2013 - 2014 School Pictures

My little boys look all grown up.  We just got back their school pictures for the year and I thought they turned out really well. My babies are big boys.

Lincoln - 1st grade 

Logan - Preschool

Viva Las Vegas

The ABC kids show was in Las Vegas this year so Rick headed up early Monday to set up the Baby Banana Brush booth.  Most of those that were involved somehow with the company, spent at least part of the week in Vegas working the show or tending kids so their parents could work at the booth.  The boys and I flew up Wednesday evening.  The boys loved the plane flight and it was by far their best flight yet.  Luckily for us the plane was only a 1/4th full so we had the back of the plane to ourselves. I had a huge bag of activities and snacks prepared for our time at the airport and for during the flight - I never pulled it out once. We spent our time at the airport eating dinner and watching planes take off and land. Once we were on our flight the boys watched shows on their ipads, ate the mini snack pretzels and had their Sprite from the drink service.  The short flight was over before we knew it and they were excited to watch out the window as we landed.

While in Vegas we kept ourselves quite busy.  The first full day we hopped on the monorail which I'm sure was Logan's favorite part of the trip. He was always so eager and excited to ride it and was quite intrigued by the tracks and the train itself. We rode it down to the MGM to go to the M&M Factory where we watched a cute little 3D movie and shopped.  Then we went over to the Coke Factory where for the first time we let the boys have Coke in a Coke Float and of course they loved it. They also got their picture with the Coca Cola bear.  Later that evening Lincoln and I had a special date night.  We went to Rainforest Cafe for dinner and then went to see Blue Man Group at the Monte Carlo.  Right after the show, Lincoln turned to me and gave me a big hug and kiss and said, "thanks for bringing me to this show. I loved it. My favorite part was the whole thing!"  It was priceless.  He really was engaged the entire time. He was dancing to the beat in his seat.  It was a really fun night for us.

The next day we headed out for a full day of adventure.  Marissa and Mallory joined us for the day.  We started off with a quick bite to eat before we jumped in a taxi over to Circus Circus.  (Logan also loved riding in the taxi.) Despite the fact that it was near arctic temperatures in the building, the kids had a great time.  They ran from ride to ride and game to game. The older girls did a great job of making sure the boys were safe on all the rides. After a few hours of fun we headed over to Cesar's Palace for lunch before heading back to our hotel for a rest. That evening we took the four kids to the Tournament of Kings dinner and show at Excalibur.  I have to admit that the show was really lame but the kids loved it.  The dinner was surprisingly better than I expected.  It was a very fun and memorable night.

 Lincoln with Toby Keith at his "I Love This Bar"

Our last day in town we ventured over to the Mirage with just our family to see the Secret Garden. Unfortunately the boys weren't as impressed with the tigers, leopards and Lions as much as Ricky and I were but they did seem to really like watching the dolphins.  We at lunch at CPK in the Mirage where the boys thought they were pretty special because they got a big boy rootbeer bottle. We hit up the Sugar Factory for a few treats for the ride home.

Our drive home was simple, easy and uneventful.  Logan slept for the first two hours of the drive before dinner and Lincoln slept for the last two hours after dinner. It worked out well because we had NO fighting at all.  It was actually a pretty pleasant ride home. Being that it was the first time we'd taken the boys to Vegas I think we all had a lot of fun.  It's a lot of work and walking to get two little guys around that town but we created some special memories so it was all worth it.  Logan is already asking to go back and ride the monorail...I'm not surprised.

Another One Gone

Lincoln lost his second tooth today.  It happened a bit unceremoniously. He told me sometime last week that he thought it was loose and I of course told him to leave it alone.  Today, Logan's knee somehow ended up hitting Lincoln's mouth jarring Lincoln's tooth quite loose.  It was bleeding all over the place and was all but out.  I gave him a cold rag to help stop the bleeding and finished up whatever I was doing.  About 30 minutes later Lincoln yells to me to come downstairs to see something.  I get down there and he had pulled out his own tooth.  He wasn't crying or anything.  He just wanted a bag for it. It was then that I realized his adult tooth is already coming up into the spot where he lost his tooth a couple weeks ago.  Another sign that my little baby boy is growing up!

Lincoln has been trying to negotiate with the Tooth Fairy about how much money his teeth are worth.  He asked us how much we thought he'd get for his 1st tooth and we told him probably a dollar.  He asked us if we could text the Tooth Fairy to see if she would give him more.  When daddy told him that the Tooth Fairy said $2 was all he'd get, Lincoln decided it wasn't worth it and that he'd rather keep his tooth.  Now he put both teeth under his pillow tonight with a note asking the Tooth Fairy if he could please keep his teeth.  I never knew that was an option when I was a kid.  I also got pocket change for my teeth. I guess times have changed.

Ohio Business Trip

I had a fairly last minute business trip come up that required me to go to Ohio. I was glad to go for several reasons.  One I was able to meet some colleges that I work with often in a virtual setting but had never previously met.  I was also excited to get my Ohio shot glass since I had never been to Ohio before.  We were near Cleveland so when researching what to do in Cleveland really the only thing that came up was the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Unfortunately we weren't able to make it over there but we did scout out a local cupcake shop to visit.  Didn't seem like much else to do.  I did learn that the people of Ohio were, for the most part, very nice and genuine people. The circumstances for me going were a bit unfortunate; we were closing down a large site and putting on a job fair for our employees to meet with other companies. Thankfully the event was very successful and I had a good time. I was reminded why I moved to the desert and I had to pull out my thick winter coat on that trip.  I was just happy it wasn't any later in the year.

 While flat ironing my hair the night before I left I dropped my flat iron and burned my finger from the tip down to the first knuckle.  I had never burned myself that bad before I was up until 2 am with my finger in ice water.  Lesson learned. 

 The lobby of the community center where we held our event.  I loved the hanging water bottle bottom decorations. 

 Co-workers Karen, Sandy and Rebecca. 

 Notice the sign in the cabinet...knitted items being sold by the "Happy Hookers."

 The cakes at the bakery looked amazing but it's unfortunate that they didn't taste better than they did. 

I went through a lot to get these home to the boys and all in all they held up but nobody really loved them.  Not all cupcakes are created equal and looks are deceiving!

What a Month

There is no other word to best describe the last month other than absolutely crazy! It has been so busy and it's been one thing after the next. 

After twelve years we finally said goodbye to the civic. I was glad to see it go but Ricky was a little more attached- it was his car after all. After putting a deposit down to order our new car in May, to finding out six weeks later it wasn't ordered, then getting the car and it was the wrong one to eventually finally getting our perfect car - it's been a long journey but we are glad it's over and we finally can enjoy the new car.

Rick was gone to Germany for a week with Baby Banana Brush to attend a convention. He and Roo worked hard, and non stop, the entire time they were there. They were able to take one evening to visit a Cathedral for mass. Lucky for us daddy brought home a huge German chocolate bar and it is really yummy chocolate.

Lincoln lost his very first tooth. He was so proud and excited. He lost it at school so we didn't actually see when it came out but we knew it was on its way out so I packed a little ziplock bag in his backpack. I was glad he remembered to put it in the bag and didn't lose it.

Rick went in on Monday for an outpatient surgery and by midnight he was in the ER with severe intolerable pain. They were able to manage his for several days and I brought him home from the hospital on Thursday afternoon. I took the boys over to the hospital for a while each night for them to visit daddy. The boys loved pushing buttons, sharing daddy's bed and eating whatever the could from daddy's dinner plate. Ricky is still struggling to rest and recover through the pain and we're just hoping that he'll get to feeling better soon. 

I've been called to teach Relief Society at church now. It's nice to only have to teach once a month verses all of the weekly things I was going for primary but having to teach is a little nerve racking. 

Lincoln found a baby scorpion at the house. Rick was in the hospital which meant it was up to me to deal with it. I sprayed it with scorpion spray, covered it with paper towel and smashed it with the rubber mallet. While this is happening, Lincoln is pleading with me not to kill it because it's a " living creature" and just a "teeny tiny baby." Despite his plea for mercy of that wretched creature, it had to die so I took care of business. No scorpions will be tolerated on my property!

Lincoln also got a purple card (best reward he can earn) at school earlier this month so he got a $5 award from mom and dad and picked a toy at the store. He also got to go to Red Robin with Logan and me when Ricky was in Germany. 

I spent the day yesterday with the boys at the Phoenix Children's Museum.  We ended up being there for 3 1/2 hours which made for a LONG day but we had a great time. Grandma Tutu was kind enough to fly into town yesterday to be here to take care of Ricky and the boys for the next week while I go to Ohio for a business trip. After we left the museum we headed over to the airport to watch planes take off and land, eat dinner and pick up Tutu. 

I knew it was a long day when I found this little guy cuddled up on my bedroom floor with this special game Grandma Tutu brought him. 

Logan found a hiding spot at Sam's club, he keeps him self busy and quiet during church by watching the sand in a timer fall and he hit the 100 ticket prize on his first try at Peter Piper Pizza.  Not a bad few weeks for this handsome guy. 

These are just some of the major things this month.  On top of this has been the regular tennis, school activities for the boys, working in Lincoln's class, doctor's appointments, work trips to the Phoenix office, GNO for me and the everyday activities needed for the upkeep of a home.  October looks to be just as busy as September so I'll have plenty to blog about later!