Dear Family and Friends,
Whew...the summer has flown by in a flash! Faster than some of my F-18 Super Hornet airplanes fly! When I last wrote I was just easing into summer and swimming lessons.
Since then our 4th of July celebration lasted a week, seeing the fireworks in Allen the weekend before -after going to a really cool party with lots of kids and their parents at my friend Kathy Gipson's Sunday School class party. They have a big party every year with tons of food and lots of fun. It ended the evening with a great view of the fireworks from Celebration Park. I got a little spooked by the noise of the explosions soooo close, so we left at the beginning of the fireworks show and watched them from Daddy's car. Needless to say Mommy and Daddy were a little frustrated with my fear of noises...finding it hard to rationalize with me. 
The following weekend we met the Clendinnings for dinner at a restaurant outdoors and the Addison Boomtown Show of fireworks, though I wasn't told just how close we would be viewing them that evening. It was CLOSE! Mommy came prepared with industrial strength earphones! However, I was having so much fun playing with Ella and Logan that the sound hardly bothered me after the show started. That frustrated my parents even more! They can't understand my hang-up with loud noises.
Then the next night I sat with my next door neighbors Mr. Lee and Miss Brenda on their front steps and watched the Mckinney fireworks from the ballpark. It was such fun with them!! We had a great view and the sound wasn't even an issue. Go figure a 3 year old...I mean almost 4!
Yep, that's right! I'm almost 4!! Yes, I know I've been saying that for the past 6 months, but now I really mean it! It's just days away from my 4th birthday- on September 4! My Abuela is flying in for the big day from Orlando! Then on Saturday, September 6th, Mommy has planned quite a soiree for my friends to come and celebrate with me. We're going to have the party at Uncle Tommy and Renee's (Naynay's) house again this year so everyone can ride my pony, Tony. That's where he lives! (Mommy says it's a good thing he lives there- he'd run away from home if he lived with us 'cause she's secretly afraid of horses and doesn't like to get too close to them! Especially to feed them!) Mommy also rented a big bounce house and water slide for us all to play on in the backyard with Tony! It will be fun! I hope you are all planning to come! We're going to have a birthday breakfast party at 10 a.m. and play before it gets too hot for the old folks...like Daddy!
Daddy is old! We just celebrated his birthday this past weekend! He's 34 now. My Tia Lusan (Daddy's sister) and Tio Nelson Llabona and cousins Perla and Isabelle came to Texas for Daddy's birthday! Well, that's what they told him! (Lusan and Nelson are Dave Matthews Band fans and they came to Dallas for a concert this weekend, but Daddy thinks it was all about him!) We had a GREAT time while they were here, and we had a pre-celebration of my own birthday as well. They even took me shopping and let me pick out my present! You'll have to come over and play with my new Mega Rig Space Shuttle and Launch Pad, with Aliens and Space Ship! It's so cool!
Mommy invited everyone secretly to i fratelli's for a big party for Daddy's birthday on Friday night. Grandma brought a birthday cake for Daddy! All the kids came- JD and Carley, Ella and Logan, Grace and her new baby sister Maddie, and of course Perla and Isabelle! See all of the photos in our albums by clicking here!
Then Saturday we all drove up to Lake Texoma to spend the day on Uncle Vic and Aunt Mary's big boat. We went out for a ride and I drove the boat! Then we came back in and had a cookout on the dock! Once we got home, Daddy took us to Chuck E Cheese's to finish his big birthday celebration! He said he had always wanted to spend his birthday there and now he finally got too! We left that night after 10 p.m. with some really great, cheap toys we got after a million dollars in tokens and 3 hours trying to win enough tickets!
Mommy invited everyone secretly to i fratelli's for a big party for Daddy's birthday on Friday night. Grandma brought a birthday cake for Daddy! All the kids came- JD and Carley, Ella and Logan, Grace and her new baby sister Maddie, and of course Perla and Isabelle! See all of the photos in our albums by clicking here!
Then Saturday we all drove up to Lake Texoma to spend the day on Uncle Vic and Aunt Mary's big boat. We went out for a ride and I drove the boat! Then we came back in and had a cookout on the dock! Once we got home, Daddy took us to Chuck E Cheese's to finish his big birthday celebration! He said he had always wanted to spend his birthday there and now he finally got too! We left that night after 10 p.m. with some really great, cheap toys we got after a million dollars in tokens and 3 hours trying to win enough tickets!
My summer is almost over, but I've got to tell you about my fun time at camp! I spent 2 weeks at Spanish Camp that was held at my Spanish Schoolhouse. It was all about dinosaurs and was really fun! While I was at camp it gave Mommy a chance to work! Then I went to Grandma's house for a week and went to Zoo Camp every day at the Fort Worth Zoo. I had the best time, I can't wait to go again next summer! I learned all about animals, how they lived, what they ate, and even which ones are carnivores and herbivores! I may even grow up to be a zookeeper, if I'm not a pilot- of course!
I've also spent a lot of time the past 2 months with Grandma and John Daddy while Mommy went back to work. Mommy just thought she was starting a part-time job...but seems as though her part-time work has been the part of the time that she's not sleeping! In case you don't know, she's returned to Allen Community Outreach as the Director of Volunteer Services. Actually, she jumped into the middle of a project that provided school supplies for about 2400 underprivileged students going back to school. That took a lot of time to coordinate and to get volunteers organized. Thank goodness Grandma had a lot of free time to keep me entertained! Once I'm back in school, Mommy and I both will be on a more regular schedule!
And speaking of school....I'm about to have a life-changing experience! You know I have a flair for the dramatic! My Spanish School which I attended last year and loved has had to move their location this year due to renovations that weren't complete. They moved farther away by a few miles, but a big difference in minutes when driving thru traffic to get back and forth. Since Mommy is only working the days that I'm in school, this year 3 days a week, she felt that adding an extra hour's drive to her day and removing an hour from her work schedule was too much! So she and Daddy began a new school search and found The Reading Ranch in Allen. It's only a mile and a half from Mommy's office. And, while it's a bit more expensive (a lot if you ask Daddy, but I'm worth it when you ask Mommy!) they are excited about the curriculum that focuses on teaching to read, write and learn mathematics. They also have science and computer labs (though I'm an ace on the computer and in science!), and teach other things like music...but they really concentrate on early reading. Mommy thinks I'm ready for it since I'm constantly trying to sound out signs I see ( like the ones in the department stores when we are shopping- "lingerie" really stumped me!), the names on my airplanes, and books I read with Daddy when we go to the library each week. I'll let you know more about the school once I get going......
Well, I gotta go! The Llabonas are off to the airport and I'm off to Grandma and John Daddy's for a few more days! I hope you are enjoying the final days of summer and have relaxing plans for Labor Day weekend! Don't forget my birthday party on September 6th- I'd love to see ya! We'll have plenty of donuts and wear your swims suits! We'll be splashing!!!
Love ya,
MARTY a.k.a. Jean-Martin Garabet Vaneskahian
See all of our latest photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/vaneskahian/sets/
