Max's First Anniversary of being 12!!!

So Max has decided that he does not want to turn 13--he wants to be "Ralphie" forever!  So we are NOT calling this his 13th birthday--it is the first anniversary of him being 12.  (But then he was reminded of all the cool things being 13 brings--a gmail/facebook account and being able to pay tithing online:)

He wanted a simple birthday party this year--skating and dinner with a few of his best theatre friends.  So we did just that!  He invited all kids from his Christmas Story cast--Sarah B., Marissa E., Remi R., and Grant M.

First stop: Skateland!!!  It's kinda funny how Max has NO problem embarrassing himself.  He is NOT a good skater at all but still wanted to skate with his friends (apparently Sarah is a very good skater:)

Sarah, Marissa, Remi, Max & Grant

Dinner at ModPizza:

We did our best to be out of their way.  We left them alone at Skateland for 2.5 hours and then bought their dinner and left them at ModPizza to enjoy time together there.

After dinner, they had some hang out time so they went over to Target and had a blast having scavenger hunts and playing hide-and-seek.  Glad they didn't get kicked out:)

Of course there was Chris and I chauffeuring these teens around.  The entire car ride consisted of show tunes being belted out--mostly songs from "The Greatest Showman" and "Dear Evan Hansen."  But we enjoyed the noise anyways:)  Great group of kids celebrating exactly how Max wanted to.  It was the perfect birthday night for him.

Sunday--the actual day of his birthday--was our family celebration.  We made his favorite pasta dinner, had ice-cream cake, and opened his present from his siblings--a gun rack to hang his Red Ryder BB gun, his light-saber, and his staff from Mulan above his bed.  

The Birthday crown made it's appearance!!!

So happiest first anniversary of being 12 to my Max.  CRAZY proud of you and love you to pieces:)

This is a funny video his Knoop cousins made for him:

MLK Day at the Ostrich Ranch!

We wanted to do something together as a family on Martin Luther King Day.  So I suggested that we head out to the Rooster Coghorn Ostrich Ranch!  It had been about 6 years since we had last been here and boy has it changed!  There was so much more to do/see/feed!  Donkeys, rabbits, ducks, and even sting rays.  

Donkeys:  These things were CRAZY!!!  They made the funniest faces trying to get the food from our hands!

Next we fed the sweet reindeer:

Next were goats!!!  We called them the "Walking Dead Goats!"  It was kinda creepy the way they were trying to get out of the holes for food.  Max even "kissed" a goat--he was the only brave one:)

These little parakeets were a new addition too.  We just fed them through the fence--no birds landing on us here:)

And the main attraction--the Ostriches!!!  I dared my kids to get a selfie with an ostrich.  Poor Ethan tried and got his ear bit!!!  

He stuck with feeding the nearby goat after the bite:)

Sheep:

Rabbits:

Ducks:

Larikeets--My least favorite for sure!!!  Chris snapped pictures of me in the Larikeet cage.  I look pretty ridiculous!  Thank goodness I can laugh at myself because I sure failed at facing my bird fears:)

Tatum likes the birds about as much as me:)

LOOK AT CARLIE JUST LAUGHING AT ME!!!
RUDE!!!

Creepy Bird eyeing me!
This image haunts my dreams:)

The Sting Rays!!!  Still kinda creepy but way cool!!!

It took some serious coaxing to get Tatum to do this!!!

 

Seriously the best way to spend some fun family together time!!!  Absolutely worth the drive!

Meekers/Knoops Kick Off the New Year in Mexico!!!

We have LOVED our trips to Rocky Pointe over the years.  My older brother and his family wanted to join us this year.  We usually go at Thanksgiving but it worked out better for all of us to meet in Mexico in January.  So we celebrated the New Years in the states and then headed south of the border on January 2nd.

My mom ended up not coming at all because she's had a rough go lately with her health so she stayed in NM.  That did not stop my dad from heading out for a week with the grandkids--he being the BIGGEST kid himself!  We rented a huge house right on the beach and settled in for 4 days of rest/relaxation/and who knew...ADVENTURE!!!

My brother took this pic with his drone.
GORGEOUS sunset on our first night there!

I forgot to take a pic of the house
but this was our backyard!!!

The house had kayaks for us to use.  So my kids enjoyed kayaking out in the ocean while singing "How Far I'll Go" from Moana!

The weather was mid-70s all week!  PERFECT!!!  We hit the town to go shopping and to eat some of the local cuisine--the seafood here is THE BEST!  I could eat it everyday!!!

In the house we enjoyed time together playing board games, puzzles, and movies every night.

Carlie was the REAL hero putting
this puzzle together nearly completely on her own!
We just let the others "think" they were helpful:)

This was the first time in Mexico that there was a Zipline course!!!  It was K.C. and Carolynn's idea and so we all went!  I had NEVER zip-lined before and I LOVE LOVE LOVED it!!!  It was a blast!  We were the largest group they had had up to this point so they took lots of pictures of us and apparently we'll be on their website as soon as it is up and going:)  Who knows when that will be--it's Mexico.  Things move at a much slower pace there:)

All suited up and ready to go!!!

Grandpa & the grandkids!!!

He helped drive the truck up the mountain:)

Our view from up on top of the Zip Line course.

Go Meekers!!!

GO PAPA!!!

The WHOLE gang!!!

Ethan's skinny little body didn't quite carry him far enough so he had to be "rescued."  Funny note:  our guide, Fernando, was kinda handsome (PERFECT white teeth and big muscles:).  After my sister-in-law saw the video of Tatum being rescued she said, "Dang...wish I would have hit my breaks to soon so that I could have been rescued too:)  We just had the best time cheering each other on--a couple of the younger ones were a little scared--including Tatum.  I told her that if she can ride every roller coaster she sees, then she can definitely zip-line.  She did it and had a blast!

We spent our last evening having dinner together at my new most favorite restaurant, "Wrecked."  I will DEFINITELY be eating here again--BEST SHRIMP EVER!!!

We may have just landed on a family tradition that we will make sure happens again!  We always have the best time in Rocky Pointe.  Seriously one of my most favorite vacation spots.