Gutter washin

 
For the record, I do not usually allow my kids to lay in the gutter during a torrential downpour... however, I was not home when these were taken by my trusted babysitter... My sister Dana!

Paige did not want to get her clothes dirty, so she sat on the curb the entire time. Smart Girl!

 However, the kids had a blast and I was left with a pile of wet clothes.

Vegas Baby!

My dad and Donna (my dads new wife... my "step-mom" ) took my family and I to Vegas for my birthday in July. Neil and I were just going to go with them, but it is hard to leave the kids... so they came along. We were down there for a few days and had a great time! You may ask... what is there to do in Vegas when you bring the kids? Well... not alot... but we were excited to get to see a show!

We all (kids included) went to see Blue Man Group @ the Venitian and the kids loved loved LOVED it. Jacobs comment when it was over was "this is the best day of my life!"

Stupid Glare on photo!

 

We also went to a Malaysian Returant which served food that brought back ALOT of memories. I lived in Malaysia with my family while I was in High School for 3 years. I loved the culture and the people and I loved the food. I have had dreams about some of it ever since I left. This stuff was just how I remembered. Blast from the past!

We all went to "China Town" where the kids got to find their treasure! Donna got a picture of the kids and the sweet lady from the store.

There was a store called "Paige" at the Venetian

 While we were waiting for our show to start we watched these Mimes at St. Marks Square inside the Venetian. They look so real and suddenly you will see one move or wave. Always fun!

These statues were remarkable!

Dad and Donna watched the kids the second night so Neil and I could go see The Phantom also showing at the Venetian. It was AMAZING!! Absolutly amazing! The music was excellent and the set design and staging was unbelievable. This is a must see if you are going to Vegas.

So where we are now... a quick update

It is late Saturday night... the house is finally quite after a long day. With school starting in only 2 days, I am looking forward to the change that is headed our way.

Jacob ~ 8 years old and starting 3rd grade... yea, I know! 3rd grade! It really hit me when I was reading the old posts tonight and saw the first day of school pictures from two years ago. I blinked and here we are. I think this is the first year where I can see he is nervous to go back. He has some friends in his class this year, which I am grateful for.

Paige ~ almost 6 and starting 1st grade. This means I am going to have 2 kids gone all day. I think I am going to go through some kind of shock on the first day. What do I do with myself? She is soo excited. She got the same first grade teacher (Mrs. Jensen) that Jacob had... and we LOVED her! She also had the same Kindergarten teacher he had too. Paige is growing and changing so much. Suddenly her interests have changed and she wants purses and makeup. Really? Already? Slow down sister!

Kallie ~ just turned 3 and starting preschool !!! :)  Love her to death, but this girl keeps me going. She is one that can smile and trap you with her charm while doing the opposite of what you say. She is so excited to start school. She asks everyday if she can go, while looking up at me with her backpack in hand. I am looking forward to the next year and all the time we are going to spend together while the others are in school.

Neil is still working in corrections. He was promoted to Sargent a little over a year ago. He is excellent at his job and I am proud of him and all he has accomplished. 

We recently bought a RV camping trailer. Never thought that would be me... but we have really enjoyed it this summer. Posts to follow soon about our summer adventures.

This summer has been fun for us. Neil's scheduale is great for traveling and taking quick trips. We are now looking forward to ending our summer fun with a trip to Disneyland in 3 weeks!!

I guess it is time

Two years. I know. It has been almost exactly two years since my last blogging post.

It was too hard for me to make entries about my life when I felt like everything was at a stand still after my mom passed away. I did not know how to shift attention to other things when I felt like was I was frozen in time. How could I talk about my day to day's when I all I felt was empty and forced?

Now, two years later, so much has changed... so much... and I failed to record most of it. I just got done looking over alot of my older entries and I realized how much I have missed. My kids have grown, changed and learned so much. It is time I put my life back in gear and record some of these daily adventures. I still miss my mom. Everyday I miss her. I realize that that will never change, but everything else in my life can and I need to continue to with it.

So... here I go... my first entry in so long... I guess it is time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~

**  I am going to play catchup on a few events from our family.

They are going to be backdated to help me record a better timeline. **

Jackson Hole & Yellowstone National Park ~ July Trip

Our first real maden voyage on our new RV trailer the first week of July. I was a bit nervous pulling this huge thing behind us and up and over a few mountain passes, but we made it!!  We enjoyed spending time together doing simple things. I was surprised the kids did not even miss friends or TV!

Our first few days we spend in Jackson Hole, WY. We enjoyed the shops and the scenery. We drove out to one of the first mormon settlements in the area called "Mormon Row" where we came upon a HUGE herd of Buffalo. We were able to walk right up close. It was awesome!! We then and hiked Jenny Lake... Kallie only whined some of the way.



The beautiful Teton Mountains just off Mormon Row

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

We then moved north and stayed a few days around Yellowstone. All I wanted was to see a bear! It was really high on my list... so I looked.... and looked... and NO BEAR!! We say Elk, Buffalo, Eagles, but NO BEAR!!! The day after we came home we read on the news that a man was killed in Yellowstone, just a few miles from where we were. Maybe I am glad I did not see my bear.

Old Faithful. We even brought Toby with us!

So Beautiful!

Elk. Right off the side of the road. We were only about 30 feet away from them