Weekend Recap

Hey kids,
Daddy here. This weekends activities consisted of celebrating Jake's birthday. Saturday morning, we gave Jake his present. I think he liked it.

We had the gang meet at our house at 11am and the Clickners came up from Chico. While the girls and Al stayed at the house Jake, Jack, Rudy, Patrick, Nathan, Doc & I went to Oasis Fun Center. The kids played a game of laser tag in which Rudy and Jack absolutely decimated the rest of you.

Then, we went outside and you guys drove go karts. Jake was in the lead for a while, but eventually Nathan overtook him and when Jack made his move to overtake Jake, Jake may have bumped him out causing Jack to spin out. But you know what they say, racing is rubbing. After the go karting, we went back inside and played another round of laser tag. This time Doc & I decided to join the fray. We lost. We lost big time. However, there was only 100 points separating the first and second place teams, we all had a great time. We headed back to the house for some Little Caesars lunch. After lunch, we headed to the park. Jake, Rudy and Jack went to play soccer  and Alex and Nathan went to fly Al's new drone . Eventually, we had to take Jack to his cousin house for birthday party. After that, we headed home to play Jake's birthday present, Madden 16 for Xbox one. Eventually, Rudy had to head home to and the Clickner's, since they live so close were able to stay till well into the evening.

Sunday morning, we got up and went to Mass at 9, as per standard. After Mass, Grammie, Papa, Jula, and Violet came over for another celebration of Jake's birthday. He got a Star Wars book and some cash. After the gang took off, we headed over to JC Penny to look for some shoes for Alex and I and actually found some! We hit Safeway on the way home and had a nice relaxing close to an awesome birthday weekend. I love you guys,

Daddy

XII

Hey kids,
Daddy here. 12 years ago today, our family was blessed by the arrival of SteveO. I remember when Mama was pregnant with you, Jake and we were going to find out whether you were a boy or girl. I remember not wanting to find out, but mom did and when we found out you were a boy, I was super excited to have another son. On the day you were born, Alex spent the night at Grammie and Papa's house and mom and I got to the hospital about 5 a.m. It was President's Day and the anesthesiologist had forgotten to show up, so we had to wait a bit. It all worked out okay though, and you arrived safe and sound, okay maybe screaming a little. After they got you cleaned up and took you to the nursery, I was standing there on the other side of the glass just watching you sleep when Tutu and Grandpa showed up. Tutu asked me, "Which one is ours?" I said, as I pointed to you, "That's him right there." Grandpa asked, "What did we decide to name him?" And I said, "Jacob Albert Mansfield." Grandpa got the biggest smile on his face. He loved you so much, Jake. I know you don't remember him, but you made a very big impression on him from the first day he saw you.
Now here we are 12 years later. Countless adventures, funny stories and life changing years later. I hope you had a happy birthday son. You deserve it. You have brought so much joy into my life and continue to do so every day.  I hope you never wonder about how much I love you or how proud of you I am because it is beyond compare. I love you,

Daddy

Weekend Recap

Hey kids,
Daddy here. This weekend the entire Mansclan had a three day weekend.
Friday night, we had to stay away from meat, since Lent is on. So, we had mac and cheese. Mom and Izzy fell asleep in our bed watching TV on the iPad while the boys and I watched Flash downstairs and then fell asleep watching an episode of Legends of Tomorrow.
Saturday morning, I headed to the movie theater and met Doc and we saw Deadpool. It was totally awesome! And wildly inappropriate. I'm sorry to say that you guys won't be saying that for quite some time. Which is too bad since it's a perfect Deadpool movie. After the movie, we went to Lumberjacks for lunch and I had to have new tires put on the car, ugh. Mom and Izzy went to school, so mom could get some stuff done. I got home just in time to have a few minutes with the boys before I had to head out. I was once again hosting the RMEF annual banquet and fundraiser. This year, the event was at Win River and went pretty smooth, albeit long. I got home about 11:30 and went straight to bed.
Sunday morning we got up and went to church. After church and our standard weekly run to Target, mom had the brilliant idea to go mini golfing. We headed to Oasis Fun Center for our round of mini golf. It was pretty competitive and a whole lot of fun. Oh, & I got a hole in one! After mini golf we dropped you guys off at home and mom and I ran to Safeway to pick up some dinner fixins since the Reagan's  were coming over later.  We also stopped at Fall River Tap House and had a pint. Since we were not fasting anymore, mom made Philly cheese steak sandwiches for dinner. It was as awesome as it sounds! Al played video games, Jake played the iPad, Izzy and Mackenzie played princesses and Andrew ran around in between all of you guys while us adults played darts outside. Everyone had a great night.
Monday, since we were all off, we decided to go take a hike at Whiskeytown. We loaded up the water bottles and drove to the trail head. It was a short hike all in all but perfect for us that are not in the best shape. We finally made it to the falls.

We met a nice family that had a giant dog, and when Izzy saw it she said, "That's a Saint Bernard!" It was! His name was Brody and he was super friendly. I tell ya, that girls knows her dog breeds. We headed back to the car and had a nice relaxing evening. All the nonsense starts back up tomorrow, but there is something else to look forward to, it's Jake's birthday tomorrow!! I love you guys,

Daddy

Weekend Recap

Hey kids,
Daddy here. This weekends activities included a whole lot of fun.

Friday, we headed out to Mason's Pizza in Bella Vista. It's owned by Mrs Woodfill's Brian and his wife Michelle. The service was a bit slow, but who cares when we're together with the family?!

Saturday, we had to clean the house and since we did such a great job, the boys and I went and got Fast Weenies for lunch. In the evening, Mom and I went to a crab feed at the fairgrounds with Grammie and Papa. We loaded up on crab and had a great time.

Sunday morning, Al and I were the readers at the 9am Mass. As much as I love doing my part to read and preach, I love just as much seeing you, Al, take such pride in yourself when you get up there. I'm so proud when I see you reading and serving your church. Jake noticed that there was lack of lead servers, so he stepped up and lead the others in what to do. SteveO, I'm also very proud of you for seeing that they needed servers and just jumping into the role. It fills me with joy to see you guys serve where your church needs you.  After church, we headed to Target for the weekly trip and to get the ingredients for the Buffalo chicken dip. We went home and Mom prepped the dip. We headed to Laird's for the MansClan tradition of watching the Super Bowl with those guys. The game was kinda boring, but the company was awesome so we had a great time. Final score on the Super Bowl 50 snooze fest was 24-10 Denver. I can't believe that Carolina only scored 10. Anyway, another great party was had, so we're calling it a success.
You guys have tomorrow off, but I gotta work. Enjoy your day with Mom. I love you guys,

Daddy