Monster Jam

We went to Monster Jam a couple weekends ago and we had a great time.   Colton of course was more than excited to see Grave Digger and they were celebrating Grave Diggers 30th Anniversary so this was quite the show to be at.  We also took our nephew Isaac with us to the show and he had a blast at his first Monster Jam!  He will be a Monster Jam fan for life which is fine by me (not sure that his parents are excited but he can always go with Auntie).  I think maybe the best part of the show was Trailer Racing.  It was a demolition style race but every car was pulling a trailer of some sorts.  Some were pulling boats, one a camper and the rest had flat bed trailers with everything from Christmas Trees to couches to TV's strapped to them!  The kids thought it was hilarious to see the trailers and all the items on them go flying when they crashed.  Seriously, one of the best races I have ever watched.   And of course you can't go to Monster Jam without some dome food, we enjoyed dome dogs and giant snow cones.  The boys also got Grave Digger Pennants which they waved high and proud every time Grave Digger hit the track!  The only bad part of the night was trying to get home.  We left the dome at about 10:20pm after a 3 hour and 20 minute show, we had two boys who were hyped up on sugar and fumes and way past their bedtime and we parked at the top of a ramp!  We got to the car after a short 5 minutes walk in the frigid January air, got into the car, got all buckled up and then we sat there.  It had been 20 minutes and we hadn't even backed out of parking spot yet.  The boys were taking turns trying to kill me (mind you I was sitting on the back bench of the van in between them which will never happen again).  First Colton would look at Isaac and say "boo" and then they both would throw their heads back and laugh hysterically and then Isaac would look back at Colton and say "Rarrr" and again the laughter.  I thought about jumping right off the 5th floor of the ramp just to save my sanity!  After another 15 minutes of torture and all the cars in the ramp honking to a catchy little beat we finally backed out of our parking spot and were on our way to freedom.  All in all it was a very fun night and yes we will be doing it again next year (just might pick a different post to park)!

Happy 1st Birthday Mason!

We celebrated Mason's 1st Birthday at our house today with many of our family and friends!  I was quite concerned that our house was way too small for a big birthday party but it turned out perfect.  We enjoyed lots of snacks and cupcakes, then presents and of course Mason enjoyed his very own birthday cake!  Thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate Mason's first, we are very blessed to have all of you in our lives. I could keep boring you with details but I will just get to the pictures instead!  

 We were all very tired after the party so we spent our evening lounging and playing with all of Mason's new toys... I think his favorites are his new books (what a smart kid)!!

Celebrity Chef

Frankie is definitely working his way up to celebrity chef status!  Last fall he was one of 8 local chefs who cooked up some amazing fish dishes for the "Fish Bites" event at the Minnesota Zoo.  He was cooking along side other local celebrity chefs including the executive chef from Oceanaire, the chef/owner from Ristorante Luci and the chef/owner of Meritage.  The event was aimed to show amazing dishes with some of the ocean's most sustainable fish and from what I hear everyone loved Frankie's dish (I did not get a ticket to this event, shame on my husband).  Well now you can find those same eight chefs on a full page spread in the February Issue of Minnesota Monthly!!   The topic:  Are you fish Smart?  Per magazine, "The Minnesota Zoo's Fish Smart restaurant partners are committed to helping consumers make ocean-friendly choices.  Let these chefs show you how to diversify your seafood plate."  I am very proud of Frankie for how much he has accomplished with his Culinary career already, he is creating a great name for himself in the Twin Cities area.  So what is up next for my celebrity husband?  Well, next is television!  He will be doing a live cooking segment on Kare 11 Saturday Morning in February.  I will be sure to keep everyone posted so you guys can watch him in person.  

Bathtime

Mason took his first solo big boy bath this week... he didn't have his big brother in there taking up his space and he wasn't confined to his bath seat and he absolutely loved it!  Our bathtub is a porcelain bathtub so it is very slippery and I was concerned he would never be able to sit on his own but he proved me wrong.  He was all over the tub and only slipped and dunked under twice which he didn't seem to mind at all, he loves the water and has no fear at all.  I took advantage of my one on one time with Mason and was snapping pictures like crazy (I am pretty sure I have only took a quarter of the amount of pictures of him that I took of Colton his first year, shhhhh don't tell Mason)!  Here is my baby boy enjoying his first big boy bath: