The Ricci's in Arizona: Is July over?? First day of School and Sammy's Birthday!

I'm a slacker!! It has been WAY too long since I updated the blog and there has been WAY too many things going on to blog about! That is kinda the problem, the longer I wait the more there is and than it is a daunting task! But the motivation of my big boy's birthday was enough to get it done... so here is July and the first half of August!

In order from most recent...

Sammy is 6!!

Our Big boy is getting sooo big! Yesterday was his 6th birthday. We are so proud of what a kind, smart, sweet boy he is!

Here he is when he first woke up yesterday and saw his presents.

presents!

The night before his birthday, we were talking about what he wanted. Of course he had a few things that he rattled off, and Matt proceeded to tell him that usually people get underwear and socks for their birthday. So, we made sure that was the FIRST present he opened...

His reaction - yes, that is an eye roll!! He said, "I know this is a joke, Dad!"

Mario T-shirt

Mario Galaxy 2 from Ya-Ya and Poppy. :) He is a true video game addict!

He even got a little something for JT and Eli. He was happy to share a few presents with his brothers....

A Target card from Grandma and Grandpa! I am sure that will be used for... video games!

Aunt Barbara, Jake And Kenna got him a Kung Zhu pet (that is what he got JT) he was very happy with it! For me... it is better than a real hamster!

Cake for Breakfast, of course!

And... the NEW BIG BOY BIKE!!!

Dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings!

Very serious work going on here.

Happy Birthday Boy!

The best shot I could get of the three of them together.... it is tougher than you would think to get 3 little boys to sit still, look at you and smile ALL at the SAME time!!

A very delicious Cookie Ice Cream Sundae for the birthday desert. He shared, of course!

It was a long day with school... but he seemed to really enjoy his day. He opened presents in the morning, came home and played Mario Galaxy, went to dinner and came home and played more Mario before bed! A good day in Sam's book.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

This is year is a big one for us. Sam will be in school ALL day and JT goes MWF for 3 and 1/2 hours! My little guys are growing up and gone too much, and you know what? I don't like it! But, I will document it... so here goes!

The backpacks were packed on the counter with care...

The lunch box ready to be placed in there...

The happy school boys with their Cinnamon Bun breakfast!

Then they hop into the car to get to school fast!

JT's first day.

Here is my big boy JT with his buddy Owen when they are walking into school.

Happy and ready for school!

One of his teachers helping him out.

Sammy showing him where Ella's name was on the fish bowl so he could put his fish next to hers!

2 thumbs up!

He was ready... he has a bunch of his friends in the class from last year, one of the same teachers in the same room... he was very comfortable with me leaving. :( but I am glad he is enjoying it!

Sammy's first day.

Backpack with homework, lunchbox and water bottle for a whole day away from mom!

In his classroom.

With his teacher as he places his bear in the right spot (bringing or buying lunch!)

He is a little spec in the classroom...

a close up.

Overall he seems to really enjoy it. He says it is a long day. He misses us, but he always says it is a lot of fun too. It takes him a few days to get the hang of it, but he will be fine in no time. I am not sure I will!?

Sammy's Mario Party 6!!

For Sammy's birthday he wanted a Mario Party. It was a lot of prep work, but we made it happen and he was VERY happy with it! There is a lot of detailed photos for this... but like I said... it was a lot of prep work!

Here he is with his buddy Jackson. You may not recognize him with his Mario hat and mustache!

Keaton looking very Mario. :)

Mario Bingo!

Happy Mario Bingo Birthday Boy!

John Thomas :)

Pin the Mustache on Mario!

This was JT's turn. He got all turned around after the 3 spins... he put it right on Sammy!

Here he is realizing what he did!

Sam thought it was hysterical!

Mario Obstacle Course!

This was very detailed. First, they needed to Hit the Star to Start. Next they ran through the Star pool tire floats. They had to through a ball through "BOO"'s mouth. Do a "Yoshi" Egg walk with an egg on a spoon. Toss a White "Blooper" squid water balloon, Hit a Question mark pinata, throw water balloon fire balls at Bowser and jump on the flag pole! ugh... it was tough!

Here is Sammy starting it all off.

Sam and his buddy, Brian.

Jim never passes up an opportunity to get his baby fix. :)

Brandon running through the course.

Aunt Lisa was a big help... she face painted while the kids were waiting to go in the pool. She actually has amazing skills... everyone was very impressed!

Here is Chase with a Penguin Face Paint! I would have done the star... maybe a mushroom!

Yoshi Egg Walk

Question Mark Pinata

Fireball Water Balloons at Bowser

And jumping on the flag pole... JT did this perfectly!

The Pinata candy!

Getting ready for cake.

Mario Cake of course!

Some up close pics of the activities we had...

Prize basket.

Pin the Mustache on Mario

Mario Hats and Mustaches for everyone......well, the girls got princess crowns and jewels.

Goody Bag station.

The Cake.

More Cake.

And More Cake!

Overall, it was a huge success. Everyone seemed to have fun and Sammy was very happy! That is what I do it for... to make them happy, so it works for me!

The boys Around the House

Random Pics of the boys around the house.

Here they have their baseball caps on and are singing/dancing to an Alvin and the Chipmunks DVD.

Singin in the Rain... JT

ELI....

SAM...

We don't get much rain!

Our visit with Grandpa and Uncle Fred.

Eli walkin EVERYWHERE!

What can I say ... cutie.

Sammy happy with his toys that were going on the cake.

Even JT has gotten into video games... He loves his DS!

Mario Guys.

Sammy's Un-Birthday Dinner.

Sammy wanted to celebrate his birthday with Ya-Ya and Poppy too. SO they took us all out to dinner at Red Robin and we fibbed and said it was his birthday. They enjoyed the ice cream sundae at the end!

A group pic. We didn't get too many pics of Ya-Ya and Poppy,but the kids LOVED having them here for 3 weeks. It was a hard adjustment when they left.

Eli eating a French Fry... he is his Mama's boy!

Sammy's Wrestling Tournament.

This is actually the reason I am so late with this blog posting. I had video of it and wanted to put it up but it was too big. I had software that would edit it, but it stopped working and I was waiting on Matt (aka, my computer guy) for a solution. I am STILL waiting. So, no video but here are a few pics. He won every match and was sooo happy!

Take Down.

Big Smiles!!

At the end, he was even awarded an award they only gave to one person that day! It was a sportsmanship award....We are not exactly sure how or why he got it because everyone swarmed them when they were explaining it and we didn't hear the whole thing. But he was very happy!!

Indoor Soccer!

We have been keeping busy and cool this summer with Indoor Soccer. Sam actually plays on 2 teams. He plays with JT on the 4-5 year olds and then plays up with the 6-7 year olds. He has learned a lot and JT has come a long way since our first experience with soccer last fall when he wouldn't go on the field!

Here is Sam with the 6-7's. He has come very close to scoring in that league, but hasn't yet.

JT on the move.

Eli along for the ride, as usual!

Crazy boys.

Our 10 year Anniversary.

We had always said we would go to Hawaii for our 10 year anniversary. Well, we couldn't get to Hawaii, but with Ya-Ya and Poppy here to help us out, we did the next best thing. Went to The Boulders in Carefree, AZ. We started the day with 18 holes of golf, then got a quick lunch, had a relaxing and very enjoyable massage, hung out at the pool and went to a nice dinner. We were both sleeping by 9:00pm! That is what 10 years and 3 kids does to you I guess! It was a wonderful night get away and way to celebrate our anniversary.

Golf...

Our view from our patio.

Our Room.

Boulders. :)

We passed this Steelers bar, Harold's, that we have heard a lot about, so we had to go in for a beer. It was very cool. It would definitely be fun to watch a game there.