Shark Reef

Last week was really long. Eric was working on a project that kept him at work until 9:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday. Therefore, the boys and I were stuck at home on those days. It is not much fun being in the house all day long for four days straight. On Friday I had to drive. I was wondering what we should do to get out of the house. I remembered a friend telling me the Shark Reef was doing a promotion for teachers. All teachers, when they present their photo I.D., can get into Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay for free. On top of this great perk, kids under 4 also get in for free. I thought this would be fun to do and it wouldn't cost us a penny. I loaded the boys into the car and we were off. Both Kade and Kyle enjoyed seeing all of the fish and sharks. There is a place where people can touch, with one finger, some of the fish (shown in the top right hand corner and bottom right pictures). It was really cool! They felt really slimy. I felt bad for Kade though because he couldn't touch it. His little arms were too short. Kyle enjoyed his bottle most of the time, but was intrigued when the fish and sharks were swimming above our heads. For a little guy, he seemed to really like it.

Random pictures of the day. These were the best pictures I could get of the boys.It was extremely difficult to take decent pictures of the boys. They were not being very cooperative.

Kade is usually a little stinker when it comes to taking pictures. He will look anywhere, but the camera. After asking him three times if I could take his picture he climbed onto the seat and struck a pose. This is one of my most favorite pictures of him. I think, as his mom, he looks absolutely adorable. He takes cute pictures when he will let me....

Overall, we had a lot of fun. It was so nice to get of the house and do something.

Kade and his bug

On Tuesday, Kade had a friend come over to go swimming in the new pool Nana bought. Before he came we were outside filling the pool up with water. On the hose was a cricket (I think). Kade started to talk to it. It was hilarious! He was asking it how it was doing and things like that. Too cute! At least he is not afraid of bugs. He will pick the dead ones up and throw them away for me. What an awesome little guy!

Tooth

Kyle had a rough weekend. He would wake up in the middle of the night just screaming. I am wondering "what in the world is going on?" Eric and I both tried to comfort him with no success. I finally think "oh, maybe he his teething." He had been chewing on everything and drooling a little bit. On the other hand, Kade did not get any teeth until he was eight or nine months old. I pulled out some infant Tylenol and gave it to Kyle. A few minutes later he stopped crying and went back to sleep. However, he kept waking up every two hours. This happened the WHOLE weekend. We were all so tired. I am thinking "Great Kyle was sleeping good and now that I am doing a three week substituting job he decides to be a horrible sleeper". The whole time I thought he was teething, but I did not see anything coming up. On Wednesday after I picked him up from the babysitter he started to chew on my finger. Sure enough I felt his very first tooth. Kyle will soon be a one tooth little monkey!

Before Kyle got his tooth he would stick his tongue out at us.
It was funny watching him do that. He was still cute though!!!

Fourth of July

This fourth of July was fabulous and fun! I found out about a parade in Summerlin and thought it would be fun to take the boys to it. When we woke up in the morning I was very excited! However, Kade really need to clean up his room. Him and I had this big argument about cleaning and we almost did not get to go. Kade, being the good boy he is, finally cleaned up his room. After this big ordeal I found out Eric, unfortunately, would not be going with us. He was recovering from food poisoning or something from the night before. I thought of not going, but did promise Kade that if he cleaned up his room we would go to the parade. So, I ventured to the parade by myself with Kade and Kyle.

Once we arrived it was pretty fun. Kade sat and ate his snacks while watching all of the people walk by before the parade started. Kyle also watched all of the people. After about a half hour the parade finally started. For this being my first Fourth of July Parade in Las Vegas I thought it was going to be amazing. I am use to going to parades like the Cherry Days Parade in North Ogden, Utah. This parade has big fancy floats that look like they were worked on for hours. However, the Vegas parade was nothing like that. There was just a bunch a cars, horses, motorcycles (which was the best part of the parade for Kade, his ecstatic face is shown below), people walking, and a band or two. It did have some air balloons, but not like the Macy Day Parade balloons (they said the balloons would be like that). Needless to say, the part that I did see, was somewhat disappointing. Maybe the last part of the parade was better then the first (I did not get to see the last part because Kyle started screaming and I decided to leave). Hopefully, there will be a better parade next year!

After we left the parade we went home, had lunch, and the boys took their naps. Later that day we went over to my mom's house and went swimming. Notice the right hand corner picture of Kyle where he is just "chillin" and enjoying his ride in the pool. What a funny little guy!

Kyle fell asleep while Uncle Ryan was holding him!!!

We also had a delicious dinner of cheeseburgers, chips, yummy salads, and vegetables. As soon as it was dark enough we lit fireworks. The fireworks were awesome, especially the illegals people were lighting in my mom's neighborhood. Who needs the Stadium of Fire when we had a perfect show at my mom's (Grandma's) house for free? Kade had a blast playing with the sparklers! The picture at the left upper hand corner is Kade's reaction to the fireworks when they first started to go off. Kyle was sleeping for the first half but woke up due to all the loud bangs from the illegals. He seemed to enjoy his very first display of fireworks!

Here is Eric meditating about something!

Overall, our Fourth of July was absolutely wonderful!
We hope everyone had a safe and fantastic holiday!

Kade's Playtime

Kade likes to play in his room especially when I open the drawer under his bed. One day I left Kyle in the room with him. This is what I came back to.

I hope they had lots of fun. At least Kade cleaned it all up!

Morning Walk

Every morning Kade, Kyle, and I go for a walk. It is nice to get out of the house and it lets Kade burn off some of the large amount of energy he has. Kade also loves to walk the dog and Chloe loves to go. Kyle sometimes likes to fall asleep, but otherwise loves going on our walks too.


After we are done with our walk we water the plants. During the hot Vegas summer if we don't water our plants they would wither away. Kade loves to water the plants.

He doesn't look too happy in this picture, but he really enjoys it!

Kyle-6 month stats

Kyle is already six months old. On Tuesday he had his doctor's appointment. I am happy to announce his statistics.

weight- 15 lbs. 6 oz. (10th percentile)
head- 42 inches-i think (50th percentile)
height-27 inches (75th percentile)

The doctor said Kyle is going to be tall and lean. TALL!!! I am sooooo happy he is in the 75th percentile for height. I am always so worried that one of the boys will have my short genes. So far both of them are looking pretty good (Kade is in the 50-60 percentile).

Kyle has been such a fun addition to our family. He is an extremely happy and laid back baby. Over the last couple of months he has started to eat solid foods. Every few days he is trying a new vegetable or fruit. So far he has had cereal, green beans, sweet peas, carrots, and sweet potatoes. During the next few weeks he will try the yummy stuff (fruits). As long as everything goes well with stage 1 foods he will start to eat stage 2 foods.

Kyle is starting to sit all by himself. When he is having tummy time it looks like he is about ready to crawl. He pushes his legs underneath him so that his bum is sticking up in the air, however, he has not figured out what to do with his arms yet. I don't think it will him too long to figure that out. He might be thinking "Watch out Kade! You may be able to beat up on me right now but just wait until I start moving."

Kyle is also a tough guy. I don't know how many objects have come flying across him. There have been some days Kade just seems to constantly knock him down when I am not looking. Poor kid!!!! Kade might get it all back someday....Kyle loves his big brother though. He loves to watch Kade run and jump around. He laughs hysterically whenever Kade starts to laugh. When Kade is being nice, they have the cutest brother relationship. Even though Kade is sometimes mean he loves his little brother. If another child is about to touch Kyle Kade will say "no my baby!" Other fun facts about Kyle is he loves to laugh, smile, is tickelish, and loves to play in his exerciser. He laughs whenever I change his clothes or diaper. We are extremely blessed to have such a happy and fun little guy!

(The pictures with the blue shirt and red shorts is Kyles first time sitting all by himself. We were so proud of him!)

Red Rock and the Bellagio

Red Rock

Two weekends ago we decided to take the family up to Red Rock. For those who have never been to Vegas, yes, there are more than casinos, hotels, etc. here. In March we purchased an unlimited year pass to Red Rock for only $20 (if you don't have a pass each visit is $5). I was really excited to go this time because I remembered the camera and charged batteries. Kade loves going up there. He continues to amaze us at the things he is capable of doing. This time he started climbing the rocks all by himself which is astounding because Eric and I had kind of a hard time climbing them (not so much Eric, but me). Poor Kyle though just gets to sit and look at the scenery. No climbing for him yet.








Bellagio

Later that Saturday we decided to visit the Bellagio Botanical Gardens and watch the fountain show. For a Saturday evening in Vegas it was not very busy or crowded. As we walked into the garden we noticed it had a summer theme to it. They even had a big decorated ferris wheel. I wonder how they got it in there. Eric says they probably built it. I think they opened the glass ceiling and put it in there with a crane. Every time I visit the garden I am amazed at how the gardeners take care of everything. After roaming around for a little while we went outside to watch the fountain show. Kade and Kyle both loved watching the water shoot up, over, across, and splash around. After the show we noticed this cute, little, lonesome duck swimming away from the water. It must have had quite a shower and show. For those of you who have never seen the water show I recorded about two minutes of it. Enjoy!





Overall, we had a wonderful and fun Saturday!! Thank goodness there is more to Vegas than hotels, casinos, gambling, and other "not so fun" activities.

Backyard Obstacle Course

Since our backyard was done Kade has been playing outside every morning and evening (it is too hot during the day). Kyle enjoys being outside with his big brother. He loves to watch Kade running around. One day we had some friends over. Before they came I tried to think of what we could do for the children to have fun. I thought this would be the perfect time to pull out the "Jump-o-lene" Grandma Fern gave Kade for Christmas. I knew it would be too big to fit inside our house, but would be perfect for outside.




This was Kade's very first time jumping in the "Jump-o-lene". He thought it was the highlight of his day.



Kade and Kyle enjoying "brother time" in their CARS tent (also given to Kade from Grandma Fern).




Here is a video of Kade jumping in his "Jump-o-lene".

Beware of BUGS

Summertime always brings unwanted visitors to our house. I also think our neighbors sprayed their house for bugs last week because I have seen three really icky roaches in our house. They show up in the weirdest places. The first time I saw one I freaked out and Kade noticed it. I promptly killed the nasty bug. The next day Kade was standing by our washer saying "mom look". As I entered the hallway I saw a small black bug slowly walking to the other side. I ran downstairs as fast as I could to get the RAID. When I got back up I sprayed the disgusting bug like crazy. A couple of days later I found another one of these "icky" bugs. I, again, sprayed a ton of RAID on it. As it was sitting there dying Kade is looking at it having a conversation. "Hi bug! How are you? Are you doing good?" I'm thinking if the icky bug could talk it is probably saying "How do think I am doing?No kid I am not doing good. I just got sprayed with poison. I am dying!!!!! So, I am doing completely awful." Maybe I thought about that because we had just watched the movie "Ants" the day before. I also thought it was quite funny that Kade was talking to a dying bug. Needless to say I have sprayed RAID all around the house. Hopefully we will not see any more nasty bugs or maybe I shouldn't of killed the spiders that were outside my house. I hate bugs!!!!!!

Our New Backyard!

We are so excited to have new pavers and our retaining wall finished in our backyard! Kade is now able to ride his bike without me being worried that a car is going to run him over. He LOVES being outside.



For Mother's Day Eric thought it would be nice to plant some flowers for me. With the help of my brother Jeff, we were also able to plant a tree. Our backyard is not quite where we want it to be, but it is coming along.

Elmo

Kade was watching T.V. while I was attempting to clean the house. All of a sudden I heard him shouting "Elmo, Elmo". I looked at the T.V. and saw a commercial about "Elmo and the Green Thumb", a musical with all the Sesame Street gang. Kade was so excited I decided to see how much the tickets were. After I found out the cost, I talked to Eric and we both agreed that it would be fun to take the boys to see Elmo.


All week Kade had been talking about going to see Elmo. I had to keep telling him it wasn't until Saturday. When Saturday finally arrived he seemed so excited. This picture is of Kade before we left. Doesn't he look totally thrilled to be seeing Elmo?

We loaded everyone into the car and headed off to the Thomas & Mack at UNLV. We arrived nearly an hour early so we had to sit outside. A few minutes later they started to let everyone in. Once we walked in there was several booths of Elmo and Sesame Street paraphernalia. We decided to buy Kade a t-shirt, a program, and an Elmo toy. We thought Kade would be stoked to be there, but this is the face we got.

After the show started we thought Kade would get really excited, but we got the same face. However, the person that was completely ecstatic was Kyle. He had a huge grin on his face and was laughing and screaming. He was so excited!!! I wish I had of recorded it because he was so thrilled when all the Sesame Street characters came out on stage. He was more eager and elated than most of the children around us. Here are some pictures of kyle watching the show.

Overall, we had a really good time. We wish Kade had of been a little more excited to be there, but maybe he was just not use to the surroundings. After this experience I appreciate what my parents did for us when they took us on trips and we acted uninterested or bored. It is so much more fun to see children happy and smiling!

Watch what you say....

One beautiful spring morning Kade, Kyle, and I decided to go for a little walk. In our neighborhood there is a street that everybody thinks the speed limit is "drive as fast as you can". This lovely spring morning I was really annoyed by all the cars driving super fast, especially since children were present. I shouted out to one car "slow down you idiot". Not thinking of what I was saying with a 2 1/2 year old standing there. A couple weeks later Kade and I were in our front yard doing some yard work. A car came speeding by. I didn't think anything of it until I heard Kade say "slow down idiot". I just had to laugh because hearing a 2 year old say that was pretty hilarious. However, it made me think I had better watch what I say because Kade is saying almost everything I say. Even though hearing a 2 year old say some things is really funny I do not want him to learn how to speak rudely, especially from me. Since then Eric and I really try to watch what we say when Kade is present.


Other cute and funny things Kade says....
"What?"-when asking a question

"No way!"-when he doesn't want something. He learned this from a silly T.V. commercial.

He used to count "10, 8, 10". After watching Sesame Street on the computer he now counts "4, 5, 7, 8". At least he is making progress.

Yesterday he was talking into a piece of paper and I asked him who he was talking to. I thought he said "girlfriend", but he actually said "Grandma Fern".

He calls Kyle "baby Kico".

"welcome"-he says this instead of thank you. Someday he will get it right.

"I can't"-he says this when he doesn't want to do something or really can't do whatever it is he trying to do.

He loves to talk on the phone even though the person he is talking to has no idea (except for a few words) what he is saying. He just likes to ramble on.

It is fun watching Kade grow and how his ability to learn is progressing. I love staying at home with my boys. I am grateful to my wonderful husband for working so hard so I am able to do this. Even though some days can get really boring, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Eight days, seven nights in Boise.....

And we're off to Boise.....

We arrived in Boise at 11:00 Thursday night. The plane ride went smoothly, even though kade was awake the whole time. He was so excited to ride on an airplane and to see Na Na and Pa Pa.
Kyle slept the whole way there. This was his first plane ride.

Day 1-Grandma Fern and date night.

On Friday we went to Nampa to visit Grandma Fern. It was very exciting to see how well she is doing. She looks great!! That evening Na Na and Pa Pa watched the boys while Justin, Kelly, Eric, and I went to dinner. It was wonderful visiting with Justin and Kelly. It was also nice not having to worry about kids (even though I love them dearly).

Day 2-Easter Egg Hunt

Saturday morning was spent at the neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt. The park was sectioned off in age groups (0-2, 3-5, 4-6, 7-8, etc). We arrived with about three minutes to spare. The lady said go and all these 1-2 year olds raced to pick up the eggs. Kade was doing a pretty good job. After he filled up his basket half way he decided he was done, even though there were still lots of eggs on the ground. What he really wanted to do was play on the toys.

Roy put Kade on the monkey bars. He is holding himself up in this picture. What a strong little guy. He can also climb up the rope ladder all by himself as shown in this video.





After the Easter Egg hunt we went back to Na Na and Pa Pa's house. We spent the rest of the day with Na Na, Pa Pa, Justin, Kelly, and Brennan. We enjoyed a scrumptious steak dinner made by Roy and Starr. Unfortunately I did not get any pictures of the wonderful afternoon/evening.

Day 3-EASTER-Going to church and saying bye-bye to daddy.

On Sunday we went to church with Starr and Roy. For the part that we were there it was great. Starr did an excellent job leading the choir and singing her solos. After church we went over to Aunt Sue's house for Amanda's birthday. A funny event happened while we were there to Kelly and Justin. Kelly is an amazing writer so I copied what she wrote to tell the story.

BOISE -- A trampoline lay in shambles Sunday after Justin Johnson tried to take down his wife in a feat of trampoline acrobatics called "The Crab." "I used to be really good at trampolining," Justin said. "In elementary school I could do double flips. One time I bounced my friend Molly so far off the trampoline that she hit the fence." Johnson has injured himself numerous times in various attempts to reclaim the glory days of his athletic heyday -- mostly the fifth through eighth grades. Easter Sunday was no exception. After a nice brunch of ham, turkey and cheesy potatoes, Kelly Johnson, Justin's wife, decided to have a little jump on the giant trampoline in the backyard of Justin's Aunt Sue's house in Boise. "I though it would be fun to do a few jumps -- nothing crazy," Kelly said. Justin saw her from across the yard. He quickly dropped the 17 Easter eggs he'd found in the annual hunt (he was also very good at easter egg hunting, probably the best in Idaho) and ran to join his wife. From the moment Justin got on the trampoline, Kelly knew that there would be trouble. He immediately started "double bounce" her -- trampoline jargon for rocketing someone dangerously high. "He was up in my grill from the get go," Kelly said. "Jumping like a lunatic. I think he had one too many servings of Aunt Sue's pineapple jello." Kelly looked across the yard and saw her nine-month-old son Brennan playing happily with his grandpa. She knew had to get off the trampoline -- and fast. But Justin had other ideas. "Hey Eric!" he called to his brother. "Watch this!" Justin bounced all 180 pounds of himself several feet into the air -- a maniacal smile pasted on his face. He rolled over and prepared to land on his back, planning to bounce and then scissor-kick his own wife in mid-air. It's known as "The Crab." But, much like Kelly, the trampoline had had enough. As Justin landed, the trampoline gave way. Springs went flying. Fabric ripped. There were screams. No one died. But bystanders found Justin in a heap in the middle of the rubble, mumbling incoherently about winning fifth-grade football games. Kelly appeared to land on her feet.

What a fun day with loved ones. We were very sad to say good-bye to daddy. He is use to coming home to Kyle crying because he needs to be fed, Kade driving around on his bike or wining, and me asking him to feed Kyle so I can finish dinner. Hopefully he had a wonderful time while we were gone.

Day 4-Lunch with Aunt Sue and Becky, than off to the zoo.

On Monday we had lunch with Aunt Sue and Becky. It was fun to sit and visit with them for a little while. After we were done we went to the zoo. It was a great afternoon with wonderful weather.



Day 5-Staying in....

On Tuesday the forecast said it was going to rain, so I decided we would go to the Discovery Zone. However, when we were walking out the door Kade was having a hard time listening and following directions. Needless to say, we stayed home. It turned out for the best. The boys took a three hour nap. Must have been exhausted from the previous days activities. I did get some great pictures of Kyle though.



Day 6-Chuck E. Cheese with Na Na.

Starr (Na Na) thought it would be fun to take the day off and take the boys to Chuck E. Cheese. That was a fabulous idea! However, before we went to Chuck E. Cheese we had to stop at Jared's and have our rings rodium dipped and cleaned. Afterwards, both rings looked extra sparkly and beautiful. I also found Eric a ring since he lost the one I originally bought him. Hopefully he won't lose this one.... On to Chuck E. Cheese. Kade had a blast playing all the games and riding the rides. He even ate a little bit of the pizza. Here are some pictures of Kade on some of the rides and of Kyle watching....


Here are some descriptions about the pictures.....

**This is Kyle at Chuck E. Cheese. Too bad he can't play any of the games and ride on the rides:(

**Kade rode this rocket ride. It would go up, down, and turn around.
**Meanwhile, Kyle is watching on in utter amazement (probably thinking I want to do that). So, I look at the ride and figure the seat is big enough for both. I take Kyle out of his stroller and put him in the seat right next to Kade. Sure enough they both fit comfortably. Kyle loved his first rocket ride!
**Kade riding the big hummer truck. It moved just like a regular truck. He especially liked to steer.
**This car is small enough for Kade to drive. It moved like the hummer. Kade is more interested in all of the buttons.

**Riding on Clifford was one of the last rides.

We had a wonderful and fun time at Chuck E. Cheese with Na Na. We will have to stop by the one in Las Vegas with Daddy.

Day 1 and Day 7-Visiting Grandma Fern

On Friday and the following Thursday we spent some time with Grandma Fern. She was very excited to have us there. While we were there on Friday, Grandma got to see Eric. She also fed us a delicious lunch (ham sandwiches, fruit, etc). While we were there she gave Eric a really nice gift, an extremely nice frame for his diploma. Thanks Grandma!



On Thursday not only did we get to see Grandma Fern, but also Aunt Geri (I hope I spelled that right). Thank goodness she was there because I could not find my way. She had to come find me and lead me to Grandma's house. While there we had Grandma's yummy chicken casserole and I learned from Aunt Geri how to feed Kade. She started to ask him if a bunny ate carrots. Kade would start acting like a bunny and would eat the carrot out of her hand. This continued through a horse, duck, cat, and dog. Kade definitely ate his share of vegetables that day. Now I know what to do when Kade needs to eat something he should, but doesn't want. Meanwhile, Kyle is just watching his big brother in amazement. I guess he quite enjoyed the entertainment because he soon fell asleep. After a few hours we packed up and headed back to Na Na and Pa Pa's house so they could take their naps. Thanks Grandma Fern for the wonderful visits!!!















Day 8

Our last day in Boise was spent packing up and getting ready to ride the airplane again. Before we left, Pa Pa and Kade spent a little extra time together while Kyle slept. I was a little worried about taking both of the boys through the airport and on the plane by myself, but it worked out. Thank you to the nice gentleman who helped me out with the stroller. That was super nice!!! This time the boys slept until we got to the gate. Once we stepped off the airplane we were super excited to see Daddy! After all he did spend an entire week in an empty, quiet house. Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our trip and seeing all of our Boise relatives. We hope to see them soon!

Happy Easter!!!!

Kade and Kyle went to see the Easter bunny today. Of course they really could not smile. Oh well....We hope everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend.

Finally!!!

I finally got a really cute picture of the boys together!
Both of them were looking at the camera and kind of smiling. Finally!!!!

Kade loves giving his little brother kisses!