Bigger and Better!

Can you believe it snowed again. This time Seth was able to be home with us to play in the fun. It actually snowed even more this time and was so fun see. The kids were in heaven. Luke became a snowman maker pro. His snowman was almost as tall as he was. Haylee on the other hand, well she makes special snowman I guess with the special snowflakes:) It was crazy that the kids would pick up snow and then the spot that they just got from would be covered again with new snow. Seth was the first on to go in because he was too cold(lame). The kids were the winners. They played outside until everything on them was soaking wet. We watched the new last night after the kids finally went to bed and the announced that the schools were closed because of the snow. Seriously that is so dumb. I bought $25.00 worth of chicken salad for Luke's class luncheon and now they don't have school. What am I going to do with all of this chicken salad. Anyways we loved having the snow and now I cant wait for it to leave. I am ready for spring and the eighty degree weather.

Snow in Vegas????

What a fun day. It has snowed here the whole day. I actually thought this morning I should keep the kids home so they could play in it but them I smartened up. I went to the gym after I dropped off the kids at school and even in the middle of the kickbox class I had to sneak out real fast to see if it was still snowing. It was!!! When I got home I took a nice warm bath and as soon as I got out I put on my pajamas, had some hot chocolate, and took a picture of myself out in the snow. Then I got a warm blanket and laid on the couch and listened to my IPOD. What a day huh. All of you moms out there with kids at home are jealous huh? I will admit though that when I was in the bath I did say a prayer that it would still be snowing when the kids got home so they could enjoy it. They got to build really tiny snowman that look like white cats but whatever right. They had so much fun and thought it was the best day ever. When they came in I even made them some hot chocolate:) This kind of weather really makes it feel like Christmas time. Hasn't happened very many times to us seeing that we have lived in a dessert for so long so we were excited!(maybe a little to excited).

New Mexico

It is official. We are moving to New Mexico. Seth has already given his two week notice and work and has accepted a job in New Mexico. I am really nervous this time to move and I think its because I know I am leaving such great friends. This is going to be such a great opportunity for us though and we have been so blessed with this new job opportunity. We went to the library on Saturday and the kids wanted to check out some books about New Mexico so we did. Haylee asked me if we were going to have to buy new clothes and dress like Indians. And Luke was really nervous that he would have to learn Spanish.(that wouldn't be a bad idea huh?) The kids are excited to go and meet new people and Haylee is so excited to see her friend again that used to live here in Vegas but moved to New Mexico a couple of years ago. It will be so nice to have some built in friends that we all really like so we cant wait. Wish us Luck!

Our Tree!

We had fun this year putting up out Christmas tree. This year we thought it would be fun to start a new tradition that everyone gets to pick out and buy a new ornament for the tree. The kids loved doing that and had a really hard time choosing. I got to pick two because I had a hard time too:) This year we also made our own ornaments out of cinnamon, applesauce, and glue. After they hardened up we used puff paint to decorate them and they turned out cute. We got a new star this year for the top of the tree and we think it looks good. We hope that everyone has a Merry Christmas!

Polar Express

This year we went to Williams, Arizona to do the Polar Express train ride. I was a little disappointed with it because I ended up not being able to sit with my family but the kids had a fun time. Luke and Seth sat way up in the front of the train together and Haylee got to sit with her friend Taylor Bean and then I got to sit with my friend Stacie and her husband. There were so many people that came from Tucson so it was so fun to see old friends. As far as the ride goes it was fun to see Santa Claus, drink hot chocolate, and go to the North Pole. It was so cold there I thought I was going to freeze to death. We had lots of fun and were glad to have the experience!

Mesa Fun!

Seth and I have noticed that we have made quite a few trips lately to Mesa. I have loved every one of them!!! This time we headed up on Saturday morning and stayed just til Monday morning so we could then head on up to Flagstaff to do the Polar Express. Erin of course has some fun things lined out for us to do and we all had so much fun. First activity was doing cute little Graham cracker houses with the kids. I think that most of the candy was eaten by the kids but they did such a great job and they turned out super cute. Sunday we of course had a yummy dinner at my moms house before we headed out to see the Temple lights. It is so pretty there as they always do such a great job at putting them up. The kids loved seeing the camels and Haylee still remembers going into the Temple when Seth and I got sealed to eachother and to our kids. I do hope she will always remember that. Before we left Monday we went out to one of my sisters friends farms to see the chicken, horses, rabbits, and lots of poop. My kids love that kinds of stuff but I of course started sneezing really fast and my eyes started to get itchy and my nose started to run. I am definitely not a farm girl:) Thanks Erin and Dallas for all the fun again. We will see ya soon!!!!

Aliante Fireworks!

Isn't it pretty sad that Las Vegas has a huge celebration for the Grand Opening for a new Casino. You would think everyone would be used to it by now and don't really care about the show and just want to start wasting their money:) Well last night at 10:00 they were having an eleven minute firework show for the new Aliante Casino that was opening that night at 11:11p.m. We thought it would be fun to take the kids and go have a peak. Let me just tell you it was crazy. There were soooooo many people that had the same idea. Why don't people put there kids to bed. Instead they had tiny little kids bundled up on the street watching the show. We at least stayed in the car and we parked by a Starbucks just in case we needed some hot chocolate. It was really neat to see the fireworks so close. Seth's truck was shaking a little. Today and tomorrow the casino movie theater has movies for $2.00 and popcorn and drinks for that cheap too so that is where we are headed today and tomorrow. I am excited to see how nice it is and maybe drop in a quarter or two. Just kidding! This casino is close to our house so this will be the new theater that we go to. Yay!

Veterans Day Parade

My friend Jen called in the morning and asked what I was doing and I told her that I was on my way to the gym but then asked if she had a better offer. Well she did. She was taking her kids to the Veterans Day Parade downtown and asked if I wanted to go. The kids were so excited(I think they thought it was going to be like the Disneyland parade)so we hurried and changed our clothes and hopped in the car. The kids had all kinds of questions about why these people fight in wars and what it means to have a free country. I must stay it was such a neat experience for all of us. I had the chills the whole time and just kept thinking how grateful I am for all those that serve our country so we can be free. We got to see some really cool tanks, trucks, horses, and motorcycles. We cant wait to go back next year. Thanks Jen for the invite it was much better than the gym. Oh I cant leave out the part that when it was over we went and ate at Cafe Rio. Yum!!!!!!!

Go Westwood Warriors

So the whole reason why I made my way up to Mesa was to go to my old High School volleyball game where my coach was retiring of 18 years. They were trying to get as much alumni there as possible and I thought that since I was on the team that won the only State Championship Banner I better show up. It was so fun to see old friend and catch up and of course to see my old coach. At the end of the game all of us played queen of the court and had a blast. I cant believe that it has been 14 years since I played in that gym. I have such great memories and it felt so good to be back. I was actually standing on my tippy toes just to look a little taller in the picture with Coach Crook and my friend Sandy. I also played in college with Sandy as well. It would be so fun to live there again just to play on a city league with all my friends.

We Love Mesa!

It is so fun to go home for a visit and see all my family. The kids have so much fun playing with their cousins and I get to hang out with my sister(that's where I usually stay) and not worry about a thing. From the moment that we arrive until we leave I only see my kids when they are hungry, need a bath, or it is bedtime. I love it. My sister is so good about making us feel so welcome and loves to plan parties for us when we are there. We had a fun game night with my siblings and their spouses and my parents and I think at one point I was laughing so hard that I was crying.(that is thanks to my dad!) The kids played at the park one day and had alot of fun making sand castles and playing on the toys. Haylee loves to spend the night at all of the places she can while we are there. She got to spend the night at my moms one night and then she also got to spend the night with her Grandma Peggy. Of course I think the funnest thing for me is the yummy meals that Erin makes for us. Haylee loves that she get to help alot of the time and feels special. Thanks Erin. I just love they way Erin was cutting her onion one day I just had to take a picture. She actually put on some swimming goggles so that her eyes wouldn't water. I think what made me laugh even more was that this is common for her and she actually has a special place for the goggles in her kitchen. On her fridge she had a picture hanging for her husband of a picture of some actual kitchen goggles that she wants for Christmas. She is nuts but funny. We are already trying to think of when we can visit again. We love Mesa(home)!!!!!!!!!!

T.G.I.O!

THANK GOODNESS IT'S OVER!!!!!!! I am so tired of putting on and taking of costumes that I am so glad we are finally done. The kids have been to so many different Halloween parties that we seriously have put their costumes on a ton. Today was the last day so we went out with a bang. We started out this morning at the Shark Reef at the Mandalay Bay Hotel. They had a deal that if the kids dressed up they got in free and I just had to pay for myself. The kids got to go trick or treating in the shark reef and look at all the sea creatures. They had a lot of fun and it was decorated really cute. When we got home I decided that we should carve a pumpkin because we hadn't done that yet. The helped take out the stuff inside and I thought that Haylee was going to throw up. They got to pick out the picture pattern that they wanted me to cut and I carved it the best I could. I think it turned out pretty cool. By that time it was time to eat dinner and head out for some trick or treating. We went all around our neighborhood and the kids got quite a bit of candy. Seth and Luke decided they had enough so they headed back to start passing out candy. I think that Luke had more fun doing that than going house to house. He was so hot in his costume and was dripping sweat down his face with his mask on. What a fun day and night. Happy Halloween:)<

Gilcrease Orchards!

Today Luke had a field trip to the Gilcrease Orchards where they were going to get to pick some apples and look at all the other kinds of things they grow there. We had a hard time for some reason finding apples that weren't rotten or really squishy. He did find three semi-good ones that he got to take home with him and he was so excited to drink the apple cider they sell there. The kids got to go and look at the rows of corn, the pumpkins, and even the tomato vines that they had. It was a cute little field trip and Luke had alot of fun running around and finding learning about things that grow in the orchards:) Just in case anyone really cares it was not fun for me because apparently I have really bad allergies and was sneezing and my nose was running and my eyes got itchy. As soon as I left though I was okay. I love that I get to go on field trips with my kids!

Go Rebels!

Last night our family decided to go and watch a UNLV volleyball game. They were playing a team from Colorado that was really good. I actually had just watched the Colorado team last week on T.V. and thought they were really good and the setter is awesome. Seth and I were actually wearing green which was their school colors and secretly I wanted them to win. UNLV has a horrible setter but they are a really tall teamed and blocked everything which helped them to win in 4 games. It was a ton of fun and it makes me a little sad that that part of me no longer exists:( The kids had a ton of fun but by the 4th game we had to buy popcorn to keep them busy. Luke loved all the music they played during the timeouts and Haylee was begging me to go and be in the serving contest to win a shirt. (yeah right I would have had to do it underhand and embarrass myself). We cant wait to go to another game we had so much fun.

My Sleeping Beauty!

I don't know how Haylee does it but she manages to fall asleep in the strangest ways. I thankfully always go and check on my kids right before I go to bed just to make sure they are still breathing and have a warm blanket on them. Well with Haylee it is always a surprise to see what she has done that night. A couple of weeks ago she was fast asleep in her body pillow pillow case. There was no way she could move at all it was so tight. Crazy thing is she didn't even wake up while I was trying to shimmy it off of her. Talk about claustrophobic. Then last night we got a good laugh at her. She had taken one of her buckets in her room and stuffed her pillow in it and of course her head and fell asleep like that. What can I say she is very strange but I do love her. Sweet dreams Haylee:)