Lots of fun in the sun

So it's pretty hot here in Arizona! Thanfully there is a super fun water park less than 15 minutes from our house!

SunSplash!

This year I was smart and purchased Season passes for us (well, for me and the 3 older kids) If you buy them before the end of May they are only $49.99 each - they are regularly priced at like $80.00 each! If you buy a ticket at the door it is $26.00!  So I got a pretty great deal! We have tried to go once and week and we are having a blast. We always look forward to our little swim party! One week Dan and Olivia came along with us too and so I bought a waterproof camera and took pictures along the way.

In order for Olivia to be in the Wave pool she has to wear a life jacket, which she actually didn't mind wearing.

Ethan LOVES the wave pool - not really sure why....but he does.

Ethan & Spencer under the waves

This whole day Dan spent most of it with Olivia in either the Wave pool, lazy river or the tadpole area. She is about an inch too short for the slides. Maybe next year.

I got to be the lucky one and ride the rides with the kids. This is Ryleigh and I on the Master Blaster! So FUN!

Ry in the Lazy River.

In the Tadpole area they have these slides for the little kids, which I am sure to them seem huge! Olivia had a BLAST going down the slides, she just did it over and over and over....

Spencer and Ethan - there is always room for a little healthy competition. Racing on the lily pads.

 In the end we had a REALLY fun day! We were all a nice golden brown (except Dan, who was an ouchie blistery red) and exhausted..... I can't wait to do it again.



We play a little Baseball

 Spencer made the 9-10 year old All-Star team this year! We were so proud and SO EXCITED! The extra fun part was that Dan got to be a coach for the team since their Little League team won the regular season. {he is an amazing coach}. The picture above was our team banner that we had hanging behind the dugout at each of the games. It was 3 feet tall by 9 feet long! I was so pleased with the way it turned out -We even had people from other teams taking pictures of our banner! It did make me feel bad for just a brief second that the other teams all had lame banners - but just for a second.

 Spencer played second and batted clean-up in all their games. Since the league wanted us to field 14 players (way too many, I think!) he did have to rotate with another boy for an inning or two per game but for the most part he did play most of the time. In all honesty, all bias aside, he played really well.

 SO - ya.... In the last game we were playing the Queen Creek All-Star team that had gone undefeated and in the bottom of the last inning Spencer hits a walk-off double (at the center field fence!) to bring in the winning run! So Awesome!

In the end the cards were not in the Superstition Little League All-Star's favor. In order to advance onto the final round of the play-offs we had to win 2 of the 3 games - which we did! - but so did the Queen Creek All-Stars (their only loss was to us) but they allowed less runs to score on them than we did, so they got to move on and we got to go home. It was a bittersweet day for us, because the game we played against them was phenomenal but it is never fun to lose. Better luck next year!

My Main Man

I tried to get Dan to do a photo shoot for his 30th birthday but he opted out. Then I asked him if he would be interested in writing a blog post about what the last 30 years have been like for him and he opted out of that too. So it is up to me to talk about this amazing person that I am lucky enough to be married too and all his 30 years.  I decided to do this interview style....

What is your favorite color? ummm.... I would have to say blue. (Ironic really, because I (jeni) HATE the color blue!)

What is your favorite food? anything.my.wife.cooks  (said in monotone)

...C'mon if you were having a last meal what would it be? hmmmm..... I guess you could put just like Steak and grilled asparagus and salad. (by Steak, he means a thick cut tenderloin cooked Medium-Rare)

What is your favorite thing to do? That is a very broad question you know... ya...? I would have to say, watch my children play sp....baseball and softball.

What are you into right now? uhhh... the only thing I can be into right now is school, and hopefully finding a job. (as he is playing NCAA Football 2011 on the XBOX)

What is your favorite memory from the last 30 years? That is a hard question...... Probably when I came home for R & R (from Iraq) and you and the kids were waiting at the airport.

What is your worst memory from the last 30 years? (with no hesitation) The day I left (for Iraq) you guys, in that gym, that was horrible. Why was it horrible? Because I didn't know if I would ever see you again.

What are you looking forward to the most in the next 30 years? hmmm... that is an interesting question.... being done with school... so I can work and provide for my family, you know....the important things.

Tell me your thoughts on Ryleigh? what! okay... fine... Three words to describe Ryleigh.... Goofy. Strong. Leader

Three words to describe Spencer? Smart. Funny. Charismatic

Three words to describe Ethan?  Compassionate. Driven. Happy

Three words to describe Olivia?  Whirlwind. Quirky. Stubborn

What about me? careful now....  Three words?? well...if you can do it all in three words.... Determined. I can't say things like Sexy can I ? well that would be weird since I am typing this. Okay...Sexy. Not necessarily one word, but I would say jack of all trades. What does that mean? Well once you want to figure something out, you learn how to do it and then you do it.

What is your biggest accomplishment? Being a father, not that I have necessarily accomplished being a father but attempting to accomplish it.

Anything important that you feel like you have learned over the past 30 years? Nothing is so bad that you can't get through it.


Okay, In all honesty I am surprised that I got that much information out of him!
Well, today my husband turns thirty! I look forward to spending the next thirty years of his life by his side.

I LOVE YOU DAN!

Happy Birthday