Labor Day weekend BBQ & Rodeo

Mitch decided to throw a little "Labor Day BBQ" on Sunday and invite a few people over.... 20 adults and over 20 kids later... we realized it wasn't such a small gathering after all. We were so glad that almost everyone came! Everyone had a great time and there were almost no injuries (little Jared bumped his head)! But considering that the kids were all jumping off the hot tub wall into the pool (which was full of kids), that's not too bad! Mitch was the grillmaster and did a great job, there was plenty of yummy food and even lots of leftovers! Here are just a few pictures:




Anthony was so busy with the big boys that he wouldn't even look at me all day. Luckily Sander and Griffin adopted him for the afternoon. They took very good care of him, taught him to play football, and even made sure he ate. Thanks guys!


It was Valentina's 3rd birthday! She was our guest of honor! Thanks for celebrating with us! We love an excuse for dessert!

The next day Anthony went to the Okeechobee Rodeo with his NuNu, his Aunts, and his cousins. They had a great time and he has been saying "YeeHaw!" ever since. Now he wants to be a cowboy... at least for Halloween. He even went out on the arena and chased a cow with a bow on his behind with all the kids! He has also been very concerned about a particular cowboy who got bucked and "broke his leg". Thanks to all the Mazza's for a great day! Feel free to correct my story if I got it wrong... this is the "3 year old version".


Meanwhile... Mitch and I could be found working hard on our tans and zzzzz's.... all the way up until we got rained (poured) on!

Funny Story

First a little background... this is Mitch's car... I think we can all agree that although it is lovely, it's just plain small! Anthony loves to sit in it and help him wash it and on a good day, sit with him while he backs it out of the driveway. Since the back seat (yes, it's there if you look hard enough) is only big enough for an expensive, special order car seat, Anthony's never actually rode in it but would really like to. Anyway... the story goes like this:
We are at Mitch's house and Anthony is out in the street riding bikes with his friend Matthew (almost 5) from across the street. Matthew is riding a big boy bike and Anthony's is small with training wheels. He says, "My bike is little because I'm just learning, it's just a practice bike. When I get bigger I'll have a big boy bike like Matthew." When they finish riding we go to park his bike in the garage and he says, "Hey! Mitch's car is little, just like my bike!! It must be his "practice car"!" HaHaHaHa! "Mommy, when will Mitch get big enough to have a big boy car?"
I don't know Anthony....

Little Julia's Birthday...

CHUCK-E-CHEESE PLEASE!
We had lots of fun at Julia's Birthday Party! She and Anthony get along so well together! We also happen to enjoy her parents (Emily and Gene) and do lots of things with them!
Get used to seeing Anthony's fingers in his mouth pulling a funny face... that's the new instant reaction when he sees the camera come out.

There's my naughty little helper! He blew out two sets of candles before she ever got a chance... even then, I think he helped. Sorry Julia! He means well!


"What pizza???"

Safe and Sound..

WHEW!!! As you can see on the map below, it looks like we are in the clear from Hurricane Ike! Thanks for thinking of us! I've had many calls and e-mails from friends and family in Utah, so I just wanted to give you all a little update to let you know that we aren't in any danger at this point.... (Sorry Cuba and Louisiana!)
*For those of you who don't know, I'm in Boca Raton, FL which is just below the lake (Okeechobee) shown on the map and all the way on the east coast. Yes, I live 5 minutes from the beach! ; - )


I have much more fun and exciting things to show and tell about from the last couple of weeks, so I promise to get them posted soon!
So much to blog, so little time!!... So back to work I go....

Oh boy! Ike is coming...

I'm ready to hop a plane to Utah! Anybody want to take us in???

Logan and Liam...

We were at the Kigar's hanging out last week and Kelly snapped a few pictures of our cute boys. Anthony always asks for Logan (left) and Liam (right), he thinks they are so cool (which they are)! The girls better watch out for those Kigar boys! Aren't they handsome?!... and they are quite charming too! When I was pregnant whenever I came over they'd each find a ball to put under their shirts (to look like me). They used to ask if they could have that baby when he was born... or at least babysit. They were pretty confident they could handle it. They are very funny and great kids! Needless to say, hand-me-downs from them are like gold at our house! So keep 'em coming Kells! Thanks for the great pictures! We sure love you guys! See you soon at the boys' games!

Pictures and posts are coming shortly (we have been busy), but don't forget to read "ANTHONY'S QUOTES" listed down the right side. I add to the top of that list frequently and he is pretty funny! Someday I'll even get the nerve to put up the embarrassing quotes....
Back to work... Over and Out...

p.s. Anthony also finally got a much needed haircut!! Yay! He is a little upset that he can't smell his own hair anymore... weird!

A visit from Martine, Sam and Charlie...

We had a very nice weekend with my friend Martine and her 2 cute boys in town from Connecticut (2 weeks ago)! It was fun to see her since it had been about 6 years or so and we had a lot to catch up on. The boys had a blast, and Martine and I picked up where we left off like it was only yesterday that we were single, childless, working at Max's together and hangin' out in South Beach... My charming Mitch was sweet as ever (as usual), he put together a little BBQ for us while we took the boys to Boomers. He made hot dogs, hamburgers, corn, salad and of course, a veggie burger! And as you can see from the pictures, he also tired out the boys nicely! What a good sport! Thanks babe, you are the best! And thank you Martine for making time for us, I know you had a lot to do in a short trip! It was great to see you! It definitely won't be another 6 years before we get together again!!

My little cleaner & helper...

Anthony is all about cleaning and helping and doing whatever it takes to get a sticker on his "Reward Chart"! Of course he thinks he deserves stickers for just about anything. But it has been nice to have him so positive and anxious to help with things like vacuuming and laundry (even if it actually makes more work for me to re-do his chores). He is much nicer about dressing, brushing, sleeping, eating and lots of other challenging things. I'm so happy that he is starting to better understand that there are rewards and consequences for his actions without being reminded constantly! There is hope to get out of the terrible 2's and horrible 3's... Whew and YAYYY!!!!!

He is also becoming even more loving and appreciative... he is such an observant, smart and clever little boy! He always tells me that I am pretty and thanks me for doing things with or for him. He loves to tell me things I don't know (funny facts or phrases... sometimes that are made up and some he's learned at school) and then he'll say "You never heard that before right?" "I'm gonna tell you something else too... you ready?" He is anxious to learn lots of things, especially relating to dinosaurs, airplanes, rocket ships, heaven, skeletons, and still tractors and engines of any kind. He always wants specific info on the hows, whys and names of everything. He is also excited about learning and writing letters and making the sounds and thinking of words that start with all letters. When we are home he can rarely be caught without a magnadoodle or pen and paper practicing his writing and drawing. He is a lefty and insists on writing sideways, but his teachers are helping him learn the "lefty" ropes. He is so good a tracing and copying letters and pictures. He even drew an amazing copy of a basic car that Mitch drew for him. It included windows wheels and a driver and then a road to travel on. I'm so proud of him! I love you "baby"! xoxoxoxoooo!