For Easter, my mom and dad gave Reagan and Cole each kites. Cole's was a Star Wars kite and Reagan's was Barbie, I think.
They asked several times to go out and fly them, but there was seriously no wind when they asked. I'm sure they thought we were being mean or lazy or something, but we knew that the kites wouldn't fly.
Then, one evening, there was wind! We grabbed our kites and headed into the backyard. It was kind of a weird wind, though. One minute it would be blowing strong and steady and then all of a sudden, it would just stop. Or - it would change direction and blow just as strong in the other direction.
Reagan and Cole had a blast! They loved flying their kites, watching them in the air and trying to control them. We did get some tangles. Cole's kite wound up in two different trees. Thank goodness Steve figured out a way to get them down. Although, Cole lost part of his kite tail ribbon, his still flew great!
I loved seeing them have so much fun and I loved seeing their kites against the backdrop of the gorgeous sunset we had that night. Most of all, I loved seeing Steve help and teach them how to fly their kites.... LOVE what a great daddy he is.
Thanks Mom and Dad - what a fun night you gave us with those cute kites! We will have to bring them to your house and fly them sometime.
Ps - I have to note that my parents gave me a kite on Easter as well. When I was 4 and we lived in Scottsdale, Arizona, my dad and I were flying a kite at a park near our home (El Dorado park). We had our doberman running around and it was a cooler day. We had sweaters on. Anyway, my dad (being the kind person he always was) pointed out to me that there was a Mexican family at the park as well. They had a child about my age. My dad kept telling me how that child didn't have a kite. I guess I was selfish or something because I felt badly that the child didn't have a kite, but glad I did. Then, my dad walked us over there and gave the Mexican child my kite. I'm sure he was trying to teach me some sort of lesson about sharing and sacrifice and the joy of giving. However, all I remember was that there was still one child with a kite and one child without a kite, but I had changed positions! I've given him a hard time ever since. "You gave my kite away Dad!" "How could you?" We tease and it's fine - I've gotten over it (barely:) ). So, he gave Reagan, Cole AND ME a kite for Easter. He said "I don't want to hear about that kite anymore!" We are all just joking around, but it's funny how a story can last forever :)
We were up fairly early today and hit the pool. This time, I was able to get the chairs we wanted. Well, we wanted to get a bit of sun and I was able to get 2 chairs in the sun. They were away from the pool though, so, I put towels and a magazine there to hold our spots and thought we'd come back later. Our SIL Annie's dad lives in Las Vegas, so, he came to swim and to see his grandchildren (our cousins). He suggested we go take a tour of Hoover Dam. I've driven across it many times, but never stopped to take a tour. We decided to shower up and head to the dam (about a 45 minute drive). I went to gather our other towels before we headed to the room. I couldn't find my magazine, though, and I questioned whether I had the right chairs. I looked at the row of chairs behind where I thought I had left the magazine. Nope. I looked over and under the chairs. Finally, the lady in the chair next to our 2 chairs asked what I was looking for. I said "I thought I left a magazine here. It has my name on it." She closed the magazine she was reading and said "Is it this?" She had been reading my magazine - what?!? I took our stuff and left. I would never ... NEVER.... pick up someone else's magazine off of their chair and start reading it. Whoa!
We cleaned up, stopped for lunch at In and Out Burger and then drove to the dam. It was so cool!!!
First they show you a 12 minute movie about the making of the dam. Then, you get in the elevator and go down into the dam. They show you how it runs and what maintenance is required. It was really interesting.
Then, you go back up and can go inside the Visitor's Center or out onto an area where you can look down over the dam and down the river to the bridge that crosses it. What a view. That dam is HUGE!!
Brett and Annie's family as well as Annie's dad were going to hit a buffet that night. We wanted to give them some time together (without us tagging along) and we wanted to see a show. We were able to score 4th row tickets to Ka (a Cirque de Soleil show). It was in the MGM Grand, so we only needed to walk across the street to get there.
It was a great show!!! It was completely entertaining and really exciting. It was about two twins (a boy and a girl). Their parents are killed and they are separated. They have many adventures trying to find each other again. There was a lot of karate in the show, so Reagan and Cole especially liked it. Here is the trailer of the show so you can see a bit of what it was like:
That made for a late night, but it was well worth it. The next morning, we got up, packed up and prepared to caravan back home, but Annie and Brett had already checked out and left. He was traveling to California to sell their RV and she had to go to another hotel to pick up a backpack that her sister had left there the week before. So, we were on our own. We drove back home and called it a great Spring Break trip!!!
Brett and Annie (and Meg and Drew) are SO much fun! We would LOVE to travel with them again. They are easy going, full of ideas and fun to be with. Let's plan our next trip guys!!!!!
Up and at 'em this morning and I headed out to grab the seats we wanted at the pool. Wow - I must have not arrived early enough because we were on the edge of the chairs, next to the bathrooms :( We ended up moving, strategically, later in the day. It sort of didn't matter where we were because we were following the kiddos from the wave pool to the lazy river to the hot tub to the regular pool. Love it!
Cole and Steve started throwing the football around like they do in Hawaii, but they quickly were shut down by the lifeguards. I think they splashed some old lady too .... oops.
After the pool, we cleaned up and had lunch and headed out to explore. We must have had sugar on the brain because we hit the Hershey's Factory, the M&M factory, and Coca Cola factory. We had samples, took pictures and did some shopping.
We sent this pic of Reagan to our friends the Shapiros who were in Orlando. Funny thing - they sent us back a picture of their daughter Sophia taking a pic in front of a huge M&M at the M&M Factory in Orlando. Love it!
There was some Nascar vehicle in the M&M Factory. Not sure who's car or whether it was a winner or not, but Cole and Drew got a kick out of it. We also saw a 3D movie with M&Ms in it.
The Coca Cola polar bear was hanging out at their factory. We had to get a picture with him.
We had dinner and called it a night. Tomorrow, I hope to be earlier and better at getting us seats by the pool :)
It was coming up on Spring Break time. Having just returned from Hawaii, we weren't really in the mood to take a trip. We sort of planned to have a little stay-cation and just do things around town that wouldn't require a flight or a hotel room. However, everything changed when Steve's brother, Brett, invited us to join their family in Las Vegas for four days. They are so much fun and even though the brothers are 21 years apart, their children are closer in age, so, we always have friends to play with. We accepted with an enthusiastic "YES!!" and started making plans.
We caravanned down to Vegas on a Monday morning. We were there early afternoon, checked in and decided to check out the area. We stayed at the Monte Carlo, where Steve and I have stayed numerous times. We walked around our resort and figured out where we would like to have seats at the pool, where we would eat, and what we might want to do.
Then, we took the monorail over to the Bellagio. Wow - what a beautiful hotel! As usual, their atrium is decorated to the 9s. It had a springtime theme with flowers and birds and treehouses. Gorgeous. We also admired the shops as we walked through the hotel and across the street to Caesar's Palace. Another gorgeous hotel with amazing shops.
Steve and I used to come to Las Vegas often before we had children. I guess it was a short trip, fairly cheap, and warm weather. There was a favorite Italian restaurant in Caesar's Palace that we used to visit. The restaurant area is still there, but it isn't the same restaurant - boo.
We made our way through the shops and decided on Cheesecake Factory for dinner. Our waitress was so nice, despite our having a big crew with lots of orders, requests and changes :)
After we ate, there was a little show right outside of the restaurant. Apparently Zeus had two children (a boy and a girl) and they were fighting for who would rule after Zeus was gone? Anyway, lots of animatronics, fire and steam. Very exciting.
You can't come to Vegas and stay on the strip without seeing the fountains at the Bellagio. We had to wait about 25 minutes to see them, but we had a great spot to watch it, fabulous company with which to pass the time and, of course, the show did not disappoint. Amazing!!!
I'm not sure how they get the fountains to match up with the music to have the timing be so perfect, but we loved it!
Here's some video:
After the fountain show, we caught the monorail back to our hotel and hit the sack. We weren't even here a full day, but we packed in enough to call it a great, first day. Get some sleep - we hit the pool tomorrow :)
Steve, Reagan and Cole headed out to the back yard one evening (Cole was even in his pjs already) and they had so much fun.
They climbed on rocks, sat in chairs on rocks and watched the sun go down.
They LOVE to be in the yard. Steve has been enlisting Reagan and Cole to help him clear out some paths in the un-landscaped part of our yard. So, now they have all these little, cool areas to sit and to play.
I had to laugh that, one day, Cole and Steve were sitting on one of the big rocks and the lady who lives in the house below us came out and yelled "You're on private property!" Steve yelled back "Yeah, OUR private property." The talked and, apparently, she was unaware of exactly where the boundaries between our properties are. Steve pointed out the markers to her and she went back inside. :)
Even though we weren't married when Steve put in this yard, he has always told Reagan and Cole "I built this yard for you." They love it.... we all do!
Well, they had a fabulous time (pjs and all) climbing on rocks, exploring in the yard and watching the sun go down over the mountains.
Easter morning came and the Easter Bunny had visited us and left us baskets full of candy and treats. Mom and Dad also pitched in with toys and clothes.
Reagan and Cole were thrilled!!
We had a quick breakfast and hurried to get ready for church.
After church, we went to my parents' house for dinner. It was fun to see Grandma and Grandpa and the cousins - not all were there, but we enjoyed hanging with those who were. We are so grateful for the time we get to spend with family members.
We are also grateful for this day when we can all think about and honor our Savior and all He did for us. I remember reading something to the effect of: all the miracles of His birth would be nothing without the miracle of His atonement and death. True - we are so blessed as a result of the atonement. I am eternally grateful for His sacrifice on my behalf and I honor him today.... and always. Happy Easter Everyone!!!!
One of Steve's employees had Jazz tickets that she wanted to share. Steve decided to take Cole and to give the other two tickets to his brother Doug, who brought his son.
Cole's friend, Nolan, and his family have season tickets, so Steve texted Nolan's dad to see if they were at the game. They were and the buddies were able to see each other.
Cole - and Steve - had a great time at the game. Thanks Kim!!!
Our karate studio has a Demo Team. They compete at each tournament and they perform at various exhibitions and festivals and things around town. Well, our sensei announced that he would be holding tryouts for the Demo Team. Reagan and I pretty much assumed that she wouldn't try out. She has so much on her plate now that she can't add one more thing. Cole wanted - desperately - to try out. I tried to talk him out of it - mostly for selfish reasons. We are so busy that I couldn't imagine getting him to the twice a week practices. Yes, we are already at karate twice a week, but we can go any two days that work for us. This would mandate us .... or him going Mondays and Wednesdays. Well, Mondays, he has scouts and every other Monday, Reagan has Activity Days. So, we've been not going on those days.
Cole begged to try out so Steve and I agreed. When we arrived at tryouts, he was the youngest there by at least a year or two. I figured "Well, he probably won't make it anyway." They were taught a form and had to show how well they could learn it during that one session. Then, they had to come back two days later and show how much they had practiced, at home, to continue to learn the form. Cole practiced at least an hour each day to learn the form. We attended the second session and he showed his stuff.
Our sensei emailed me and said that Cole was the youngest at tryouts and that he was a bit slower picking up the routine - compared to the older kids. However, if he would commit to practice a lot at home and to attend the practices, he was on the Demo Team. I'm ashamed to say that my first thought was "Crap - he made it" :) I just knew it would complicate our schedule. However, if this meant something to Cole and he was willing to work hard to learn the routines and keep up with his teammates, we would help him do it.
We have juggled our schedules to get him to every Demo Team practice. Sometimes, on Monday or Wednesday, he doesn't go to regular class - he just goes to Demo Team and then we have regular class on Tuesday and Thursday or Friday. He is learning and he is practicing at home to keep up with his team. They are ordering new uniforms for their competitions and I'm excited to see those.
Here's a video of one of their practices - they are learning their first routine. Yeah!!!!!
Our Easter decor is pretty much what it was last year. We do have a few additions.
At Activity Days, Reagan made a sugar egg. They put green coconut as grass inside and little eggs. Then, they decorated the outside with frosting flowers. It is SO cute. We had it on our table all through the Easter holiday and we've loved it.
I'm going to have to find a way to store Reagan's egg so we can use it in future years - I love it!
I changed out all the pictures in the frames to have Easter pics of Reagan and Cole through the years. It is so fun to look back and see their Easter outfits when they were little. LOVE it!!
One item that is new this year is the luminaries from White Barn. You'll remember that we had pumpkins for fall and snowflakes for winter. Then, the only ones they had at the store had no pattern. They were just like little dots on the metal. I liked them alright and figured they would get me through the summer until the pumpkin ones came out again. But, when I went in during Easter time, they had luminaries with flower patterns on them. Luckily, the ladies in there are so sweet to me. They let me return my dot ones and exchange them for the petal ones. Yeah!!!! This can last all summer!!!!!
I got rid of a few things this year. They haven't made it out of the box in a few years, so, they may as well go to the DI and let someone else enjoy them :)
"Mom on the Run" is the title that best describes me these days. After practicing law for 11 years, I had two little ones and am now a full time Mom and loving it. With a 14 year old and an 12 year old, life is full and crazy. Each day we "run" whether it is to the gym, shopping, guitar, karate, piano, school, lunch with friends, institute class, family activities or church functions. Reagan and Cole keep me crazy busy and we have lots of fun.
Steve (the love of my life) and I have been married for sixteen years and we live in Sandy, Utah. Playing with the kids is our most enjoyable hobby these days. We also try to fit in snow skiing, walking and hiking, and playing in our yard. We love to spend time with Steve's three daughters (and their spouses/kids). We traveled much more before we had our kiddos, but still try to travel when we can. If we are away, we can most often be found on one of the Hawaiian islands and we love to spend time at the beach.
