Ice Skating Vegas Style

I took the boys ice skating...I guess I should have known that if there was suddenly an "ice rink" in a parking lot then it wasn't going to be the real deal. They didn't care, though. Synthetic or not, it was a great time for Ethan and Blake. Ethan took off right away and was nothing but smiles. I had to walk back and forth with Blake for a while until he got the hang of it and then he was off. In fact, we left and went home and they talked Darren into taking them back for another spin! Keaton was too little but he got over it when I told him that I'd give him a piece of gum when we got home. (Gum- a love/hate relationship. That's another blog.) As we left the rink, Blake said "My wish came true. I got to ice skate." Ditto from Ethan. (Note- neither of them have EVER mentioned ice skating before.)

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Snow Dang Fun...

Here in Vegas I guess we get to have our cake and eat it too... enough snow to sled at our park, yet winters that let us still enjoy the great outdoors! The boys and I took advantage of the two days of good snow and we went sledding! The first day was warm enough for Keaton and I to go gloveless since we didn't do a ton of sledding. The second day was a bit cooler, though. Some bigger kids built two jumps in a row down the side of a hill and Ethan and Blake were able to steer the sled and hit both. They were pretty pumped. Keaton was happy with a few times down the hill and the rest of the time singing and playing and watching.


A bit of synthetic snow, I guess. G and G Bryan sent their gifts in boxes filled with peanuts.


Hugging Frosty.



Blake getting tired from all the sledding. Keaton- never too young to try catching snowflakes in your mouth.


Hard to get a good picture of a moving sled in the falling snow. Notice all the grass that is getting exposed. Sledding was still fun since the grass had turned to ice.

Train Ride with Santa

I took the boys out to Boulder City to go on a train ride with Santa. It's a bit more popular this year so when we got there at 12:00 in hopes of hitting the 1:00 train I was surprised that they were selling tickets for the 5:00 ride. Yikes. I thought I was toast- Blake and Keaton were so pumped about going on a train but I was not about to wait around. Luckily they had a tram that looked a lot like a train that was giving free rides and the line was short! We jumped on that and they got their train fix. The best part of the day ended up being a big toy train exhibit- tunnels, mountains, caves, and a bunch of trains going everywhere. They watched that and had hot cocoa and donuts and were as happy as can be. (Sadly, no pictures of this. Too busy keeping up with three boys all trying to watch different trains.) This will become one of our new traditions, I think...

Summerlin Winter 2008

Just a few pictures from the Home for the Holidays celebration that Summerlin does every year...
Face painting, cookies decorating...and eating, train rides, horse-drawn carriage, jumpy.

Twiners

It was "Twin Day" at our elementary school and Ethan really wanted to participate. I thought he'd want to call a friend from class to do this with him but instead he told me he wanted to match Blake. I thought that was pretty darn nice of him. They wore matching T's...

Blakers- Fall Soccer 2008

Blake did such a great job with soccer this season! He really has a natural talent for being on the defense. If he was in the game, there were few if any goals scored. Once he was out was when the other team made their move. It was fun to hear the other parents on the team make comments about how aggressive he was- they'd tell their kids to watch how he does things. He was always excited to see his friends when they were on the opposing team. I am looking forward to watching him continue to work at this sport- he's so fun to watch!

Christmas at DL 2008

Ethan with his Dad on his favorite ride- California Screamin'.


The boys at the end of the Indiana Jones ride.


The crew at the end of Keaton's first ride on the Matterhorn. In case you are wondering, Keaton says he kicked the monster inside and now it's not scary anymore!


Blake... Love that kid.



Keaton still talks about the rockets.


Nemo ride- looking out at the sea life.



It's a family tradition to go to Disneyland at Christmas time. That place is decked out! This was an exceptional trip because Blake and Keaton moved up on the ole totem pole...Blakers got to ride the swings at Cal Ad and the Indiana Jones ride at DL. Keaton got to ride the Matterhorn. If you ask Keaton what his favorite ride was he'll say "Matterhorn!" Taking after his big bros.

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Chocolate

Ethan did a book report on a book called The Chocolate Touch. He had to create a diorama- he had to pick a favorite scene and then recreate it in a box. The book is about a boy who is selfish and who likes chocolate so much that eventually everything that his lips touch turns to chocolate. Now don't get your hopes up- this isn't common and you have to eat a magic piece of candy from an imaginary candy store. The scene he recreated is when the boys wakes up and brushes his teeth and the paste turns to chocolate. I tracked down a doll house toilet/sink/etc from a friend but Ethan would have nothing to do with "Barbie" stuff. He wouldn't even carry the bag of furniture in from the car! So, since Halloween had just ended, we decided to make the furniture using candy and cupcakes that a good friend had just brought by (thanks, Rachel!). It turned out cute and his teacher was pleased. He did come home a bit upset since his diorama had to be graded first and sent home so that ants wouldn't come! Oh, the price you pay for chocolate...

Them Boots

Who can resist this guy!?

Take A Hike

I was getting the car packed for a Halloween day hike up at Red Rock when Ethan came to me and told me that he felt like something had bit him on the neck. The kids are always trying to catch bees and bugs so it didn't surprise me. I looked, though, and didn't see anything. He kept grabbing his neck and within 10 minutes he was beside himself is pain. He couldn't even get him into the car when I was trying to get him to the doctor's office. We were sent by our doc to the ER for testing...his doc later called me and said that she had been really worried since Ethan could barely move his neck when we got to her. After a long morning/afternoon at the hospital we were released with some codein and a really sad boy...all due to a serious neck spasm. Who even knows what set it off! Ethan sat all day holding his neck and crying. We had invited some friends over for a chili dinner and trick-or-treating, so his mind was diverted a bit that night. Darren pushed him around in a stroller so that he could be part of the festivities. The next day he was still in pain and crying on and off until dinner time. At that point things seemed to get less sore so that by the third day he was just stiff. I should have gotten a picture of him from behind. His shoulders sloped and his upper back bone was curved off to the side. Luckily, now a week later, he is back to riding his bike and playing like before. Curse you, neck spasm.

Howlloween 2008

Halloween is quickly becoming one of my most favorite holidays. Here are a few of our highlights- in random order.




Ober had it's annual pumpkin carving contest. I'm not kidding when I say that I've had an idea in my head since last year's contest. Neither kiddo went for it, though. Ethan did GI Joe since he was dressing in army garb. Blakers chose the UFO idea. Both boys took home a prize- first (Ethan) and third (Blake). Keaton had to get in on the deal and paint a pumpkin. He had to pose on the counter like that after he saw Blake do it. Ethan's got the gun cocked and ready to fire...




I only posted these after being bugged by all of the elaborate things that my friends bake/cook/sew. I'm sick of it. How do you like my border-line WT cooking. There's nothing wrong with canned croissant rolls wrapping a hot dot like a mummy...the 5 and 7-year-olds like them.




Halloween-Eve was a busy day...Keaton's music class costume party and the school parade. Ethan came walking out of his room in full salute. I swear he planned that on his own. I love that Blake was happy being a soccer player...without shin guards, socks, or cleats. Keaton reported that he was a nice spider- as opposed to a spooky one.





Ward Trunk-or-Treat. Blake is with his good friend River. Ethan is with Sam and Steven. Keaton was as cute as ever telling everyone "happy Halloween" while getting the goods.

I totally know what I want to be next year already. I'm not kidding. And, I have a few ideas for the pumpkin carving contest.