Carlsbad Caverns

We took another COVID trip in July with Pops, this time to explore a New Mexico treasure that we have failed to visit in the almost 20 years that we have lived here. Carlsbad Caverns!

Pops wasted no time getting right into character for our plunge down into the caves....

It was very cold, but extremely beautiful. The caves revealed crystal covered formations and lots of bats!

All was right with the world until suddenly AJ had to pee....so we ran through the last 1/4 mile of the caves to get to the bathroom in time. We. Barely. Made. It. There is nothing like kids to make a leisurely day an adventure!

Epic "Social" Distance Road Trip

With our plans to go to Mexico over Spring Break cancelled because of COVID and no end in sight as far as travel opening back up, we decided to take advantage of the soft opening of the National Park system and plan an epic social distance road trip! With only 3 days of planning, we mapped out our route, asked the neighbor to watch the fur babies and packed the car for a summer vacation that we would not soon forget! Our first stop was in Ouray, CO. We hiked the waterfall, the kids got to swim in the hotel pool (Colorado has less restrictions than New Mexico) and had an excellent dinner with Mimi and Papa.

The next day we drove to Dinosaur, Utah where we explored Dinosaur National Monument. While we were not able to go inside the momument to explore, we were able to walk around and we were able to see many old fish fossils and dinosaur bones!

Then we were off to Jackson Hole, Wyoming to see the Grand Teton National Park, do some shopping and head into Yellowstone. I had never heard of Grand Teton before this trip and I am amazed that I had not consdering how beautiful it was. We spent the day hiking around a lake, having a picnic lunch and shopping in the (expensive) stores!

The Grand Tetons

My Favorite Shirt

Jackson Hole We then headed into Yellowstone National Park and Yellowstone, Montana and boy it did not disappoint! Within 5 minutes of entering the park we saw a grizzly bear with 3 cubs (albiet from a far distance which was just fine with us) and then a beaver, followed by several elk and buffalo! And our timing seemed perfect to see Old Faithful explode!

Welcome To Yellowstone. May I Take Your Order?

Then the disappointments began. First, it SNOWED in June at the park which caused us to have to modify our plan of driving to North Dakota via the Beartooth Pass. Because we could not drive the pass we had to cut our time short in the park and take an early exit so that we could get to Deadwood before midnight. On our way, we blew out our back tire on the truck which just happened to be on a 2 lane freeway with a speed limit of 85 MPH in a snow / rain storm!

We are so lucky that we did not crash and no one crashed into us! After replacing the flat with a spare we realized that the spare was flat! We limped along the highway to the next exit and then drove around trying to find air with no luck because of COVID. Finally we drove up to a farm and cornered some poor lady by telling her about our desperation to get to Billings to get the tire changed and she allowed us to use her shop air. Thank God! After a pitstop in Billings we were on the road again and headed to Mt. Rushmore!

I am upset to say that Mt. Rushmore did not live up to my history book expectations. I was underwhelmed. But it was nice to see it up close and personal and with many less tourists than there would typically be in the summer. We then went to the Crazy Horse monument and all I can say is...don't bother!

Next stop was Gillette, Wyoming followed by Estes Park, CO where we stopped by The Stanley Hotel so the kids could see the hotel used in The Shining. Not only was it closed for updating but it looked NOTHING like it did in the movie. Oh well! At least we can say we went!

Last stop was Silverthorne, CO to visist Auntie Jenny and Uncle Justin to do some vacation outlet shopping and to decompress. 12 days on the road and we made it back alive! It was a great time.

Our Adoption Journey

With COVID upon us, we have been spending more time at home and as a result more self reflection. We realized that we have so much more love to give and wanted to expand our family in a meaningful way. So naturally, we started exploring the adoption of chickens! Our journey began when Tony came across a homeless hobo chicken in the south valley. He continued to see this chicken on a weekly basis, and was amazed by her ability to not get hit by a car or eaten by a coyote. One day, he decided to stop and try to talk to the homeless hobo chicken. The chicken was very kind and expressed a desire to joing the Mazotti family. After obtaining a box from a local Mexican fast food restuaruant dumpster, he transported her to her new forever home. We named her Kris Jenner.

Because every momager needs someone to manage, we expanded our search for more baby chickens to Tractor Supply. We had heard that there were fist fights happening in the parking lot on chick delivery day between other families who yurned to expand their families, so we were fortunate to be able to order a dozen babies online. After picking up the brood, we promptly named them Kourtney, Scott, Kim, Kanye, Khloe, Tristan, Kylie, Kendall, Sunshine and blah, blah, blah.

Sunshine was the only yellow chick of the bunch and Cienna quickly claimed her as her own.

AJ would claim any chick that would allow him to catch them to hold.

It didn't take long for the chicks to start pooping everywhere and Sunshine to establish herself as queen bee. Just look at that side eye she is giving us!

Kris Jenner has taken to her flock as if she birthed them herself. A true momager in every sense of the word. Welcome to the family!

Teenager In Da House!

We officially have a teenager in da house! Cienna Elise has turned 13 and I can hardly believe it is true. Mostly because I do not feel like I could be old enough to have given birth to someone who is now in their teen years. But also because the time has flown by. So to celebrate this milestone I will tell you all about you (right now) and follow it up wiht some of my best advice.

At 13 you like:
Your iPhone
Your Friends
Sleeping In
Volleyball
Track & Field (High Jump & Sprints)
90's Clothing Style (Brandy Melville)
Lululemon
Short Hair
Snap Chat
TikTok Dances
Sweets
Chick-fil-A
Boba Tea
Starbucks
Watching Old Episodes of "Friends" and "Gilmore Girls"
Watching Disney Movies

We tried to incorporate all of your favorite things into a party to celebrate you...dinner at Chick-fil-A, shopping at the mall / Uptown, and dessert at The Melting Pot. Your friends McKenzie, Minka, Hallie, and Kaleigh came and after we all got back you guys took scissors to your clothes to crop them and made TikTok videos until everyone went home. It was perfectly you!

Advice for my 13 year old:
Always Try Your Best
Treat Your Friends How You Want To Be Treated
Have Boundaries And Don't Compromise Them
Wash Your Face Every Night
Keep Trying New Things (like Volleyball!)
Don't Do Drama
Remember That Boys Will Say Anything To Get What They Want...So Use Your Mind And Not Your Heart!
Tattoos Are Trendy And You Can't Improve On Perfection
Don't Cheat Your Workout
Keep Reading (And Writing!)
Don't Flex On People, Don't Dab On Dem Haters, And Don't Talk Behind People's Backs
Don't Wear Anything Too Tight, Too Short or Too Trendy
Brush Your Teeth Twice A Day So You Don't Have To Get Wooden Teeth!
Nothing But Death Is Permanent So Don't Sweat The Small Stuff...It Will Pass!
I'm Here For You No Matter What, No Matter When, Forever And Always

Love,
Me

Fiesta Bowl

Anyone who knows me knows that I live for sports. So much so that the top of my bucket list consists of every major sporting event. Tony has had the good fortune to attend many of the sporting events that I would die for...The Olympics, The Rose Bowl, The Final Four (just to name a few) and I never let him forget it. So when the news came that the Fiesta Bowl was going to potentially be a better game than the National Championship, he decided that we would treat me for Christmas (so I would lay off him for a while!) 2 days after the holiday we drove to Phoenix to show the kids what big time college football was all about!

AJ Flexing Before The Game With His Nintendo Switch

We prepared to tailgate with corn hole, food and beverages only to be sidelined by raging flu like symptoms and artic winds. Not exactly the tailgating extraveganza we were hoping for. But it was the kid's first time seeing the Goodyear blimp and they had fun none the less!

We had great seats in the end zone and the crowd did not disappoint. The Ohio State fans might be the most obnoxious people in the world. But they sure make for some fun people watching!

Cienna with Tomato Head from Fortnite

In the end, the best team won...Clemson! And I can cross off the Fiesta Bowl from my bucket list!

Christmas 2019

This is our 3rd Christmas in the "new" house and our 1st Christmas that was more about quality than quantity. Both Cienna and AJ's lists were short, sweet and expensive! But with age and expense also comes sleeping in past 5am...something that I am truly grateful for. It was only when I became a parent that I understood why my parents had to make coffee before the present opening began!

Truth be told, I had a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit this year. Usually on December 1st I am lugging all of the decor from the back storage area to the house, putting wreaths on everything in sight and pumping Christmas music throughout the house (and car.) 2019 was a struggle for me. And I think that the reality that my kids are not little anymore made me a little sad. Eventually I kicked it into gear though and I decided that we needed a real tree (2 weeks before Christmas.) Man are they expensive! The tree lot by our house wanted $120 for a 6ft tree! I don't think so! So we got our butts back in the car and went to Lowe's. $60 for a 6ft tree is more like it! Of course it would not be a Mazotti trip to the store if we didn't all disagree for an hour about which tree to buy, but we did it!

Ricardo, our life-size nutcracker, stood by the door per usual, and Diesel did too!

Tiny Quinn and Tiny QT came back for a month of mischief starting with Tiny Quinn barfing. Which was fitting because both Cienna and AJ had just gotten over barfing during Thanksgiving break.

By Christmas Eve we were ready for the fat man to make an appearance! The stockings were hung on the buffet with care with hopes that Santa would bring hundreds of dollars of stuff to the kids with care!

The smiles are genuine. Santa did not disappoint!

My final Christmas protest was not doing Christmas cards this year. I...just...couldn't...do...it. So this was a good as we came to an "official" Mazotti family picture in 2019!

Merry Christmas!

Halloween Hoard

We kicked off the Halloween season with our annual Pumpkin Carving / Costume Contest at the house. Each year it seems to get bigger and bigger, with more people and layers. This year it involved outdoor tables and heaters, a potluck and a newly added costume contest! And although I didn't win the contest (I mean, I didn't want to make any kids cry!) I thought my hauling job costume was totally tubular!

Like Gag Me With A Spoon Becky!

I know my trick or treating years are numbered. Being that Cienna is almost 13, I was pleasantly surprised that she still wanted to dress up and beg for candy from strangers. Of course this year she wanted to bring a friend and walk ahead of AJ and I, but I was happy just the same. Middle school has not broken her Halloween spirit!

Cienna as "Mermaid Man" from Spongebob Squarepants

AJ as "Dog The Bounty Hunter"

Unfortunately Tony had to work at the fire station and could not join us on our quest for the most candy ever. We ventured over to Tanoan (the ritzy gated neighborhood) where the legend of full size candy bars did not disappoint! By the time we made it back to the car my fingers were frozen straight and I could not grip the steering wheel. But it was worth it in the end. Each kid brought home at least 10 lbs of candy in their sacks!

After warming up by the fire, we capped the night with a viewing of "The Shining." It was a magically spooky Halloween 2019!