I've Had It!!

Enough is enough already-I don't want any more snow. I know this is Idaho Falls and everybody always says this is what you get and it should just be expected but it is time to stop. It has snowed almost every day this week luckily melting by the end of the day but today is different. It has been snowing heavily since early this morning. I went out to my car for lunch and the snow was so heavy and thick that my windshield wipers didn't even move when I turned them on. So I try to find my trusty window wiper and I can't find my long one that reaches all the way across. All I have is the small one that doesn't really do me a whole lot of good-I might as well be using my bare hands and all this while my shoes, socks and pants are getting soaked. They are still wet as I type this and it has been 2 hours since lunch. I have my trusty little heater underneath my desk going to try to dry out my pants and warm up my feet.

I know that in a week it could still be snowing or it could be warm and the sun shining, but just like I mentioned above this is Idaho and you never know what you will get-expect just about anything. Easter is next week and Rylee has her heart set on an Easter egg hunt in our backyard so I am really hoping for some sunshine (minus the snow on the ground) that day or Mother Nature is going to get it! Have a great day!

Happy Birthday Bubba!!

So we just got back from Utah Sunday night. We went there for Andrew's birthday. His actual birthday is Monday and he is turning 5 years old. I still can not believe it. It all just goes to fast for me. I remember when he was just teeny tiny and now he is going to be going to kindergarten soon.




Anyhoo Friday night we went to Garcia's for dinner and Andrew got to wear the birthday hat and got fried ice cream. At least he wore the hat unlike Rylee on her birthday. After dinner we went to Disney on Ice. We saw Mickey and Minnie's Magical Journey. It is one that we saw a few years ago when the kids were a little bit younger. It wasn't exactly the same as before-they had switched it up a little to keep it interesting. The kids liked it better this year as they were a little bit older. For some odd reason I bought Rylee an $18 toy that she will only play with once. Oh well-how many times am I actually going to do that for her (probably a few more).



Saturday was the big birthday party. It was a construction theme birthday party which ended up being just so cute. My sister had gotten caution tape to go around the house but instead of saying caution it said birthday zone and orange cones that she tied balloons to that were outside. Then she had these cute toy dumptrucks that we put candy and chips in. They played some fun games but Andrew just wanted to open his presents. He was so excited-what kid (or adult) doesn't want to open presents. He got a lot of fun things but the biggest and best of all was from Mommia and Dad-a trampoline. How fun is that-I kept trying to kick the kids off so I could jump all by myself. It's no fun when the kids are on there and you have to be careful. Luckily it was nice enough this weekend were we could spend some time outside.

The kids pretty much wore themselves out on that trampoline Sunday. Rylee slept almost the whole way home which almost never happens. It does make me mad that we had sunshine in Utah this weekend only to come home to gray clouds and rain. Welcome Home!! Happy Birthday Bubba!

My Other Babies

So these are my other two babies that get forgotten entirely too often (in their opinion). They may not get as much attention as they did before Rylee was born but they are still spoiled rotten! Don't let Pumpkin's grumpy face fool you-actually he doesn't look too grumpy in these pictures because Rylee wasn't around. After 4 years he still hasn't gotten used to her being around. Gizmo puts up with her and Pumpkin usually runs away anytime she comes into the room.

Gizmo is a little camera shy so I don't have as many pictures of him but here is him playing with the kickaroo that he got for Christmas because he is always biting and kicking Justin's socks. While I fold the laundry he waits for me to bundle up the socks and throw them at him so he can attack. He still prefers those over the kickaroo.

Then silly Pumpkin liks to sleep in the sink-every once in a while that is just where he likes to be. I don't know how he gets himself to fit in there- he looks fat but maybe he's all hair!

They (especially Pumpkin) like to hang out on Rylee's bed but only when she isn't on it.

I know nobody wants to hear about my cat's but me-you can just call me the crazy cat lady!

Vegas and Back

So we are back from our trip to Vegas. We really had a lot of fun. Friday we walked around A LOT! We went to Caesar's hotel which is probably one of my favorites. We spent a lot of time there looking at the shops and going to the big toy store FAO Sshwartz that is there. Rylee would love that toy store. She is really into horses and they have this big trojan like horse that moves his head up and down and lights up. We around some more hotels like New York New York. I really like that hotel too. It's kind of cool how it looks like your on the street by the shops and everything.

That night we went to Tony and Tina's Wedding at the Planet Hollywood. It was a fun show when they weren't trying to get you to get on the dance floor and dance around. The dinner was included with the show. It was an Italian buffet and it wasn't very good but the cake at the end was pretty good. I don't recommend the show unless you are a big drinker-that might help the fun factor!

On to Saturday-the shopping day. Before shopping we had to re-charge our batteries so we were adventerous and found an IHOP for breakfast/lunch. Then we headed over to the outlet mall. It ended up not being the one Nicole had wanted to go to but it was a good one anyway. I got Rylee and myself some new converse tennis shoes and a great deal on some summer clothes for Rylee. Always looking for a good deal!

That night we ate at the Rain Forest Cafe at MGM since the show we were seeing that night was at the MGM. It was a pretty cute place. We sat in the Gorilla section and every so often the gorillas would start making noises and moving and then later the elephant section would start making noises and then later there was thunder and lighting and all the animals started going wild. It was great- Rylee would have really liked that too. After dinner we headed to the show. We saw the Cirque de Soleil show Ka. In the back of my mind I didn't really want to see the show as I had no idea what and of the Cirque de Soleil shows were even about. But not even 1 minute into it and I was captivated. It was the best thing I have seen. The acrobats in it were amazing and it just keeps you wondering how in the heck did they do that!

I definitley recommend this show to everyone! I can't wait to see another Cirque de Soleil show! After the show we decided to spend a little time in our "high end" hotel the Stratosphere. We went up to the top of it and I have to say I was actually impressed. We were really high! Nicole could barely look over the edge and it gave my tummy some butterflys. It was an amazing view. After that we had dessert in the rotating restaraunt-$13 dollars for one dessert. That restaraunt is about the only high end thing in the whole hotel. But that was really fun too. It isn't everyday you get to do that. You have to live a little right?

Sunday our last day-so sad. This was our Hoover Dam day. We couldn't really decide if that was something that we wanted to do but I am glad that we did and I got the chance to see it. Unfortunately once we got there we found out the tour was $30 bucks a person and we just didn't want to spend that much for the tour. There was still a lot of stuff we wanted to do. There were rebuilding the bridge so that was kind of cool to see. Looking straight down the dam gave lots of butterflys-it was a weird feeling. After the dam Justin and I went to the Luxor to see the Body Exhibit. Nicole and Kent had already been in Utah and they said it was really good but didn't need to see it again. So we were really excited to see all the neat things Nicole talked about and what we had seen on TV and we were sorely disappointed. It was just a very small part of the exhibit-$60 bucks wasted on that. We then went to find Kent and Nicole at the Shark Reef in Mandalay Bay. Before going to the Shark Reef Nicole did a little gambling and won $200 bucks-lucky lady! After we saw the Shark Reef we went to Madame Tussue. We had a lot of fun there because you were able to take pictures and interact with the statues.

After that we went back to the hotel for bed as we had to get up early to come home. It was a really fun trip and I am so happy that we were able to go but it is always nice to be back home!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

More than anything Rylee wanted a balloon for Valentine's Day. So I got her the biggest and bestest balloon I could find. She didn't care about the candy or the cute little stuffed bear we got her (and this girl loves candy and stuffed animals). All that mattered was that balloon. She carried it around the house all day everywhere she went. Happy Valentines Day Rylee-Mommy and Daddy love you!!

Should I Feel Guilty?

So last weeks Relief Society lesson was about how in these hard times we need to do with what you have and getting as much use out of what you have etc. The gal teaching even had an example about how like with your washer or dryer breaks there are books that can help you fix them or to use your resources like people that you know-someone will know how to fix it. So it was so funny (not really) that on Tuesday I went to put some towels in the dryer and my dryer did not sound so good. I had also noticed that weekend that I went to get the whites out the dryer and I smelt burnt rubber or something like that. So I called Justin in to listen to the dryer and he of course starts freaking out because it is never a good time to have a major appliance break down on you (deep down I was kind of excited because I could finally get new ones). Then I started thinking of our lesson that Sunday and I started feeling guilty because I knew that dryer was probably fixable.

But then I started thinking we got that washer and dryer for free almost 8 years ago and I figure I have gotten a lot of use out of that old dryer and even though the washer was perfectly fine I was not going to have another mis-matched washer and dryer. Plus I am sure the washer wouldn't be far behind (see how easy it is to talk yourself into feeling better).

So all of Thursday and Friday Justin was on the internet researching washers and dryers-which were rated high and whatever else he was looking for. We went to Sears Wednesday night and then Lowe's Thursday and we found what we were looking for.

Only drawback is they are black. White was available but they would have to be ordered and we needed them now-laundry day was only a couple days away. But the black matches all my appliances in my kitchen which are black and stainless steel. They look nice but you are cleaning them 24/7 because you can see everything and I mean everything. We had them delivered on Friday and already they need dusted! But I love my new washer and dryer-the inside of the washer actually smells good! And all my guilt is gone because some friends of Justin's parents knew people who wanted our old ones so they will continue to get as much use as possible.

I am really not trying to parade my new washer and dryer around but I am very excited about them. For 8 years I have had a used ugly beige (almost yellow) washer and a used white dryer and now I have a matching pair and they are new. I feel so clean! And we really got a good deal so that makes me feel even better

Rylee Rylee Bo Bylee

So Rylee's new thing is singing the Banana Fanna Fo Fana song or rather having me sing it. She goes thru all of her friends and all of the princesses and whatever she can think of and then has me sing it. She keeps asking me to do Cinderella (even though I have already told her it doesn't work!) and there is no way unless you shorten it to Cindy and she won't accept that picky thing that she is. The first time it was kind of fun but I have since grown tired of it. I wonder when she will!