MARCH MADNESS- BABY!

Here is the summary.....

Thurs March 15- From the airport we went straight to Arco Arena and started watching basketball. All the games went pretty much like this.... At the beginning it was exciting. We thought that we would witness a great upset, but by the end the underdog lost, most by blowout. There were 4 games that day and yes I watched all of them. I think Dan was surprised that I had lasted, but I like basketball especially in person when there aren't child interruptions or housework to make me feel guilty watching it on T.V. The day was great.


Friday March 16- No basketball. It was a day of "firsts" for me. First time eating at In & Out Burger, and first time visiting San Francisco. I was not let down by the infamous burger joint or San Fran. Pics below......

Golden Gate Bridge.

The bay. Alcatraz is the island behind the light house.

Dan and I of course.

San Francisco, looking off of the parking garage.

Last but not least, Ghirardelli Square. MMMM chocolate!

We took an hour long bus tour around the city with Bob, Renae and Ivan. It is such a cool city. I can see why people love it. It was a beautiful day, temp 68; not too cold, not too hot! Of course since we were so close to the ocean, we had fresh crab cakes and such. DELICIOUS!

Sat. March 17- Back to basketball.
We didn't get Dan or Ivan here (I think they were getting food. Shocker?!) Actually Dan was probably getting me food.

0 to 78? No, I don't know what happened when I took this pic. The final score was 74 to 78. This game was pretty boring until the last 5 min. Then hold on to your seats....... the game ends up going into double OT! It made up for the first 3/4 of the game. GO V.D.....uuhh I mean Van. D.!



Now, ESPN toted this game to be the best game of the night. I disagree I think the best game was Ohio St. and Xavier. I watched that on T.V., but I saw this one in person. Again, not much to talk about until the last part of the 2nd half. Up until then it was more fun watching the UCLA Pole Dancers, uh, cheerleaders make fools of themselves.

All-in-All we had a great time watching basketball, enjoying a vacation from the kids and best of all spending quality time with my great Hubby.

Thanks to the Lewis' for the tickets and providing such a great excuse to get away.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAYLA- #6!

Just a little about my baby girl....... Jayla was born on Feb. 25, 2001 at 6:09 PM. She was 7 lbs. 4 oz. and 19 5/8 inches long. I went into labor on Feb. 24 in the late afternoon (after my baby shower). I did it to myself because I was tired of being prego. I made Dan go with me to Flat Irons Mall and walk the entire thing. No really I walked into every single store, all the way to the back of the store and out again. I got my contractions down to 2 min. and went to the hospital which was just down the street from the mall. They checked me in and then gave me morphine so I could sleep. It worked I slept, but it also stopped the contractions. Needless to say I was not happy and refused for them to send me home. They called my Dr. and told him that I was determined to have a baby today. I didn't mention that I was dilated to a 3 and had been for 2 weeks. He got to the hospital and was going to put me on pitocin but changed his mind and said he would try the cervical gel first. Within 5 minutes after the gel application I was back to having full on contractions again. In 30 minutes I had the epidural and about 20 minutes after that I felt I had to push. the nurse didn't believe me until I told Dan to go get her because something was coming and I wasn't pushing. The nurse came and asked it she could go get some other nurses, because I was delivering the bag of water without it ever popping. Dan saw it , but I won't give detail about what he said it looked like. So about 5 other nurses came in, they said they had read about thins happening but had never seen it before. After the "freak" show, the nurse broke my water and called the Dr. he got there in time to throw on gloves and an apron over his soccer uniform and then there was Jayla. She was so beautiful! She had the signature pink hair that all my kids have had. She was such a great and easy baby. She has always been a great sleeper, she was a wonderful nursing baby by spanning her feedings 3-4 hrs apart. She was always talking whether we could understand her or not.

We love having her as part of our family. I am glad I have at least one girl, but especially happy that it is her!

O-R-E-O AND SWIFFER?!

What a surprise that Jake would like oreos, right!? You can't have a childhood with out pictures of messy eating. But clean up is easy thanks to my new found favorite tool..........the Swiffer Sweeper-Vac http://www.swiffer.com. Have any of you tried this niffty thing? I was a little sceptical at first, but WOW! I didn't think it could clean up the crumbs and things left behind by 4 children who eat like beavers leaving splinters of food instead of wood (well maybe that too sometimes). I don't think I will ever use a broom again. It cleans like a champ without leaving behind the tiny little dust particles and whatever else. I was so excited too because in the bathroom it cleans/ vacuums up all the hair left by us girls (boys too, maybe). I am done sounding like a commercial now. Tell me what your "favorites" are. I am always looking for great things to ease the stress in my life.

Here's a few more pics of my boys playing Star Wars before church. Nothing brings the spirit like playing like you have the force and then killing eachother......