Big Bro's Big 4-0, in Ohio...

I went on a work trip to Ohio for a few days and the timing was perfect as it was my brother Don's 40th Birthday as well. My sister in law Traci hosted a dinner at the Skyway East in Mansfield. It was a perfect night complete with close friends, good food and our very own piano player for the evening! Traci had contacted the piano player based on the recommendation of the restaurant owner. Well, coincidentally enough, on the day of the party Traci was talking on the phone to my mom who is in Florida for the winter. When she told her who was playing piano that night my mom and dad couldn't believe it because they happen to be listening to his CD at the same time! So even though my mom and dad weren't there they were able to dedicate a song to my brother. It was a really special moment to top off a special night. I know Don had a great time and will forever cherish the memories.


To our surprise the restaurant owner had special "Happy 40th Don" matchbooks made up. Such a nice touch!

Hard to believe my big bro is 40!

Don and Traci, one of the happiest couples I know :)

We spared him a cake full of candles.

Most of the Birthday crew and incidentally all are old friends who are now part of the S.R.S. team!

Even though Billy couldn't be there in person (he was running the "Daddy Daycare" which was no easy task) he did sit down with me a couple nights before I left and we made a "40 things you should know about Donny" plaque... During the dinner I recited some of them during a toast, which was pretty funny considering we were going for more of a comedy theme. You may be able to read some of them if you click on the photo. I loved this photo that was taken on his wedding day with his three boys.

Laguna Beach Day!

Kai and Daila have been so good lately and we haven't had a fun family day in a while so we loaded up today and went to the beach. The weather has been great for the last couple of days too so we couldn't resist. They were so good and we all had a great day. Hopefully this will be a sign of things to come and we'll have a great summer this year with lots of beach time!

Outside the gate!

So we've started taking them outside of the gate of our backyard lately and letting them play in the cul-de-sac. Now everyday they lobby for this and the learning curve has dramatically increased in the last couple days. Yesterday they even got to play with the 5 of the different neighbor kids ranging from 3-10 years old. Finally they're getting some "social" interaction with other kids. They both are learning so much so fast. Our babies are growing up!

Bring it on 2011!

We went over to the town New Years celebration to ring in the new year. It's been colder than usual lately so Kai and Daila got to wear hats and mittens for the first time. When we were getting ready to stroll over to the party and we put them on they kept referring to them as their "party hats" So funny :) We all had a great time. For the first time in a long time both Kai and Daila had fun the whole time. Since the "terrible two's" began usually one of them has a public melt down. Maybe we're finally turning a corner for the new year? that would be great!

Bounce House fun!

Kai loved the bounce house. Finally he was in a place where he was aloud to bounce around uncontrollably!

We finished the night at our favorite new place O.C. Burger. Kai and Daila snacked on their Kettle Corn while waiting for their food.

Here are 2 video clips from the night. The first is the new years dragon. This scared them a little bit. Daila kept saying she wanted to go home. Every time you ask Kai about last nights party the first thing he says is "Big Snake" he was convinced the dragon was a snake. We only watched it for a few minutes then checked out the big slide which they loved :)

Next video is Kai and Daila rocking out to the band.