(PICS OF ALL THIS TO BE ADDED SOON!)
Ready to read about another year in The Maz Fam's Shoes? Maybe you should take a nap first and come back and read it because it will probably wear you out reading about all that we have done!
Here goes:
I rang in the 2011 new year with some of my favorite peeps. It was Mt. Pulaski's kick off to 175 years, so we hung out in Mt Pulaski with a little fire works show, ball drop and jammin' to the band. Less than 24 hours after the new year bells and whistles we hopped int he car and met the whole Maz Clan in Indianapolis for the Mazanowski Christmas. We gather there for Christmas instead of exchanging gifts. We just buy a few small things for the kids to open, and we enjoy each others' company. Chad's younger brother Kyle, Laura & Kyla live in Louisville, KY. Dustin, Kristin, Zach & Miles live in Chicago and we live in Bloomington, so it works out as a nice mid point for all of us and since we don't get to see each other all that often throughout the year, we thought we would forego the gift exchange for a little getaway instead. Our hotel had an indoor water park which was a super fun break away from the cold winter. Bradyn went down his first waterslide and LOVE it! I think I got my year's worth of exercise walking up the huge flight of stairs a million times. We also checked out the Indianapolis Children's museum, which was AMAZING! The kids had a blast! The dinosaur and train exhibits were a hit, as was the carousel & tree house.
A fun trip to escape the cold Illinois winter....San Diego baby! We took Bradyn to Legoland which turned out to be fun times had by all! It was amazing how many legos are there! HOLY COW everything's made of LEGOS! Millions/Trillions/Gazillions of them. The highlight of Lego Land was probably seeing how much fun Bradyn had on the big boy roller coaster. We went on it multiple times because he loved it! All of the rides were fun though. I think we picked the perfect age for him to go there. We also went back to the San Diego Zoo. That place it huge and has amazing animals. I love visiting the Pandas and Koalas because you just don't get to see them at every zoo. Another fun excursion we went on while we were there was the whale watching cruise. It was really cool and we saw lots of whales!
The beginning of February we were blasted with the Blizzard of 2011! I don't remember the last time we had that much snow all at once. We measured about 18 inches in various places in the yard, so I think that's pretty accurate. Some places though had drifted to 3-4 ft! and by the time we dug out there where huge piles everywhere that took forever to finally melt! We were couped up for way too long and were definitely getting cabin fever. Bradyn's daycare had it's oh so cute "Friendship Party" for Valentine's Day. Eat your heart out at these darling pictures of him and his buds. My mid February most of the snow (excluding the piles) had melted. Good thing because it was time for the annual Polar Bear Volleyball tournament. I dislike being cold, but my love for volleyball overrides that. Thankfully it was a nice mild day for the tournament this year. We had a ton of fun as usual and can't wait to play again in 2012! In February Bradyn also attended his friend Reagan's birthday party at Gymnastics Inc. What a GREAT place for a birthday party. The kids had a blast running around, jumping in the foam blocks, swinging on the rope swing, and laughing with their close buds.
In March there was a special exhibit at State Farm for the upcoming Cars 2 movie. One of our friend's works there and was able to share the excitement with us, so we surprised Bradyn with a trip to see Lightning McQueen, Mater, & Finn McMistel. He was VERY into it and was all about taking photos of them. *makes mama proud* I will never forget the moment I caught him turning the camera to take a vertical photo... his pics turn out so good! He's really getting the hang of it!
March was full of travel... We did our annual trip with mom down to St. Louis for the MVC basketball tournament. It was also Mardi Gras weekend... which is a good thing because ISU didn't make it past the first day, so we didn't end up watching much basketball. LOL We did go to a St. Louis University game because our friend Flash was on the coaching staff. Other than that we went to the Children's Museum, the City Museum, and went up in the Arch which I haven't done since I was who knows how old...(a kid).
Also in March, Chad and I decided to go to Las Vegas for the 1st round of the NCAA tournament. As much fun as we have any other year just sitting at a bar highlighting our brackets, multiply the fun factor by 100 and that MAY come close to how fun it was to watch the 1st round in Vegas! It was great to bet a little bit on the games, sit back at the casino sports book and watch them all day. Brad, Dan, and Adrian came with us so with a group made it even more fun! My favorite part was quite possibly the San Diego State overtime game.. to hear the room explode and be on edge through the duration of the game was great! Intense.
When we got back from Vegas, a short time later Chad and I met up with my friend Moy & Kaori and went to see Bon Jovi...again! Bon Jovi never disappoints...always a fun show... I could see him again and again (oh wait I have.. make that 6 times now).. and never get sick of it!
April... finally spring has sprung. After a long snowy and cold winter, we were glad to get back outside. Easter was beautiful this year. The kids are at a great age for easter egg hunting! The highlight of this Easter was... The movie HOP had came out and one of the scenes the Easter Bunny had left remnants of "easter bunny poop"...(jelly beans). So we left the Easter Bunny a note to be sure to NOT POOP on grandma's new carpet. And much to our surprise and Bradyn's disgust he did anyway!! There was a trail of easter bunny poop and Bradyn was sooo mad at the Easter Bunny on Easter morning!
Bradyn had his Creative Movement performance for us at daycare. Creative Movement was a great program where it taught kids some of the fundamental balancing, jumping, skipping, coordination, and "creative movements". He's such a ham and one coordinated little fella. It was so cute to see all the kids try their hardest.
After being torn up for months! My home office was finally complete!! CHECK IT OUT!!!
Mid April Gam was in town from Pennsylvania, so we got to spend some time with her for Kyla's birthday party. It was at a pizza place/game restaurant, so the kids had plenty to keep them entertained while we visited.
Then end of April we made it to our first Sox game. Dad & Lindsay came with us. We had a good time tailgating and enjoyed the game, snacks and beverages!
April was also the start of my MazPix Spring Daycare Shoots... soooo busy time of year for the business as I spent every waking free moment shooting, editing, and filling orders.
In May Bradyn turned 4! AND... we welcomed a new addition to our family... a King Charles Spaniel named Snazzi. Snazzi Mazzi fit right in to our family and gave Bradyn a nice little playmate. Snazzi is such a pretty pup, very quiet, snuggly, and playful. So back to the big boy's birthday.. Wow where did another year go! I can't believe my baby is 4 already! We went with a Super Hero theme this year. Bradyn was very much into all of the super heros. We even had a BatMan bouncy house lined up, but of course it rained that day so we had to cancel it. Lots of friends and family came to celebrate and it was a great party.
In June, Bradyn started Tot Soccer. He and his buddy Ryan started their sports debuts on the soccer field. It was a great program because it wasn't just a bunch of kids running around aimlessly kicking a ball. It was brought down to their level and taught in concepts they could understand. It was a lot of imagination such as... don't go past that line because that's the ocean.. and if you go in the ocean you will get eaten by sharks. (talking about the out of bounds line) Genius. It was so cute to see him in action... and my little guy with cute little drips of sweat rolling down his face. He's not a baby anymore darn it!
In June, we also went with Dad down to the Ozarks. This was the trip we were supposed to go on last year but dad got very sick and ended up in the hospital with an infection instead. So this was a much anticipated fun getaway. The house we rented was just steps from a cute little tiki bar, so we were able to hang out on the porch and listen to the tunes. We also rented a pontoon boat for one of the days and spent the whole day on the lake. We stopped and swam various times and docked and ate. It's a beautiful lake and we had TONS of fun in the sun!
Other random summer activities included Bradyn's Friday Fun Runs & pizza at Joe's with Sheryl & Ryan...putt putt golfing... hanging and swimming at Grammy & Poppy's....boating with dad... camping with mom....trip to Chicago with Sheryl & Ryan
In July Bradyn & I went with mom, grandma, Corey & Kyleah on a little getaway to a cabin in Shelbyville. We had a fun time swimming, fishing, and relaxing by the fire. It was like camping only in a cabin instead. :)
The beginning of August we took a big vacation to North Carolina with the ENTIRE Mazanowski clan. It was Chad's Aunt & Uncle, their 5 kids, and all of his bros & their fams. 18 people in one giant house a block from the beach! It was too much fun! We spent most of our time at the beach. The kids had a blast boogie boarding and playing in the sand. They mostly enjoyed swimming in the pool in our yard though. Not quite as rough as the waves. We had some good waves a couple of the days because there was a hurricane 'a brewin'. We had wonderful weather though and the hurricane changed paths. While we were there we took Bradyn to Jockey Ridge in Kitty Hawk to fly kites. Dumb of us to pick the hottest day we were there to go, but it was fun flying the kite for as long as we lasted in the heat. One of the highlights of the trip was taking the kids hunting for ghost craps one night. They had a blast with their flash lights & there were ghost crabs everywhere! We also took a little day trip on a dolphin cruise. There were lots of dolphins out that day so it made for an exciting outing. The most adventurous thing I did on this trip and something I've been wanting to do for years but never have.... Laura & I went parasailing! It was VERY cool and quite peaceful actually. I thought it would be a little more of a "rush" but it was actually kinda relaxing..until we landed... in the water. LOL which I guess sometimes happens as they bring you back down to the boat. Splash!
August was the annual Balloon Fest, more camping, more boating, the beach, bowling, the State Fair and more!
September was more outdoor fun as well! But also the start of my MazPix Photography Fall Daycare Madness. This time of year I kinda go into hiding as I am so busy with shooting, editing, and filling daycare orders for the second time of the year. This fall, I was convinced to pick up a 5th daycare!! so that totaled about 700 kids photographed this fall! HOLY SMOKES!
September marked a hard month for my brother as he and Sarah split, but it is turning out great to have him back... as his silly self... back involved and engaged in our family activities. We missed you bro, but so glad to have you back! Hopefully through all this he learned that when we say we will always be here for you...we mean it.
In October (while I wasn't busy with fall photography)... I joined Bradyn on his school trip to the pumpkin patch. It's so fun to see him with his friends. They are all so stinkin' cute and I sometimes flash forward to what it will be like seeing him in 10 years from now with his high school buds. (Scary! ok let's stop thinking about that). The interactions and conversations amongst little kids just amazes me. We also took a trip to the pumpkin patch a second time with Corey & Kyleah and mom too. It's always a fun time there. This time we picked out our family pumpkins that we later carved. This Halloween Bradyn wanted to be a Red Power Ranger for Halloween. He was very much into the Power Rangers and still is. Chad and I had our annual Halloween party to attend so we chose to be Rock Stars. Lindsay joined us in Mt Pulaski for the Halloween Festivities and rocked her Robin Hood Costume. As always it was a fun time with my small town buds. Moments I wouldn't trade for the world.
In November we spent some more time with my back home buds at the annual Booster Benefit. It was a fun night of dancin' and drinkin' as usual.. and as usual... we didn't win any money. And then of course there was Thanksgiving...Same ole same ole.. gathering hoppin', stuffin' our faces, sleep comas... :)
The beginning of December we took at trip to the North Pole on the Polar Express (Monticello Train Station). Kyleah & Bradyn had a blast and were all smiles with all of the Christmas festivities.. Elves dancing in the aisles, Santa hopping aboard, receiving Santa's bell, drinking hot cocoa & eating cookies. They were glowing with happiness! This year the thing I enjoyed most about Christmas were the priceless expressions. The excitement and smiles on the faces of the little ones as they opened their Christmas gifts. No matter what was inside, there was a look of anticipation, then when the item inside was super cool, the expression was infectious! We shared many great gifts back and forth, but most of all are blessed with having a loving supportive family to spend it with.
Overall we had a great year! A busy year...Many fun memories...thousands of pictures...and we move on to 2012... together as a team...a family...inseparable. Goodbye 2011!
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