Thursday, December 18, 2008

It's a snow thing....


Ok so I made it to work this morning... I'm one of few. Since I live so close I didn't think I could use snow as an excuse, so I drove for the first time ever in snow... kind of crazy. I wore my Uggs to work and changed into heels when I got here. Yesterday I was wearing heels in the snow and it sucked. We got5 inches of snow last night. Up the hill from us they got 8 inches. The news said it hadn't snowed like this for almost 30 years!! More branches on our tree broke, schools are closed today.. can you believe it, a snow day in Las Vegas!?! Last night was so peaceful... it was almost creepy. We built a snow man in the front yard... a naked snowman... our neighbors' had clothes and Brandon was jealous. But I think we're addicted to snow now... I love it!! Everyone was in a childlike good mood yesterday, but I guess that's because it's so out of the norm here, if there were snow everyday I don't think It would have been as exciting.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Snowing in Las Vegas!!!!

It's snowing in vegas tonight... not just a little snow, it's sticking to the ground!!!! At lunch time today there were snow flurries, so when I came home Brandon drove me back to work in case it got worse... and I'm glad he did. I have never in my life seen snow like this... probably because I've lived in the bay area and vegas. Both are not places known for snow. I came home a little early to play in it because all I was doing at work was standing outside taking pictures with my co-workers anyways!




This is our street earlier in the day... very exciting!!!Snow at my work...






Back at home!





The fountain at my work






I thought the snowy palm trees were ironic...



This was on our way home from my work... we drove 10mph the whole way.

Our house.... our tree broke from the weight of the snow!!

Papa and Gracie in the snow.

Charlotte was our potty champ... She went outside. Clarice did not.











Sunday, November 30, 2008

thanksgiving with the knights

Thanksgiving was just the 3 of us this year. Our move was so quick and unexpected that my parents didn't have time to make travel arrangements. We will definitely be seeing them at christmas. Our day was really nice and quiet. My new job asked me to come in for any 4 hours I wanted. Which was fine because I live literally 2 minutes from work ( if i catch the green light). I guess they needed someone from social services there in case any holiday drama popped off, which it did but I was gone by then :P

Brandon cooked dinner this year... with gracie's help of course! They made spinach & artichoke dressing which was very tasty!
Such a big girl!!!



She ate a little of everything... even the dressing with spinach in it!


Veruca hounded us for turkey as per usual.


Our tradition is after dinner we put up the tree. It's only decorated from the middle up because we have little hands that like to take the ornaments off...
Ready for bed. It was a good day spent at home with our little family!


Silverton Aquarium


I have totally been neglecting the blog lately. I've been a little busy learning how to balance being a mommy and working. On top of that I lost the cord to attach my camera to the computer... luckily I found it in the backseat of the car so now I can post some new pics.


Last Saturday we went to the aquarium at the silverton hotel & casino. Everything in vegas that you would want to take your kids to is either in a casino or attached to a casino. Anyways.... the cool thing about this aquarium is that they have these chicks that get in the water every 15minutes who are dressed like mermaids. They swim around all mermaid like and put on a little show. Could you imagine putting that on your resume???

Saturday, November 15, 2008

moving day.

It's Saturday night in Sin City, well henderson, but you get my point. We are pretty much moved in... just a few more boxes in the garage and the kitchen.... and the living room. There's still a lot of work to do and I start work Monday. I had my orientation on friday and the most bizarre physical exam ever complete with paper shorts!! I'll be posting more pics and writing more when we get settled.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

viva las vegas for good.... well not completely....


So I got a job offer back in Henderson. It's for a social worker at a 244 bed skilled nursing facility. I just can't pass it up, it's literally less than a mile from our house there so I kind of have that "it's meant to be" feeling about it. It's like my last job but a lot better because I won't be the only licensed social worker and I don't have to drive 80 miles one way to be there. The hours are better, 7-3:30pm. Since we still have our dawn crossing house and there's no possible way of selling it for any kind of profit right now, and the rental competition is strong we made the decision to move back. It just doesn't make any sense to pay the mortgage on a house that's just sitting empty.


With that being said, when the market turns around and we sell our house... because we are eventually going to out grow it ;)... We'll decide at that point whether we want to give it another go.


Going back to work is definitely bitter/sweet. On one hand, I love being home with Gracie on the other hand, it just seems like it's a much better fit for me to go to work. Plus my hours are a good fit for me to rush home and have time with her before bed, oh and I can come home for lunch too!




Thursday, November 6, 2008

halloween weekend & gracie's birthday

We woke up the morning of halloween in our halloween pajamas ready for all the fun we were about to have.
After a long morning of grocery shopping for gracie's birthday party that was scheduled for the following afternoon, we went to grammy's work to show off our costume!

After everyone got home we carved pumpkins and ate pizza for dinner. This is our pumpkin family.


This was gracie's pumpkin, they both have the same teeth!

I wanted to get a quick pic with my little bee girl!


Papa and gracie trick or treating..... at grammy and grandpa's house!

At auntie kenzie's parents house

"Put it in my bag mommy!"


candy!

Brandon will be mad at me for adding this to the blog...

We were all very sleepy. It was time to get a little sleep before the big party the next day!

I told my mom what I wanted on the cake and she made it happen. The cake was chocolate and the pumpkins were carrot. My camera broke during the party so I'm waiting on people to send me their pics of her eating one of the pumpkins. She liked it at the time, but ended up throwing it up later.
Cake table
I made plain and vegetable with meat chili. There were different kinds of chili toppings and breads. We had chili because it's a family tradition to have chili on halloween!


On wednesday it was Gracie's birthday we celebrated by going to the Jungle. It's an indoor place with lots of tubes and balls and nets to climb on. You have to be 1 to go there so we thought it would be a good way to celebrate... kind of like buying smokes on your 18th birthday. LOL!!! We started her off in the toddler area but she seemed kind of bored , so we tried out the "big kid" area and she loved it!!! Her climbing amazed both of us, she would crawl behind me in the tunnels, laughing and screaming with excitement. She must have really got a taste of adventure yesterday because this morning she climbed up onto the back of the couch using brandon as a ladder! Brandon and I should have taken advantage of the knee pads they offer for adults. I'm hurting today!
Escaping the balls can be difficult!

Mommy and Gracie at the Jungle.

When we got home we opened a couple more presents. Grammy and Grandpa got her a little people house to go with the little people farm that Auntie Jen and Travis got her.

As usual she was most interested in the cards.

Birthday kisses from Charlotte!!



















Saturday, October 25, 2008

No on Prop H8


So I'm tired of being hassled with all the yes on prop 8. There is this commercial on TV urging you to vote yes on prop 8 because if you don't gay marriage will be taught in schools and then it showed a children's book entitled "The King & King". Umm what??? Is that the best they can come up with?? When are you ever taught anything about marriage in school?

Then my mom told me today there was a huge group of people standing out on deer valley road with signs reading "Yes on 8 protect marriage" or something.

Then to top it off some old man called ( yes I could tell he was old from the sound of his voice) the house and left a message urging us to vote yes on prop 8 and I was so upset that I wasn't here to talk to him.

Here's the thing. When I first moved to vegas, I didn't have ANY straight friends. My gay best friend stood on my side at my wedding in spite of comments that were made. I find it horrible that these people are not legally allowed to be united with the people they love. Aside from that, as a mother, I have to consider that I may have a gay child and want them to have the same civil liberties that the rest of Americans have. I don't get it, don't parents think about that when they are supporting prop 8???

I can't stand it anymore. It doesn't make any sense to me and I'm tired of everyone trying to push their beliefs of on other people. Everyone just needs to police their own morals instead of policing those of others. Someone sent this to me on myspace. I love it.
10 Reasons Why Gay Marriage is Wrong**read carefully**
1) Being gay is not natural.
And real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning, tattoos, piercings and silicon breasts...
2) Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay.
In the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.
3) Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior.
People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract. Lamps are next.
4) Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all.
Hence why women are still property, blacks still can't marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.
5) Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed.
And we can't let the sanctity of Britney Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage be destroyed
6) Straight marriages are valid because they produce children.
So therefore, gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn't be allowed to marry because our population isn't out of control, our orphanages aren't full yet, and the world needs more children.
7) Obviously gay parents will raise gay child​ren.
Since, of course, straight parents only raise straight children.
8) Gay marriage is not supported by religion.
In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion in America. (Did I miss the lesson where Jesus says He hates gays?)
9) Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home.
Which is exactly why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.
10) Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms.
Just like we haven't adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans.
**Love makes a marriage**
Vote NO on Prop 8...Our country needs a little action anyway.

Friday, October 24, 2008

hard to believe...

It's hard to believe that
we're already gearing up for my favorite time of year, Halloween!!! This year is going to be extra special because we have Gracelyn's 1st birthday party the day after. It looks like we're going to have a full house here and I'm very excited about that.

I can not even begin to believe that my baby is a year old. Time goes by too fast!!! It seems like only yesterday that I held her for the first time and was like..."oh my god, I'm a mom!!" LOL!

Friday, October 10, 2008

mac n' cheese on the move.


This struck me as funny. We were at the check stand in Raley's today. I was holding Gracie and waiting for the girl to finish ringing up the groceries. All of a sudden Gracie started laughing hysterically, so I looked at her to see what was so funny.... She was laughing at the boxes of mac n' cheese riding the conveyor belt. It's pretty silly if you think about it!

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Wednesday at the Pumpkin Patch

Today Brandon and I took Gracie to the clayton valley pumpkin farm. Brandon is off on tuesdays and wednesdays we figured we would take her during the week in the morning when there would be fewer people. As brandon puts it there were a "gang of folks" there, he was asked if he was part of Stacey's playgroup when we got out of the car. LOL! Gracie was really into the hay... it's new to her. And she mostly sat and pet the pumpkins!!
Gracie and Mommy!



More Gracie amongst the pumpkins


how tall this fall???


It was hard to feel festive in 75 degree weather...






I think this picture is precious...