Happy Birthday Max!

 Somehow time flew by and Max turned nine this past Saturday. I kept thinking about the day he was born, which was the happiest and scariest day of my life. It was exciting but so terrifying because he came into this world 10 weeks too soon. I am just happy that he turned out to be a healthy and sweet boy who loves animals, his family, friends and of course his video games. 

His birthday was a very busy day. We started it with a party for his friends at Main Event where they bowled for an hour, had pizza and doughnuts, opened presents, played laser tag and then had a little bit of time to play video games. 

These are very good kids and I enjoyed seeing them have fun together. Even though they are good kids, they are still boys with a lot of energy. I was exhausted by the time the party was over, but we had to head to Max's basketball game. Max is starting to get the hang of it more and had more fun this game. He still had questions after the game, but hopefully, the more he does it he will learn.

After the game, we went home and Max opened his presents from us.

Max chose his favorite sushi restaurant for his birthday dinner and he wanted to sit up at the sushi bar so he could watch the chefs make the rolls. 

It was time to blow out the candle on his cake...or ice cream since Max doesn't like cake.

It was a busy day that was also a lot of fun. I just can't believe my baby boy is now nine years old and will be going into third grade in three short weeks.

June Update

 How is time flying by so fast? I just don't get it. I can't believe we are speeding this fast to the end of June. 

Well, Max has started basketball and he's having fun with his friends. He received a medal for that week's game for the respect of his fellow teammates. Max was pretty excited about it. 

I went to Newport Beach for a partner retreat for work and stayed at the most amazing hotel with breathtaking ocean and golf course views.

Andy and Max met me in Newport Beach after my partner retreat and we drove down to San Diego for some pre-birthday fun. This is the first time we tested out the Tesla for a long drive. Andy said his drive there was easy peasy and stopping for a charge was no big deal. I experienced it on the drive home and we only had to stop one time for a 20-minute charge. The time went by quick because it was just enough time to go to the bathroom and get snacks. It's also nice how the car tells you when you need to stop and where the next charger is. 

While in San Diego we went to the beach so Max could be a beach bum.

Of course we celebrated early with some sushi. 


We then headed to the zoo for a day. The zoo was packed but Max got his face painted and walked out with a giant stuffed tiger. 

We spent Father's Day hanging around the house and relaxing. Max and Andy spent time together in the game room and in the pool.

Our shuffleboard table finally arrived and Max and I played the first game together. This is the new addition to Max's video game room. 

Busy, Busy, Busy

Since I wrote last, we have been very busy over here. We went to the Cubs vs. D-backs game as a gift I gave to Andy for his birthday. I bought really good seats so it made the game even more fun. Max really enjoyed eating everything he could at the game. 

Max has been enjoying the pool with his avocado tube that he got from grandpa J and grandma V.

Girls Night Out. This is always such a fun night! I went to the NKOTB concert with my ladies one night and of course, we had fantastic seats. All thanks to Jessica for becoming a member of their fan club so she can become part of the early ticket sales and snag us the awesome seats. It was a fantastic concert reliving my childhood and most importantly spending time with my girlfriends. With our busy lives, we don't get together as much as we would like so when we do I really appreciate the time. 

The next day was Max's last day of school. I decided to have the end of school year party with Max's closest friends at our house with a rented water slide. It was a ton of fun and exhausting at the same time. 

These boys had a blast together, but I think Sammy had just as much fun as they did. She was outside chasing them around, playing in the water, and trying to be a part of their party. So much that she ended up getting on the slide and I struggled to chase her to get her off. Once she learned to get on the slide I couldn't keep her off so I had to lock her in the house. Once all the boys left Sammy crashed on the couch. She was just as tired as the kids were. Zoe could care less. She greeted the kids and then was fine letting them have their water fun. 

I spent the next day with Max at the Aquarium. Of all our time being here, we never visited the aquarium. It was way better than I expected and Max and I had a lot of fun together. 

He even did the VR exhibit where he got to see what it would be like to swim with sharks. It was pretty funny watching his facial expressions as he was doing VR. 

Andy and I went on our date night for our 11th wedding anniversary and we had a tag along. Max was super excited to celebrate with us mainly because we had dinner at the Melting Pot.

Max's game room is finally complete. I have been spending the last six weeks cleaning out his toy room and donating the younger toys that he doesn't play with and organizing the toys that he does play with. I organized all of his legos by color into clear bins and put them in a rotating shelf. It turned out way cooler than I thought it would. Then we organized the room for a TV and video game entertainment center. This will be where can hang out with his friends when they come over. His favorite part is the "Boys Only" LED light we hung up on the wall. It does change colors but Max likes it red to match the room. I am debating putting some gamer art on the wall but haven't quite figured that out yet.

We also went to see the latest Top Gun movie and it was fantastic. Max enjoyed the fighter pilots and was in awe of the jets. It was a great movie and a good time for all three of us. It's been a busy week and time to get back to normal. Max went to camp today and he starts basketball practice tomorrow night.