a mini vacation!

We enjoyed a nice long weekend in California! rewind to last week- Jeremy had a piece of equipment he needed to deliver to a golf course in CA. Well, he didnt have to deliver it but he thought he could do them a favor since we have friends (we'll just call them family!) there and we could take some time to make a quick visit. Well Megan and Brock just bought a beautiful new home and we wanted to see it too! I found out they were off all week to unpack (Im sure the last thing they wanted was a house full of chaos in the midst of their unpacking!) but it seemed like the perfect time to come visit! We had planned on staying Saturday to Tuesday. So we left Saturday morning and after 5 hours of total travel time- its about a 3 hr and 45 min drive but with kids and stops and things like that it was about 5 hours. It wasnt too bad. Owen napped twice and Hannah napped once. Saturday they had tickets to see Fleetwood Mac so we met them for a delicious dinner and did what we would do on any normal Saturday night- Target and Yogurtland :) It was feeling like a vacation!

Sunday morning I woke up to Jeremy on the phone with work....I knew something was up and it didnt sound good. This would have been his first Memorial Day off in probably 15 years. I was SO excited to have a REAL three day weekend with him. But there was a real disaster on the course- they lost power to the irrigation system and there were 14 holes without water. And since Jeremy's main job is to make sure the greens dont die- well that was kind of important. I was sad, not gonna lie. But I was so thankful I was with family and they would take care of the three of us. We went ahead with our plans on Sunday waiting to see if he needed to come back to Vegas. So that morning we had an amazing breakfast- these ladies can cook! Im going to find the cinnamon roll recipe and post it- it was to die for. Way better than Cinnabon! And after that we headed down to Laguna Beach. It was so fun to just be able to drive to the beach for a couple hours. It wasnt very wam but Hannah doesnt care- she wants to be in her bathing suit! Owen had a mouthful of sand and learned his lesson quickly. Other than that they both enjoyed the beach. We grabbed some dinner in Laguna and headed back. Jeremy had to get back to work :( I hated him driving that drive again, especially at night. He got home at 11 pm and went straight to the course. Hardest worker I know. Since Monday was a holiday they had to wait until Tuesday to get it all fixed. On Monday we played at the park and had a delicious cookout! Jeremy said he would be able to come back Tuesday once they were finished. So he got back to CA about 4 pm on Tuesday and then all "the kids" headed out to dinner while Mo and Tim babysat the kids. It was SO nice to have our first dinner without kids since the beginning of April! We had a blast. It was an awesome 5 days! The kids were really good, we had great company and just needed that refreshing trip. Those Knapps are the most generous people we know. They give, give, give and give some more. And sweet Kelly was Hannah's best friend. Megan and Owen bonded too :) They really took care of us- it was great! If we can do that drive again we might go back again in June and maybe take the kids to the beach again.

Im not going to lie- Im so glad that its already Thursday! It was really hard to leave but we will get back into our routine and countdown for Granmommy's visit!!  Now that we know we can make the trip to Cali- they better get ready for us :) Love you Knapps! Thanks for EVERYTHING!! You guys made the kids SO happy!

 he got us there safely!

 wasnt a huge fan, but the water was COLD!

 Laguna Beach!

 keeping a hat on this baldy will be tough!

 they both slept for almost two hours on the way home too!

Friday before we left one of the big parks close to us was having a movie in the park. It was GREAT! A beautiful night, the amphitheater was really neat and Hannah likes the movie Brave so that was good too! Since this was our first one, we werent as prepared as everyone else. They had pillows, sleeping bags, they were ready! Next time we will be prepared. I wish they did them twice a month but we will go whenever they have them. The squirmiest one, was Owen! This kid wont sit still!!

these faces

make every single day better.

 they make the pain of missing our friends and family easier.

 they make us laugh. ALOT.

 they make us so proud.

 they make my heart melt when I see them light up when we tell them we are going for yogurt, to the museum or just to the park.

 they make breakfast FUN.

 they make me want to be the best person I can, because they watch everything I do.

they have helped my heart in more ways than I can express over the last 7 weeks. There are sad moments, there are hard moments, there are moments I wish Jeremy and I had more time to ourselves but there are SO many more happy moments. They are the reason we did this and they are the reason we will get through it. Their smiles, their hearts and their laughter.

I am looking forward to this weekend- tonight is the movie Brave in the park. Hannah just started watching movies- as in will actually sit for half of a movie. We try not to watch alot of tv- most days I dont even turn it on but when she's ready to wind down she'll ask to watch a movie. So I think we can attempt a movie in the park. And its free- so if it doesnt go well we can leave :)

The pool opens this weekend- bring it on! I am so excited to just sit in the sun!

Have a great weekend!!

Preschool Ceremony

Today we had Hannah's little preschool ceremony- she did great and it was adorable! Its so funny to me to watch Hannah in a setting like today. If you know Hannah, you know she is NOT shy. She is wild, playful and often times, loud & rough :) But she was so shy and reserved today. But I was so proud of her. She had only been at this little preschool twice a week for about 5 weeks and has done really well. I know that I feel shy in a new city, knowing no one, so I can only imagine for a 3 year old. But she has done awesome. I loved watching her today. She has made us so proud. She is my strong willed little girl (If any parent out there has a strong willed child, its an accomplishment in itself to even get out of the house in the morning- well, without tears anyway!) and even as stubborn and strong willed as she can be it really does make for a smart, determined child. When we practice her letters, if she messes up she wants to get another paper and start over. She works hard and plays hard!

Here she is on her First day of preschool in the Monkey Room at Evergreen in Louisville- 8.16-12

Last day of preschool- YMCA Las Vegas 5.23.13

I love that big smile- she looks so much more grown up!

 getting her "diploma" :)

 she's a mess!

 they were suppose to wear blue shirts for the kids who were going to preschool again next year. She's getting too big!

 love her heart!!

We are so proud of you Hannah!

random Monday ramblings

this will be filled with lots of random. my mind can be all over the place most days.

this weekend was really nice. Hannah was really good. And that makes for two happy parents. We grabbed dinner Friday night and after we left- Jeremy looked at me and said, that went really well. It usually doesnt. But they were both good, the food was good, and I was just happy having such a nice night out with my little family.

Saturday we went to the Kids museum again- this time Hannah made it past the water room. I have no idea why that is the first room in the whole place. It should be the last room on the 3rd floor. She never wants to leave and go to any other places. It is a really great room though. Most kids leave soaked! We had fun and they were both really good. 

 He loves standing at the water table...and he usually ends up wet too!

 they have a whole art room for older kids- Jeremy and Hannah worked hard on a Chinese dragon.

For some reason, Sundays are really hard days for me. I have no idea why. I cant explain it. We've been going to the 9:00 church service then we just come home and hang out. But there is a weird stretch of the day that I feel all couped up in the house. Like we should be doing something but we dont feel like working for an hour to get everyone ready to go somewhere...its just weird. I know, I cant really explain it either. I get sad. I miss my family like crazy. I miss get togethers with friends, I want Hannah to see her friends etc etc. For some reason these feelings just intensify on Sundays. I get quiet, sometimes I cry but then I try to reason with myself cause things could be WAY worse. We have shelter, beautiful, healthy kids, a great marriage, families that love us and miss us, our health, so what the heck am I so sad about. So then I feel guilty for feeling that way. But I figure there will be a huge range of emotions Ill go through every single day we are here. Sorry for that rambling. I just cant even explain how I feel on those days. I have a ton of things to be thankful for. I shouldnt be sad. But I knew this would happen so I just need to look at these smiling kids and know they are happiest of all.
 Since Sundays are hard- we've decided we will make Sunday nights Fro-Yo nights! But you cant call it yogurt to Hannah- its ice cream of course! She LOVES going to Yogurtland. And, I kinda do too :)

We finally changed Owen over to forward facing and went ahead and got him a new carseat. I swear we've purchased way more car seats than we ever needed. I would definitely have done things differently and not bought so many different "stages" of carseats. We really liked the one we bought Hannah when she outgrew the Britax and it will last until she is in a booster. So we went ahead and got the same one for Owen. I told Hannah that Owen was now in a new carseat and he would be facing forward and she said, "Now we can hold hands!" Omg, I die!

 they look like co-pilots!

 Such a big milestone- I just look at him and cant believe he's gotten so big.

I made a DELICIOUS dinner last night. I love lasagna but I do not like the frozen ones you buy at the grocery- they just dont turn out good. So I found a recipe on Pinterest for Skillet Lasagna.

You can find the Recipe HERE. It was easy, fast for Lasagna, and so so good. I even made a mistake and cooked it the wrong way and it stilled turned out great. I didnt have the vegetables on hand or basil and it was still great. ENJOY!

 We played in the park after preschool one day and Hannah's favorite part was pigeon chasing. She wasnt scared!

The pools open this weekend and I cant tell you how excited we are. I think that will really help on those days I feel couped up inside or just need to get out. I could sit at the pool all day long. I hope the kids want to also! :) I know we will be spending alot of time there!

The other day Owen crawled up in the chair with Hannah and she said, Mommy take a picture! Their relationship gets sweeter everyday. I know they will fight like cats and dogs one day but Im enjoying this now!

sweet little boy!

I cant say enough about this amazing man. Not only is he a great husband but watching him as a dad makes me so happy. He never passes on diaper duty, bedtime, or playtime with the kids. He always does anything I ask regardless of how tired he is. He gets up at 3:30 am and starts work at 4:30. Works a full 8 hour day then comes home to two kids who arent napping. He walks through the door as super dad. Not only is he the hardest working man I know, and does it all so that I can stay home with these two rugrats, and he never complains. Seriously- who doesnt complain!?! I admire him for that. And on top of working in the desert heat, starting work in the middle of the night to most people, chasing two wild kids, he has started the Insanity work out program. Ive watched a few videos and Im pretty sure I would die. I plan on starting it with him....I think :)

Ill leave you with these two sleeping babes...Dont you LOVE sleeping children? I sure do!