Jiujitsu Competition

This past weekend we traveled to Phoenix to watch Bucky's first jiujitsu match. We have been very fortunate to have found a gym here that works for us. The instructors are fantastic and Bucky has grown so much in this sport since beginning here. When he found out his friend, B, was going to compete, he decided that he would like to be in it as well. He lost his first match 2-0 but he got his nerves out and realized these folks weren't playing around. He won his second match 10-0. Not only did he win in points but we could tell he had learned from the first match and was much more aggressive on his second go. He was very proud of himself as were we :).

Bucky's friend, B 

Guard

Sliding out

Completing a throw

Mount and checking with coaches

Trying an arm bar

The winning smile

Cheering for Bubby

And...she's spent

Group Photo of the kids who competed and coaches

Finally...A Birthday Party

We postponed Bucky's birthday party this year because Buck was TDY at the time of his actual birthday. It worked out better all around because sports were over and so was school. Less things to plan around means more fun! We had it in our grassless backyard so skipped setting up the Slip-N-Slide for fear of a kiddo getting hurt on the hard ground underneath. We did however opt to buy some squirters and a sprinkler (that sucked and was promptly returned to the store). The kids all seemed to have a good time, especially the birthday boy!

Fill Up Time

Who can spray the highest?

Getting thirsty

Hmmmm....

Cake time

7 Balloons for the birthday boy

One of the many gifts he received

Getting Bigger

Our little girl is not so little anymore. In face, she is rapidly approaching the one year mark. Holy moly! She has learned a ton of new things the past few months and continues to learn much, much more. She loves to clap, chase you around (crawling), standing up, saying "Mama" especially when she wants something, books, and big Bubby. And tantrums....she LOVES throwing tantrums when she doesn't get what she wants when she wants it. Sometimes she gets mad because we were not able to read her mind and know what she was going to want. She is also teething off and on. We have had a few rough nights and very early mornings but this too shall pass :).

St. Augustine

On our way back from Melbourne, we decided to stop in St. Augustine to show Bucky around and explore the Castillo de San Marcos. Buck and I went many years ago and thought the kiddo would really enjoy it. We got there just in time, too. There was a cannon demonstration about 30 minutes after we arrived and a tour starting a little bit after that. We stood on the to of the structure to see the cannon and then headed downstairs to wait for the tour. While waiting in the breezy entryway, I was downing water like there was no tomorrow. It was sooooo HOT; I think it was about 100 degrees in the shade. We started the tour and went into a room for the guide to start her speech. I lasted about 10 minutes and then returned to the entryway to sit. I was just about miserable and there wasn't a breeze in the other room. It felt like the air was being sucked out of the room. Anyway, the boys kept going in the tour until Buck realized the lady was pretty much just repeating what the signs all say. So we did our own (very quick) tour and headed out to get some lunch. Thank goodness there was a place right across the street. After we ate, we went back to the car and came home.

Enjoying some Ice Cream

Preggo Pic - almost 34 weeks

Family Pic

View of the Top

Cannon go Boom!

Making Sure there are not any Pirates

Water Wheel outside the restaurant

Trip to Melbourne

Even though I am not really a good traveler right now because of comfort and other pregnancy related stuff, we got an opportunity to travel to Melbourne, FL with hubby for him to attend a class. I have a hard time turning down any trip that involves the beach so I didn't :). Buck was not able to go with us during the day most days but we found a way to pass the time anyway. Bucky and I went to the pool, hot tub, stores, mall, and just hung out and relaxed for the most part. It was a nice last minute last getaway before baby girl makes her appearance. (WARNING: Potential for Picture Overload)

Ready to Swim

First visit to Melbourne Beach (and the Ocean)

Jumping the waves

Heading to the Sand Bar

Running from the Waves (Paradise Beach)

Playing in the Sand

Enjoying the Pool

Big Boy swimming under water

35th Balloon Classic

I am not a morning person. In fact, there are very few things I will get out of my bed for when the sun has not even risen. Apparently one of them is to see hot air balloons. Last year I saw a bunch of balloons in the air as Bucky and I were travelling around town but I had no idea where they came from or what they were doing up there. It peaked my curiosity. Fast forward a year and I heard through the grapevine about the Balloon Classic. To get a good seat you have to be there around 615 AM. Yes, I said AM!! B & I discussed it and decided that this would be a good thing to check out. So at 0515 on Saturday morning, we rolled out of bed, drank some coffee, got the little guy up and dressed, finished getting ready, and headed to Memorial Park. It was chilly but we were determined to see some balloons. So we arrived along with many other people, paid our $5 for parking and got out of the car. Then I overheard someone saying, "sorry." I asked our car neighbors what was going on and they said it had apparently been cancelled because of wind. So here we were at 0630 in the morning...awake. I called our friends who were on their way to the park and we all diverted to IHOP for breakfast instead. That night B & I discussed our plans again. We again decided to get up at the a$$ crack of dawn to see some balloons. So we did. We were more careful about checking the weather before we woke the boy up and it was actually not windy at all. We found free parking when we got there (bonus) and we had our chairs and an extra blanket this time. We walked to the park, set up our chairs and looked around in absolute amazement at what we thought were "just" balloons.

Then we had a truck pull up in front of us and we quickly realized we were going to have a front row seat to the inner workings of a hot air balloon.

It was obvious the excitement the day brought with it when the pathfinder balloon started to rise. There was yelling and cheering and we knew at that point that we were in for quite a show.

I believe there were a total of 64 balloons registered for this year's classic and it was wonderful to watch all of them blow up and take off into the beautiful clear blue sky.

These are pictures of the process of getting a balloon inflated.

And one final picture of the entrance to Memorial Park.

Overall, we were more than pleased after we saw all the beautiful colors and balloons. Even Bucky said "I'm so glad we saw all the balloons."