Can Anyone Say Nursery!

Today officially begins Lincoln's experience in Nursery. He officially turned 18 months today and not a moment too soon. We have been fighting with him for the past 6 months during church. It has been a long time since both Justin and I were able to sit through Sunday School. And lets just say Lincoln was past ready for something better to do with his time.
After sacrament meeting, the two of us headed out. And if I wanted some kind of sadness from him with the thought of having to leave Mom's side, I did not get it. I was chopped liver compared to all the toys and kids in that room. He did not even look back! Which I think is just fine, but it just reminds me of how big he is getting.
My Mom is one of the Nursery leaders so that could have helped matters. When I went to pick him up he was glad to see me, but he seemed to be doing just fine. And it does not look like he will be getting picked on, but the other kids better watch out! I guess he pushed the same kid down twice (although my Mom said he had it coming-he did not push Lincoln down but I guess he had pushed a few of the other kids) and then pulled another kids hair. He also does not quite understand the whole sit down and listen to the lesson idea! But I am sure it will come with time!

Merry Christmas 2008

Merry Christmas everyone! What a fun filled day! We started off at our house were Santa definitely made his presence known! :) Lincoln is still a little young to really understand what was going on, but he did not have a problem getting into the spirit of things once we brought him into the front room.







His big present this year is a mini-quad! He is really into cars lately, so when we ran across this motorized quad a few months ago we could not help ourselves! We had it all charged up and ready to go for him. And that was the first thing Lincoln tested out. As soon as he walked in the room, he went straight to the quad and climbed on. And before we could show him how it worked he had already figured it out and was on his way across the room!


He probably would have been happy with just that present. But as Santa usually does he left more presents to be opened. So we pried him away form the quad and he helped open his presents. He got cars, a new book, a lion towel, the Kung Fu Panda movie, and blocks. He also got a funny frog puppet from my friend Lisa and some cool cars from Jen. I think he had a good time opening the presents, but was still not that great at it! It took quite a bit of help from Mom and Dad to get everything opened.

After Christmas morning at our house we went up to my parents house. We had an awesome breakfast of Ham n' Casserole and sweet rolls. That is definitely a Christmas tradition none of us can pass up! There were of course presents to open. And my Mom out did herself again. All the kids loved their gifts. Lincoln and Cutler got little guns that remind me of Buzz Lightyear, with noise and lights to make them even more exciting! You would have though they were both in heaven. Cutler opened his first and Lincoln could not take his eyes off of it! (Mom made sure that was the next gift he opened!) My Mom also got us the Wii Fit, which I am super excited about. I have wanted one of those for quite awhile now so I can not wait to get it open! Maybe, it will finally motivate me! :)

After my Mom's house we headed up to Justin's Moms house. Landon, Erin and the girls were down so everyone was there. They of course could not put off Christmas morning, so the girls had already opened their presents. Which meant Lincoln was the center of attention as he opened his. He got some more great things including a Basketball hoop and Elmo Live! He had the biggest smile when he opened Elmo. And I must say it is pretty cool. It really attempts to interact with him, on a small scale anyway!

We also had a wonderful lunch with Justin's family. The main course was prime rib and was quite tasty! After digesting a little bit we headed over to Nana's house. Everyone else had already gone home so we got to spend a little one on one time with Nana and Papa. It was nice just to chat and be there to celebrate with them.

As you can see we had a full day. It was nice to finally come home and Lincoln got to actually start using some of the great things he got. So far he loves his Aquadoodle that Landon, Erin and the girls gave him. and all his new cars. I am sure he will get a lot of use out of all the fun things he got. I just hope we an find space for it all!

Oooh...Lights

We took Lincoln to see the Light display out at Sunset park today. Neither I or Justin had ever been there before so we did not know what to expect. But it really was pretty cool. The price was $13 a car so that wasn't horrible. Much cheaper than many of the other Christmas events in the area. And Lincoln is enthralled by lights, so this was very exciting for him. Since we were driving at less than 5 miles an hour, we let him sit up front with me. And although we had to convince him to stop pushing the unlock button, and pay attention to the lights on more than one occasion, we still felt like it was worth it. There were some really cool light displays, which if anyone has tried to take pictures of lights they are not the easiest thing to photograph, so hopefully these pictures give you an idea of what we got to see.

No School Day!

Okay, many of you are not going to believe this. But school has been canceled tomorrow due to snow!! I have no idea if there are any records kept on this type of thing, but I am pretty sure it has not happened here recently! All I can say, is Yippee!! I can not express how excited I am to not have to go to work tomorrow. Maybe they will do us all a favor and just call it good and let us out early for break. :)

White Christmas?

Well, the weather has finally turned cold! And it has done so with a vengence! Not only is it cold, its snowing! Lincoln got his first chance to play in the snow. And from what I saw he thought it was great fun! Here are some fun pics of our snow dusting here in Vegas!!

Santa's Coming To Town!

activities. Some of our "shops" were the Bakery, the Sewing Shop, The Ornament Shop, the Toy Workshop, and the Post Office. And of course we had Santa's House! Lincoln was okay with the Big Man. (Unlike his cousin who was not too fond of the man in red!) He was a bit more interested in the tree and its lights but we were able to acquire one picture We had our Ward party this evening. The theme was basically built around the old town feel of Christmas. We tried to turn the building into a small town full of inviting store fronts and wonderful Christmas with him looking at the camera versus the tree!
Lincoln even wrote a letter to Santa this year. Although he was a bit more interested in emptying every writing utensil he could find out of its container than he was in writing the letter. I stopped counting how many times I picked the colored pencils up off the ground. Luckily, at the time he was the only one attempting to write a letter so he wasn't hindering anyone else's progress!
In the toy shop he drew on a block and in the sewing shop he stuffed a felt ball. Even Justin got in on the action by drawing on a block. And he made sure to draw on all sides of the block! Overall it was a fun night. I think everyone had a good time.
And just as a plug I have to say that my Mom is awesome. She turned ordinary posterboard into nativities! We used them for the centerpieces on the tables. And although there was a lot of work involved it brought the whole room together! (I was dumb and did not take a picture but you can see one on my Friend Lisa's blog!)

Happy Naked Dance!

Beware Naked Little Boy in front of a newly lit Christmas Tree!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today is Justin's Birthday and to celebrate I took him to..... Monterey, California! I found a killer deal on airplane tickets from Vegas straight into town and just could not pass it up. We brought the little man with us too. Which isn't much of a break for either of us, but I knew we couldn't leave him behind. Especially since the best aquarium ever is right here in Monterey!
We flew in Friday night after work. And it was a very empty flight which was nice. Lincoln was able to have a seat to himself. He did pretty well, considering all he wanted to do was run around the plane! Luckily the flight was just over an hour long.
Yesterday, we split the day between the Aquarium and Cannery Row. Lincoln loved the Aquarium. We had him in the stroller for a short time, but he was too excited to be in there. So we let him out and he ran from one exhibit to the next. He was enthralled with the Jellyfish. But his favorite area was probably the giant fish tank. He ran up and down the glass pointing out all the fish and saying, "Ooo, what's that?"
There was even an entire area that was set aside just for the little kids. He got to push buttons, jump on a tramp like thing, and play in water. What wasn't to love!
Today we drove out to Big Sur to go to the Julia Pfeiffer Burns State park. Too bad the Internet site did not mention that the park was closed due to fire damage! Luckily it was a beautiful drive and it gave Lincoln the opportunity to take a much needed nap!
On the way back to Monterey we stopped at a beach in Carmel. It was a little chilly but a gorgeous day overall. Like most beaches in the area it's not what you imagine a beach is like. It's not white soft dune sand. This stuff it much coarser, a bunch of little rocks. (It's nice though because it is easier to get off when you leave the beach!) Lincoln was pretty interested in the waves of the ocean. He probably could have stared at them all afternoon. Except then he got too interested and decided to see them first hand. He probably would have walked right in if we had not been there to stop him! He truly has no fear!
The fun couldn't last of course. But we tried to fit as much fun as possible into the weekend. Lincoln even had time to try his hand at geese herding!

A New Decoration

I put the tree up last night and Lincoln got to see it this morning. Even without light or ornaments he found it quite interesting! He kept asking "what's that" and touching the branches. I think we might be in trouble this year with the Little Man and his never ending quest to see how all things work! I think I will take it a piece at a time with the tree. Maybe put the lights on next and then the ornaments. With the hope that a few of those items will stay on the tree itself!

Daddy Dressed Me Today

The T-shirt is fitting- it reads "If I Don't Match It's Because Daddy Dressed Me"

So what's wrong with this outfit you ask? (Pay close attention to the shoes)

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a great time to sit back and enjoy one of my favorite things! TURKEY! It is also a great time to reflect on a few of the things I am most grateful for. And my boys would be at the top of that list! But we are also quite grateful for the rain that we are getting. It rained buckets today! And since we haven't had rain in a long time, it is definitely a blessing!

Do the Hokey Pokey..

Happy Birthday Lorina!

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday Aunt Rina!
Happy Birthday to you.

We Love you tons.
Have a great day! You only turn 40 once so live it up!

Future Mac Genius

Christmas on its way

My Christmas lights are up!! And not just mine- my Mom and sisters too! And yes I realize that it is not even Thanksgiving yet. But it was a gorgeous day today and I just knew if I did not take advantage of it, the next time I had time to do it, the temperature would have changed and it would be freezing out. So I pulled them out of the attic this morning and put them up in what I consider record time. (A few years ago we discovered light hooks that make the job a much quicker endeavor-no more nails or staples!!)

Justin hates putting the lights up. Well, I think he more hates the whole height thing but the two seem to get melded together in his head! And since Rachel and my Mom were at the girls soccer game I was on my own. But like I said it was a quick process. Lincoln wasn't too happy with the whole Mom on the roof thing but luckily Justin was able to keep him semi-entertained while I got the job done. I am just excited to know they are up. And in case anyone is wondering they are not on, just up!

One Done and More to Come

Well, Justin has been back to work for a week now. And to put it mildly it is kicking his behind! He has not had to work this hard in a long time. He used to work hard labor every day when he installed windows, but he has gotten out of the habit over these past few years. But he is surviving and we are grateful for the blessing this job promises to be. We were a little scared there for a little while thinking that after all the time they spent training him, they would lay him off again. But luckily they just moved him to a different part of the warehouse. Instead of staying in the preloader area he is now working the irregs.
The irregs is where the irregular packages that can not go on the conveyor belt end up. They have to be sorted by hand and then moved to the appropriate trucks for loading. So Justin is now a part of that team. He likes it much better than preloading but he says it is still a lot of work. And he is hopeful that perhaps this job might get him back on the wagon in terms of losing weight. If that happens it will be another blessing for both of us!

Best Intentions

Well this past weekend we had big plans to spend the time out in Valley of Fire enjoying the outdoors and the beautiful weather as we took Lincoln on his first camping trip. But due to some not so friendly winds in the early afternoon and tired husbands the trip was canceled! :(

The Richins (the family we were going to spend the time with) did come over Friday night and we did still enjoy an awesome Dutch Oven dinner! It wasn't camping out exactly but we still had a great time. The boys played as well together as can be expected for a 16 month old and a two year old can! They are both fascinated by cars so that helped out!

Maybe one of these days we will actually get to actually go camping. Although this way is sure a lot less messy and all our clothes didn't smell like campfire. So maybe I shouldn't wish for the camping to work out!

Working World Here He comes...

Ready or Not here he comes! Justin officially starts at UPS tomorrow morning! And morning might be a bit of an exaggeration, due to the fact that I consider 3:30 am to still be part of the night! I know he'll be great it's just going to take a little getting used to! And I'm think I might be a little lonely myself as it is not quite 9:00pm and my boys are both already in bed!

The House that Pa Built

On Saturday morning we headed out to Spring Mountain Ranch again. This time it was for a much more memorable event. Justin's father loved everything that had to with the Ranch. He spent years there as a Docent, which means he basically volunteered many, many hours to the cause. And he loved everything that had to do with the Mountain Men that used to roam the West. One of his favorite things to do was participate in the Mountain Men Rendezvous. As part of this passion, he did quite a bit of research into the life of one particular Mountain Man known as "Old Bill Williams". complete it. And if it had not been for his friends that had theAt one point he even found what he believed to be a stopping point for the men on their travels on the back side of Spring Mountain. But due to circumstances beyond his control this "dugout" was destroyed. So he decided to build a replica of what one of these would have looked like on the ranch. And before getting sick he started his project but then with the onset of his cancer he was not able to same passion as himself, it might have ended there. But his fellow Docents decided to make sure his dream was realized. So yesterday we attended a small dedication ceremony of the "Old Bill Williams Dugout" in Justin's Dad's honor.
It was amazing to see the work he was so adamant about come to life. And it was definitely another testament to the influence he had on people and to how much he was able to touch the lives of those around him. He truly was loved by all and is still sorely missed by those that loved him back.

A Big Thank You!!

A big thank you to everyone who has kept us in your thoughts and prayers. As of this afternoon Justin is officially re-employed. He returns tomorrow to complete all his paperwork and find out when he officially starts. He will go through a training process before he starts his regular hours but we don't have all the details on that yet so we will have to wait and see what happens. Needless to say we are going to have some changes to our life when he starts working the 3 am - 9 am shift. But I guess we will work those out. Although it is a relief to think that we will be able to have a little more padding in our finances I think Lincoln is going to miss having his Daddy around all the time. I think those two have become quite attached over the last few months! Luckily, I think they will still be able to spend a lot of time together after Justin is off work.

What Will the Future Bring...

Well lets start with the good news. Justin has a 2nd interview with UPS tomorrow morning, so hopefully that is good news for us. We've had two friends that already work there put in a good word for him. So hopefully that has paid off and we will have good news tomorrow afternoon! And it might be just in time. I just finished watching the President Elect speak to our country and although it was a moving speech full of hope and promises of change. I can only think that things are going to get worse before they get better.

Hiking With Dad

Lincoln and Justin went up to the Redrock loop with Aunt Christina today. They were going to just go walking at the park but since it was such a beautiful morning I think the mountains were calling them. It looks like they had a ton of fun but I guess Lincoln ended up sleeping most of the time! I think I would too if I got to be pushed everywhere!

Life's Little Blessings in Disguise

Well, last Friday I got an inkling that it was time to try and straighten up the garage after sending stuff off to DI a few weeks ago. I was tired of looking at the random assortment of boxes scattered throughout and with the removal of some larger items there was plenty of room to rearrange things. So we got up on Saturday and headed out. As we were moving stuff and sorting it into its proper spots I happened to shuffle some stuff past the water heater. Upon moving it I was surprised to find a puddle of water on the box the heater stands on. Upon further inspection I found that the heater itself was leaking! Just a small drip but a problem non the less!
I was quite annoyed and frustrated with this discovery. I swear if it is not one thing it is something else. Just when you think things might be looking up another problem arises! But then I sat back and thought perhaps I had been blessed! Not with the heater needing to be replaced but with the fact that we found it so early on. Maybe my desire to clean the garage was a blessing in disguise. If we had not been out there that morning the leak could have gotten worse and caused a significant amount of water damage. So although I am still quite frustrated with the prospect of having to replace the heater, I am trying to focus on the blessing of finding the leak early!

Little Soccer Star

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

It was a wonderful sunny afternoon so we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and headed up to the mountains. We ended up at Spring Mountain Ranch a small State Park near Redrock. It was really nice. Lincoln loved being able to run free and found it quite interesting to try and eat everything he found!
When it was time to go he did not want to leave, but the Rangers were pretty persistant. So we headed out and decided to stop in Calico Basin on the way back to Vegas. Justin and I used to go there as teenagers, but had not been back in years. And all I can say is it looks totally different than what either of us remember. They have done a lot of improvements including installing a walking path, so that was quite nice. But it sure did not bring back any memories! I guess we know have new ones to reflect back on ten years from now! :)

Trick or Treat

I can't believe it, Halloween night was hot! I know you are probably thinking how is that significant due to that fact that we live in the heart of the desert. But I swear it doesn't matter how hot it is outside, Halloween is always when the weather seems to turn. Usually we are trying to figure out how to get another layer of clothes on the kids without taking anything away from the costume, this year we were trying to figure out how to cool them off without losing the ability to identify what the costume was supposed to be of.
Since our Ward held our Halloween Party last night we had a chance to take the kids Trick or Treating in our neighborhood. The kids enjoyed it for the most part, but I don't think they were used to all the walking that had to be done. Especially since they are used to the Trunk or Treats were the next "house" is only steps away. It was also amazing to me how much candy people were handing out. Back in our day each house distributed a piece or two of candy. Today when we would stop at a house they were dropping handfuls of candy into the bags. In the length of two streets I had to dump Lincoln's bag out twice due to it being full- yes it was a small bag but still!! This trend seemed to get more pronounced the longer we stayed out. I guess there are just not as many people out trick or treating and people don't want to get stuck with all the candy!

Check Them Out!

Carving Anyone?

We spent the afternoon at Rachel's house today carving Pumpkins! Nothing like a last minute activity! And all I can say is Pumpkin carving has changed a lot over the years. You used to be able to carve a regular face and call it good. Now you have intricate patterns that have to be traced and then cut with exact precision. So when there are 6 pumpkins that need to be carved the task can seem pretty daunting. Especially when your helpers aren't very much help!
We started by cutting the tops off and letting the kids pull out all the guts. Too bad none of the boys wanted anything to do with touching the innards of their pumpkins! The girls at least attempted the process but the boys all freaked out when you tried to make them grab those slimy strings of gunk! So who got to clean all those pumpkins! The adults of course! And I must say we did a pretty darn good job.
Once all the pumpkins were cleaned out it was time for the kids to decide what they wanted on their pumpkins. I think our first error was letting them look at the precreated carving layouts in the book Rachel had found at the store. Because of course they all found the perfect image they wanted to use!! Rydman chose a picture of three coyotes on a mountain top. Emerie chose a head shot of one of the Disney Princess. Quincy wanted a spiderweb and a spider. Cutler wanted a "dinosaur"- it was actually a monster but don't tell him that. The babies were not nearly as particular so we left theirs for last. And even though the kids started out wanting to help, they soon got bored of the process. They did not quite understand why we had to spend so much time outlining the design!
I helped Quincy with her Spiderweb, and by the time I had gotten done with the outlining I realized there was no way that this pattern was actually going to work. The web was way to small leaving less than a 1/2 inch of pumpkin between the parts that needed to be cut out! I cut the first piece but then realized that even if I was really precise, the skin was so thick it was going to be nearly impossible. I knew she wanted a spiderweb, so I decided it would be easier to hand draw it on the pumpkin than it would be to follow the pattern! I think it turned out fairly well considering!
But by the time I was done with that one there was not much time or desire left to do something elaborate for Lincoln. Luckily he just found the carved pumpkins quite fascinating so he was more than thrilled with his face!

Happy Halloween

I know, it's not officially Halloween yet, but we had a Ward activity this evening so we got to celebrate it a little early. Lincoln is a blue three-eyed monster. And I know I am biased but he is so cute! I actually bought the costume while we were on vacation this summer, so I had to kind of guess what size I thought he would be 4 months later. And I think I got very lucky that he has not grown a millimeter since last week when I tried it on him the first time! It barely fits, but it is still dang cute on him!

He wasn't quite happy that I wouldn't let him have the camera, but you can see the whole costume in this shot! He is cute even when he is mad! Don't worry he got over it and had a great time pointing out all the interesting Halloween decorations. He really enjoyed all the skulls that glowed as he got to point out the eyes and noses on each of them. He wasn't scared at all with the dark halls and spooky music! He was also very interested in the candy items people kept putting in his bag. He wasn't too sure about having to carry his bag around but he was definitely interested in its contents. Especially the suckers. He had is first sucker on Monday at Rydmans' baseball game and loved it. So when he found one in his stash he decided it was a must have right then.

Luckily, he stayed awake long enough to get home and make it into the tub. As you can see he also has learned how to stick his tongue out! He thinks it is hilarious.

Pumpkins & Baseball

Lincoln picked out a pumpkin today with Nana, Aunt Rina, Aunt Christina, and Daddy. It was kind of an impromptu stop after a rousing visit to Sams Club so there are no pictures from the actual event, but from the sounds of it everyone had tons of fun.
The "Pumpkin Patch" they stopped out had everything from a petting farm to a trampoline. Lincoln had great fun as he chased the goats around along with petting ducks and chickens. He even got to go in the jump house! (He loves to try and jump and even gets two feet off the ground quite often so I bet this was right up his alley!)
And the pumpkin they picked out his a perfect size for him. He loves to carry it around but his favorite thing to do with it so far is to treat it like a ball! He kicks it around like a soccer ball and has even thrown it like a baseball! So it is amazing that it is still in one piece. (Thanks Aunt Christina for chasing him around the yard in an attempt to teach him what to do with a pumpkin!) And as you can see he even thinks his pumpkin is quite tasty!

After an already full day we spent family night at Rydman's baseball game. They are in the middle of playoffs right now. So we decided it was time to take in a game before the season was over. But tonight might not have been the best game to watch. The kids played well, but the ump was a complete moron. I try to be understanding of those people who work as ref's because I know from experience that it is not easy. But when you are blatantly making calls that are completely wrong and favor one team over the other, I stop feeling any sympathy for them. I mean this guy was over the top! ( There was one hit that went down the first base line and dropped behind the first base man in the grass which allowed three of our players to run in. But somehow after the third run came in the ball ended up being foul!! If only there were instant replays in Little League!) The boys played well, Rydman only ended up getting up to bat one time, but he did not even get to swing as the first pitch hit him in the hip. He did end up making a run for the team thanks to the next few batters so that was good!
They ended up losing the game but it is a double elimination tournament so they still have at least one more game. Hopefully they won't end up with the same ump!