Playing Catch Up

After a fabulous 2 week vacation, I am playing catch up. Catching up on laundry, opening mail, housecleaning, and my blog! I feel like there is so much to share with everyone!
Prior to leaving on the 25th, Cienna and AJ had the opportunity to try out their Halloween costumes at the neighborhood Harvest Festival. It is a really cute event that the neighborhood association puts on, with little games and prizes for the kids. I was really impressed with the parents this year. It seemed that everyone had a homemade costume, which either means that the economy has finally taken it's toll on Halloween or we have some really creative parents surrounding us!


Cienna Before the Big Event


AJ as a Greaser

The next day we left for Disneyland. Cienna had no clue that we were headed there...until we arrived. It was such a special surprise for her! She was even more surprised when she heard that her Mimi and Papa were joining us the next day. Talk about a happy camper! Since our last visit, she had grown tall enough to ride all sorts of new rides such as Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, and Soarin' Over California. Her favorite by far was Splash Mountain, although on our very last ride she got so soaking wet that she immediately stood up and yelled "that's it! I am never going on this flippin' ride again!" AJ had a good time too, although he was scared of most of the characters. On some of the rides you could feel his little legs tense up when he was uncomfortable. But all in all, I don't think we scarred him for life or anything! And now for some pictures!


1st Ride of the Day


With Mimi and Papa


Where Does She Learn These Poses?


Splash Mountain!


AJ was Fond of the Petting Zoo


And Not So Fond of Woody


Ending Our Trip With a Trip to Goofy's Kitchen

After 3 days at Disneyland, we were ready to head up to the Bay for Halloween. On our way, we stopped by my grandmother's house in Studio City so she could meet her great-grandchildren for the first time. She was thrilled, and that made me happy.


Great-Grandma Vi

Saturday we did pumpkin carving at Tony's brother's house in the AM and then went to a Halloween party at his house in the PM. Both were fun. I preferred the party though.


Tony Gettin' Down to Business


AJ Gettin' Bored and Giving Me a Heart Attack


Tony and his Prized Pumpkin


Tony and I Dressed as Chris & Wendy 1987 Prom

By the way, that was funny. For those of you who don't know, Tony's oldest brother reunited with his long lost high school love a couple of years ago. I had seen their 1987 prom picture many times in the Mazotti closet...and laughed my ass off! Totally 80's. Pink bow tie and cumberbun to match his dates dress. I always knew who Wendy Walkley was because of the picture but it wasn't until a few years ago that I actually met her. So this year we decided to dress as them for the Halloween party that they were throwing and boy were they surprised! Happily surprised thank God!

Halloween night my mom and Tony's mom went trick-or-treating with the kids. I am sure that Tony would have preferred to be watching the Giant's in the World Series, but he was a good sport and came too. If there is a recession going on in the United States it is definately not effecting Walnut Creek, CA. Cienna raked in the candy!


Cienna and AJ at the 1st Door


More Candy Than a Candy Store

The rest of our trip was relaxing, fun and much needed. Tony and I got to catch up with all of our friends, we spent a night at Artie's (a dive bar that we love!) acting like young, carefree, childless adults, and we celebrated my little brother's 20th birthday the night the Giant's won the World Series. It was a great time to be back in the Bay, with Giant's fever running rampant and everyone in a great party mood.

Part of the trip was bittersweet. It was our last trip staying in Tony's childhood home, as his parents are moving to NM (VERY EXCITING!!) after the 1st of the year. I have so many memories at that house, which include high school and junior college days, a "couple" of parties that his parents may or may not know about (smile), Tony's going away party when he got a scholarship to UNM, our surprise engagement in the backyard and the house that I lived in the 1st year of Cienna's life. Tony says it is just a house...but to me it will always be a very special part of my life that I will look back at with great fondness!

A Dose Of Reality

This weekend my friend Elizabeth and her son Brody came to visit from Lubbock. Very often we are confused for sisters and our children are mistaken for siblings. And we always have a great time!
Friday, while Elizabeth was on her drive to ABQ, I received an e-mail from the reality tv show production company asking if Tony and I could meet with the VP of Development over the weekend. WHAT? We went from not hearing anything for 2 months to having a meeting in person?
Saturday, while the kids were napping, we had our meeting. It went really well. Really, really well. And we learned that we are not only being considered...but we are a front runner! Now the real dose of reality comes. Can we handle being on TV?



That night we headed back to the Balloon Fiesta balloon glow. We had an amazing time! The weather was great and the balloons and fireworks made for a perfect evening.


Sunset


Bumble Bee


Glowing


Cienna & Brody

Sunday morning we made the 40 mile drive to the best pumpkin patch ever! Upon arriving, you take a hay ride out to a vast ocean of pumpkins...big ones, and little ones, tall ones and fat ones, white ones and green ones. It is a pumpkin frenzy! After picking out your perfect pumpkin, you ride back to the farm where you feed farm animals, bounce on an in-ground air dome, climb hay stacks and go-cart race. After indulging in everything our little ones could desire, we left, completely exhausted. A great way to wrap up our weekend!


Cienna & AJ Trolling For Pumpkins


The Whole Group

Walking

It is official...AJ is walking! This past weekend he started the drunken baby walk...you know, a couple of steps, a stumble, a couple of more steps. It is the cutest thing! So now I really have my hands full! We took a trip to the Dixon Apple Farm, which is located about 45 minutes north of Albuquerque. Boy what a waste of time that was. After spending half a tank of gas, taking a rock to my windshield and one huge bag of just-ok apples later I vowed never to return. But at least all of the kids had fun.

The Fam with Meadow


Barrels of Apples

Tony's parents and brother Chris came into town for a visit this week. We had fun going from festival to festival around town. First we started with the Greek Festival on Sunday afternoon, followed by my birthday facial courtesy of my fabulous in-laws and then we rounded out the day with the Balloon Fiesta Sunday night!


Just Us Again


AJ and Uncle Chris


Mimi and Papa


Fireworks


The Mazotti Family

And in very unexpected news...the reality show dream is still alive! I was contacted last week by a member of the production office and they requested more video of Tony and I. I had not heard anything from them since we submitted our casting tape, obviously assuming that we were no longer being considered for a show. But out of the blue they wanted more interviews AND to know what happened to my forehead! Kind of embarrassing (I used to be much more self conscious about it) but it must have contributed to setting us apart from the rest! I will keep you posted!

Birthday Week

I turned 31 on Tuesday doing the same thing that I do every Tuesday. I dropped Cienna off at school in the morning, treated myself to a Starbucks and ran errands with my little guy. After naps, we went out to dinner at my favorite pizzeria, Village Pizza, where I loaded up on carbs and soda. It was heavenly. And I did it all wearing my new bracelet...designed by my favorite guy on the planet. It was a truly awesome way to spend my birthday!

Just A Little Something To Wear With My Sweat Pants

Friday I took possibly the cutest pictures of both AJ and Cienna that I have taken all year. First, AJ finally let me put a hat on him for longer than 10 seconds. Before he was born, I bought MANY driver caps, beanies, ball caps that I just knew he was going to wear. And then God gave me a baby who doesn't like hats. How could that be? I figured if I started him early enough he would love hats. But with the exception of 10 degree weather, I couldn't get him to wear anything on his head for any amount of time. In fact, I believe that he thinks that a hat on his head is just a game that we play. I put it on, he immediately reaches up, grabs it off his head while I am screaming "no!" and put it back on his head. He giggles every time we play the "game." So Friday after many, many, many, many times of playing his game, he finally got tired and left it on! And as a result I got the cutest picture EVER!

Who's Ready For A Round Of Golf?

All of the stars and planets must have been aligned that day. Because later that afternoon we ventured out to the state fair again to spend the same amount of money that we can spend at a day at Disneyland. Cienna asked to get her face painted like a bunny rabbit. And the result was the cutest picture of Cienna I have taken all year!

Our Funny Bunny

With everything that goes on day to day, I had completely forgotten that the Albuquerque International Balloon Festival starts next week. It is one of the many treats that this town has to offer and one of the reasons that I enjoy living here so much. Tonka on the other hand is a different story. I thought that the Russians were invading this morning with the way that she was freaking out in the yard. I looked out the window expecting to see some sort of furry animal running along the fence when instead I saw the real culprit....

Practicing For The Big Event

So that was my birthday week in a nutshell. So far my 30's have rocked!

Motivation

I have experienced a lack of motivation recently for posting the haps on my blog. Not that we haven't been busy...just the thought of documenting it all seems like a horrendous task. So please excuse the randomness of this post. I am just trying to share the cute pictures that I have accumulated.
The New Mexico State Fair is in town, and much like Disneyland, it is way cooler now that I have kids. Money all of the sudden becomes no object when your 3 year old is having the time of her life. She rode tons of rides, said hi to every cop that she came into contact with, and tried her first Navajo Taco. By 11pm she came so close to falling asleep in the swing ride that I was worried for her personal safety. At that point we felt it was best to call it a night!

Waiting For Her Corn Dog With Her First Of Many Sheriff Badge Stickers


Her Favorite Ride Of The Night - The Giant Slide

The next day we were invited by our neighbors to the Rio Grande Community Farm to visit a giant corn maze. It sounded way cooler than it was. We basically just let three 3-year-olds guide us around in the mud for a hour. But we had fun!


Our Tour Guides


AJ and T Getting Ready For Our Adventure


The Stroller Was Not The Best Idea

Last Saturday we had the privilege of meeting my father-in-law's cousin who lives in Socorro, NM with his wife. Turns out they live on a farm about 2 hours from Albuquerque and every year they roast their organic green chile at the Co-Op just up the street from our house. Who would have thought that there were more Mazottis in New Mexico? They were extremely nice people, who gifted us with a dozen organic eggs, eggplant, ochra, tomatoes, zucchini, onions, pablano peppers and our first bag of roasted green chile. What a treat!


This Is Like Candy To New Mexicans

That night we went to the Zac Brown Band concert with our friends Joe and Melissa. I believe that someone took pictures, however, I have not yet seen them. So you will just have to take my word for the fact that we had a great time indulging in several alcoholic beverages.

So that just about catches you up on the latest Mazotti memories. I will try to find motivation somewhere to update a little more often!

X

Today marks the 10 year anniversary of my father's passing which means that 10 years ago was the worst day of my life. It was 17 days before my 21st birthday, only 2 weeks into my first semester away at college and the day after I dropped him off at home after a fun Labor Day weekend. I was in my older brother's campus apartment when my mom called to deliver the news. My dad had died. I will never forget screaming out loud at that moment. Or crying the entire week that followed. Or seeing the look on my 8 year old brother's face when we told him.
My father was not a perfect man. Far from it. For the last 10 years I have actually been pretty numb to the fact that he is no longer with us. I felt he had a choice between life and death and he chose his fate. If only he had listened to his doctors. And those who loved him most. Instead of mourning the fact that he could not walk me down the aisle on my wedding day I was upset with him for not being there for me on the most important day of my life.
There have been many times when I have been holding my children and thinking to myself "look what you are missing out on." Instead of being sad, I have been angry. And I am finally ready to let all of that go today.
I will always miss my father. I will always wish he was still here. And I wish that my children could know him. He was a good father for many, many years. He taught me how to pitch, how to ride a bike, and told me never to get a tattoo because you can't improve on perfection. He let me stay home from school twice a year for a "mental health day" that consisted of fast food and Arnold Schwarznegger movies. He played classic rock trivia with me every time we were in the car. He bought me Garbage Pail Kids at the gas station, let me create fake "scars" on my hands with rubbing compound and treated me to A's baseball games. He took me camping and taught me how to catch crawfish with red licorice. And when I threw up at Girl Scout camp and no one wanted to hang out with me he came to camp and taught me how to fish.
Tony and my dad didn't get along so well. Their history went back to 1991. As the years passed he never really warmed up to the thought of his daughter dating Tony Mazotti. And even when he passed he was still struggling with the fact that he was going to "lose" me to Tony. I wish that he could see the man that Tony has become. I wish that he could see how happy he makes me and how well he takes care of his family. I wish that Tony could have the piece of mind (even if he doesn't need it) to know that my dad was wrong about him.
So today I am letting go. Of all of the hate and sadness and should have beens and could have beens. Instead I am celebrating the man that he was for so many years of my life. I miss you dad. And I always will.