Snow!

Everyone has probably heard and/or read by now that it snowed in Las Vegas. It started on Monday, December 15th where it basically snowed all day long. We were able to have a snowball fight and make a snowman. Danny liked to throw the snowballs, but didn't like to have them thrown at him. Typical boy! By the next day, our snowman had melted and we were thawing out. Well, Wednesday, December 17th rolled around and it snowed again. In fact, it snowed so much that night that the school district decided to make an official SNOW DAY on December 18th. We turned on our fireplace and watched the Grinch and enjoyed our snow night.

It was crazy. We were driving around on that Thursday laughing that it was considered a snow day. The skies were blue and the snow was pretty much melted by noon. But, we had a fun time with it and hope that it comes back soon. It usually snows every year out here, but doesn't really stick to the ground. Who would have thought...snowing in Las Vegas....what is next? Pigs gonna start to fly?

Happiest Place on Earth!

Well, we did it again. We bought annual passes to Disneyland. We went at the beginning of November and got to see all the Halloween decorations and just went back in the middle of December to catch the Christmas ones. We had such a great time both times. This last trip we were able to see our friends, the Hartner family, and spend a day with them. We were also able to spend a day with my brother Adam, his wife Dana and their son, Jayce. The weather was great and Disneyland looks so beautiful all decorated.

My cute nephew, Jayce.

The interesting thing about these two trips is that Dillon was scared to go on all the rides when we went in November. We had to drag him on Pirates screaming and kicking. The trip in December, he asked to go on it over and over. He is really into a fun phase right now. He loves to try new things. He loves to eat new foods, try new rides, watch new shows, learn new things. I am loving it. He eats almost everything I make for dinner now. He is turning into such a great little man. Loving it!

Dillon got picked to do Jedi Training again. (Another thing he was scared to do in November). I don't want to brag or anything, but he was able to fight Darth Vader and graduate with honors from the Training Academy. We are so proud of his Jedi Training. I am sure it will come in handy when he gets older.

Here is a picture of the 2 young ones waiting for the chance to fight Darth Vader. I am sure Dillon is explaining how he is going to handle the light saber this time around, since last time he couldn't get it to "activate."

Jedis in training. Notice Dillon is the ONLY one wearing the hood! This must be the reason that he graduated with honors :)I told Dillon to do rabbit ears behind his Dad's head and I guess his rabbit only has 1 ear! Poor thing must have lost the other one in a hunting accident.

Daniel still won't try new things very much. He loves certain things and could eat the same things every day. He did great at Disneyland. He loved almost every ride we went on. It's a Small World was finally open and he absolutely loved that one. He also loved Casey, Jr. - the train and Dumbo.

Most kids go to Disneyland for the rides, Danny goes for a bath. He loved sticking his head on this ball and getting it all wet.

Danny loved the parade in California Adventure. However, if your kid LOVES bubbles, make sure you keep an eye on him, because he might run out into the parade and almost get hit by Lightning McQueen!

There is a new ride there called Toy Story Mania in California Adventure. It was so much fun. Definitely one of our new favorite rides. The line is super long right now, but it is totally worth it.

Well, this sums it up - we all love Mickey Mouse and can't wait for our next trip!

Trick or Treat

The night before Halloween, we had our ward Trunk or Treat. The kids got way too much candy. But, it was fun to see some of our friends and be able to talk to them and see their cute kids.

On Halloween, we always make Minestrone soup and have some friends over to share. This year, some of the Roundy family came and we had a great time having them here. Brandon also cooked a killer tri-tip in his new smoker. It was amazing. We also carved our pumpkins on Halloween this year. Dillon drew the face he wanted on a piece of paper and Brandon carved it for him. I decided to do a Mickey Mouse one for Daniel since he loves everything Mickey right now. Then I did BOO and Dillon decided he wanted a witches hat above it. It doesn't really look like a witches hat, but it was still cool.

Dillon decided he wanted to be Anakin Skywalker. Daniel got to be Darth Vader - or Darth Dan as we have been calling him. They were sure cute in their costumes.

We got to go Trick-or-Treating with them in our neighborhood. Here is a picture of Daniel waiting for everyone to finish so he can close the gate. He waited at every house to make sure that the gates were all closed. Silly kid!

Dillon and his friend Carter

Then we went to our friend's house, Amree and Richard. They are always so good to our family. We go there every Halloween so they can see the boys in their costume.

It was a great Halloween. I am so excited for Thanksgiving this year. We are going to spend it with my family and I am counting down the days!

Halloween Party

Brandon and I went to a couple's Halloween party. It was so much fun. We always have a great time there. We couldn't decide what to be, so I was walking through WalMart and saw these t-shirts and thought that we could wear them. So, this is what we came up with. I have to say that I am very happy that Brandon went along with the idea considering he had to wear make-up, lipstick and tights. He was a good sport. We had a great time and can't wait for next years party!

Happy Halloween!

We had a great Halloween. We had a little mini-celebration the week before. When I was in Utah, I found some Spaghetti that was black. I thought it would be fun to have a Halloween dinner one night. Boy was I wrong. My kids wouldn't touch the spaghetti. They thought it looked like worms. The only way I got Dillon to eat it was to have him close his eyes. It tasted like spaghetti, just didn't look like it. We had a good time though. I love Halloween and have passed it onto my kids. Brandon likes it when it is over but he puts up with me and all of my crazy traditions.

Girls weekend!

In October, I went with the Roundy family girls to Utah to celebrate Heather's 30th Birthday. She didn't know we were coming. We left on Thursday, October 16th and got to her house about 2:00 a.m. to surprise her. I wish we had a picture of her face. She was so excited and suprised to see us.

We didn't waste any time while we were there. We went to some great restaurants to eat, Gardner Village,

IKEA and

Music and the Spoken Word with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

On Friday night, we went to see the play Jekyll & Hyde at Rodgers Memorial Theater

in Centerville, UT. One of my good friends, Andrew, was the lead in the play. His sister (who is also one of my good friends), Liz, flew in from Texas and we had a little mini reunion at the Theater. It was so great to see all these people I haven't seen forever. They are such a big part of my life and always will be.

We had such a great time.

Andrew was AMAZING! I wish I could have seen it one more time. After the show, they did a little bloopers version of the show and they had us laughing so hard my head hurt. After the show I got to have a sleep over just like old times with my friends. We stayed awake until the wee hours of the morning. My body didn't know what to do. But, it was worth it. We talked and laughed and sang and just had a great time.

I am so glad that Brandon let me go and was willing to watch the boys while I spent all his money and had a great time. I did miss all my boys though. I couldn't wait to get home to see them!

It was a wonderful weekend. One I will never forget.

This is Brooke - my friend Liz's daughter. Isn't she the cutest thing in the world? I was trying to figure out how to take her home without Liz knowing.

ME!!!!

I like to play this little game in the car when the boys are either fighting or starting to whine (which is usually every time we are in the car). I start asking them questions like "Who loves Mommy?" and then they raise their hand and shout "ME!!" (Dillon doesn't say anything anymore, he just raises his hand - I guess 5 is a little old to be playing this silly game). Well, yesterday I was playing this little game and Daniel was yelling ME extra loud. I usually throw a trick question in there to catch them off guard and then we laugh when Daniel yells ME! Like "Who wants to go home and take a nap?" Yesterday I was about 5 questions in and I said "Who wants a spankin'?" Daniel didn't miss a beat and pointed his little finger at his brother! It was so funny. We laughed the entire way home. In fact, it makes me laugh every time I think about it. They are definitely entertaining.

Look what Daniel can do!

Smiling....waiting for mom to leave the room!

Blankie out...check!

Caught in the act!

Well, last week Daniel started getting out of his crib! It has been a nightmare. He gets out about 20 times and we just keep putting him back in. He hasn't had a nap since last Friday and I am starting to get worried that he will stop taking one. I am thinking that tomorrow we will try the pack and play and see if he stays in that. Last night, it took us 1 and 1/2 hours to get him to go to sleep. He just gets out and wants to play. We tried taking away his blankie and all of his toys that he insists on sleeping with - he just doesn't care. So, if anyone has any advice, please let me know what has worked for you. I am thinking that maybe we will just put him in a big boy bed because then when I tell him to go back to bed, he will be able to get into it!

Update: I just went into the family room to find this:

I guess sleeping on the floor is better than being stuck in a crib! Big boy bed - here we come!

Happy Birthday Brandon!

Cute as a baby!
Cute as a teenager! (love those dimples!)
Cute as a fisherman!
Cutest as a daddy!

September is a busy month for birthdays in my family. Brandon had a great birthday this year. For Father's Day he got a smoker that he has been reading about for 2 years. We decided since it was a little bit more money than we usually spend on Father's Day that it would be for his birthday as well. He was more than happy to accept that. We did give him a movie, a CD and a couple of other things that he loves. His mom even made him a cover for his smoker. Since Father's Day we have had some delicious food because of that present. Brandon is an awesome cook and we love it when he tries his new recipes out on us.

Brandon is such a great husband and father. His boys love him so much and already want to be just like him. He has such a big heart (don't tell him I told you that!) He is really funny and we have a lot of fun together even after all this time. We were able to go out to dinner on his birthday to one of our favorite restaurants - Flemings. It was so much fun to celebrate together. We are having a family dinner with his family on Sunday so the boys will be able to have birthday cake with him that night.

Happy Birthday honey! Love you even more this year than last.

Happy Birthday Mom!

My mom came to Las Vegas to celebrate her birthday. We had a great weekend. We went to the Bellagio for dinner and got to watch the fountains and then went and saw Tony Bennett at the Las Vegas Hilton. Brandon and I have seen him in concert before and we knew we had to take my mom for her birthday. He is a legend and one of the best concerts I have been to. My mom had to drive home on her birthday but not before we made her pancakes in the shape of hearts and showered her with love.

My mom is one of the greatest human beings I have ever met. She is so much fun to be around. I talk to her about 20 times a day and I don't know what I would do without her. She loves me unconditionally and always has. She gives me great advice but she is also a great listener. I am so happy that she was able to be here for us to help celebrate her big day. We love you Mom! Come back soon!

New pictures

Yesterday, we went to Floyd Lamb State Park to get the boy's pictures taken. My friend Karen is a great photographer and we knew we wanted her to do it this year. She did such a great job with both of them. She played with them and just made it really easy to get some great shots. The boys had a great time and loved being outside. If you want a sneak peak go to her blog...www.kmephoto.blogspot.com. A couple of them actually made me cry a little. My babies are growing up too fast! These are absolutely the best pictures I have had taken of my kids. I am so excited to see the rest! Thanks Karen!

Happy Birthday Daniel and Legoland!

We were able to get free tickets to Legoland (thanks Randy!) and decided to go over Labor Day weekend. We left town last Thursday and got home Sunday night. Brandon's mom was able to come with us. We had never been to Legoland before. We had a great time. It was fun to stay in Carlsbad because that is where Brandon and I served our missions. We were able to eat at our favorite Mexican restaurant two times, go to the beach, hang out as a family and celebrate Daniel's second birthday. We had a great weekend!

Entrance to Legoland!

They had a lot of cool things for the kids to do. This was an air cannon. Here is Danny and Daddy loading it up to shoot the other kids!

Dillon in front of the White House.

Viva Las Vegas!

They had so many fun rides for the kids. The only problem is, they had to have an adult with them which meant that Brandon and I got to go on all of the rides as well!

They also had a really fun water park. It was pretty hot and humid that day. It was fun for the kids to get wet and cool off.

This is the only picture I got of Dillon at the water park because he was constantly moving and I couldn't find him half the time!

They had slides and playgrounds all over for the kids to play on.

As you can imagine, there are a lot of things built out of legos. These are a few of our favorites.

Thomas the Tank Engine

Indiana Jones

An elephant. Loving this Halloween display! R2D2

Darth vs. Dillon

Darth vs. Danny

We had a great day there. We stayed for about 10 hours and were very ready to go home and rest our feet.

Daniel turned 2 on August 30th. He had a great birthday. He loved opening his presents.

Daniel got some great presents for his second birthday. He got a great Mickey Mouse book and Mickey Mouse placemats from Grandma Eagar. He got some money from Grandma Rodgers. He got a frog pool and pool toys from Grandpa and Grandma Fahrni. We gave him some trains, a new backpack and a Mickey Mouse book. This picture is so cute because he was so excited to open every present. He loves trains and Mickey Mouse!

Showing off his new backpack!

We went to the beach for his birthday.

We decided to write some things in the sand.

Dillon loved building castles in the sand. He also liked to throw a big chunk up in the air and practice his karate kicks!

Birthday boy!

Danny wasn't too sure about the ocean. He got knocked down by a wave and decided to just relax in this man made swimming hole right on the beach!

There were a lot of people fishing from the pier. This is just one of the catches we saw! Daniel and Daddy walking on the Oceanside Pier.

Happy family, happy times!