Last plane ride of the year

Every year I take an annual 2 week trip in the summertime to Utah. Well, due to the circumstances of having another baby in August I had to schedule the trip a little earlier this year. It actually turned out great because C.J. was graduating high school. Ya, I know. My littlest brother just graduated! That really makes me feel old! I don't if I'll be able to take it when Chellese graduates. Anyway, Mason and I got in late Saturday evening. Mom and Dad picked us up then we headed to Evelynns house and picked up Chellese. She'd spent the day with all of her favorite cousins while Mom & Dad ran errands.

Funny Story...well, I guess to all who were there it's funny

So on our drive back to Delta, C.J. sent a text message to my mom asking her to get dog food and yellow cheese. Ok? No big deal. Well, she somehow hit a button that made the phone read the text message aloud. So in a robotic...British voice we all heard, "DOG FOOD AND YELLOW CHEESE." I don't know if it was because it was so late, or because it just sounded so funny, or both, but we all started laughing & playing it over and over. All of a sudden we heard from the back seat "YELLOW CHEESE! Ha ha ha ha!!!" Mason caught on to the joke, or at least he thought he had and he believed he was the funniest thing ever...which all made us laugh even harder.

From then on there was never a quite moment because it was fill with the sound of Mason saying, "Dog food yellow cheese! Ha ha ha ha!!!"

Minus Mason screaming for 45 minutes in the car and Dad narrowly avoiding a speeding ticket (just scraped by with a warning) my first day back in the Beehive state was very enjoyable!

Sunday evening C.J. had Seminary graduation. Oh man was I proud (and a little surprised) that he was graduating. I think he was a little surprised he'd graduated too! During all of the talks Mason started getting anxious so we went to do a few loops around the church. We ended up running into one of Bowens mission companions, Clint Nelson, and I chatted with him for a while. It's still so funny to me that Bowen had ties to Delta Utah before he even met me.

When we all got back to the house C.J. made sure I took a picture of him with his Seminary Diploma so that he could send it to Shaun out in the mission field. He must have been proud to actually ask for his picture taken!

That is not his normal smile! He was being such a dork and wouldn't take a normal one.

Mom had made cookies to send Shaun and his companion and there were a few left overs. Mason sure enjoyed his late night snack of milk and cookies before he went to bed that night.

Tuesday was graduation. A lot of family had driven down to see him. As soon as he came walking into the gym we all cheered pretty loud. It was enough to put a big smile on his face and wave to us.

There you have it, the whole Delta High School graduating class of 2010!

Mason absolutely loves his Uncle C.J. (who doesn't?)

He came home for a quick minute that night & I was able to get in my goodbyes, but soon left to go to Grad Night with all his buddies. He had landed a job with the BLM to fight wildfires this season and had to be in Vernon early that next morning to start training and would be there all week.

The rest of the week was filled with hanging out with the family. Blowing bubbles with Pa Pa Kurt and watching Chopper dog try to eat them was sure fun!

So was playing in my old playhouse. I got that for Christmas when I was just 4 years old. Mason loved it too! He made me cookies in the little kitchen that 's in there.

On the last day of school the Res is usually full of kids. The weather was bad enough that day that when we drove by the beach there was nobody there.  We wanted to just put our toes in so that's what we did! Mason had fun finding "big rocks" to throw in the water.

Grandma Jill had organized a "Quilting Bee" for all the women that Friday and Saturday at Evelynns house. She taught us all how to make Log Cabin quilts. It was so much fun to be with all the women and kids! That's one thing that I definitely miss is being around family like that. It was an intense 2 day event, but between Mom and I we got Chelleses quilt top done. I don't have a picture, but trust me, it's super cute!

Evelynn and Mandy

Heather, Chellese, & Mom

Grandma Jill, and Kara

Evelynn and Jerolynn

Jer, if your looking at this your lucky I didn't put up those other pictures :)

Our quilting bee came to an end Saturday evening and we headed back to Delta. I wanted to make it in time to take Mason the the Rabbit Rumble Demolition Derby, but we were a little too late. Instead we ended up going to the movies to see The Prince of Persia. Dad, Mom, Chellese, Mason and I loaded up the car and headed to the T&T Twin Theaters of Delta! The movie was great but Mason didn't watch even so much as a second. The movie didn't get out until after 11pm and he was delirious! As we were walking out to the car he exclaimed in an excited voice, "I liked the moooovie!" This had the same effect as the Yellow Cheese incident. We burst out laughing!

This is what he was wearing and so I think it made it funnier than it should've been. He looked like some crazy cat lady in pajamas accented with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders and stuffed dog.

My child is Nuts!

For Family Home Evening the family decided that since they weren't going to be at Mason's birthday party that they would throw a mini one for him. Chellese made, frosted, and decorated a cake with Sesame Street characters, and made a 2 shape out of candles.

Opening presents!

Mase couldn't wait to see what was in the box...

Ta Da! A coaster car! He goes so fast on that little car! We didn't have enough space to take it back with us, but Pa Pa Kurt is going to ship it out soon :)

After playing with that oh-so-fun car all came in for some cake and icecream...aaand then bed.

The last day we were there was so nice. Dad met me, Mase, Mom, and Chellese at the city park for a picnic.  Mason had fun running around and playing in the waterfall.

This is his picture taking face about 3/4 of the time.

Bama Stef!

 I wanted to make this a good long trip because I knew we weren't going to be out there again until Christmas. Also, this was Masons last "free" airplane ride and the last time out there as the only grandchild to Pa Pa Kurt and Bama Stef. Trust me, he got more than his share of loves from them!

It was such a fun trip and I can't wait to visit again. Although, coming home to my husband and San Diego aren't so bad...ya, it's pretty much the best thing ever!

Go Padres

A few weeks ago Kevin gave us some sweet tickets to go see a Padres game with his family. As soon as I said baseball, Mason had to have his baseball mitt, bat, and hat to take with him. Lately he's been obsessed with baseball and so I was excited to take him to a game. Although we didn't have the All-American hotdog we did enjoy some cotton candy!

And the end result...well, the Padres lost but we all had blue tongues!

New York!

I can't believe it had been almost 3 years since Bowen and I last set foot in New York. My last memory in NY was driving back to Utah in my little car, away from the hustle and bustle, to get married to my best friend, Bowen, whom I had dated & fell in love with during my short stay there.

A couple of weeks ago we were able to go back and visit. Bowen had his two week annual training for the Navy, & Mason and I just wanted to go along for the ride. Our wonderful New York family, the Weidlers, opened up their home and let us stay there. It was so great to see Ralph & Gerti! We'd missed them tremendously! Chris and Terry (Ralphs son and daughter-in-law) & their kids live at the Weidler home as well so Mason was thoroughly entertained. Even though Bowen had class all day Monday-Friday, Mason and I kept ourselves entertained. We slowly adjusted to the time change. Even though it was a three hour difference I definitely felt jet lag the next day. One sunny day Mase and I walked to downtown Port Jefferson. There is this cute little park next to the Ferry port. Mason had a great time playing on the boat and running around with the other kids. He wouldn't go play in the water area, but he was quite content just watching the other kids soak themselves. Being my forgetful self, I'd forgotten sunscreen, so after a couple of hours it was time to find some shade and lunch. I was dying for some NY pizza & Ralphs Italian Ice, sooo that's what we got!

Yummm!

Double Yum! Mason was a little sunburned and sooo tired, but he managed to eat his entire ice (with, of course, some help from mommy).

After our fun outing he was so tired. I thought he'd fall asleep on the walk home, but he didn't. So as soon as we got back I put he and myself down for a nap.


Bowen was had about a 2 hour commute each day & each way and it was starting to get a bit redundant for him, so after a few days at the Weidlers we decided to go stay at Fort Totten where the rest of the people in his class were staying. It was so much closer to the academy and that left more time to spend with Bowen in the afternoon now that he didn't have that commute. I thought it was going to be like a motel (don't get me wrong, I wasn't expecting much) but it was a little more like army barracks...well that's exactly what they were.

The good thing was that now I had a car to get to where I wanted to go. I was a little too shy to take Mason into The City by myself, so we hit up the Great Neck/ Kings Point area for a couple of days.
One of my favorite parks is Kings Point Park. Mason loved it too! Not only were there slides and swings, but there is also a picnic area that has a lot of trails you can go for walks on.

Of course Mason had to have his football at all times. I cannot separate that kid from it!

I couldn't believe how green it is there!

That day we met up with Bowen and his old coach, Coach Joe Martuci, for lunch.  Bowen was excited to show off his little boy and Mason warmed up to Joe fast. He even took his Yankees hat to wear for the afternoon. What a nut!  I had never met Coach the whole time Bowen was in school, but I'd heard what a great guy he was. It was great to finally meet him.

Bowen had the weekend off so we got a hold of our friends Jo & Nicole Coughlin. They have a cute little boy a little older than Mason and a brand new baby boy.  We had just planned on staying there for the evening, but we ended up spending the weekend with them. On Saturday they watched Mason for the afternoon so Bowen and I headed to the City. I'd had a request for a couple of knock off items from Canal Street in China Town so that's where we headed first. Since it'd been a while since we'd to Time Square we decided to be tourists and head there next. It was so much fun being in the city again! I think I love New York so much because I have such great memories there! Bowen, of course, is the best memory; but I got to take him with me when I left. What a souvenir!

That next week it really cooled off, but that didn't stop Mason and I from finding some more parks to play at. He had so much fun here chasing squirrels and trying to feed the birds his fishy crackers.

Of course he had to try a few of the crackers himself.

Mason had worked up quite an appetite, so we met Bowen for lunch at Deli on the Green. It was blissful! All too soon Bo had to head back for class so Mason and I headed to the library. He loooved it there! We read books, he made me pretend cookies (they were delicious), and played with Legos.  

Oh! I forgot this....

Sunday was Mothers Day. Bowen had given me, Nicole, and Ashley (Nicole's friend who was staying there also) flowers. So sweet! We all got ready for the day then headed over to Joey's parents house for a BBQ. The boys were busy playing football while the girls stayed warm inside.

If you look at this picture of Bowen throwing the football & look at the one of Mason at the top of the page, it's exactly the same throw and follow through. Like father like son!

Bowen and Joey

A picture of the group...we couldn't take a normal picture.

Sooooo...back to that next week. I'd called my nanny family, The Seditas, to tell them we were in NY and we wanted to come visit them. There was only that Wednesday evening that the boys didn't have baseball. They're so busy! So me and my boys headed over there. Krissy had fixed a very yummy dinner and we all visited & caught up on what was going on in everyone lives. It was so good to see them! I couldn't believe how grown up the boys were! I guess I had their images from 3 years ago still in my head. Mason had a blast hanging out with the older kids and even left with a couple of presents thanks to Krissy.

The last full day we were there I was a little sad. We'd had so much fun visiting with all of our friends and seeing all the sights. I didn't want to leave! But I knew it was time to go home.

Early that morning I took Bowen to the Academy and Mason and I headed to the bagel shop. I hadn't had my breakfast bagel yet, and I was determined to :) I blame it on my pregnancy cravings...or just the fact that they are absolutely delicious!

Even Mason enjoyed his breakfast!

My plan had been to go feed the ducks at a little pond nearby, but it was raining too much. So I figured we'd head to the library again. Except when we got there it didn't open for another hour. I was exhausted from getting up so early, so I put on a Sesame Street episode on my phone, handed it to Mason, and fell asleep. My intention was to only close my eyes for a minute or two, but Mason fell asleep also & we ended up sleeping 2 1/2 hours in the car, in the library parking lot. I'm sure the people walking by thought we were crazy, but oh well.  I woke up just in time to drive over and meet Bowen for lunch. It ended up being a fun day despite all the rain.

We headed back to Jo and Nicoles for our last night there. We wanted to take them out to dinner to say thanks for letting us stay with them, but it would've been a little difficult bringing all the kids. So I ended up making breakfast for dinner. Despite my limited resources, it turned out pretty good!  I packed the suitcases and set the alarm to wake up bright and early to catch the flight out.

What a fun trip it was! It was so nice just to able go and see all of our friends, eat yummy NY food, and see a couple of sights. Thanks to all who let us stay with them. We already miss you!

I think this was the highlight of Masons trip...

...feeding the squirrels.