COLDPLAY!!!

Coldplay - Friday, July 24th - AWESOME. It was their Viva La Vida tour. I'm not sure I've been to a better concert. They were all about the audience. Twice they went into the crowd - once in the upper seating area and once onto the lawn. We were 3 rows back - I've never been that close - except for maybe at Candlebox. There was a group of people standing right at the stage so I guess technically we were more like 5 or 6 rows back but it was still cool. I only got a few pictures that turned out b/c some girls hand kept getting in my way and the camera kept focusing on her. I told Shaun to push her out of the way but I guess he didn't hear me b/c there was no pushing. Anyway, they gave a free CD out as everyone left. Who does that? Coldplay.

The guy who took our picture had his finger over the flash but better than nothing

Thousands of paper butterfly cutouts were prayed all over the audience. You couldn't see anything but butterflies. Awesome.

Vaca 2009

Vacation was awesome. We went to Gulf Shores, AL and it was Owens first time seeing the beach. He was a little intimidated at first but he loved the worlds biggest sandbox. He's not much for making sandcastles though. He builds them but only to destroy them. The ride down was long (~ 11 and 1/2 hours) but not as long as the ride from El Paso to St. Louis. Owen was such a trooper being stuck in his carseat the whole time except when we stopped for gas or dinner. The dolphin cruise was "totally wicked" (Incredibles) as I'm sure Owen would say. Here are some pics:


Owens first time seeing the Ocean

My little spiderman's ready to go


His first sparklers for 4th of July

First time eating shrimp. I don't think he was too fond of it.

Racing his Grandma Wild down the beach

Petting a baby shark that our neighbors caught down at the beach.

The kids on vaca (Nicole & Phil, Shaun & I, Erica & Brian).


Well I can't download anymore pics at the moment so I'll have to add more later.

Rain, rain, please don't go away.

It rained in El Paso, Hallelujah! And it was an all day event. Owen got a kick out of the windshield wipers. He thought it was the funniest thing ever. That's sad when your child is 3 and has never really seen the windshield wipers. He had a blast playing in it. Yes, in the first photo he has no pants or underwear so we put some on so I could get some none X rated shots.

Owen's 3rd Birthday

So my baby is 3 as of June 15th, 2009. I guess he's not a baby anymore. He's getting so big and learning so much. We had a blast at his birthday party. Lots of people, lots of food, and lots of fun. My mom surprised us at his birthday party. I had no clue she was coming - she just showed up at our door. We also had Grandma & PaPa Wild there to celebrate with us. It was so nice to have family there. We had a bounce house (the best thing ever):

and a pinata with lots of candy:

Owen had a Cars (racecar movie) cupcake cake. It looked like a regular cake on top but was made of 24 cupcakes. It was so yummy - if you couldn't tell from Owens face:

It was fun but a lot of work since we barbequed hamburgers and hotdogs and Shaun made salsa. We also had a fruit and cheese tray, chips, and pretzels. Next year I'm all about ordering pizzas. Less money and less work. Happy Birthday sugar baby!

Vegetable Garden

So we decided at the beginning of April (4/4/09) to start a vegetable garden. We added tomatoes (regular and cherry), butter lettuce, and two kinds of peppers. We are not really green thumb kind of people but we thought we'd try it out anyway. Shaun dug a trench so we could use some old wood we had to make a border. Then we added soil. Here are some pictures of when we first planted them:



And here are some pictures from a month ago (4/21/09). The original lettuce leaves died off and these are the new ones that have grown in. We have little babies on our cherry tomato plant and a little bud on our poblano pepper plant. I'm so excited.


Pictures from 5/5/09:



Pictures from 5/21/09 & 5/22/09:



Our pepper plants are getting bigger but not quite producing because we have an infestation of ants who seem to be devouring the little buds. I've tried cinnamon, garlic & red pepper spray, cornstarch & sugar but nothing seems to keep them away. Any advice other than pesticides?

Bataan Death March

Shaun and some of his friends participated in the 20th Annual Bataan Memorial Death March on Sunday, March 29. In 1942, 75,000 American and Filipino soldiers were captured by the Japanese and were forced to march (~60 miles) for days through the Philippine jungles. No food or water was given to them. Thousands died and those who survived became prisoners of war.

This annual march is to remember and honor those who were apart of that march. It is a trail marathon (26.2 miles) on pavement and sand through the desert and mountains. Shaun participated in the individual heavy which is where you carry 35+ lbs of weight in your rucksack. For most though the weight was more like 45+ lbs because they were carrying food and water. This weight did not count towards the total weight because it could be consumed. Shaun and his friends completed it in a little over 9 hrs which is awesome (they didn't cross the start line for about an hour because there were so many people). We are so proud of him and he is already saying he wants to do it next year, only he'll be more prepared next time around. It looked like we were coming into a battle field when people were crossing the finish line. Everyone is limping or lying down. And Shaun had some major blisters to show for it. He's doing a lot better today but he's still limping a little. I can only image the toll it took on their bodies. Some of the remaining survivors came and greeted those who participated. Unfortunately, I didn't see any of them when we got there.

Here are a few pictures: