Clearwater Beach

Brian was gone all day on a fishing charter out in the Gulf, so after school I took Sean, Bren, Erin and Mazin down to Clearwater Beach. They played in the water, looked for shells, and Mazin did a bit of waveboarding. The sun was setting behind them, and it was so relaxing to just sit on the beach and watch them all have fun together.

One of the perks of having a big (BIG) brother.

So happy to catch this picture of my three kiddos.

Mazin was kicking the water towards me.

Afterwards we had dinner at Angelo's-our favorite pizza place. It's right on the beach, and the perfect ending to a few hours in the sand and water.

Angelo's. A local pizza place on the beach, and the BEST pizza. It's a little hole in the wall place, and you have to sit outside to eat because there is no space to sit inside.

3rd Place

My girl placed in the main event tonight for the first time (placing is considered to be 1st, 2nd or 3rd, and she placed 4th in her first race). After two qualifying races she placed 3rd in the main event, and walked away with her first competition trophy. She's such a great rider, and so much fun to watch. Next race is Saturday.

Erin's first BMX race

An exciting night for us at the Oldsmar BMX track. Brendan received his first 1st place trophy, and Erin raced her first race. She had three qualifying races and then the main event. The placed 4th in the main event, and that is huge for a first time racer! Listen to the announcer during her qualifying race (she is temporarily number 133).

Taking a few laps of practice-her first time ever on the track.

Brendan loves having his sister on the track.

Bren and Erin at the gate together. Getting ready to take practice laps.

BMX girl

So as of today my girl is officially a BMX girl! Brian took Erin to J&R Bicycles (the largest BMX store in the United States) to pick out her first racing bike, and she is now the proud owner of an orange Redline Proline Expert and all of the necessary gear to start riding/racing tomorrow evening. She's extremely excited, and we are excited for her to start this adventure. She loves to watch her brother at the track, and I'm sure she'll have a great time. I'll have pictures of her tomorrow night!

And the winner is...

Congratulations, Kym, and thank you so much to everyone that donated to this great cause.

My three kids

It's nearly impossible to get all three of them to be still and stay together for one picture. It's been a couple of years since I got one of all three of them, but they actually let me today while we were enjoying some time down by the lake behind the house after school. Of course it turned out grainy, but I love it anyway.

Man do I love these kids.

This is your...

(graphic courtesy of www.coverbands.com.au)

If you want to make a donation to Villa La Paz and be entered to win the brand new iPad that will be given away TOMORROW then please visit www.paypal.com, click SEND MONEY and send your donation to villalapazfoundation@hotmail.com. You have until midnight tonight!

My kitty boy

My Greyson is such a sweet cat, and I love him dearly. Like Brendan he is a major mama's boy.

Size Matters

Marley is clearly too big for the crate, but because she was crate trained as a puppy she has always loved it. If she's in trouble she immediately runs for the crate, and almost every day she takes a nap in it (partially hanging out of it). She's so cute.

Racing

This is how we spent our weekend:

Josh Meyers. He is on the USA Olympic team, currently training in California, but his home track is Oldsmar (our track). He raced with the other pro racers today, and they are amazing to watch.

These little guys are my favorite to watch (besides Bren, of course). This is one of the FOUR year olds during his second qualifying race today. FOUR!

My boy taking the second turn during one of his qualifying races today.

Sweaty boy. It's a lot of gear in the 90º+ weather we had all weekend. They are required to be in full gear (padded pants, long sleeved shirts, gloves and helmet) to be on the track.

Mazin. Our neighbor and Bren's good friend. He is 2nd in the entire state of Florida (all ages), and 1st in the expert category for 11 year olds. He is so fun to watch, too.

Bren enjoying some down time with his two competitors for the Finals today.

Best Friends

Erin and Ashley spend nearly every day after school together, and all day during the weekend. They are so cute together, and it's funny because they are polar opposites in every way. Blonde, blue/green eyes, curly hair and black, straight hair and dark brown eyes. Their personalities are equally polar opposites, but they get along so well.

Pumpkin Cookies

These might be the best cookies you ever try. They are Brian's favorite, and they are in my top three. I stock up on canned pumpkin during the fall every year just so that I can make them all year.

Pumpkin Cookies

1 cup sugar

2 cups flour

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup Crisco

1 tsp cinnamon

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

Mix Crisco, sugar, and pumpkin in a large bowl. Add egg.

Mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in small bowl. Add to wet mixture.

Spoon onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375º for 10-12 minutes.

Frosting:

3 tablespoons butter

4 tsp milk

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup powdered sugar

3/4 tsp vanilla

Pan cook the butter, brown sugar and milk. Let cool for five minutes and then add powdered sugar and vanilla. Drizzle over cooled cookies.

This recipe was given to me by my friend, Celeste, about 7 years ago.

Beautiful girl

MY beautiful girl!

Notice how well her top lip has healed from the dog bite.

Fearless

These boys at the track are absolutely fearless, and they are as young as FOUR years old! I love watching the 4-5 age group race. They are so cute, and they get around that track with absolutely no hesitation (and they ride 20" racing bikes, not 12" or 18" bikes!). This picture is of one of the 7 year olds during practice yesterday. He's one of the highest jumpers on the track.

Brendan has been racing intermediate (novice>intermediate>expert>pro) for the past week, and it's helping him improve his skills. He placed 3rd against the intermediates last night, and although he was frustrated I explained to him that 3rd against the next higher level is better than 1st against the easy level. He gets it, but being a competitive person he doesn't like "losing". He's working hard, practicing a lot, and getting better every day. I'm so proud of him.

Brendan is on the far left. Getting ready to race the 4th and final race of the night against the intermediates.

Brendan and Mazin

Tonight at practice (left is Bren and right is Mazin).

Mazin races in the expert category, and travels all over the country to race. He lives in our neighborhood, and he and Bren spend a lot of time riding after school and on the weekends. He's 11, and has been riding/racing since he was six. His parents are wonderful people, too, and I got the privilege of getting to know them a bit tonight at practice.

Dessert by Sean

I came home today to a dessert that Sean concocted, and it is delicious. It is two layers of brownie with chocolate frosting between the layers and surrounding the outside. Then he made a homemade chocolate/walnut bark, crumbled it and sprinkled it on the top. It's a bit like a chocolate torte. He made everything from scratch, and I love it.

BMX

Bren's third race was last night, and he raced in the intermediate category (he's been novice up until last night). Despite a faster pace he was still able to place 2nd. He's really enjoying the racing, and I love watching him.

Tony was here and got to see Bren race.

Erin=Silly

This is just a cute video that Brian took of Erin last weekend when he took her and Ashley to one of the parks. Erin was definitely being silly...her favorite animal is a "roller coaster"? Um, yeah.

Priceless

BMX Flight Pro XXL racing bike...$800

Racing helmet and gear...$220

NBL membership...$45

Watching my son in his first ever BMX race...priceless!

In the lead coming down the last run.

A happy kid. He's been dreaming of racing BMX for a couple of years, and he finished 2nd in his first race tonight after three qualifying races today. So proud of him, and looking forward to his races every Saturday.

This is a video of the third qualifying race...it was down to just three of them.

More meat

I missed Rosas Farms delivery last month because I was in Peru, but I made sure not to miss it this month. I just got home from picking up my stock for this month. Whole chickens, beef ribeye, beef new york strip steaks, 10 lbs. of ground beef, salmon fillets (wild caught), pork tenderloins, pork breakfast sausages, pork bacon, beef brisket and beef flap steak. Love this stuff!