Cabo 2012

 Our hotel

 Pool time

 Dos, Chad, Michelle, Dana

 Francine and me

 Joel who was crazy in love with the underwater camera

 who knows

 It was super slippery by the pool.... and what do you know, Brady slips....

 Dana W above Dana M below!  Two of my fave ladies from the trip!

Joel and Chad

 

 Greg and Tif

 Just making friends with the locals

 lunch by the marina.... oh boy did it take FOREVER... but well worth the wait, the food was AMAZING

 Brady, Joel, Chad, and Greg on the Booze Cruise

 

Dana, Francine, and Dana

 This is where the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific Ocean...  It is by two beaches... Lovers Beach & Divorce Beach

 Here I am with the Rio Norte ladies

 Some crazies we met on the boat!!!

 Lounging by the pool

 Francine and me

 Erika and me

 Us still in our headbands from our crazy Keep Away game

 Myself and Dana at Mango's

 The boys in shock as to what is going on up stage....

And of course.... always the handstand picture... one kid later... still got it!

The trip was fantastic... at some points there was a little too much drama for my taste (I know I know).  But we met and got to know a lot of people.  We went with a total of 18 people and had a blast. It started out with a limo ride to the airport, then pooled and ate when we got in.  The next day it was HOT and HUMID, so we stayed in the pool ALL morning long and had a few adult beverages, hit up lunch and then headed off to the "Booze Cruise."  It's a very low class boat with a bunch of fun fun people.  It was an absolute blast.  We met some great people and some not so great (seriously, we're in Cabo, how do we run into a U of M grad)?  We danced and drank and took in the beautiful surroundings.  After the cruise we headed into downtown Cabo and had food at the famous "Cabo Wabo."  Some of the best Carne Asada tacos of my life.  The next day we played a game of Keep Away at the hotel pool and then headed down to the beach bars and restaurants.  Hit up Mango's for some entertainment and jumped into the ocean whenever it got a little too warm.  That night we spent one more night out on the town, where I ran into two former students (another... seriously, we're in Cabo, how do I run into students)?  Oh well, they were two of my favorites from my first year of teaching!  The next day we relaxed by the pool at lunch at a brewhouse and packed it up to head back home.  It was our first trip away from Breslin, and by the end of the weekend we really missed him.  But it was nice to know that he was in good hands with Oma, and since Oma lives in Michigan the two of them needed some quality Breslin-Oma time. 

 Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney!  Tim, still sexy as ever :)

 Mitzi, Karen, and I ready to get the party started :)

Breslin's First Haircut

Trains Trains Trains

We went to a train park while in Scottsdale.  They had all things trains.  We rode a train, looked at model trains and played in a train.  Breslin had a ton of fun.  We liked it so much we came back the next day as well.

Riding on the choo choo

One of the model trains... impressive

Hey you there... do you have a ticket for my train.

Checking out the model trains.

Breslin the conducter

Scottsdale.... Splash Pads

 So we went to Scottsdale, and with temperatures constantly in the  100+ degrees while we were there we had to find a way to keep the B man cool.  They have these awesome things called Splash Pads EVERYWHERE... and they are free.  They have them at outdoor malls, they have them at parks, they even have two of them in the middle of the Phoenix Zoo!  Breslin was unsure of them at first, but towards the end of the trip he loved them!  I wish they had them in Santa Clarita as convenient as the ones in Scottsdale!  Here are some of the pictures of the splash pads.

This was the splash pad at our resort.  This one was pretty intense... it was a lot of water that came shooting out whenever!

We drove about 15 miles to a community center to use this splash pad.  Breslin would have had a great time, except his nap was cut short and the big kids kept splashing him (not purposely).  But this one was awesome!!!!

These last ones were from the one at the Phoenix Zoo.  This Splash Pad was Breslin's favorite.  The water came out a lot softer than the others AND Breslin had the run of the show, he was one of two kiddos at this one!

We did go to one more in the mall that was nearest us, but I did not take pictures!  The B man had lots of fun keeping cool that's for sure.

Five for Fridays

First off... Oh my do I need to start posting more regularly.. I think once summer hits it should be easier.

1.  Last week of what I call "for real" school.  Next week is finals.
2.  Our seniors graduated on Thursday night, some of those seniors I had when they were freshmen my first year.  Boy, have we come full circle!  They have grown up to be such young adults, and I have definitely grown from my first year teaching.  Some of these students will never understand the impact that they have had on me, and as I have said before, I can only hope that I have had as much of an impact on them.  Being a teacher is super bittersweet, because we build these awesome relationships with these students and then they leave... then we start all over the next year... then they leave...  But, the sweet part is knowing that they are moving on to much bigger and better things with their whole lives ahead of them!
3.  Got the commitment from my dad, he is taking us to Vegas with him with his earnings from his Bonus!!!  (Come to think of it, it seems very, Vegas Vacation"ish", doesn't it?)  Anyways, I am looking forward to spending some quality time with my dad and sister.  Christina is going to come out a little bit before and hang out with us in California before we head over to Vegas!  They are not going to recognize Breslin, all he does is walk and babble all over the place!
4.  Breslin got bit this week and daycare on the cheek by one of his ladies...  (Let's be honest, he probably stole Lily's toy and probably was a bit of an instigator in the whole thing).  But like a champ, Mary (the daycare lady) said he didn't cry, just was a little bit fussy.
5.  And the biggest news of all... West Ranch baseball, who won league a couple of weeks ago, just beat the #1 team in the nation according to MaxPreps in their CIF baseball tournament!  This is a huge deal, obviously.  One more game and then the championship game is down at Dodger stadium... How cool would that be if they got to play at Dodger Stadium!!!!  (But we can't get ahead of ourselves, the Wildcats still have to win on Tuesday before... so hopefully they keep their head in the moment, versus looking ahead like I am!) Click here if you wanna read the article of the game!!!

5 for Fridays

1.  oh the end of the school year is approaching ever so quickly...
2.  Brady's West Ranch baseball team won the Foothill League for the first time in West Ranch's existence :)
3.  I am addicted to the "50 Shades" series
4.  It's heating up... it feels like summer, summer, summer time!
5. Got our tickets in for the Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney concert.
*** and went back to being a brunette this week***

Five for Fridays

1.  Ordered tickets online to see Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw this summer :)
2.  Breslin now is a full time walker
3.  Finished reading Nicholas Spark's new book
4.  Brady took me to see Iris on Sunday as a late surprise for my birthday!
5.  Getting super excited for summer... it's gonna be jam packed.  We are starting off the fun filled summer with a weekend trip to San Diego with our family and Wendy and Ernie for the San Diego half marathon and Sea World, then me and Brady and Breslin are going to Scottsdale for a week, somewhere in there to my dad said he was going to give the Yarbrough family a trip to Vegas with his bonus money this summer!  I am hoping to still make it out to Colorado to visit Lauren and Sean...  Then of course is the "Brothers of Summer" concert...  I'm hoping to get tickets to the Fray, and then we will cap off the summer with an adults trip to Cabo!  (I use the term "adults" loosely ;)

Five for Fridays

1.  The absolute unexpected happened this week when one of my former teammates from club gymnastics (think 4 1/2 hours a day 4 days a week with these girls... we spent more time in the gym in our youth then in our homes with our family) passed away unexpectedly.  I probably have not spoken with her in a few years, but I never thought that the last time that I saw her or spoke with her would be the LAST time I would ever speak to or see her.  It truly pulls everything back into perspective.  There is no time in this life to be unhappy or hold grudges or say something that you don't mean, because we have absolutely no idea when we will take our final breath... when we will say our final goodbyes... What do you want people to think of you at that last moment, or vise versa.  Megan was 24 years young.  She wasn't married, she didn't have babies... she was toooo young.  I wish I could go back and keep in contact with her more, but I can't.  What I need to do is go back and keep in contact with others that have had meaning and a spot in my heart and life.  Megan, you will forever be missed by all of us, hopefully you are shining down from up above us.  You were and are a beautiful young woman who was taken away from this earth way too soon.
2.  In the midst of all this, I turned 29... one more year until the big 3-0, Vegas here I come.
3.  The LA Kings made it to the second round (or whatever) of the Stanley Cup Playoffs... this means a heck of a lot more to Brady then it does to me.  But still, Go Kings Go.
4.  Im getting back into the groove of reading.  I finished all of the Hunger Games books, so this week I went back to one of my favorite author's, Nicholas Sparks.  It's his newest one.
5.  5 more weeks of school... then summer school...

Better late than never... Florida Spring Break 2012 Pics!

 Hanging by the pool the first day :)

 

Oh boy does he love being naked!!!!

 

 Brez had so much fun with this.  One of the pools had various sizes of fountains and we ran through them over and over again!

 He loves the swings!

 This is where Brez first learned to really walk and take more than two steps!!!

 Oma loves her Brez man time!

 Downtown Disney and Planet Hollywood!

 Brez was teething....  his favorite thing to do at restaurants was chew on a straw sideways!

 Not to sure about this...

 I'm not trying to get into mischief.... I don't know what you guys are talking about?

The Florida trip was so much fun... A bit exhausting.  Gone are the days of sleeping in "late," lounging by the pool for hours on end, going out in the evening.  But those days are replaced with watching Brez learn how to walk, experience new things, play in the sun, splash in the water, really get to experience Florida and vacation and Disney through a child's eyes.  Traveling alone with Breslin was not as difficult as anticipated either, I completely underestimated the kindness of strangers.  Would I do it again?  Yes!  In a heartbeat!

Five for Fridays

1.  Breslin is a mover for sure....  Walking and crawling all over the place!
2.  Continuing through the steps to hopefully get our kitchen redone... picked out materials and got an estimate.  Next step, an appraiser!!!
3.  I had an AWESOME time with some great friends to celebrate the last day of my 28th year!!!  (nah, to celebrate my 29th birthday!!!!) 
~I'm not gonna say much about it, but I believe there was a dance off with me and some random at a dive bar in Burbank to Journey, and I'm pretty sure there was a leg lift to an air guitar..needless to say I rocked it!
4.  STAR (California's standardized testing) was this week, which allowed me to catch up on a lot of things.  Five weeks left then finals week.  WOW, it flies.
5.  Finished all of the Hunger Game books.  They were great, I just can't imagine junior high kids reading these books.... not sure how appropriate of an age that is.

Five for Fridays

1.  First week after spring break = exhausting
2.  Breslin is so close to being a walker full time.
3.  He loves to dance and throw balls (im thinking future quarter back)
4.  Back on a normal schedule for everyone.
5.  I continue to be obsessed with Hunger Games... finished the second book... just bought the third.  Movie this weekend.

--oh and apparently we live in Seattle... crazy weather here, even a thunderstorm yesterday!

Five for Fridays

Okay... so it's been awhile...  So it's not gonna be five for Friday today....  It's just gonna be some of the key things between now and the last time I posted.

1.  Me and Brady signed up for a relay half marathon in San Diego.  I will run 8 miles and he will run 5 miles.  We are going to do this with our good friends Wendy and Ernie (who will also do the relay) and Jim, who will run the normal 13.1

2.  Christina came out for her Spring Break to spend time with her nephew and sister.

3.  Michigan State made it to the Sweet 16 in basketball (they were in the West Region), so they played in Phoenix, so me, Christina, and Breslin got in the car and drove the six or so hours to Arizona! 

4.  We stayed with my friend Kenzie and John (whom we also went to the game with).  Unfortunately Michigan State lost, but it's always nice to watch my Spartans play no matter the outcome.

5.  Breslin and me flew out to Florida to visit Christina, mom, and Aunt Joyce (pictures to come).

6.  I flew alone with Breslin for the first time....  a little difficult, props to moms who travel alone with more than one.  However, there are so many nice people out there who were willing to help me with my bags, or getting on the airplane okay, or getting through security (workers and co airplane passengers alike).

7.  Breslin flew the red eye for the first time.  Although it didn't go horrific, I don't think we will be doing another red eye anytime soon (even if he sleeps the entire flight, he only gets in about 4 - 5 hours and his normal sleep is about 10-11 hours).  It totally messed up his schedule.

8.  We are going to need to re-sleep train him.  Hopefully it won't be too bad.

9.  Breslin is a water lover!  He had so much fun in the pools in Florida.

10.  While in Florida I got to meet up with my Athletic Academic Advisor from MSU.  He now works for UCF.  He kept saying, I remember giving you advice back in college, and all of the many mini dramas you came in with... now you're a mom... (I know, Kimya, I think about that every day!)

11.  Breslin took his first steps while in Florida...  A little uneasy, but took them none the less.  I was so proud!

12.  I again, after spending a good amount of time with my family, realize how much I miss them, and how much I want them to be a huge part of Breslin's life.  Can one of us just win the lotto so we can buy a private jet and a summer home in Grand Haven?

13.  I'm going to try to do a better job with updating...  I know I've been slacking... but I'm really into Instagram right now.... however I need to do a better job of taking pictures with my regular camera so I can get some good pictures for scrapbooking our memories!

14.  I read the first book of the Hunger Games.  I get it now...  I am going to purchase the second and third book today and try to find some time when I can read them.  Wow, do I get sucked in to all of these books that are geared towards the age of my students...  They peer pressure me into it.

15.  I love vacation, but, there's no place like home.

Five for Fridays

1.  Breslin is 9 months old today.  It is crazy how fast they grow!
2.  We did our March Madness/St. Patty's day photo shoot with Auntie Mitzi.  In a couple of weeks we will have to do Easter ones....
3.  Got the IPhone 4S... dropped it after having only five days ... completely shattered the screen to where if I rubbed my finger on the screen I would get cut.  Luckily we had gotten insurance on the phone, so I got a new one... but then they forgot to transfer all my numbers, so we had to go back (and by we, I mean Brady) and luckily we still had my old old Iphone where we could transfer the numbers from still.
4.  Still working on the kitchen thing....
5.  It's March!!!!!  The most wonderful time of the year :)  Let's go Green!!!!

Five for Fridays

1.  Ran my half marathon!!!!  Just under 2 hours and 4 minutes :)  My goal was a ten minute mile, which would bring me in a little over 2:10, so I surpassed my goal.... AND it was SUPER hilly...
2.  I talked Brady into running the San Diego half marathon with me in June (kind of....)  They do a 2 person relay for that one, one person runs 8 miles (that would be me) and the other runs 5 miles (that would be Brady).  I think we are going to do it with our friends Ernie and Wendy.  They also give you free Sea World passes, so we can take Brez to Sea World later on that day!
3.  We have to do a modified re-sleep training of Breslin... he had slept great a couple of weeks ago, but this last week he was a mess... we thought it was just a phase, but it continually happened night after night, so here we go again...
4.  High School regular season baseball started on Friday... (I know... I thought it never ended).  So Breslin and I went to support the West Ranch baseball team.
5.  And it is official, I am addicted to Pinterest.  However, it is not the devil that I thought it would be.  When I have to get up in the middle of the night to pump (sorry if that is TMI for some of you), I can scroll through.  Or when we are doing a modified sleep training/Ferber method/CIO, in between the crying intervals, to pass the time so I don't just stare at the clock, I can go on Pinterest.  I am getting great ideas for the kitchen, and also great ideas and activities to do with Breslin as he gets older.