Day to Day Changes

A walk with Grandma in Bonnie Springs.

Kate took 1st Place in the bean bag toss for grade school at her first track meet.

Walking the lines during the running events. I am hopeful that at least ONE of my children will one day compete in running events.

Luke checks out a caterpillar.

Yesterday, we were swimming in the pool. Today we are inside wearing sweaters and pants. (It went from 90ish yesterday to 68* + 50mph wind gusts today.) And we're setting up the tent for an indoor camping trip. ? It's easier than packing up all our stuff for 2 days. And also, warmer.

Overwhelmed, again

Life has been ... busy. I don't know how you ladies do it: work, family time, laundry, household maintenance. I am failing miserably at all of them, or at least I feel like I am!

Tim and I recently went to the Neon Museum to do a photo shoot for friends. So much history! Our guide knew so much about Las Vegas; it was truly amazing. If you ever get a chance to visit this place, go! It's well worth your time.

Most of you know that we are staying in Vegas for probably another 3 years. We're not pleased with the assignment, but it could be worse. We love our house, and Las Vegas is not a bad place to be for another bit of time. Hopefully it will give you a chance to come and visit us...

Oh, Dear

It's come to this: one post a month, if I'm on top of things. And here I am, trying to at least post some photos, but blogger isn't granting my wishes.

For now, a picture from Luke's and my trip to Calico Basin this morning. I know most of the country is frozen over, under feet of snow, but we had a cold morning here as well. At 10am, we were hiking in 33* weather, which is a bit nippy for here. Luke didn't mind.

Airshow

Claire's favorite part of the show was the Coast Guard rescue helicopter.

Mama, this is not an A-10.

We arrived at the airshow and the first thing we came upon was 5 fighters lined up in a row. I gave Kate a test. Daddy will be so proud: Kate correctly identified the A-10 on the first try.

Their second favorite part of the airshow was the strawberry ice we got to eat.

On the way home, all three children fell asleep. It's been a busy week.

Horsin' Around

They thought they were real cowgirls riding on this roping steer. Incidentally, this is the only thing Claire would ride at the ranch yesterday.

First time on a horse. She loved it. I see riding lessons in her future.

Luke also loved riding his first horse.

A few non-related informational points:

• The rest of my (hopefully) fantastic photos are in my camera. I've been practicing with film. It's exciting, but somehow disheartening to know that I have to wait to see the results.
  
• It is officially fall here. Really, it feels like winter, as we went from mid-80s directly to low-60s and blustery winds, but I know I shouldn't complain when other areas of the country are expecting snow next week.
  
• The girls are listening to Bocelli at a high volume in Kate's room right now. This has been a common occurrence since Tim pulled out his old CD and introduced it to Kate. They adore it.
  
• Luke had is 18-month well-check last week, at 19 months. He is a solid 28lb 4oz, and is 33.25" tall. And he didn't make a single sound throughout his exam, to include staying silent during 2 shots. Tough guy.

Field Trips

Last week, Claire's class went on a field trip to a "pumpkin patch". You should know that in the southwest, the term "pumpkin patch" is loosely defined as a gathering of pumpkin(s) in an outdoor area. Each year I am in search of an actual field where pumpkins grow, but thus far all patches/farms/fields have been highly suspect and greatly disappointing, for me. The children, knowing nothing of what a real pumpkin patch might look like, seem to enjoy the brief time spent at them, as long as we aren't actually there for long.

Reagan and Claire are enticed by the promise of cotton candy. None of the other pumpkin patches we have visited have offered this delightful treat.

Luke and his Daddy, utilizing Luke's favorite method of transportation.

BFFs.

So glad he got to go on the school field trip, even though he was more interested in the trucks on the freeway on the other side of the fence, and refused to pose nicely in front of a pumpkin.

This is the time to live in Las Vegas

I have a love-hate relationship with spring. It started when we moved to Tucson. I LOVE spring. It's beautiful, sunny, and well, spring-y outside. It doesn't get much better than this. Highs in the 70s, lows in the 50s, windows open, flowers blooming. But it transitions into summer all too soon in the southwest. It won't be long before it's 110 and I'm miserable. This year, I'm trying to enjoy spring to its absolute fullest. We have been outside everyday this week, and have walked and ridden bikes to the train park twice since Tim left. We'll go again today if I can get us out the door soon enough after nap. Sure, dinners have consisted of quesadillas more times than the children would care to choose, but it's glorious out there!

On the way to the train park yesterday.

Chalk appetizers chalk drawing before lunch. Notice everyone in short sleeves and/or shorts, except Claire. She demanded to have pants and a sweater. "I'm cold, Mommy." Aaah, she is my daughter.

Oooh, more snacks.

Chalk booty.

Making a break for it.

Oh, also, before I forget. Luke is getting bigger, as some of you have noticed. At 11mo, 2 weeks ago, he measured 30" and 24.6lbs. And he's this close to walking on his own as a preferred choice.

AND, under the category of TMI, Claire did the big deuce on the potty twice yesterday. Here's to hoping she is finally over that fear.

A day on the mountain

I did not expect to have that much fun. It took what might have been the better part of an hour getting our stuff together, to include gear, snacks and 100% cotton clothing for the children. We weren't entirely sure where we were going, or how long it would take us to get there. But we found Lee Canyon about 45 minutes after we finally left our driveway. Claire sounded so excited: "Snow! Daddy, there's snow!!" We parked and started dressing the kids in their non-snow-appropriate clothing. I did have one snow suit, purchased randomly at Ross for $4.99, which I tugged on over Claire's stretch pants and sweater. Before we left home, I had used approximately half a can of waterproofing spray on it, in hopes of keeping her dry. About 20 seconds after it was on her, though, she started whining about it being too tight, and cried during the entire walk to the sledding hill. We tried to explain to her that the suit was there to keep her warm, but she would have none of it. Kate, meanwhile, was having a blast "sledding" down the mountain. Luke wasn't sure what to make of the experience.

She says it's "too tight". Am not surprised by this declaration. It's not too tight, but it's foreign. She refuses to stop crying until we take it off. Spends rest of time in car eating Chicken in a Biskit crackers and watching Wall-E.

Big sister: extremely happy. Baby brother: indifferent, with a cold tush.

Luke, THIS IS SNOW.


Tasting some.


Father pulls daughter on cardboard sled, with predictable results. Feel free to comment on how this fits in with previous post's topic of Spam.

Are there supposed to be two people in this picture?

There's Luke!

Tim took Claire and Luke back to the car, while I took Kate down the hill, using my ski pants as a sled. We had so much fun. We would stomp up the hill together, Kate telling me, "THIS looks good, Mommy," every 2 feet, while I prodded her on, telling her that sometimes you have to work hard to have fun. After a bit, Tim and I traded out, so he could have some fun with her too. After about an hour and a half on the mountain, we left, sadly, but with knowledge that we would be at In-N-Out Burger for cheeseburgers and shakes soon. Now, at 4:30, the children are vegetables on the sofa, tired out beyond their imaginations.

Wait, where am I?

I think it's been raining since Sunday? Monday? I know it's only Wednesday (stop looking at me like that, PNW pioneers), but that's a lot of rain for Las Vegas; more than I can remember getting since we moved here. They say we are supposed to get 1-3" over the course of the week, as we are getting hit by the storms that are hammering California. When you consider we get an average of 4.5" per year, that's a lot of rain in one week. The weather report said we got almost 1/2" yesterday, setting a record.

This morning I looked outside my bedroom window and saw this:

What a view. I sort of forgot where I was for a minute. Mountains with snow, a giddy feeling at the sight of unexpected sun after a long period of rain...it was almost like being back in Seattle! Well, okay. Not really. Although I know it's going to rain again today enough to fill the greenbelt with a river of water, I have confidence we will see the sun before April.

I set my alarm this morning in a valiant effort to get us dressed and out the door before school actually started. It worked! I even showered before breakfast. Hey, that's something to be proud of around here. The girls were to school earlier than ever before. Of course, I was up until way too late last night getting prepped for this morning (coffee, breakfast dishes out and ready), but it's such a good feeling to have been on time to something.

The Sheep Mountains have snow. Baaa. Brrr.

Baby fishing

Have you been wondering where we've been? Me, too. I'm pretty sure we've just been busy with Christmas celebrations and family, but this has been one busy month. The girls are off from school for 2 weeks, and we've been keeping them occupied with everything from a visit from family to trips downtown. Tim and I are exhausted, but the kids seem to be powering through it.

Today, Kate went baby fishing. Luke loved this new sport.

A day at the Adventuredome.

And now Luke is crying, so I'll have to write about Christmas in another post.

A week of parties

First visit with Santa, at the 561st Christmas party.

The school Christmas concert. Kate is the tall blonde in black on the left, and Claire is in red and white on the bottom row, turned around to look at her big sister. She spent most of the concert in this position.

Erika, Megan and me at Blue Martini on patch night.

A pile of sugar on a red cookie. Gross. Even she must have thought it was icky, because she later licked the frosting off and left the cookie.

The 422 Christmas party.

Candy canes. They love them.

Books from Santa at the 422 party.

At Pure on graduation night.

Half Marathon: check

I have not a single photo of the event, due to my refusal to carry a camera for 13.1 miles, and to various children's tardiness, willful disobedience, dragging of feet, and lethargy, but I ran my first half marathon this morning!

Even though it's Las Vegas and it's warmer here than in many other parts of the country at this time of year, it was still freezing at the 6:15am start line. I stayed downtown last night (at Excalibur; you can imagine the girls' amazement. Claire: "Where are you sleeping, Mommy?" Me: "At the castle, Claire!" BIG. EYES.) to avoid what was sure to be pure chaos trying to drive to the strip where 28,000 runners were converging on the inaugural event. It was my first time staying without any of my children (besides births of children, which, frankly, do not count) in several years. I got an excellent night of sleep, after my anxiety receded and I actually fell asleep. I set all of my alarms for 5am, not having used any of them prior to this. At 5:00 I was greeted by my cell phone, PDA, running watch and the hotel's alarm clock. My neighbors might have hated me.

I found my way, by following the hordes, to the start "area" on the strip in front of Mandalay Bay. I watched the fireworks go off at the starting time, and inched my way up to the start for another 40 minutes. Next time, I will be sure to register for a closer corral, especially since I was passing walkers before mile 2.

I ditched my RHS gymnastics sweatshirt (circa 1989) around mile 5, and my hat around mile 7. I was super glad for my gloves, as I wore them the entire race. I ran and ran and ran, slowing down for an occasional drink, and grabbing some Gu at mile 9. I never stopped, fearing that I wouldn't be able to start again. I saw places on the strip that I didn't know existed. I saw casinos I want to go into, and some I would rather not. I witnessed the eruption of the volcano at the Mirage, which was fun and warm. I ran an entire mile north of the Stratosphere, the northernmost casino on the strip. From there, they directed us west into neighborhoods I had never been in, and likely will never see again (the area north of the Stratosphere is notoriously dangerous). Finally, just before mile 9, we rejoined the strip. Mentally, this was huge, and I was so happy to see the Stratosphere. Somehow, adrenaline kicked in at about mile 10, and I picked up the pace for the last 3.1 miles. I finished in 2:11:00, and am proud of my time!

Thank you, Tim, for helping me complete this milestone. I couldn't have done it without you. You're next!

Christmas photo FAIL

Last night we went to a Christmas village with more lights than I can ever remember seeing at a Christmas display of this sort. It was military appreciation night, so not only did we get in for free, but we also got to experience the festivities without half of Las Vegas elbowing their way through the forest - the night was only for military cardholders. We froze (it was in the 50s), but were thankful for the dry weather, and for the fact that although we couldn't feel our fingers, we couldn't actually see our breath. The girls LOVED it.

One of my goals was to get a picture worthy of our 2009 Christmas card. Total failure.

Where's Luke?

Merry Christmas from the Red Eye family! No amount of photo editing can get Luke's eyes to turn an actual color. Glowing white is nice, no?

Lost Luke again.

Kate and her beloved hot chocolate. "It's also called cocoa, Mom."

Tim with "spirit hands". Yes, that's a princess coach adorned with lights. They had everything there.

Ornaments!

My favorite display.

The girls really "got into" the decorations.

I cannot remember the last time Luke fell asleep on someone. He was just adorable. And such a good sport.