Here We Go Again!!

So Ami has done it again... she has peer pressured me to do 31 (did you know May had 31 days Ami??) blogs a 31 days. But, she and I are not alone. Our friend Jen will also be joining us for the ride. ( I believe it may have been her idea.) My first response to Ami was, "I don't really have time to blog every day." Then I thought for a second and said, "Who am I kiddin?!? I don't even have a job!" Well actually I do, but it takes me all of one hour a day. More on that on a slow blog day.

So let's begin May with a Bang! Or Livin' La Vida Loca. Oh yes, Friends, Brian & I went to see my FAVORITE singer... Ricky Martin!!! Say what you will about him, but I love him. I've loved him since I was 6 and I will love him until I am 106. He is beautiful and has a beautiful voice. Love him!

Before I tell you about our concert, let's go down memory lane.

A few years ago, 6 years to be exact, the local radio station announced that Ricky would be coming to town and they were inviting listeners to come meet him. Well, you know who jumped on that bandwagon! I emailed the DJs, cute picture of me attached and everything, and crossed my fingers. Well, the next day they called me! In my classroom! Not exactly sure what they said, but I remember walking into Ami's classroom, which conviniently happened to be 1 step from mine and telling (shieking probably) her Johnjay and Rich were calling about my letter. I also remember we had to sing a little of Livin' La Vida Loca. On the radio. With EVERYONE listening. I don't even know how many phone calls Brian & I got wondering if it was me on the radio.

So the next day, my mom & I went to the radio station to meet the love of my life. Yes, I feel that strongly. :) Oh and did I mention it was my 27th birthday??? Best. Birthday. EVER!

So what do I do when I get close to Ricky? I start crying. Hysterically. Like those girls on the Ed Sullivan Show when The Beatles were on. Yeah. Well, my blubbering helped because he gave me extra kisses and called me linda (pretty in Spanish), at this point, we had told him that we were also from Puerto Rico and had been fans since Menudo and he signed my Coqui (Puerto Rican symbol). I was in heaven! I even was in the newspaper!

So fast forward 6 years several concerts later and he was back in Albuquerque! I bought us tickets back in January and then had to book flights for Brian & me once we found out we were moving. There was no way I was missing a chance to see Ricky, even if I have seen him 4 other times.

Before the show we met up with some of our friends at the hotel bar where he was performing.

Michelle, Me & Jana

When Brian & I drove up to the venue, we saw his tour buses and the band was rehearsing. I stopped to watch for a bit, hoping to get a glimpse of Ricky, but some security lady shooed me away. I mean what harm could I do just watching? I also saw his dancers in the lobby and was this close to stopping them, but what would I say, "Can you get me backstage? I LOVE him!" Weirdo.

The view from the 9th floor. Notice the tour buses?

Lynn, being, well, Lynn.
Flying my colors at the concert!
Can I tell how many people asked me where I got my flag, or if they were selling flags? Uh, I got it in PR. it's authentic. People were bummed. Waiting for the concert.

See the girl behind us? At some point during the show she starts SCREAMING at her boyfriend, "What the F is wrong with you?!?! What the F is wrong with you?!?! You promised me!!!" She was in his face YELLING. I kept looking back and poor thing was crying the rest of the show.

Let the show begin! He played for 1 1/2 hours straight. There was no talking, no lag time. It was song after song after song. Oh and the dancing. And oh how I danced! And yelled. And sang. I had a blast! Brian had a blast too. Even he said it was the best concert he had ever been too. I have never seen a crowd like this at an Albuquerque concert. We went to our fair share of concerts while we lived there and the audience, frankly, were duds. They sit the whole time and don't even fill the arena. Well, this time was different. The crowd was electric and the venue was packed! They still sat for a fair amount, but danced too. Which the sitting was good for me, because I stood the whole time and got a perfect view.

One for my many favorite things about Ricky, is how much he loves his little island. Every show I've ever been to, he always pays homage to Puerto Rico. This time was no different. He had a slide show of beautiful pictures from the island and invited everyone to visit one day. And throughout the show he would give a shout out to PR.

Dancing my ass off! I haven't danced like this is years!

Pima County Fair

Lucky for us the week after we moved back to Tucson the Pima County Fair came to town! And doubly lucky for us, we are 5 minutes from the fairgrounds! Brian had no interest in going to the fair, but thank goodness Ami did! She invited Jaxon & me to join her, her sister, Mary, her mom, Debi and of course the Bunchkins. We went on a Thursday afternoon before naptime and before the rides opened. Of course Brian says, "What's the point of going to the fair if the rides are closed?" Well, we had a blast without rides! Plus we spent minimal money... $30 to be exact and that included parking!

The first stop Jaxon had to make was ice cream. I said, sure you can have ice cream. Ami & Debi thought I was crazy. But how could ice cream on a warm AZ day go wrong?

Well, let me tell ya. Ice cream melts! I honestly did not think of this. Apparently Ami & Debi did, they just forgot to mention it to me.

Yeah. It was a drippy, sticky mess!The best part for me was that the guy who sold me the ice cream also gave me a cup & spoon so I could transfer some from the cone to the cup, which I did and shared with the triplets. Well, as Jaxon & I are covered in chocolate Ami says, "You should have asked for a cup." Umm, yeah. I did and you threw it away! Oops! Too funny!

Jaxon & Ethan looking longingly at a ride they could not go on. And then... we came an elephant... that you could ride!!! How excited were we?? Of course I forked the seven bucks a person to let Jaxon ride the elephant. The smile on his face was priceless! So worth every penny.

Can't you just hear Ethan saying, "Oh Woooow!"

Not exactly sure what is wrong with my camera. But many of the outside pictures turned out this way. I'm not going to lie, but I was nervous Jaxon was going to slip off the side of the elephant. Then what? We'd be on the news... "Mother lets her child ride elephant and he falls to his death." Not kidding, I couldn't stop thinking about itThen off to the shark tank and the fire truck.

The kiddos in the shark cage.

I think Hunter was upset because Jaxon was driving... get used to it Hunter, Pearson boys don't like to be in the passenger's seat. Plus, they are TERRIBLE backseat drivers!




Look closely at the signs... "The Hunters" "The Jacksons"

Oh, and what Jaxon & I had been waiting for... the animals! Seriously, this was better than any ride!

Humongous Turkey! Those are some ugly animals.

Chickens & Roosters. While looking at these, Jax was trying to imitate the roosters.

And the highlight... the horses!! Jaxon was in horse heaven! He pet them and talked to them, one even licked me and he thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread!

Here he is clapping at the horse trying to get him to neigh. Not kidding.

I believe the conversation went something like this: "Hi Horse. What's your name? I'm Jaxon Joe Pearson. Nice to meet ya. I wike your stables. I wike your mane. You are a nice horse. Can you neigh for me?

"Hunter, I'll meet you under the bleachers at 3:00"

It didn't take but 5 minutes for him to be out cold.

The. Cutest. Couple. EVER!

Seriously, this is the cutest thing I have seen in a long time! Today we went to Nicole's son, Brody, 2nd birthday party. The kids were having a great time playing while the adults socialized and kept an eye on the kiddos. At one point we are doing the head count and realize that Jaxon and Hunter (Ami's daughter, who we have an arranged marriage with) are in the playhouse. Together. Alone. Then we see Jaxon get up and close the windows. I kid you not! Funniest thing! We better keep a close eye on these two as they grow up.

Jaxon closing window #1 & #2

There goes window #3

Notice how Hunter is pointing to the window. As if to say, "Don't miss this side too."

Seriously?!? How cute are they? Melts my heart! Our first grandchild is pretty adorable too.

Who knows what Jax is telling Hunter, but she sure looks enchanted by her beau.

She may be rethinking her feelings! "Uhhh, Mom. This kid is nuts. Get me outta here!"

The birthday family.

Delaney, Eric, Brody, Nicole & Daylen

Ta Daaa!

Here it is... our new house! We are finally done unpacking and putting up pictures! It took us less than 2 weeks, so excited about that! Actually, we still have 2 rooms that are either empty or a complete mess, but we have no furniture for them so they don't count! Now, Brian can work on the front and back yard. They need a little TLC and Brian has been dying to get his hands dirty.

With no further ado...

The formal living and dining room

The front door from the living room. Jaxon's room is to the right.

Jaxon's room

Our room, to the right of Jaxon's room

Our bathroom. LOVE!

Hallway from family room looking towards our room

Family Room

Kitchen & breakfast nook

My favorite part... the view from the sink.

Quails come visit us and walk along the fence. So cute!

Hallway to the bedrooms... guest room, laundry room, office and workout? room.

This is the portion of the house that is not done, therefore I don't visit often.

Jack and Jill bathroom. View into the office from the potential workout room

Our office. I probably should have turned the flash on.

Guest bathroom

And that's it. Our new forever house. I absolutely love it! I have some functionality issues with it, but it is just a matter of getting used to it. It is the house of our dreams and one we will grow old in.

I'll end this post with this cute little face. He misses his old house and keeps telling Brian, "Go to Home Depot and get some stairs. We weft ours in da old house. Da new house needs stairs."