Here are a few recent events in no particular order (that would be way too difficult):

I know everyone is tired of seeing the pool... but you couldn't possibly be as tired of the pool as I am, so suck it up and look at a few more pictures... When will it be winter??? Of course I'll be telling a different story when I get to Utah in December and freeze my buns off!

Anthony has become very brave!

This is his "Maniac Twist Jump" into the pool. Thanks, buddy!




We had a lovely day with Emily, Gene & Julia. The kids played in the pool for a while which was an extra special treat because they live in the community we moved from in February, so he played with all of our old neighbors that he used to see all the time. Then we had a nice dinner at their house. Anthony even taught Julia his silly camera face.



Goofy Anthony is always creative (aka strange)... He found these rubber gloves (rubber gloves are an odd obsession he has) and put them on his feet (Or did you do that, Mitch??), anyway, he then proceeded to run around the house clucking like a chicken. I couldn't get him to speak English for an hour! It was pretty funny! I wish I had it on video!


He likes rubber gloves so much he chose these as his "1 thing" in Target's dollar isle!


Marc and Giovanna had us over with Matt and Sarah and their 2 cute little girls Ava and Jordanna. We had a great time! Anthony and Max hit it right off and after a few laps in the pool, disappeared into the bedrooms to play. We kept sneaking in to make sure all was well and finally on about the 3rd or 4th check Marc and I walked into Valentina's room to find it ransacked with no one in it. We turned around to find them and there they were, right in the bathroom sharing the stool, each brushing his teeth with an electric toothbrush, just smiling at us like they were so proud of themselves. They had out the fluoride, listerine, pre-blue rinse, 2 toothpastes and I think even the floss... I sure this was all Anthony provoked as he has been quite brainwashed with oral hygiene. Anyway, Marc and I just stood there shocked looking at them. We didn't know whether to praise them or yell at them, so we just turned around so they wouldn't see us laughing. By the time I got the camera out Max had already begun cleaning up. I wish I had that picture! They eventually cleaned up the mess and then got ready for a "sleep over". They had so much fun. Sorry about the toothbrush! We owe you one!



We took a little evening outing to the beach... So nice!



I just can't shrink this picture because it's too cute! My sweet boys! Sometimes I even wonder if the love me as much as they love each other... Probably, I guess they do... but it sure makes me happy to see them so sweet and loving to each other! Although... Mitch does look like he's a little in pain... He does have a tight squeeze!


These pictures are at the Wites's beautiful home. They invited us over to play and have lunch. Mark and Jen have two cute boys, Asher and Leo. They are about 1 year older and 1 year younger than Anthony. And although the kids played great together, they especially love Mitch. Most kids seem to not notice his size and facial hair and mistake him for one of the kids. As always with the Wites', it was a very nice day!



The bounce house pictures were taken at our neighbor's twin 3 year old boys' birthday party. The little girl on the left I wanted to bring home and adopt! For those of you who know my family... Doesn't she look like she could belong to a Smith??? This picture of Anthony was the last straw before I forced him to get a haircut. He is great once we get there, he loves Tracy and wouldn't dream of letting anyone else near his hair, including the silly kid places. Tracy is a good friend of mine who also does my hair. He no longer looks like the orphan below!


The pictures below are of a play date at Vinny's house. They play so well together and really are crazy about each other. Vinny has an older brother named Anthony (Tony), so Vinny always calls my Anthony "Anthony Mazza". It's very cute! His parents, Linda and Luis, are great too! Mitch and I enjoyed hanging out with them while the kids played. There will be many more play dates ahead!



Whew! I'm exhausted after all of these kid activities! Time to put Anthony to bed, get a sitter and go out with the adults... no sun, no pool, and no jabber jaws... aaaahhh...

And the saga begins...

I guess I figured I would eventually have to face the "Mom's house/Dad's house" war, I just didn't think it would be at the age of 3. The smart little sh*%@ said twice over the weekend:

"Mommy, if you don't stop telling me to clean up my toys all day, I'm not going to come to your house."

It was the tone of voice that got me... very sweet and slow and matter of fact, like he was really giving me a real ultimatum. You know, exactly how I speak to him. He also informed me that Dad has more money because he lets him buy whatever big toys he wants at the store, not just one from the dollar isle. He said, "You're going to have to get more money."

Of course I replied to both appropriately and nicely, but it took a lot of will power to do so. Is this going to be the story of my life for the next 15 + years??? Ultimatums and requests for money??? Oh boy!

GRRRRRR!

Show and Tell Friday

Theme: Family - Anthony brought a UTAH Snow Globe

Anthony is doing great in school. He is learning a lot and is OBSESSED with learning letters. He constantly has a pen and paper or his magnadoodle and is quizzing me or telling me what letter words start with. He traces perfectly and does pretty good free hand too! He is a lefty so he has a tendency to write letters sideways, from right to left, and top to bottom.... Is that a lefty thing or a 3 year old thing? I don't know, but his teachers are great and work with him closely to avoid creating bad habits. He's very lucky to be in a small class in a great school with wonderful teachers and very fun friends! He surprised me the other day by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance the whole way through. It was so cute and hilarious to hear his version of the big words.. like "the republic" is "The Publix" (which is our big grocery store here). He is very stubborn and knows he right about everything so its impossible to correct him on anything... like the statue of "Liverty" or E's have 4+ lines in them. Anyway, he loves "Show and Tell Friday's" and this week he needed to bring something that had to do with his family... So he picked this UTAH snow globe... so cute! On the left side of the top picture is his best little school friend Vinny and one of his teachers, Miss Sherrie. He and Vinnie are two little peas in a pod and always get along well. His teachers say they are quite a pair, she feels like she is on the streets of New York with Anthony and Vinny. Vinny has a 5 year old brother named Anthony (Tony), so he call my Anthony "Anthony Mazza" every time!


Anthony was pleasantly surprised that he caught a baby lizard in our front yard.


He has been insisting on wearing his "cool" jeans although it is 1000 degrees outside!