Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Auntie Al's Winter Visit
My sister Allison decided to come and enjoy winter in AZ. She joined us the day after Christmas...and the fun began! There was shopping, movies, hours of MarioKart, Jamba Juice, dress up, museums, parks, girls day, basketball, interior design, oranges and way too much Mexican food. As all the fun was coming to an end, Allison decided she wanted more, so she extended her visit one more week. Actually it was Aaron's idea, thank you so much Aaron! We all had so much fun with Allison. Whenever her and Tyler are ready to give up big city life...AZ suburbia is waiting!!! -Amanda

Dentist Patient Generating Holiday

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Halloween is actually becoming an enjoyable holiday - our kids are at the age when they get the whole concept of Halloween: Get as much free candy as you can and give it to your father. This year Lincoln went as a Star Wars Clone, Noelle was a Rock Star/Princess, and Henrik was a skeleton pirate. We did the "Trunk or Treat" in our ward building parking lot and then headed down to Gilbert to Trick or Treat with the cousins and the Deeres. Hope you all had as much fun as we did.

Insert Funny Title About Texas Here...

Okay, still trying to get caught up.... Back in September I took a trip with all the guys in my firm (Josh, Matt, and Ken) to Dallas, TX for the BYU/Oklahoma football game. It was the inaugural game played in the new Cowboys Stadium. Josh, Matt and I flew out to Dallas in Matt's airplane - this was the first time I'd ever flown in a small passenger aircraft and it was a cool experience. The plane was a Piper Saratoga II. We took off from Falcon Field in Mesa, stopped over in Las Cruces, NM, and then flew into Arlington Municipal Airport. The Stadium lived up to the hype, its incredible - first class all the way. Our seats were also amazing. Josh, through his "connections" and influence, got us tickets on the 50 yard line, second row. The 180 foot jumbotron didn't hurt the experience either. BYU ended up beating OU 14-13, causing Josh (the world's biggest OU fan) to console himself with about 8000 calories of Texas ribs and steak. I topped off the trip by getting a pic snapped with Mr. Tysman himself.

The Jarsey Shoah

While on the East Coast Summer Tour '09, Amanda and the kids took their annual pilgrimage to Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey - birthplace of Jersey Mikes - best sub sammiches on the planet. As always it was a blast. I was able to hook up with them for the tail end of the trip. Pizza on the beach, the Boardwalk, Funnel Cakes and Zepoles, my (annual) failed attempt at playing Bethpage Black, parasailing, Sundays Ice Cream, sandcastles, etc. And Lincoln got to ride a dirtbike by himself for the first time. Glad we get to return here every summer.

Long Time No Blog

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Okay, I've been extremely lazy with the blog, which has coincided with being extremely busy with everything else in life. Check back soon for post about "Trip to the Jersey Shore", "Trip to DC/VA", and the long awaited second season episode of "Cribs". You know you wanna.

Happy Father's Day

Sunday, June 21, 2009

I figured I would finally contribute to our blog. But I can't take all the credit, the kids will be helping. We started off this special day with breakfast in bed for Dad. While cooking I asked the kids what they love about their Dad. Many, many, many things were said, too many to document so here are my favorites.

Noelle loves that her Dad takes her to Golden Spoon and swims with her. But she especially likes to snuggle with Dad. Lincoln loves anything sports with Dad...going to games, playing sports in the backyard, watching sports on TV, playing NBA live on Game Cube, and even just talking about sports. Lincoln ended with he just loves Dad in every type of way. As for Henrik, the most I got out of him was DA DA followed with a mischievous smile. Which we all know means I love you Dad for a 1 1/2 year old.

Aaron thank you for all that you do for us. Especially bringing laughter and happiness into our home everyday. We love you in every type of way. We hope all the fathers out there have a wonderful day. Happy Father's Day!

Palm Springing

Saturday, May 30, 2009

For Mother's Day Weekend the Colemans and the Deeres packed up the families and headed west to Palm Springs. Josh and I managed to get in a round of golf at the Cimarron Golf Resort in Cathedral City before the families arrived on Friday (we earned it - my car had no AC the entire weekend). Once again we packed a lot into just a few days. We stayed at the Marriott Vacation Club in Palm Desert. If you have the means (or inlaws willing to let you use their points - thanks Oma and Grandpa!) I highly recommend it. Friday was a great day just lounging by the pool and soaking up (more) sun. Saturday we headed to L.A. to catch a Dodger game versus the Giants (come on, Dodger fans - the stadium was about 30% full for an 80 degree Saturday game?!). Nice stadium, better than expected. From there we headed over to Cousin Jennifer's house in Manhattan Beach. The kids were crazy enough to brave the freezing water. Sunday we went into downtown Palm Springs and ate at a great mexican food restaurant for Mother's Day. Sunday night Josh and I had to head back to AZ for work on Monday. Amanda, Brittany and the kids stayed until Wednesday and had a ton of fun - Kids Museum, playgrounds, pool, etc. Palm Springs is definitely a place we'd like to visit again(maybe not when its 100 degrees +)

Lincoln at the Bat

Thursday, May 7, 2009

This was Lincoln's first season of baseball. He was drafted by coach-pitched "Bats" of the Red Mountain Little League and had a great time. Lincoln was able to fulfill his life-long dream of playing left field just like his favorite player, Alfonso Soriano. At a Cubs/DBacks game the other night Lincoln said to me, "Hey dad, maybe someday people will come and watch me play just like I come to watch Soriano." Lincoln, my retirement is counting on it. The Bats last game was yesterday and Lincoln went 2 for 3 and made 2 outs from second base. All the boys had a great seasons and really learned a lot about baseball while having a ton of fun. Can't wait for next season.

Happy Anniversary!!!

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Okay, I'm a few days late in getting this posted. Amanda and I celebrated our 9th Anniversary on the 22nd. I'm sure she can't believe she's put up with me this long. Rather than give her flowers for the 9th year in a row I decided to come up with something different. I worked with Amanda's brother, Matt, to come up with a video timetable of the past 9 years for Amanda. Matt did most of the work, I just gave him the pictures and said "go". He did an AWESOME job. Pay attention - you just might make a cameo appearance. Here it goes...

Henrik Loves Blossom

Saturday, April 4, 2009

We teach our kids to share. Sometimes, not a good thing.

Spring Fling - AZ Style

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

This spring we were blessed with visits from Amanda's parents and cousin (Christine) from the nether parts of the U.S. where it was still a balmy 15 degrees. AZ? 80 degrees and sunny! As always, it was a blast having everyone visit - of course Amanda goes crazy for the two weeks before the visit trying to come up with fun and exciting activities for the visitors so that they just might want to visit us again (and again). The week was packed with the following activities: Day trip to Sedona, two Spring Training games (Cubs, Giants), Botanical Gardens (glass exhibit), and good ol' fashion sunbathing. This was the first time Christine had ever been west of Texas, and judging by all the fun our kids had with her, we hope she makes the trip again very soon. Take a look...

Two (2) 20 Oz. Breast Augmentations - $2.89

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Get yours now! Available only at Peter Piper Pizza. Limited quantities available. May leak. Sassy look not included.

M.I.C. - See you real soon! K.E.Y.....

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Yes, its taken us a month to recover from our trip to Disney World. (Actually, it only took us a week but we couldn't find the power cord to charge up our camera so we couldn't download the pictures). Simply put - we had a BLAST on our trip to Orlando. The entire Toskovich clan was in attendance (except for Kevin who was having just as much fun in the MTC I'm sure).

In short, this was our itinerary: for New Year's Eve we hit Disney's Hollywood Studios - probably the best place in Florida to ring in the New Year. We were at the park until 3 a.m., spending most of our time scaring other riders on the Tower of Terror; New Year's Day we slept in and took it easy the whole day; on Friday we went to the Magic Kingdom - we hit all the great rides without much waiting by using our trusty Un-official Guide to Disney (highly recommended); on Saturday we took a brief break from Disney and visited Adam and Renee Garrett in Lakewood, FL - we had a great time reminiscing about Suriname (Adam was my greenie) and took the kids out for a spirited boat ride on the lake; Next the boys and girls split up and had separate "character breakfasts" - the girls dined with the Disney Princesses and the boys hooked up with Minnie & Mickey; On Monday we got our growl on at the Animal Kingdom (Simba 1, Simba 1 - poachers ahead!!!). We then topped off our trip with an amazing private dinner at Epcot which concluded with the IllumiNations fireworks show.

If you can wade through the entire slideshow you'll see what a great time everyone had. Grandpa and Oma sure do know how to throw together AMAZING vacations. From start to finish the entire week was Magical - good ol' Walt would have been so proud.

Birthday Sisters

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Amanda and her sister, Allison, share the same birthday and they've managed to be together on that day for the last 25 years. Its quite a feat when you consider they've lived in different parts of the country for a good part of the last 12 years. It took a lot of effort, surprises, and love to keep the streak going this long. Today the streak finally comes to an end. But they'll be together in 3 days at Disney World!!! (so stop the tears ladies) Their consolation this year was that Allison was able to come visit Amanda in Arizona for 10 days a few weeks ago and they (we all) had a great time.

So here is a little birthday tribute in honor of the Toskovich girls.

Let's hope we start a new streak next year...

Papa T's Birthday Tribute

Thursday, December 25, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PAPA T!!!!!

Jumbalaya Birthday Post

Sunday, December 21, 2008

This is totally lazy blogging, but in the past 5 weeks all of our kids have had their birthdays. Lincoln had a cul-de-sac birthday party and all his friends and cousins brought over their bikes and scooters. They mostly ended up playing with Bakugons in the driveway.

Noelle had her birthday bash at Peter Piper Pizza with all the little princesses. They feasted on a delicious cupcake tower (Note to parents - midweek-afternoon is the only time to visit this place. It was totally empty).

At Henrik's birthday party he nearly ate himself drunk on cupcakes. He preferred an intimate "family only" gathering with special guest "Oma" via iChat.

Christmas Lists...

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Lincoln, Noelle, and Henrik officially whispered in Santa's ear and informed him of their deepest Christmas desires. One of Santa's helpers relayed the message to us, this is what they asked for...

Lincoln asked for a bottle of Drakkar Noir cologne (he's old school like that). It never hurts to add that little extra scent when trying to smooth the ladies on the playground (circa 1987).

Noelle asked for a day spa package complete with hot stone massage, avocado face mask, mani/pedi, and a cut and style.

Henrik asked for a Hewlett-Packard Officejet 6310 All-in-One Printer/Fax/Scanner/Copier. This kid is constantly on the move and this will surely take his multitasking to light speed.

Wednesday Night Lights

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

The Broncos played their first (and only) playoff game this Wednesday. It was a fierce matchup against the Titans (remember them? moving on...). The Broncos struck first with a great run by Jake Whittaker and took a 6-0 halftime lead. However, on the first play of the second half the Titans (coached by Denzel) scored on great run by Eddie George to tie it at 6-6. The Titans scored again on their next possession and made it 13-6. The Broncos did not relent. Jake had another great run which contained about 19 cutbacks. The PAT was no good and the Broncos still trailed 13-12. The Titans running game proved to be too strong, as they put together drive which milked most of the clock. They scored another touchdown with under a minute to go and put the game away with a 2-point conversion - 21-12.

It was a great season and all the boys had a lot of fun and showed much improvement every game. Just wait 'till next season.

Lincoln established himself as a solid full-back. This video is one example of his hard-nosed running up the middle. (its hard to see, but Lincoln makes about 4 cuts with his swift feet)

ROADTRIP!!!!

Monday, November 17, 2008

Alright, so a couple weeks ago I suddenly and unexpectedly became "employment-challenged". After securing a job at a firm here in Mesa (thanks, Josh) I realized that we'd have almost a week before I was due to start. So Amanda and I decided Friday night that we should go on a road trip - ETD Saturday morning. We (read - Amanda) threw our van together as quick as possible and we hit the open road.*

So the itinerary went like this: We actually ended up leaving Mesa around 1pm (good road trips rarely begin on time) and headed up through Las Vegas to St.George, Utah. There we stopped and had dinner with Cousins Whitney and McKenzie and their families. Lincoln was baptized into the world of XBox360 - which is now the focus of every prayer he gives, hoping he receives one for his birthday.

We left St. George around 10:30pm and rolled in to Provo around 2:30am. Bryan and Roxanne let us shack up for the night and made us a great lunch - pot roast! Sunday afternoon we decided to get a little church in so we visited the Mt. Timpanogos Temple - the place where our marital bliss began over 8 years ago (3 eternities for Amanda).

Then we were off to visit our good friends Rick and Laurie Ferguson in Sandy. Our kids had a blast playing drums, having dance parties, throwing snow balls, and riding their pint-sized ATV - Mitch managed to hit two cars and a house while behind the wheels (rumor has it he blew .12 BAC). I got to spend the day with Rick "working" in Midway - one of the most awesomest places in Utah.

Monday night we went down the road and had dinner with Karen & Mike Hill and Matt & Aimee Ferre - and their kids. Karen & Mike's home has always been one of my favorites - such a great feeling everytime we visit. Later Monday night we went back to Provo to stay again with "Broxanne".

Early Tuesday we headed down to St.George to visit Whitney and the kids again. We went to a very cool park that had some sweet stuff for the kids. Harper taught Lincoln how to skateboard and the kids had another bodacious dance party.

Wednesday we headed out for our last leg of the trip. We made two stops in Henderson, NV to visit Tiffney Anderson (one of Amanda's college friends) and Jaime Bringhurst (one of Aaron's college friends). It was great catching up with them and watching our kids have a blast together - yet another impromptu dance party broke out at Jaime's house (noticing a trend here?). Noah has a wicked "pop and lock" that is bound to be legendary some day.

Thats 1500 miles in 5 days. Although we weren't able to document everything we did with pictures we had a great time visiting everyone along the way. We can honestly say that each stop was not nearly as long as we would have liked it to have been (though our hosts may think otherwise). If any of our friends or family are every passing through Arizona you are more than welcome to come visit.

*This road trip was sponsored by Mt. Dew, Finding Nemo, Pringles, Red Vines, Pepsi, Kung-Fu Panda, 5-Hour Energy, the Letter "T", and the Number "7".

Uber-Late Halloween Post

Yeah, its almost Thanksgiving and we're just now posting about Halloween. Sue me. Lincoln went as Optimus Prime and Noelle went as a Mouse. After deliberating between Snow Princess, Barbie Island Princess, and Cheerleader, Noelle decided on a Mouse. I was reminded to write this post as I was eating some of the candy they garnished from Trick-Or-Treating. Their box of candy is still half full. The kids had a great time at the school Halloween parties, the ward Truck-Or-Treat, and running around our neighborhood. I'm glad Halloween now consists of a full week's worth of festivities. What a great holiday.

Seriously, who gives out bags of Doritos for Halloween?