My Funny Valentines

These were my dates for Valentines this year!

I had a lot of fun with them too. Annie and Lance decided to come back to Utah after Vegas and spend a few days with us before heading back home to Missouri. Ezias loved having someone there 24-7 to play with him. Between school and work for Josh and work for me we didn't get to see each other all day. So I decided to take the kids ice sakting at the Olympic Oval. I had never been inside the place and it was pretty impressive.

It was a bit challenging our first trips around the rink. It took us about 20 minutes to make our first lap around with all of the falling. I actually quit after 2 laps around and decided the kids needed a walker. Good thing Annie was there to take the two little ones around the rest of the time. I think the walker helped them catch on faster because by the end of the night they were making laps in less then 10 minutes! Ezias and Lance's pants were mostly wet by the time we went home and their hair was soaked with sweat due to their helmets being on the whole time. They had fun and I had fun watching!

After ice skating we met up with Josh when he got off of work at Panda Express for our Valentines dinner! Panda is one of me and Ezias' fav places to eat. It was a good night.

More Vegas Fun

We took another trip to Vegas this past weekend. There was a lot more family there this time so it was a lot of fun. The excuse was to go to the Rugby Sevens tournament but I didn't actually go to the games. I went to socialize and try and win some money! I got the socializing part but the jackpot was not in my cards this trip. My parents made the trip, and Olaea and his family, and my sister Gese and her family came all the way from Missouri! Uncle James was also there w/his rugby team so it was fun to see him too. Josh and I hung out with him until 5am one night....can't remember the last time I've done that. We stayed at the same hotel with Gese and them so it was very convenient for the kids to go back and forth between the two rooms. It took a couple days for Iosua to warm up to Gese but by the end of the trip he allowed her to love on him. Although the trip was short we tried to cram in as much fun stuff as we could. Iosua was such a good sport and slept peacefully or sat contently in his stroller as we ran around town.

Ezias was hesitant when he first saw these guys cause they looked so real. He just kept staring at them for a while. After his dad showed him there was nothing to be afraid of he finally relaxed and jumped in a picture.

M&M World was fun. You can't go there without taking a picture of the wall of M&M's! The sweet aroma of chocolate was very strong on this floor.

I was excited to see these guys standing on the corner of the street. Espcially because Spiderman is one of Ez's favorite super heros right now. They were so nice and urged Ezias to take a picture with them. After we were done they asked for a tip! That's when I noticed wads of cash in their hands. Note to self: if we are ever desperate for money go stand on a corner on the strip in an elmo outfit and collect tips. Maybe Pocahontas? 

We were suckered again! Couldn't pass up transfomers.

We took the kids to the Adventuredome in Circus Circus....where I got to be a kid again too. I got to ride some of the big kid rides as well as accompany Ezias and Lance on the little kid rides. It was a lot of fun. I seem to be developing a fear of heights. Roller Coasters are no longer my idea of fun. This is a pic of me and Annie on one of the rides. We had a good time in Vegas. I'm really glad Josh was able to come with us. His schedule is always so busy with work, school and church. However the end of school is in his near future, so hopefully that will free him up to hang out with us more.

Kodak Moments

Ezias and his cousin Alema at church.

Ezias put this hoodie on playing around and then he fell asleep in it! Must have been nice and cozy.

Same outfit in both pics. Ezias on the left and Iosua on the right...they don't really look alike, huh?

It's never too early to put the kids to work!

Christmas 2012

Christmas is a lot of fun with Ezias around! We went to Josh's work party and of course he was the first one to jump on Santa's lap. After he told him what he wanted he left and played some more then he went back to Santa and told him "Hey, dont' forget what I told you!" Crazy kid!
This was MY first Christmas having an artifical tree. It wasn't so bad, but once we get into a house we're going back to real trees! Ezias enjoyed decorating the tree just the same. I feel like the older he gets the more expensive his gifts get. I think next year will be more fun as Iosua will be more aware of what's going on.
For Christmas dinner we went to Olaea's in-laws. They always make us feel so welcome there and the food is soooo good. This year they had a family friend come and prepare sushi. It was so good. He had his station set up in the kitchen and some of them were helping prepare the meal. The pictures we took did not do it justice.

Auntie Justina sent a Christmas package that arrived after Christmas. So it was like Christmas all over again! The boys were really excited.

December 2012

In December we made another trip to Vegas. My good friend Collette had her first baby a few months after Iosua was born so we wanted to meet up while she was visiting her family. Another fast trip for us but it was a lot of fun.

Thanksgiving 2012

This year Thanksgiving felt a little different. It was just our little family and our good friend Keith. The past few years we've been able to gather a few people at our place to feast but this year it felt pretty empty. Josh had to work during the day so it was just me and the kids at home. I did get a little home sick when I called my family in Missouri and heard all the comotion in the background from our big family. In the end everything turned out good. We still had a feast with plenty of left overs and just relaxed and enjoyed our time together.

October 2012

I just wanted to document the past few months and some of the things we've been up to. The end of October we took a trip to Vegas to see T.J. and his beatufil family get sealed to each other. As always it was good to see family from Missouri and California. Ezias got to hang out with some cousins and Iosua got to see some new faces. We drove with Olaea and Taima which I'm really grateful because I ended up in the back seat most of the time tending to the kids. I am figuring out how to make road trips more enjoyable for the little one. Iosua doesn't like his car seat as much as Ezias did when he was little.

I'm sad I didn't get a pic of TJ and his little family together but it was a day to remember. I'm glad we were there to witness the event.