Vegas - Monster Jam

This year Sallie, Jerry, Krista & Kendrick came with us to Vegas. Krista is a friend from work and her son Kendrick. We left to go to Vegas on Wednesday, March 19th at about 8:00 a.m. We drove in two cars, mine and Krista’s. We made pretty good time and arrived in Vegas about 2:00 their time. We had to wait an hour to check into the hotel, so we walked next door to In-N-Out burger and had some lunch, then went back and checked into our hotel. The kids really wanted to go swimming so we let them for a little bit. It wasn’t very warm, so they spent most of the time in the hot tub, but as long as they are swimming they don’t care. We left to go to Fremont Street about 6:00. We spent a couple of hours walking up and down Fremont Street mostly people watching. The kids loved watching the dancers. We left after the first light show at 8:00 p.m. Then we went to the Stratosphere. Eric and Maisie wanted to ride a ride so they went on the one that is on the point of the Stratosphere that shoots you up and then drops you. They thought it was awesome. They were lucky enough to get to ride it twice, since there weren’t a lot of people and there was another couple that wanted to ride it and they needed two more people to balance the ride. Maisie loves crazy rides. I don’t mind them, but I’m okay not riding either. Parker does not like rides. We enjoyed spending time looking out at all the lights from up high. It is relaxing. Then we went to the little pizza parlor at the bottom of the stratosphere for a snack.

Thursday, we got up and ate breakfast. We stay at the Wild Wild West Inn which provides a free Denny’s breakfast. After breakfast, we went to get our tickets for the Tournament of Kings show for that evening. I had one some Vegas rewards by playing a slot machine game on Facebook which got all the adults free tickets. Thank goodness or it would have cost me a fortune. That took a little bit to get the tickets, but it was a lot smoother than I thought. Then we headed out to Hoover Dam. We did the plant tour, which was interesting to see how the dam and plant work. It is amazing what they were able to make the dam in the 1930’s. After that we went to the Excalibur and the kids played the video games for while. We were able to go into the Tournament of Kings at 5:30. It was a fun show and dinner. The kids really enjoyed it. Then we walked the Strip. We walked down to the Bellagio and watched two water shows and then headed back to the car. It is fun to just walk the strip and watch people. There are some interesting people. We went back to hotel and just hung out in the room. It is fun just visiting and hanging out.

We didn’t wake up too early on Friday. We ate breakfast and then let the kids swim for a couple of hours and then about 1:00 we went to the Silverton Casino to see the big aquarium that has mermaids. We had to wait a little while for the mermaid to show up and then when she did it wasn’t too exciting. There was also a Bass Pro Shop in the Silverton, so Jerry and Eric walked around the store for awhile. Then we headed out to the Monster Jam Pit Party. When we left the Silverton we lost Eric and Jerry behind us. Eric was not happy. He had to figure out how to use his GPS on his phone to find his way to the Sam Boyd Stadium. He is not used to having to use his GPS cause I always do it when we travel. He was not a happy camper, but he got over it fast.  We were only there for about an hour and then they did the truck parade. We ate dinner there at the pit party. While Eric and Jerry went to the car to get our jackets, we just hung out on the grass. We went into the stadium just after 6:00. The Friday night show is the racing. It was really fun to watch and Sallie, Jerry, Krista, and Kendrick loved it. It was their first time coming to the Vegas show. After the show, we just hung out in the parking lot until the cars started moving, so we didn’t have to wait in a huge line. Then once we got back to the hotel we were all exhausted and went to bed.

Saturday, we didn’t get up too early and then ate breakfast and then headed out to the Monster Jam Pit Party about 12:00. We stopped at Walmart and got some more drinks and a few snacks for the ride home. It was pretty hot on Saturday. At least a lot hotter than we were used to in Logan. It was just under 80 degrees. The kids had to sit in the shade a couple of times, cause they were melting. They had a stunt show going on with bikes, motor bikes, and a car that was fun to watch. We ate dinner at the Pit Party again and then went into the show about 6:00. Saturday was the freestyle which is always the funnest to watch. This year because they separated it into two different nights, the track had a lot more jumps which was a lot rougher on the trucks. There weren’t too many that actually went the whole time. They usually crashed or rolled over before their time was up. It still was a lot of fun. Metal Mulisha ended up winning the freestyle race. We again hung out in the parking lot waiting the the cars to thin out. Then we headed back to the hotel. We were all bummed that our vacation was over and not looking forward to the drive home. We decided we had better get up about 7:00 to get started on the drive home. We went right to bed when we got back.

We got up early Sunday morning at breakfast and then we were on the road. I drove to Cedar City and then I jumped in with Krista and he drove the rest of the way. We stopped at Famous Dave’s in Layton for a early dinner and then we were home. We were all glad to be home. It is a long drive. Then it was laundry time. We had a great time on our trip.

March 4 - Busy couple of weeks

We have had a busy couple of weeks. Jarom and Launa's baby, Lincoln, was in the hospital for a total of 16 days. It was very stressful and worrisome for all of us. He had a few good days the first week and then he didn't show any signs of improvment. Finally, on Monday, February 24th, they decided to life flight him to McKay Dee Hospital in Ogden. Their doctors specialize in babies with pneumonia. Once he arrived there the doctors were not as concerned. They just explained that he needed time to heal. He got better every day and was able to finally go home on Sunday, March 2nd. We were all so glad he was able to finally go home. They still have to be really careful that he doesn't get sick while he continues to heal. I can't wait to meet him this Friday when I get to take a few pictures of him.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the the sudden urge to go to school. Coming from me, I thought I would never do this. I have never wanted to go to school before. I am not sure what changed. Maybe a midlife crisis. I finally realized that I do not want to work in this same job for the next 30 years and the only way for me to move up the career ladder at USU is to get a degree. I know that it is going to be a long slow process, but in some ways I am excited for the journey. We discussed this as a whole family and how it doesn't take just a commitment from me, it is a commitment from the whole family. We were all in the car one evening and I asked everyone if they were okay with me going to school and Maisie says, "I am about 80%." It was the funniest thing for her to say. She really wants me to go to school, but she knows how much it is going to change our family time and that I will need more help at home. I started the whole admissions process and decided to start with an online open entry course. It is a nutrition course, NDFS 1020. Which allows me to take a class after the semester has already started. I am also studying for the math placement test. WOW!! Math can be so confusing. I am hoping it will all come back to me with a little practice. Math was my favorite subject in high school, but that was 18 years ago. CRAZY!!! I am hoping I can complete my bachelors degree in about  6 - 7 years.

I am still going to the Logan Rec Center for my workouts. I have been trying to go about 6 times a week unless if something comes up and I can't go. It has been nice to be able to work that into our routine. The kids are now use to it and have accepted that mom just needs to do it. I hope in the long run they will see the importance of exercise.

February 14, 2014

The kids didn't have school today for parent teacher conference. Maisie has been planning for the last couple of weeks to cook dinner for the family for Valentine's Day. She was so excited and could hardly stand it. It was so sweet of her. She made cupcakes, rigatoni's, green salad, and garlic bread. Eric is on grave yards, so she had to be very quiet while she was cooking. He had know idea that she was doing this. She kept calling me all worried that he was going to wake up before she was done and she gave me specific instructions to be home by 4:30. He woke up at 4 and she called me all freaking out cause she wasn't ready yet. I had to reassure it that it was fine. She just needed to tell him what she was doing, so he wouldn't go ahead and eat. He couldn't believe that she was doing this for the family. It was very cute. After dinner, Eric went to work and I finished editing pictures.

Jarom and Launa had their baby today. What a fun Valentine's gift. Launa had been having contractions through the night, so when she went in for her scheduled dr.'s appointment they decided to admit her. She has to have c-sections. After Lincoln was born, he had fluid on his lungs, so they immediately put him in NICU. So far, he is a little fighter, but developed pneumonia on Monday, February 17th. We are all hoping and praying for a fast recover. I can't imagine having to leave your baby in the hospital.

Saturday, I got up and went to zumba. A little while later, I had to run to the bank at Lee's and happened to run into Jarom in the parking lot. I talked to him for a few minutes about baby Lincoln. While I was in Lee's, Launa texted me and asked if I could bring her a couple of things. So I ran up to the hospital. Lincoln was still doing about the same. Then me and the kids went and hung out at Shanna's. We had planned to scrapbook, but ended up just visiting and hanging out. Misty and Madison also came out. We didn't leave their house until close to midnight. I haven't stayed up that late in a long time.

Sunday, Maisie got invited to have a sleepover at her friend Iris's. I dropped her off at about 1:00 and then Parker and I ran some errands. The rest of the day Parker and I just hanged out. He watched a couple of movies on the TV and I watched Awaken and August: Osage County on the computer. Then when we went to bed, I watched a couple episodes of Parenthood. I have really enjoyed this series. It was getting so good, I couldn't stop watching them. I don't think I went to bed until after 1:00.

Monday, I picked up Maisie at noon and then we just relaxed. We were pretty lazy. I decided instead of going to the gym I would just go for a walk. It was actually pretty nice weather. I talked Maisie into going with me. We did the 4 mile loop. It took some convincing, but I talked her into it. It is a lot easier when I have company. While we were gone, I had ribs cooking in the oven. After dinner, we went over to Sallie's. We haven't seen her in a while. It is crazy how we all become hermits in the winter. It is just too dang cold to go outside.

February 13, 2014

I had parent teacher conference for Parker. He is doing really well and has improved so much since the first of school. Both his teacher's kept saying they were so impressed with his math skills. He loves math and numbers. His teacher said that they will be talking about how to do a certain math problem and he will raise his hand and explain a totally different way of getting the same answer. He also has improved a lot on his reading. He still gets confused with "p" and "b" which doesn't make sense, since his name start with a "p". She said that they will really work on that and see if we can't get it worked out. Parker loves school and loves to learn. I hope this continues.

Monday, February 10th

Work was really busy. I have been working on getting all my scholarship applications ready for the committee to review. It involves reading and going through over 350 applications. It is really hard when they are all so deserving. At lunch time I got a call that Parker was soaking wet. He just couldn't resist the really wet snow and puddles. He was wet from head to toe. Good thing EBLS keeps spare clothes for little boys that can't resist playing in the water. This is twice this year.

I went and worked out at the rec center and then came home to help with homework. The nights just go by way too fast.

Sunday, February 9th

We did our usual Sunday chores. The kids helped with cleaning the bathrooms and dishes. I did the laundry and worked on some pictures. We went over to my parents for family dinner. We had yummy soup and salad. My mom wasn't feeling very good, so my dad played a great host. We left about 8:30 to come home. We had a great evening with family.

Saturday, February 8th

Today was a busy day. I got up and went to zumba and then when I got home I finished getting ready for my photo session. Eric and Parker left to go help a friend move. My photo session took a little longer cause the sweet little baby girl was not happy. I still got some cute ones though. With babies you have to work under their terms. Maisie and I left at 3 to meet Eric and Parker to go to the USU basketball game. It was the kids first game and they loved it. I was given free tickets so we couldn't pass it up. Thank goodness the Aggies won. Parker would have been very disappointed. Afterwards, we went to Angie's for dinner.