WWE RAW!!!!!

Back in August, I believe, my brother left for Australia.  He became a temporary resident there, due to a "special project" he was working on, in his career as an FBI agent.  Before he left, he promised Tyson that he would take his son, Will, as well as Tyson, to a WWE RAW wrestling match upon his return.  Tyson literally counted the days down! David stuck to his promise and purchased tickets for a December 30th match. My mom was also visiting, so it was a double treat.  

The night of the match, the boys made posters for their favorite wrestlers.

Uncle David helped out a lot.  Who knew he was into "crafting!" I had to take a picture of his tongue sticking out.  LOL! He used to use his tongue, as a kid, when playing video games.  I think it helped him advance to the next level.  #socomical

Uncle David came downstairs all dressed and ready for the event.  I guess the sunglasses, on the t-shirt, symbolizes one of the wrestler's known attire.

The boys completed their posters and were all smiles, knowing it was almost time to go.

Jax chose John Cena! "You can't C me!"

Ty chose "Big Show".

Will chose CM Punk!

My brother didn't bring a camera, of course, MEN, but he captured two shots at the event.

Jax didn't have a nap that day, so by 10:30 pm, I think he was DONE! He couldn't take another minute. He truly had to be tired to 1. Fall asleep (it's LOUD) and 2. Trust that his Uncle David wouldn't leave him there, but rather carry him to the car. LOL!   

Dave, we are very thankful for fulfilling your promise to our boys.  They will never forget that night.  I'm thankful they have at least one uncle that they are able to visit with on a regular basis.  

Precious Times...

Two weekends ago, I traveled to Richmond to see visit my brother's family.  My mother was also there.

It means the world to me when my children can spend time with their grandparents.

Being that I only had ONE, strong grandparent figure in my life, I always wanted my children to have an insanely strong bond with my parents/husband's parents. Sadly, it's not often enough.  

Gram brought gingerbread cookies, ALL the way from Florida, for her grandkids to decorate.

 

The decorating kept them quiet for a good 10 minutes.

Until they started drinking the frosting!

And dousing their cookies in candy galore.

Then the WWE wrestling began… on each other.

I always had a very close relationship with my cousins, growing up, until the family dynamics got too intense, and sadly, we don't talk at all (unless we attend a funeral). My hope is that my children have an amazing bond with the cousins they have. So far, the relationships are awesome; the visits are just not as often as I'd like. Proximity is to blame.  We are working on that though and I believe we are getting better at both the quantity and quality of our time together.  #thankful

There will be a few more pictures to come, in another post, of our visit.  Surprisingly, I failed to take my camera out, like I normally do.

A Trip To Richmond and Busch Gardens

My brother's job has moved him all the way across the world to Australia WITHOUT his family.  It's a great "promotion"/accomplishment, but it's sad that he is missing out on being with them daily.  His wife, Amanda, is a school teacher, so the plan was as soon as school got out for the summer, her and the boys would travel to see him, spend the summer with him, and return before her new school year began. Unfortunately, Amanda's father's cancer has spread to his bone marrow and brain and he has been given 6-12 weeks to live.  Amanda and her father are VERY close, so she has cancelled her trip to reside in Australia for the summer, with my brother, to spend her father's last days with him. I knew this news would be devastating... all of it.  So I asked Amanda what I could do to help, if anything.  Amanda said, "Having visitors, for Will especially, would help distract us for a day or so."  SO, that's exactly what we did.  We loaded up the car on Wednesday and hung out with the Crisafi family until Friday.  Will and Tyson reunited like they just saw each other the day before. Lilah and Jax kind of tagged along and when Michael would allow Lilah to, she would follow him around "mothering" him. We got a ton accomplished in just the short 2 days we were there.  On Thursday, we went to Busch Gardens.  It was my second time and the kids FIRST time ever.  I think we ALL had a ton of fun. In fact, we had so much fun, we are heading back there THIS wednesday with daddy to spend a few days at Busch Gardens and Water Country Safari.  Enjoy the photos I took while in Richmond/Williamsburg.  I am posting a few of my favorites and then you can double click on the photo album below to view ALL of them, if you so desire.  :)

*George Coleman is Amanda's father's name if you wouldn't mind keeping him in your prayers, mostly for pain management.  Amanda has a twin sister (Melissa) and a mother (Vicki) who has been married to George for 40 years.

 Love this shot of the 3 boys.

Aunt Amanda took it while I was waiting in line at BG to park.

 By request, the first ride the kids rode was the "Pirate Ship".

From the looks of it, Amanda is the ONLY one who was having fun.

 Aunt Amanda and Michael.  Sorry I cut you out Will :(

 Watching a show in Germany, while I grabbed lunch.

 Ropes course.

Lilah really was there, lol!

Michael and Lilah were limited on what they could ride.

They hung out mostly together on the "baby rides".

Shorties......

 Jax was super psyched to learn how tall he really was.

He has grown 5 inches in the last year.

This allowed him to ride the BIG boy swings.

Tea cups.

 "Weeeeee!"

 Face painting fun!

 I rode the Pompeii Rapids with the boys.

I was in desperate need of being refreshed by some cold water.

THAT'S probably the ONLY reason I agreed to riding it.

 It actually was fun, but the straight down part wasn't, lol!

 COUSINS!!!!

Below, Tyson, Jax, and Will do the ropes course.

 Aunt Amanda braved the dizzy tea cup rides with all the kids.  I would have been sick the rest of the day if I rode this.

I braved the Pompeii Water Rapids ride with the three oldest boys.  We rode it twice.  I chanced video recording it with my iPhone, but when we got inside the tunnel, someone asked me to shut my camera off.  LOL!  Leave it to me to get yelled at on a ride for having my video camera on.  Oh well, it's probably better than I didn't have it in my hands while going straight down.  I probably would have lost it.  

ONE of the reasons we are going back this weekend is because we didn't even finish HALF the park & tickets to go BACK were only $15 since we were able to apply last week's ticket prices to the return ticket.  AN AWESOME DEAL!!!!

Killing Two Birds With ONE Stone!!!

Over the weekend, we had the pleasure of "killing two birds with ONE stone".  We were able to travel to Richmond and reside with my brother's family for the weekend in addition to seeing my mother, who actually lives in Florida.  

Upon arriving, the kids were greeted with gifts form Gram. Now that's the way to start any gathering.  LOL!  (Above): Gram is playing play-doh with the kids.

The weekend was filled with loads of good eats.  Friday, we ate in (hamburgers and hotdogs).  Then we left to enjoy a scoop of ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery.  YUM!!!!!  

The next day, my brother, the chef, cooked us bacon, eggs, and blueberries.  NO BREAD... he's a hardcore gluten free/grass fed eater.  Lunch consisted of Chipolte.  (Above): Even the dog is fed grass grazed and gluten free. NO LIE. NO DOG FOOD.  Check out what his breakfast consisted of.

The kids had a blast all day Saturday.  Gram took them to the park, while Darren, Amanda, and I shopped at Five Below and Old Navy.  Amanda hired a baby sitter and the grown-ups enjoyed MORE good eats at the Cheesecake Factory.  Now, that's the way to end your BAD EATING HABITS.  Haha.  

The laughter and excitement never ended for the kids.  It's amazing how after just two visits in one month, Tyson and Will are attached to the hip.  Immediately after getting in our car to head back to Roanoke, Tyson exclaimed, "I wish Will could come with us!"  

We plan to visit them again and go to Busch Gardens together. Dave and Amanda, if Will needs a Tyson fix before then, feel free to come see us!!!  I can always use a Short Pump fix. LOL!  Thanks for your hospitality.  We had a lovely time.

To view all of the photos from the weekend, double click on the photo album below.

[I had a photo album inserted HERE, but skeevy perverts from the internet where viewing my blog and enjoy "boys in their undies".  This is a SICK WORLD we live in.  If you are family or close friends and desire to see the photo album that was attached above... please shoot me an email.  I WILL SEND the photo album to you personally.]

A Visit from Uncle David and FAMILY!

It's been several years since Uncle David and his family have made a visit to Roanoke.  I think the last visit was for Tyson's 5th Birthday party at the Green Ridge Rec Center, 2 1/2 years ago.  It hasn't been that long since the kids have seen them though (maybe 1 year).  David was coming to town to visit us, but also to take his little guy Will to a WWE wrestling match.  We were invited, but the tickets were like $75 a piece so we passed. Upon arriving, we met the Crisafi family at the mall, just to ride the train, play on the playground, and get a bite to eat a Panera.  

Tyson and Will were "too cool" to ride the train.

 But my twinsies and Michael didn't pass up this Christmas fun!

 Aunt Amanda brought the kiddies some adorably cute,

Personalized Christmas ornaments that her co-worker makes.  

Thanks for thinking of us, Aunt Amanda.

 Then, after the littlest ones were put down for their naps,

the daddy's and older boys played hard in our large backyard,

While the mommy's went to get their nails done.

 This photo blessed my day!

This is the FIRST real moment 
That these two played HARD together.

 Both my brother and my hubby are very physically fit and athletic.

 And from the looks of it, 

Their boys are following perfectly in their footsteps.  

 Look at Will go!!!

 They stayed outside for over 1 hour playing football.

 Will LOVES to do anything involving tackling,

Hence the reason he was headed to a wrestling match later on.

 From the looks of this photo,

I think my little nephew had a blast at our home!!!!

Darren and I both agreed that this was a pleasant visit.

It was nice to spend some time with my brother and his family!