Deonte's 4th!

We traveled over an hour so that Deonte could have his fourth birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese -- his first time there.  He enjoyed it immensely and being the center of attention for a whole day and evening suited him just fine, too!  He played hard and ate hard!  Whew!  Can that boy put away some pizza and cupcakes!

 He so enjoyed opening presents with Daddy, though reading every card thoroughly did try his patience a little!

He can definitely sport his new sunglasses! 

Now, remember that first picture of him riding on the horse?  Well, the adults couldn't let him steal the show, even on his birthday!   

Papa 

Mr. Kevin

Happy Birthday, Deonte!  Nana loves  you!

Papa's Date with Jael

On the spur of the moment, Papa asked Jael out on a date.  You can imagine the flurry that ensued.  She had to run around and get all the stuff done that little girls have to do to get ready to go out with one of their favorite beaus.

She picked this photo op.  Because of the pretty flowers, she said.

And since Papa was taking pictures of her, she wanted to take pictures of Papa.  Good job, Jael.

She posed for this picture saying, "I'm going to try not to laugh."

Such a pretty little lady.

After dinner at Chili's, they had dessert at Coldstone.  A date consists of both dinner and dessert, don'tcha know.

She picked watermelon sorbet.  Such a grown-up choice.  

She then added gummy worms and gummy bears. 

Today is Jael's 8th birthday. 

Have a wonderful day, my beautiful girl. 

I love you to pieces. 

You are more precious than you know and wise beyond your years. 

Continue to love Jesus with all of your heart

and He will guide your steps into worlds you can only dream of.

Love,

Nana aka

Saraa Turns One!

It doesn't seem like it could be, but little Saraa turned one a few weeks ago! 

We celebrate first birthdays in a big way in this family.  Daja gave her a western themed party that was a heapin' bunch of fun. 

Saraa's name means "moon" in Mongolian, so the themed music was "Buffalo Gals" because of the last line in the chorus:

Buffalo Gals, won't you come out tonight,

Come out tonight, come out tonight.

Buffalo Gals, won't you come out tonight,

And dance by the light of the moon.

Most of us came dressed in at least a bit of western duds. 

Daja served chili, cornbread, cole slaw, and potato salad on the cutest red, white, and blue table.

Sarah-Kate taught the kids a little dance which they had a hilarious time learning and performing.  And the parents thought it was just as funny.  Plus a whole lot of cuteness.

All the children got plenty dirty.  Which equates to a good time, right?

Saraa wondered exactly what was she supposed to do with this pretty rose cake with a horsey on top.

Hmmm........

Ah, she figured it out!

I thought the placement of the gift table just made the prettiest little picture.

We (Papa and Nana) gave her two very special dolls, Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy.  She loved them!

One of the most special parts of the birthday celebration was Saraa being blessed by Jael, her godmother.  Of course, there were tears.  Jael takes the honor of being Saraa's godmother very seriously, as you could hear in the love she put into her blessing.

Every party is eventually over.....

For the Love of Speed!

This was my wristband today. At the Buttonwillow Raceway Park. And it wasn't my entrance pass.....

We went to the Raceway as a gift to Diego for his 4th birthday. The kids had a fun time, but I think the adults had a better time......

Diego loves the movie, "Cars". He just recently found out that races were for real! He happened to see NASCAR on television and almost went in shock! He's thrilled that people do this for real!

Look real close and you can see Diego (and Sarah-Kate).

We were walking around, saw this car, and met its driver. He's the chaplain of the raceway. Says he has the fastest pulpit in the west!

He let Diego sit in his car. Fun!

Aaron Schwartzbart, the chaplain, and Gabe.

Sarah made us a wonderful picnic!

Then the real fun began! The wonderful chaplain offered us the opportunity to ride as passengers in a real race! Which is why I needed a wristband!

Gabe in a BMW.

Me in a beautiful black Corvette -- one of the fastest cars out there!

I told my driver, Joe, that I had wanted to be a race car driver when I was about 16. I said but then I became sane. He laughed and said that he now has his insanity back and that is why he was out there!

The race lasted about 25 minutes and the track had lots of curves and hills. We got up to about 130 mph! Which seemed really fast on that type of track! And with cars all around you!

He said I was a great passenger and that I could ride with him anytime! He, of course, doesn't know that I felt naseous for the next several hours! LOL

A spontaneous adventure that actually would have made a great "bucket list" item! If I had one of those.