What Happens in Vegas

Starts in Utah
April 19-21

Our cousins weekend was held in Las Vegas at Robyn's house but before we could party with the cousins we needed a night to party at Kellie's.  She was unable to come to Vegas with us so she hosted a sisters party while we were all together.

Kellie - Kate - Lucia - Kara - Cami - Mom

Kellie had a full snack buffet set up with all of our favorite, and some soon-to-be new favorite, treats.  The night couldn't have been better with a chic flick, blankets and pillows, munchies, and each other.

The next morning we went to the Women's Expo in Orem where we wandered with the flow of human traffic, bought a couple of items, and treated ourselves to Rumbi salads.

With only one stop to fill up the van and change Brooklyn, our trip to Vegas seemed to go quite fast.  When we got to Robyn's house Fawn and Sandra had a delicious lasagna with an Olive Garden type salad all ready for us.  It was just what we needed after the junk we had been eating for the last twenty-four hours.

The first thing we noticed when we walked into Robyn's house (besides the welcoming smells wafting from the kitchen) was the tall, Alice-in-Wonderland type chairs.  Evidently, Kody thought he couldn't live without them.  Sitting on them made us all feel like little kids and really made for some funny pictures.

Mom - Tara - Kara

We stayed up late visiting and reading up on what our birthdays say about us.

We laughed at the truths in it and rolled our eyes at some of it but mostly, it was a good starting point for conversations.  There's always that awkward moment of "hey, we like you but we haven't seen you in a year so we aren't really sure what to talk about" and then we quickly get to "wow, we are all so much alike and really like hanging out together!".

The next morning we were treated to a delicious breakfast of waffles, eggs, and bacon provided by Mom, Kara and Cami.

The first shopping stop was at Charming Charlie's.  Jewelry and bags, scarfs galore and hats enough for all of us.

 They've always been the cute cousins!

Even the next generation had fun spending time together though I'm not sure Brooklyn enjoyed it as much as Kyson did.

Lunch!

We then spent the afternoon wandering home decor stores and when our energy was spent we headed back to Robyn's for dinner.  It's now sounding like all we did was eat on this trip but it's nearly impossible to put in writing all the hours filled with conversations and girl time.

Dinner provided by Kate, Kimberly and Cami

Look at all that color!  I love cutting up food and doing it with my sisters was even more rewarding.  Everyone was so happy with their panini that they were considering getting a panini press for themselves (Fawn actually got one for Mother's Day from Ruth).

A quick change to our jammies, bedtime for the kids, and silly time began.

This is the part that stays in Vegas.  No pictures will be revealed here because they are not at all flattering, downright embarrassing and for our eyes only but man, do they bring back memories and a big smile to my face!  We played a couple of games that had us making complete fools of ourselves and laughing hysterically.

Game #1 - A paper lunch bag was on the floor and with hands behind our back we had to bend down and pick the bag up with our mouth.  Those who didn't fall through round one went on to round two where about 2 inches was cut off the bag.  Repeat until there is only one person left (winner) which in this case meant that there was only the flat bottom of the bag on the ground. Some of these girls have major flexibility! The pictures show very strange positions with heads down to the floor, lips stretched out trying to get the bag and booties high in the air.  

Game #2 - We each wrote down three animals on separate pieces of paper and put them in a bowl.  We  divided into two teams and took turns trying to get our team to guess as many animals as they could before the time ran out.  Round one we could use any actions and verbally explain as much as we needed.  Round two we could act it out and say one word.  Round three we could only act it out.  Imagine the creativity used for dragonfly, cheetah, manta ray, monkey and our all time favorite, thanks to Sara, the seahorse.  There were moments during this game that we all sounded like we were gasping for air while tears were running down our faces.

Game #3 - Put a cookie on your forehead and without using your hands, only facial movement, get the cookie to your mouth.  Actually, Sara and Aurora were the only ones who did it and the rest of us just watched and took pictures.  By then, my face hurt to bad from laughing and smiling to try to get my facial muscles to work together enough to get a cookie to travel like that.

After a very fun, late night we zonked for a few hours and then.....ate again.  Sandra and Alice made a fantastic breakfast of stuffed french toast, eggs, juice and fruit.  Once we were all showered, dressed, and ready to head out the door for our long ride home Sandra surprised us with pineapple drinks in fancy glasses.  We got a few more pictures, settled down for our drinks and ended up talking for another two hours.  We left significantly later than we had planned but I had no regrets about that.  I love these girls!

Back: Cami, Alice, Trudy, Sandra, Kimberly, Kate, Robyn
Front: Kara, Fawn, Tara, Sara, Maya
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On the way home Brooklyn started to get fussy so Kate gave her a taste of fudge. (Duh.  If a girl is fussy give her chocolate!)  She grinned, smacked her lips and kept grabbing for Kate's hand.

Shortly after this Kate tried to give her baby food.  Brooklyn pushed the food out with her tongue, turned her head and puckered up her face in a big "no thank you".  She was so good through all the traveling, shopping, loud nights and was it was a complete joy to have her with us!

Because we left Robyn's house late and we had been up so late three nights in a row, I decided to spend the night at Kara's house rather than leaving at 10:00 p.m. trying to make myself stay awake for the additional four hours home.  I loved having this four day weekend break with my sisters and cousins.  They are some of my very best friends!

Nathan's 7th Birthday

When we had Hyrum's Cat in the Hat party Nathan begged me to do a Lorax party for his birthday. He was excited to help with the planning and waiting the two weeks from Hyrum's birthday to his birthday was almost more than he could stand. When I told him that his cousins, Andie, Brendan, Jeremy and Hailey, would be here for the party he was even more excited and the wait seemed a little more worth it.


The Food

Breakfast for dinner?  Absolutely!  Marshmallows and Chocolate Teddy Grahams?  Yum!

The kids raved about the strawberry pancakes, the boys were thrilled to see such a full platter of bacon truffula trunks  and you can't go wrong in this house with fruit.


We moved out to the garage for Thneedville Bowling and the Truffula Ring Toss. 

I was explaining how to play each game when LeRoy, Kellie and Erika naturally gravitated where help was needed. LeRoy was the official hula hoop retriever and cheered on those doing the tossing.  Kellie set up the Thneedville characters for bowling each time they were knocked down.  Erika handed out Tootie-Frooties truffula treats after each person had their turn.  I particularly enjoyed being an observer and participant instead of being the one directing everything. Watching all the laughs, smiles and encouraging interactions felt like I was getting a glimpse of our eternal happily ever after.

The day before the party, after LeRoy, Derek and I finished the truffula trees, Nathan walked by, backed up and exclaimed, "those truffula trees are awesome!"  I hadn't told him what we were making so we were all thrilled that he knew exactly what they were.  When I explained that they would be tossing a hula hoop over the truffula trees Nathan interrupted me and said, "I get it!  Who-la-hoop!"  Oh, my clever boy!  All these themed, play on word parties are paying off.

For Thneedville Bowling I printed these pictures and taped them to varied sizes of containers from our recycling bin and added rocks to weigh the containers down (so the wind wouldn't blow them over) and make the game a little more challenging. The object of the game was to see if you could knock over Mr. O'Hare on the first try.


 The Cake

I have no idea where this look came from but we saw it numerous times during the night and found it quite entertaining.

This picture is one of my favorite from the party.  It sums up his excitement, is a clue to the silliness that went on, and is a pictorial description of the high we were all suffering from due to the sugar loaded dinner and cake that we pumped into our bloodstream.


If I had to pick one word to describe Nathan's last year it would be "reading".  He LOVES reading.

He reads until his eyes can't read another word.

April Showers Bring . . .

General Conference

Kellie and her kids joined us for Conference this year.  Instead of doing the feast that we had last conference we decided to do something a little more interactive in hopes of maintaining some kind of active reverence.  I must say they did extremely well.  Some did better at matching speakers to topics while others did better with stickers and bingo.

Among bursts of giggles and whispered conversations that just couldn't wait they managed to take notes, make place mats from past church magazines, do word finds, color, do sewing cards and puzzles.  We did have food that managed to keep everyone content and the "Apostle Treats" that bribed them into listening.  It was a wonderful weekend together.



Easter

I arrange activities for most of the celebrations in our family but LeRoy takes care of his favorite holidays which include Easter, the 4th of July and Halloween.  He boiled the eggs, set up all the coloring stuff, filled the plastic eggs and hid the eggs.



Free Spy Gear

Nathan's school had a fundraiser that only required valid addresses so that the company could send out post cards hoping for purchases.  I contacted our family members to let them know they would be getting a post card but that no purchase was required.  Kellie looked over it and decided to order a magazine subscription for her kids' school.  A couple of weeks later Nathan received a free spy set and Mario t-shirt.   Thanks, Kellie!



A New Primary Calling

I have been called as a counselor in the Primary which means I get to do sharing time every third month.  Since I am a very visual learner (and the younger kids can't read) I like to use pictures.   Nathan and Hyrum have enjoyed helping me gather pictures and props for the lessons (Nathan was excited to take his tomato plant to be a visual aid for Elder Ballad's recent conference talk) and I have loved getting to know the kids in the Primary and feeling of their trusting faith and growing testimonies.  Though I have been in the primary for four years I have been behind the piano and didn't have much interaction with the kids (I'm good at being invisible).  It is very rewarding to share conversations and scriptures with them.  What an amazing generation!



Trampoline Tricks

Top left: Justin with Nathan in the air.  Top right: Nathan and Spencer
Bottom left: 3rd annual stuffed animal count with neighbor girls.  Bottom right: Levi and Hailey

After months spent indoors we are all ready to be outside and the boys are thrilled to be jumping on the trampoline (it's so much bouncier than the beds).  It is also wonderful to be out with the neighbor kids again. Daily parties take place in our combined three acre back yard park with the sounds of laughter, squealing, lunches, occasional disagreements and oodles of imagination.

It only took a little reviewing, courage, and spotting from Justin for Nathan and Hyrum to remember their skills from last fall.



New Vision

Erika, Vivien and I all got new glasses so Nathan and Hyrum wanted some too.  We pulled out some old frames from Levi and I, popped the lenses out and they wore them around for a few days.

Kid Comedy

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Knock, knock, knock on my bathroom door . . . 

Me:  "Who is it?"
Hyrum:  "I'm your worst nightmare!"
Me: (laughing and glad I'm already emptying my bladder)  "Who taught you that?"
Hyrum:  "Cody Banks."


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After a needed discussion on stranger danger and role playing a couple of scenarios . . . 

Nathan: "Mom, are you forgetting something?"  
(lengthy pause and raised eyebrows for emphasis) "I'm a green belt!"


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Hryum: (enthusiastically)  "I found one of those red ticket things and Nathan wanted it too but guess what!?  We were going to fight over it but  we membered to be good brothers and work together so we flushed it down the toilet!  Are you so proud of us?"


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While cuddling on the couch . . .

Hyrum: (with big eyes, urgency and shock in his voice)  "Hold still!  I want to count those things on your head"

After counting in a whisper with his pointy finger hovering over the lines (aka wrinkles) on my  forehead . . . 

"There's SIX!  Is that a lot?"


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Thoughtfully looking out the van window . . . 

Nathan:  "I suddenly feel like a really big boy.  I am good at Tae Kwan Do.  I get to start gymnastics for the summer and I'm pretty sure I'll be good at that too.  I'm gonna be in second grade and take piano lessons.  AND  I'm wearing boxers!  I'm so grown up!"  (puffs out chest and sits tall in his seat with a big grin)


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Hyrum:  "Mom, you have such pretty nimples."
Me: (in complete surprise) "What?"
Hyrum: "Your nimples are pretty.  Daddy says that too."
Me: (holding back laughter)  "Show me on your body where your nimples are."
Hyrum: (pointing to his dimples) "They make your smile pretty."

I'm so glad he equates my laugh lines (again, wrinkles) with his adorable dimples.


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I found a sticky note that I had written a couple of notes on.  I cannot remember the dates that go with these but the boys were significantly younger.   Since one comment is about potty training I believe Hyrum was about three years old. 

Hyrum had an imaginary friend that he named Eric.  One morning he wanted me to get something from his room for him and when I asked him why he couldn't get it he responded, "Eric won't let me go in my room".  For a while we had to set a place at the table for Eric and make a bed on the floor for Eric to sleep on.

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Nathan and Hyrum had been sword fighting and then paused to have fruit snacks.  Nathan kept complaining that Hyrum wouldn't die when he had been attacked to which I replied, "He doesn't want to die right now, he's eating his fruit snacks".  I was on the phone with Kara at the time and didn't realize how funny that sounded until she started laughing.

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Potty training Hyrum was rather easy but once he got the hang of it I backed off thinking he had it down and then he started to have accidents because he would wait to long before going.  On one of those times when he ran in the house panicking and holding himself in a full run for the bathroom I joined him in the race with what I thought was encouragement.  It must not have sounded that way to him because he hollered at me, "Why do you always do this to me? Just calm down."  

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I do not remember what we were having for dinner on this particular night but Hyrum was getting very impatient as we waited for everyone to sit at the table so that we could have the blessing on the food.  LeRoy asked Nathan to say the blessing and Nathan is known for his long, thoughtful prayers.

Hyrum groaned and whined, "say a SHORT prayer cause this food is so hicious (delicious)."  

Let's Paws a Moment

and purrtend we have pets.

They take their cat naps wherever they purrfurr.

They are purrticularly fond of my bed though I have never given them purrmission to sleep there.  

Purrhaps it's not the bed they love so much, it's Hyrum.  

I wonder if my kids are getting anything out of morning scripture study 

beclaws they look just as attentive as the cats do  

and I'm pawsitive they don't get anything out of it.

Derek and LeRoy are such a hypurrcrits!  They both claim to hate cats but then they get down on the floor and play with them. LeRoy would consider it a catastrophe if we got a picture of him stooping to such feline levels. 

Curiosity....good thing he has nine lives.

Get meowta here!

Let's not furrget the great help they are!  

Well, Oliver is.

We'd be kitten ourselves if we thought Harrison was anything but lazy.

Oh, the cattitude!

Yep, I'm purrty sure we have pets.

Hyrum is FIVE

and ready to take on the world!

I can't believe my little Hyrum, my baby, is five years old!
He has promised that no matter how old and big he gets he will always be my baby.

He is a little ob-Seussed.  Every morning he makes sure he is dressed and had his breakfast so that he can plant his bootie in front of the TV for Cat in the Hat on PBS.  At first I felt guilty allowing the addiction to start but since it has led to an obsession with Dr. Seuss books and he has started passing on his tidbits of new Cat in the Hat nature knowledge to the rest of us,  I'm okay with it.

Usually, the kids don't know what kind of birthday party we are having for them until the day of the party.  This is more for the benefit of the little boys who daily change their mind on what kind of party they want.  I spend about a week asking what kind of party they want and after about five suggestions I pick one and surprise them.  This time it was different.  Hyrum didn't change his mind.  He wanted a Cat in the Hat party.  He was so excited as we sat with red, white and black poster board and a Sharpie and the Cat in the Hat became a life size dart board.  He used every ounce of lung strength to blow up the balloons (See that red one in the top stripe of the hat?  He blew it up all by himself!) and he cut out his own clippings of poster board to tape around the Cat.  He was insistent that as darts were thrown/blown that we did not his the Cat in the face (top left picture).  After everyone else had a turn he popped the last two balloons at close range with slow, careful, acupuncture precision.

We spent time in our reading looking for foods mentioned in the Seuss books.  This became our menu.

Hop on PopCorn  - caramel popcorn
Diffendoofer Salad - green salad
Yot in a Pot - sweet & sour chicken
Sneetch Treats - chicken nuggets
Assorted Greens and Other Things - vegetables
Who Hash - fried rice (not pictured)
Seuss-shi - fruit roll ups
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish - duh
Truffula Sticks - fruit kabobs
Beezlenut Juice - bug juice

To top it all off, we made edible hats....Cat in the Hat style.

The Cake.  Derek and Nathan fought over the fondant tie.

He did have one birthday candle girlfriend but he couldn't decide which of his favorite girls it would be.

Along with his ob-seuss-sion he also has a healthy addiction to super heroes and this particular month the focus was on Batman.  Just as his Halloween Spiderman transformation took on a dramatic tone, his Birthday Batman transformation was even more spectaclular.  Not only was he super strong, speedy fast, and indestructible, but he would flap his chicken bat wings and fly out of precarious wrestling situation with his brothers enemies.

The After Party

Nathan and Hyrum were still going strong after the food, games, cake and gifts were done.
The "adults"?
Not so much.

St. Patrick Sunday

Each person had a Skittle Rainbow with a side of Rolo Gold on their plate.


After church the kids all helped get our dinner ready, adding green wherever possible.

The menu included chicken cordon bleu, pistachio muffins, cream cheese frozen fruit salad, 

celery, cucumbers, grapes, and kiwi strawberry juice.

We always have plenty of funny faces, flexing muscles, jokes, jabs and good company at our table.

Ticket to Ride (or "the train game" as we call it) was the game choice for the night.  When Erika plays we all fight for second place, we already know she'll get first.  Levi and Daymia were on a team, Nathan and I were on a team with Spencer, Justin and Erika playing single.  Erika won! Really? That was unexpected!  We all wonder how she can be the banker, get the most destinations, longest train and go out first but she usually does.

As the sunless winter wore me down I felt an overwhelming urge to create something so I pulled out the sewing supplies and got to work.  I had a kit that I had purchased a few months before on a clearance sale and determined that I would have it finished by March 1st.  This much sewing and quilting needs to be displayed for more that just a couple of days so my goal was to have it up for the whole month of March.  I initially thought it would be a stretch to get it finished in thirteen days but as I started quilting for the first time since having Lasik done I couldn't put it down.  I had to learn to adjust my eyes just right and look at it  differently than I was used to but once I got the hang of it I completely enjoyed it.

At 11:45pm on February 28th I finished and spent the next half hour hanging it, adding ivy leaves to the top and swapping the curtain in the living room for the ones in my bedroom (the red of the curtains and the green of the table runner didn't look like Christmas, it just looked odd).

Levi, Derek and Justin all noticed it the next morning and offered lots of praise for the work done and how the room looked.  I had to point it out to LeRoy the next day when he still hadn't noticed it.  Nathan and Hyrum kept standing up on the back of the couch to count shamrocks and the quilted hearts in the center of the shamrocks.  Suddenly, Nathan jumped down and asked, "what are you making for April?"

My need to craft was still hanging on so after searching around online I found a bundle of scrap fabric and ordered it.  I didn't quite know what I would be making and figured once the fabric got here I would come up with something.   I didn't quite have enough to do what I wanted to with the center but I was so happy with the colors that it started to grow on me.  My favorite part ended up being the quilted daisies.

On April 2nd, after swapping out the curtains and ivy, our spring living room was ready with a
colorful table runner filling in the winter shadows.

February

I started getting calls from neighbors asking me why the bus was stuck at my house.  I had no idea what they were talking about until I looked out the window.  From my view all I saw was the bus stopped at the corner in front of our house.  From the neighbor calling from across the field she saw another neighbor's vehicle and the bus.  I walked out of the garage and could see the rest of the picture.  The kids at Justin's stop all walked over to the bus and then I got the gritty details from Justin.  Evidently, the bus took the corner too tight and snagged the back end of the neighbor's vehicle.

The police came.  A relief bus came.   No major damage, just an exciting morning.

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It was strange to only have four strings to run for our Valentine's Day annual tradition.

Luckily, we had Oliver there to provide additional entertainment.  It was Hyrum's first year doing it all by himself.  He had trouble winding the yarn up so I gave him a baggie to stuff it into and he felt all grown up.

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Nathan passed another belt test and graduated to Green Belt.

He is doing great with his kicks and formation and is starting to consider the Friday sparring session and possibly a tournament.  I'm not sure I'm ready to watch sparring and a tournament but LeRoy keeps encouraging it.

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Road Trip

Derek drove from Rexburg to Willard but that was as long as he could go without texting Sierra.  When we stopped at the Willard rest stop to switch places and take a potty break I came out of the bathroom and heard someone playing guitar.  I was surprised and very impressed to see that it was Derek.

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Winter Picnic

Levi, Daymia and Hyrum gave in to their spring fever and went on a picnic to Mesa Falls.  Unfortunately, there was still too much snow and the road was closed.  That didn't put a damper on their fun though (not much could with those three together).  They found a bunch of fish, saw a beaver and threw rocks into the river.  It's not exactly what we usually consider a picnic but they still enjoyed an outdoor lunch, nature, and plenty of sunshine.

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Mommy's Monkeys

Nathan started doing this very cute monkey face (as he called it) and Derek and Hyrum couldn't help but join in.  Nathan Monkey is about to lose his top two front teeth.  They are equally loose and with his tongue he pushes them back and forth at the same time.  He likes to walk up to with a big grin while wiggling his teeth with his tongue and then when we are sufficiently grossed out he pulls his monkey face.

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Justin works very hard on his math homework.

His tutor, Oliver, is a great help.