Marini-Guido Disneyland "Yeah Buddy" Trip!

What a weekend!!! Last weekend we invited our friends The Guido's to Disneyland.  Anthony and Kelly have been a couple of times, but their daughter Leah and son Vinnie (yes, his name is Vinnie Guido--actually, it's Vincent, but it is more Jersey Shorish to call him Vinnie) have never been.  There is nothing like taking kids there for the first time and we could not wait to take Leah all around and see her so excited.

I figure I will just do a picture walk...join me, will you?

Here is Ryan and Leah.  They really are so cute together.  It is actually so entertaining to watch them together because they act more like brother and sister than friends.  Several times he told her off and several times she returned the favor.  This is Ryan playing hard to get.

 Last time we stayed here the boys went on a scavenger hunt through the hotel and got these cookies.  Ryan decided it was one of the first things Leah needed to do.

Our view from our place.  Spectacular~!

Time to ride some rides!

Even the big kids had to ride some rides.  Here is Anthony, Kelly and myself on Tower of Terror.  We love Anthony's nonchalant look as we are dying of fear!

That first night we were all so exhausted!!  A long morning of driving and a hot day at the park put us back to our room for an early evening.  What a perfect way to end the evening...watching World of Color from our balcony.  This beats standing in the cold for an hour and listening to kids complain.

And a little drinkie to watch the show.  Chocolate wine---DELISH!

The next morning Leah was so excited to head to Ariel's Grotto to have breakfast with the princesses.

The boys are smiling because they are NOT going to have breakfast with the princesses.

Seriously...how cute are they!

Me and the boys in line to race to the back of California Adventure.  We ride Toy Story Mania once a day and it is within the first ten minutes of the park being open and we literally run/walk to get there because if not it is over an hour wait the entire day.

Ryan with one of his favorite friends.

Afternoon snack on the balcony watching Phineas and Ferb.

The next morning, Kelly and Anthony wanted to ride California Screaming.  I passed...besides, we had friends to meet.  See if you can spot them!

Kelly's mouth wide open!

YEAH!!!  FRIENDS!!!

Here is Anthony and Leah on Toy Story Mania.  This was one of the few times that Leah actually got to ride a ride with her dad.  Matt and Ryan were all about riding with Mr. Anthony.

Matthew found a new favorite ride!!!  Jumping Jellyfish.  It's like the kid version of Tower of Terror...but weaker.

I regret we didn't get more group shots.  The only picture of Kelly and me.

Oh wait...there is this one.  I'm the one in the back, behind Kelly's mouth. :)

This is us the second time we went on.  Do you enjoy the rain poncho look??  Or are you still focused on Kelly's mouth?  Side note---the freak sitting in the very front of the log STOOD UP SEVERAL TIMES DURING THE RIDE AND AT UNSAFE TIMES!!!  I was so afraid they were going to bring the ride to a halt to remove him and we were all going to have to be escorted out of the ride.  I didn't enjoy him!

 Quiet morning....

This picture was only supposed to have two people in it...and it wasn't Ryan and Leah.

I can't believe this is the only picture I have of Vinnie.  How cute is this kid!!!  I could eat his cheeks!

Let's be honest...there was a reason Rich had two boys.  God knew he was too cheap to have a daughter.  The amount of money needed to have the whole princess experience would kill Rich where it hurts....his wallet. 

Something new for the trip...the boys got really into pin trading.  They would hunt castmembers down and trade pins all day long.

Ryan's pin collection.

Matt's pin collection.

My favorite picture of the trip!

Golden Birthday

Happiest of Birthdays Ryan!  It is Ryan's golden birthday because he turned five on the fifth of January!!  We really don't ever have birthday parties for the boys because their birthdays always fall during the time that we usually head to the Mouse's House so that is their "party" whether they choose it or not.  Best parents ever!

During Christmas and the present pallooza, we had to sit the kids down and one point and remind them that getting gifts is an added bonus to the holiday...which fell on deaf ears...and that they need to remember that when people give them gifts, that they need to realize that other people spent their hard earned money on it and they also picked what they thought was the best gift for that person.  Well, Ryan was listening!!!  And this was the conversation the night before that proved it:

Ryan:  I can't wait to see all of my presents tomorrow!!!  How many do you think I will get??

Mom:  I don't know, we will have to wait and see.

Ryan:  Ten?  Twenty?  MORE?

Mom:  No, not ten or twenty!  Ryan, if you get ONE gift tomorrow, you should be thankful.

Ryan:  (getting frustrated and whining)  Mom, I know that!!!  (pausing...pausing, then whispering) But how many do you think there actually is??

What can you do...he is only five.

Presents first!!

Matthew patiently waiting for Ryan to open his gifts.  He is smiling because he know he gets to put them all together.

Tom and Jerry never get old in this house.

When I asked Ryan what he wanted for breakfast he asked what were his choices.  I then made a list of about nine things and he picked three...then demanded I serve him in bed.  Could you say no to that face???

Oatmeal, cheese and egg biscuit, and an egg and bacon lean pocket.  He ate one thing.

When Matt had his birthday "all" the way back in November, he got a lot of football stuff from his favorite teams the Packers.  As he opened all of it, Ryan kept saying, "I want that for my birthday!  Can you get me that for my birthday??"  Ryan's favorite team is also the Packers...get where I am going with this??  However, technically to have a game, they can't be the same team.  So, Ryan was gracious enough to pick another team...The Bears, because the logo is a cute bear face.  I really can't make this stuff up.  Anyway, now that Ryan was geared up, it was time for a game.

Don't they look evenly matched???

Round 1...let's do this!

He couldn't be happier with his new gear...even though his pants tend to slip down and he can barely see out of his helmet.  He wouldn't have it any other way.

Two hand touch Matt...I dare you to try and pass me!

Yep...I'm FIVE!!!!

Wonder what his wish was....

Bowling Saturday morning!!

No bumpers needed!!  Well, maybe needed, but it was a lucky shot!

The stare down!

And finally, on Sunday to conclude Ryan's birthday weekend, we headed to our first Kings game of the season!  Truth be told, this was really more of a gift for me because I kinda love Dwight Howard and with Richard and Sharon's great seats I could take some great pictures of him.  He barely played because he was in early foul trouble and so he was by us most of the night.  He is a kid getting paid to play his favorite game.

And finally...if your computer is turned up then please excuse the Britney Spears song but it is Ryan's favorite song right now and I had to play it.  I wish more than anything that I had a hidden camera installed in my car and I could share with you Ryan singing and somewhat performing in the back seat when we go places.  The best way to describe him Chris Kattan in the Night at the Roxbury when he dances with his head bobbing to one side over and over and over again.  And as we watch and laugh, he gets so mad and tells us to look away.  I tell him if I look away while driving (I can see him in my mirror), we crash, so that is not possible.  So I am only to look at the road and other cars.  Dance away Ryan!

Easy Rider

So, I'm totally going to call out my son right now.  One, because he doesn't read this blog and I can kinda post whatever I want.  And two, all things turned out okay, so this will probably not even be one of the things he brings up to his therapist when he is older.  Believe me...other things will top the list of "how my mother ruined my life".

For the last couple of years we have gotten a lot of raised eyebrows and remarks about Matthew not being able to ride his bike without training wheels.  This was nothing we had ever pushed because we didn't think it was a big deal and because he didn't ride his bike that much and also because he simply didn't want to learn.  Believe me, we asked him several times.  Matthew is a calculated thinker.  He processes information and makes decisions based on what he thinks is the best and safest way to handle a situation.  And riding on two wheels was not something he could wrap his little brain around as being safe and easy for him to pick up, so he kept declining our offer to help. 

A couple of months ago some friends of his came to the door and asked if he could go for a bike ride.  Thank God we had to be somewhere because I glanced out at the curb and his friends were all out on their bikes waiting to see if he could go...on two wheels and everything, and he would have been the only one with training wheels.  I knew it was something we had to press on about.  After they left I had asked him if he had been able to go, would he have liked to?  And he gave a simple shrug and said "maybe".  I then asked if he was hesitant to go because he was the only one who would have training wheels and his answer was a quiet "yes". 

So, I offered to take him that weekend and we wouldn't come back until he was a pro at riding his bike on two wheels.  He thought about about, asked if we could start out on the grass because if he fell he wouldn't get hurt as bad, but I told him no because grass is tricky to ride on and might cause him to fall easier.  He thought about it a while and passed on us trying that weekend.

So a few months went by, Christmas was getting closer, and he started mentioning that he wanted a skateboard for Christmas.  I told him that I didn't have a problem with him asking for a skateboard, but if he wanted to ride it, he had to learn to ride his bike on two wheels first.  And that did it!!

With Christmas two weeks away, we headed down to the park one afternoon, training wheels off and ready to do this!  Because I know how his brain works, I explained everything first.  Where to start the pedals for a quick take off, when and how to brake, and that balance was everything.  It took ten minutes.  Ten minutes.  The first couple of minutes was me running behind him and just working on balance.  Once he got the balance and pedaling down, I told him the next thing was starting from a stopped position.  I knew this was the most difficult part to learn, but it was also the most important.  Five minutes later he was starting and stopping on his own.  Piece...of...cake.

He later told me that he wished he had tried earlier because it wasn't as hard as he thought.  I told him that I thought it was the perfect time to do it because he was finally ready to learn. 

Now, he rides his bike EVERYWHERE.  For the past nine years that we have lived at our house, we have only "played" out front a handful of times.  Because we live on such a busy street, I was never comfortable letting the boys ride around and play outside.  Now that they are older, they love it and we have spent most of our afternoons during this break out front.

Because he has gotten so good and comfortable riding his bike, he wants to ride it everywhere.  Here is videotape of me following him home from my moms.  We have done this several times now...he rides to some one's house in our neighborhood and I drive slowly next to him to and from.  I'm going to be known as that creepy lady driving slow through Parkwest following children.  ;)

And now, let's talk about Ryan.  Let's talk about "No Fear Ryan" who we will have to pay to keep his training wheels on.  He wants to take his off now, but that won't happen until he stops taking turns like he's an Indy car racer.  No, unfortunately we will let him wait a little while longer.  Maybe this summer will be a good time, but for now...those training wheels have saved a couple of knees from needing stitches.