The Big Show!

The last day of the Little Gym Semester (last Friday) always concludes with a show where the kids get to show-off the routines they have been working on (or in Hayden's case, the sports skills learned). Here is the page I digi-scrapped.

Credits: Template from Yin Designs (http://simplyyin.blogspot.com/)
Paper and elements from the Picnic Kit at http://www.designsbykrista.net/shop/ (This is not me, I just wish I could design like this!)

Viva Las Vegas!

We're back from Las Vegas where we spent 7 fun (and sun) filled days with Tadj's family. Marlie and Jim's wedding was nice, the weather was hot but enjoyable (over 100 degrees most days), and it was wonderful to spend time with the Utah relatives.

We rented a "luxury pool home" in North Las Vegas and spent most of our time in the pool.

Nick, Hayden, and Kendall enjoying the hot tub.

Hayden not looking at the camera, as usual.

Kendall jumping into the pool!

We can't go to Las Vegas without visiting In-N-Out. The food isn't terrific but its tradition.

Kendall and Hayden waiting outside In-N-Out with Kylee and Nicholas. Here you can see Hayden's fauxhawk. I'm not sure I like this hairstyle but he sure does!

We also went to Aliante Nature Discovery park. It was a combination of a playground, spray park, dinosaur exploration area, and wildlife observatory.

Kendall relaxing on a croc.

Hiding in a dinosaur egg.

Tadj and Kendall looking at the turtles.

Celebrating Abbie's and Kendall's birthdays!

And now for the reason for this trip...

Congratulations Marlie and Jim! Marie looked beautiful. Next to a drive-thru wedding I think this must have been the shortest ceremony ever at about 5 minutes. No complaints here though since it was an outdoor wedding and 107 degrees. Tadj took the cute shots of the happy couple.

In the days following the wedding we went to the AdventureDome at Circus-Circus. The kids enjoyed the Frog-hopper ride and carnival games.

And of course more pool time. Action shots of Hayden's water tricks.

The last night we stayed in the Monte Carlo Hotel on the strip. Tadj's parents stayed there too and it was nice to spend more time with them. The strip is not a place for children but we did venture out to M&M World and the water show at the Bellagio.

Kendall fell asleep on the way to Bellagio so John rested her on the railing while we enjoyed the show.


We had a great time and want to thank Jill and Marj for finding such a nice place for all of us to stay and for everyone who made the trip so memorable. And a big thanks to Marlie and Jim for giving us a reason to celebrate!

Happy Birthday Kendall!

Kendall asked me today when she woke up, "Mom, am I really 3?" Yep, it's true! We aren't having big birthday parties this year so I volunteered our house for playgroup today so we could enjoy some birthday cupcakes. (Thanks to the terrible weather--I would have rather been at the park enjoying some sun!)After everyone left, the kids wanted to relax so I put a movie on for them and went upstairs to check my e-mail. I was having some problems with the VPN that must have taken me longer to fix than I thought. When I went downstairs I noticed that 8 of the remaining 9 cupcakes were missing! Upon closer inspection I found 3 cupcakes in the garbage can with the tops eaten off and several wrappers. So in about 15 mintes Hayden inhaled 5 cupcakes and Kendall ate the top off of 3. I can't take my eye off of them for even a minute! Here is the birthday girl. If you look close you can see some of the evidence on her face.

Tyler & Denise

On Saturday we went to my cousin Denise's wedding and reception. Everything was perfect and Denise was absolutely gorgeous! They totally lucked out with the weather because it was cloudy for the pictures instead of the usual rain. I just love weddings!

The happy family.

Lower Lena Lake

Tadj is trying to prepare for the High Adventure with the young men so he wanted to take our family on a little "nature walk". He found a hike in the Olympic Mountains that was rated "Easy" and was 4.6 miles round trip. I love hiking but I wasn't sure if our 2 and 4 year old were going to be able to walk that far. It turns out that our kids are awesome hikers! The hike wasn't 4.6 miles round-trip, it was 6 miles! That is a lot of mileage for little legs! Both kids walked up the mountain the 3 miles on their own. We carried Kendall on the way down but Hayden hiked nearly the entire time. I asked him, "how come you didn't tell me you were such a great hiker?" and he replied, "Mom, I never knew I was a great hiker all of these years." Kendall's quote for the day, "Hiking makes me hungry." It's true--I've never seen her eat so much!

Tadj with the kids at the Lake.

Lessons learned for next time: Don't wear cotton, more food/water. "Hide and Seek" on the way down the mountain was a great way to get the kids walking on their own. On the way up we had Kendall pretend she was Dora on an adventure - up the mountain, over three bridges, and touch the big tree by the lake. That helped suppress her desire to be carried.

Last day of Preschool

Hayden "graduated" from preschool last week. Here he is at the last day picnic with one of his teachers receiving a special book he made. It included a list of some of his favorite things (waffles, the colors blue and green, and his friend Ella) and pictures from throughout the year. The teacher told me that Hayden was a leader and good example for the other kids. Seriously?? Did she mean shy and well-behaved?

Here is Kendall at the picnic with her friend Nora.