THE MARINI FAMILY

WELCOME TO THE CRAZINESS OF OUR LIFE WITH TWO BOYS!

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Autism Speaks Awards Dinner

On Saturday night, my mom and I joined our friends Lynn and Jason, and her mother Diana, on the Delta King in Sacramento for an awards dinner for the top earners for the WALK NOW FOR AUTISM. Because Noelle and Greg obviously could not go, my mom and I happily attended the dinner in their place. It was a fantastic night and we can't wait to get started on next years WALK NOW fundraising. Here are some pictures from the night.






Saturday, January 24, 2009

Happy Birthday Ba!!!

Happy Birthday Auntie Noelle!!! We LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU!!

Friday, January 23, 2009

Cops and Robbers

So, the other night during dinner Matthew says, "I can't wait to go to school tomorrow and play cops and robbers." Here is the conversation that followed.

Mom: Matthew, you play cops and robbers at school?

Matthew: Yeah, we play during our snack outside. I am usually the cop, but I want to be the robber next time.

Mom: Matthew? Do you know what a robber is?

Matthew: Yeah, he's the bad guy.

Mom: But do you know what the word robber means?

Matthew: No.

Mom: A robber is someone who takes things without paying for them, or takes something from somebody without asking. They are not nice people. The police try and catch them so they don't rob again.

SHORT PAUSE...

Matthew: Yeah, I want to be the robber next time.


So, consider yourselves warned. If you get a collect call from the Lodi City Jail, and the operator says Matthew is on the line....HANG UP!!!

We apparently need to work on his life aspirations.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Globe Trottin'





On Monday we went to Arco Arena to see the Harlem Globetrotters. It was a fun family outing and Matthew had a blast to say the least. Rich's parents bought him a DVD for Christmas of the history of the Globetrotters and it has since replaced the nightly Backyardigan DVD that has been his favorite for so long.

He is bouncing balls off of everything in the house. Trying to dribble through his legs, balance the ball on the back his neck, and spin the ball on his finger. Nothing breakable is safe in our house.

Here are some pictures from our day.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Disneyland and Ryan's Birthday

So, I thought I would share a quick couple of pictures from our first Disney trip of the year. We arrived on Friday, January 2nd, and compared to last year at this exact time...IT WAS CRAZY PACKED! We figured everyone who was in LA for the Rose Bowl decided to make a weekend out of it and head to Disney. So, us and 50,000 other freaks, fought for spaces in lines all weekend.

So, our game plan was simple. GO ON NEW RIDES!! We had explained to Matt that we were done camping out at the five rides we continuously go on and he needed to be brave and try some new ones. Apparently that begins next trip. The pics I am about to share are just us on the same rides you have seen before...just different clothing.



Something very cool that we had not seen before at Christmas, was this whole section in the back of Thunder Mountain that had reindeer. We all got a little geeked out by it and could have spent hours just hanging out back there. What is super funny is Matt had asked me the week before if I had ever seen a real reindeer and I said yes. He then asked what he would have to do to see one, and I told him I didn't have any idea. Little did I know that I just had to spend a couple hundred dollars in entrance fees to make this happen. What an expensive wish come true!




Here is Rich and the boys getting a picture with Goofy. Ryan still has a fear of being close to any of the characters, and yet still demands that we wait in line to see them. He won't make eye contact with them, however is a chatterbox as we walk away. He's all talk! Take a close look at this picture of Matthew. This is in the Brother Bear play area in California Adventure. Rich and Matt spend HOURS here so that Matt can ride this cable/tire swing. He is completely upside down.



And the castle.


And here is some pics from Ryan's birthday. If you think we are Disney freaks, because of all of the gifts and cups and napkins and plates....well, Ryan is obsessed right now and we are totally feeding this beast. Matthew was the same with Finding Nemo, and we went nuts with that too.

Please click on the picture of the card to Ryan from Matthew. It is super cute and he wouldn't let us sign our names because as he said to us, "I've got this."



Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Birthday Boy

I have a two year old!!! Ryan celebrated his 2nd birthday on Monday the 5th. He has hit the "Terrible Two"s fully force. This kid has no volume control and talks non stop. Matthew talked much earlier than Ryan, but I think Ryan talks more. He demands our attention by yelling our names until we either say, "Yes, Ryan, what do you want?" or more often he gets "OK! RYAN...WHAT????" Matthew is the funniest. He almost refuses to answer Ryan anymore because we think he is trying to mentally block him out of his mind. Ryan will walk up to him and say "Matthew" (Which is really pronounced "Mashew") ten to twelve times and Matthew just sits there like he can't even hear him. Rich and I have to turn to Matt and say..."For the love of GOD...ANSWER HIM!!!" Here are some short videos! Hope this works...