January is a Monster of a Month!

January continued to be a crazy busy month, but was a fun month, indeed. Our dear family friends, Keith and Denise Brown put on a combo soiree for my brother AJ and me that was top notch! AJ was moving to Nashville on January 15 (my actual birthday), and we were combining his going away party with my birthday celebration. It was a great night of fellowship and laughter. Even though I was missing Dane and Mike (Dane was sick and couldn't come up that weekend), we enjoyed our time together immensely. Ryan ran around like a maniac most of the night...shocking, I know:) Thanks to the Browns for throwing a wonderful party!

I got to spend my actual birthday with my boys as we headed to Ruby's for breakfast. They were both sick (I know, bad mom), but I had to get out of the house!

On January 19, Mike and I took the boys to Monster Jam at Qualcomm Stadium. Since Dane had to miss the first trip, we thought we'd treat him to Monster Jam in OUR town. Well, what do they say about the best laid plans? Yeah....the boys were both in the WORST funk and having such a difficult time. Who knows why. I was really pregnant and frustrated with the huge crowds as well, so I was no picnic either. Once we got to our seats, though, things got a little better and we enjoyed some hot dogs and candy. The boys pepped up a bit after that, but it was a lot of work the entire time to keep them happy. As we all left the event, Mike and I agreed we were done with Monster Jam for the year. WHEW!

Check out the photos (thanks dad for all the Brown party pics!) and get a feel for what we've been up to. Thanks for reading the blog! We appreciate you keeping up with our family!

AJ and Kelly...so hot right now...

Cheers to AJ and his new adventure!

And of course, Chef Erica comes in with a bang up cake!

Trouble:)

Bro and sis:)

Where did you come from? Uh oh...

A little cheers action with dad.

I think everyone can agree that Brian's photo bomb in this pic is FABULOUS.

Sisters:)

Katie, Colleen and Dillon...three generations!

GG Moggy and AJ lookin' cool in their leather.

I gave AJ a picture of the four of us sibs for his trip. Don't forget the little people, Ja JAY JAY!

The Gomezes:) Gomezai? Gomez'?

PORLORNNNNN!

Little Alana was growing and growing.

At Ruby's celebrating Kristy's 33rd birthday.

This is seriously my favorite breakfast in the entire world. FAVORITE.

Monster Jam...here we come...

MAXIMUM DESTRUCTION!

The "earmuffs" begin in the right position, and slowly begin to make their way into Ryan's favorite way to wear them.

THERE it is!

WHOA!

Look at that precious face.

The boys are hanging with their friends Devon and Christopher in the tree house.

Towel dancing!

Rainy day fun - painting.

More rainy day fun - the fort!

More growing for baby Alana!

This has Ryan written all over it.

Dane got new sunglasses but wanted to leave on the tag...he thought it was cool.

Ryan knocked his tooth out playing outside. No big deal...he kept on playing.

Ryan and his friend Davan are holding hands on the way to Disney on Ice. Let's just say this was the best part of the trip. They were NOT that into the show.

Under the blanket picture with mommy!

Can you tell that Ryan just had a blue lollipop?

Last minute organization of Alana's stuff.

Snuggle time with daddy:)

Jammin' January

Well, Christmas came and went and we always get a little sad at that time. This time, we were even a little more bummed as we had to say goodbye to Dalcorp, once and for all. Dalcorp had been in our lives since the mid 90's (right dad?) and was such a big part of my youth. I took the kids over there on our way home from my parents' house so we could hang out, eat lunch, and say one final goodbye. Gampa had the golf cart running, so we were playing a lot on that. Although it was bittersweet saying goodbye to that wonderful place, I know we have so many more awesome memories to make in the future. Now that my mom and dad bought this GIGANTIC motor home (and they've already made a cross country trip to visit Kim and AJ!), I feel like we'll get a lot of traveling in throughout the next year. So fun:)

We didn't really have many plans for New Years with me being pretty pregnant and Mike being exhausted from work, so we just hung low. Our friends from Ohio (the MacLaughlin family) were out visiting Ms. Betty (their grandma) across the street, so they had a lot of fun playing with the boys while they were here. 

On January 5, we went down to San Diego to celebrate Ella and Blake's birthdays. It was a princess and pirate combo party and the boys had a great time! Plus, we always love seeing our friends Doug and Trish Bear and their families. We love you guys!

Finally, I have our FIRST trip to Monster Jam documented in here. You'll see the second one in the next blog. Auntie Erica and Uncle B had gotten tickets to go to Monster Jam at Angels Stadium on January 12. The kids had NO idea they were going and it was gonna be a huge surprise. Well, the day before we went up there, Dane came down with a NASTY fever/cold/flu thing. Poor thing had to stay home with daddy while I took Ryan up to see Monster Jam. Luckily, Dane just thought he was missing out on a trip to see Gamma Gampa (which was still really sad for him), so he wasn't AS disappointed. We still had a fun and silly time with Ry Ry, but we definitely missed Dane and Mike. Mike and I decided that we'd get tickets for Monster Jam the very next weekend so Dane could go, so stay tuned for those pics.

Thanks for reading and hopefully I'll get the next blog out before this baby comes! Love to you all!

A little after Christmas snuggle time with Uncle Kenny.

An incredible airplane that Uncle "Bark" made for Daney. Dane couldn't stop smiling.

Ridin' around Dalcorp with Gampa and saying goodbye:(

And now Aunt Kimmy's drivin'...look out!

So, Dane proudly presented me with this box of hair. Turns out he thought he'd give Ryan and himself a little trim. Funny thing is, you couldn't really tell where he cut except for a little bit of Ryan's bangs. :)

Awesome "Grave Digger" Fat Head from Auntie Kimmy.

Here is Alana in early January!

Here is Dane using the new clay wheel Gamma Gampa got him for Christmas. 

Snuggling with dad.

Snuggling with mom.

Kate, Kyle and Claire with Dane. Ohio buddies!

Getting Alana's room ready to go...

Dane made sure to make her a PINK gun since ya know...she's  gotta have a paper towel roll gun to protect herself from the boys:)

My little pirate eating his cream of wheat...and dipping his entire piece of toast in it as well.

This single picture captures what Mike and I did on New Year's Eve. HA!

Happy Birthday, Ella and Blake!

Ella and Mama Trish...lookin' good!

The kids got to have the Little Mermaid visit their party.

This pirate is done.

Here is Ryan standing next to his favorite Monster Truck: Tropical Thunder. Or as he calls it, "Tropical One Gunder."

Ryan and Auntie E.

Maximum Destructioooooon!

The Robosaur! 

He eats CARS!

Ryan was NOT amused.

Poor sicky Dane:(

HERBIE!!!

This was right after Erica and Brian purchased the all famous tire muffs. Little did we know how much they'd make us laugh!

Ryan INSISTED on wearing them this way. 

A little tight!

"Please bring the car around, Droopy!"

Here is Dane holding up the gifts Auntie Erica got him!

Erica loaded us up with a bunch of Monster Jam goodies for the boys. YEAH!

Dane heard about the weekend, but was so excited that we were going to go the next weekend. He was sick for another WEEK and barely made it to the next Monster Jam. WHEW! Stay tuned...