Corey's Birthday

 Oh, how we love this guy.  Oh, how this guy loves his birthday.  Oh, how we love celebrating the birthday of this guy we love!  He is the best Daddy these two boys could ever want or need and the best husband too. We celebrated like crazy, and his parents were here too, which was a fun bonus!  I personally think he got off a little easy this year since Asher didn't make him wear any crazy hats, haha!  His choice of dessert was a toffee and oreo ice cream pie.  So yummy. 

Happiest 36th birthday to our favorite guy on the planet.  We love you so much, babe!

T-ball!

Gooooooo Vipers!  This year Asher played his first year of T-ball!  It was a riot.  Several times a week, Corey transformed into 'Coach Corey'...the awesome dad who volunteered his time to learn all the kids names with rhymes, the guy who patiently tried to get kids picking clover in the outfield to grab the ball that rolled by them, the guy who taught the kiddos to run the bases in the right order and direction, and the guy who zoomed from work and donated a bunch of time so his little boy could play t-ball. What a guy.  I totally loved our team's coach this year (hehehe)!

Asher was awesome!  He really got into it, and had a great first season playing baseball.  He learned all the basics and will likely be moving on up to machine pitch next year (yikes!).  He can't wait to do it again. Watching Asher play in his oversized shirt, baggy pants, and hat pulled over his eyes was too cute. Me and Beck had a good time cheering them on too, despite the relentless Albuquerque spring winds.  There were a bunch of my friends with kids on our team, so every game was loads of fun, even if the game was dragging a bit.  We all suffered the cold, and the wind, and shared snacks and rides amongst one another.   He loves the game and they had a great season.  Here's to a new sport for the Reitz family, with (very likely) many more seasons to come!

Spring Moments...

April!  Snowstorm (what in the world?!), Cinderella Play, field trips (the aquarium), last days of Kindergarten (McDonald's for lunch, after school playing with friends, fun field day with games, contests and dancing), handsome Easter boys (oh, love my boys in ties all dressed up for church), visit from Grandma and Grandpa Pettit (the zoo, the Tinkertown Museum), Uncle Aaron's fire station (also with Gma and Gpa Pettit...Corey looked pretty cool all dressed up), cruising in the yard, Tumble Tots fun, and the Circus with Gma and Gpa Reitz (we were obsessed with the clown noses, and Asher danced like a madman to the music)!  This is a quick glance through a fun but busy month in pictures.

Cinderella Play

Asher has a fantastic Kindergarten teacher, Ms. Warrick, who has made his first year so fun and memorable.  Each year, her classes put on a Cinderella play, which at first sounded completely insane to me considering the age and demeanor of her young actors!  But, after seeing it all come together, I am so impressed with what she and the little buddies came out with.  They've been working on it for a couple of months, learning parts, songs, and dancing. The play was awesome, and the kids all did great!  Asher had a speaking part and also danced with Mikayla. They did awesome!  Here is our little actor...

Our Asher did such a good job and had so much fun putting this on.  I am so thankful to his wonderful teacher for bringing such a great opportunity into our school.  It's been disappointing to see how little focus there is in the Arts in Public School these days.  I'm so glad he had the chance to perform. This production was fantastic, and was truly above and beyond what's expected.  

Bravo, Asher!

Breakin' for Spring

Breakin' for Spring...that kind of explains our little trip in a nutshell. We headed to Ruidoso, NM, a little mountain town a few hours away. It was cute, quaint and tree-sy, something we are usually starving for in our desert home. We were happy just to get away for a break. It's so strange being tied to the school calendar now, and the freedom of years past is now gone forever....but, it made the break from school a fun thing for me to look forward to.

We weren't sure what weather to plan for in Ruidoso, even after checking the forecast, so we brought a little of everything. Swimsuits to snowsuits. We used them all! There was a tubing hill just five minutes out of town, and they made the usually laborious tubing a treat. A human conveyer belt propelled us to the top and ta-da(!) down we went. Beck didn't like the 'bump one' that sent us all airborne in a giant tube, but the rest went off without a complaint. I hate to sound lazy, but being taken to the top of the hill is for sure the best way ever to sled. I'm converted.

The sign says 'Warning, Dangerous Wildlife Beyond this Point.....apparently:)

We had some good BBQ, checked out Inn of the Mountain Gods, put in some good time at the Mini Golf course and Go-Cart track, and swam in the pool(and our huge jetted tub...ahhhh).

(Deer right in this front yard! They weren't even afraid of us.)

Spring is coming soon, yay! Can't wait, this wind is already wearing on my nerves.

Cabin Fun

Some very generous friends of ours invited us to their cabin for the weekend!(Thanks Danny and Shannon) This venture was all about the snow, and there were feet of it waiting for us when we arrived. We are so moisture-deprived(depending on how you look at it...but I do miss the snow!), that it seemed a world away from Albuquerque.

This is Asher, post snowball induced facial injury. Corey launched a snowball into the fort and it's icy shards exploded onto his nose...OUCH! He was back pretty quick though...way to go tough guy! I think the Angry Birds band-aid probably helped.

We ate yummy food, talked until late, sledded(at times, behind Indy...their dog!), built a GIGANTIC snow fort, checked out the cute but stinky town of Pagosa Springs, and overall had an enjoyable time. The break from cell phones, computers, and cable tv was a refreshingly welcome break. We were chased out of there by a wicked snowstorm, but luckily made it home safe. Fun times!