September 2010

September, for us, was busy and fun and, for me, a lot chaotic.

We started it off with a trip to Las Vegas and Boulder City over Labor Day weekend. This is the trip that we didn't get to take on New Years because of our illnesses. We'd been looking forward to it all summer. I'm so glad that nothing kept us home this time.

We got to take Kannon's brother, Brock, and Brock's girlfriend, Emily, with us. They kept the kids entertained, well Joshua. The other 2 were in the back and did pretty good entertaining themselves. Sarah got car sick on the way down there. Uck.

We spent our first midday at Circus Circus Adventurdome. That's such a fun place for the kids. They rode all the rides, Kannon rode a few. I bought a ticket for one ride and picked the crazy roller coaster. It knocked my head around way too much and I had a good headache after that. I think I'm done with roller coasters.

Brock and Kannon competed at the strong-man contest. Brock went first and got 148. The highest, strongest, is 150. Kannon walked up, took one swing and ......Bam! He got 150 - he's the strongest man ever! I was proud to be his. He won this cool hamburger pillow. And the rights to call his brother a wimp.



Brock, who is young, single and apparently wealthy, bought us lunch (which is sooo expensive inside the Adventuredome) and paid for the kids to get their faces painted.

Brock got a Super Mario Bros. mushroom, so Ben wanted a Super Mario Bros. block with a question mark on it. "It was so cool."

After Circus Circus we stopped at the M&M store. Well, getting there was more of an ordeal than just stopping. The store is on the strip. So, there isn't any parking. You have to park somewhere else and walk. Joshua was asleep, Kannon was mad that he didn't know where to go, and it was so hot (around 108 that day). He finally stopped and he offered to stay in the car with the baby. We walked and walked. But, the store was the highlight of Brock and Emily's visit. They were pretty impressed. We all picked up some souvenirs and when we came out, Yellow was waiting for us.

It was a long hot walk back to the car and a quick drive out to Boulder City. We stayed with Kannon's aunt and the kids headed straight out to the pool. On their way back in to get their swim stuff, Sarah fell (somehow?) and cracked open the back of her head. This was a first for me as a mother. We both stayed very calm, though, and aunt Karen was very reassuring and helpful. It wasn't a big cut and it quit bleeding soon, so we didn't have to take her in. She still (a month later) tells me to be careful with her sore head. She actually hit it again a week ago. She was on the tricycle, leaning back, and it broke. She hit her head on the garage cement floor and got a good-sized goose egg.

Anyway, we enjoyed the weekend playing in the pool.

Joshua had no fear. He would just get in anywhere he wanted. Good thing we kept an eye on him. He was also very mad when we wouldn't let him out there. His sleeping was touch and go. Some nights were good, others awful. He was teething - all four molars - and had been having sleeping issues at home, too.

Ben and Sarah just had the best time.

We also got to visit Kannon's grandpa and great-grandma (she's 101!). He and Brock did some good service projects for both of them, too. We love going down there and our drive home wasn't too bad either.

Oh, so we had a week of illness after that. Joshua got sick that first night back, along with Kannon's mother who was visiting for the night. She ended up crashing on the couch all day Monday. Sarah got sick after that, and Ben had one morning of not being well. Kannon and I did okay.

Since Sarah was sick, I took Ben and his friend Reed to the Lattin Farms Family Night. We'd already bought the tickets. The boys had a great time running around, playing on the bounce house, taking a hay ride, riding the cow train, feeding the goats, . . . . .

After being couped up all week with sick kids I was looking forward to visiting my sisters family in Sacramento. Everyone had been healthy for at least 36 hours, so she and I both thought it would be okay. Apparently I was infected, though, and even though I didn't get sick, it was enough to pass the bug on to her kids after we'd left. So sorry, Nancy!

But, we enjoyed the weekend there. We left super early on Saturday morning. We stopped in Reno to catch some of the Reno Balloon Races. Here's Joshua at the beginning of that adventure.

They did some really cool early morning shows. If you live around here I highly recommend it for next year.

And here's Joshua by the time we were about to leave. Good times!

We spent the day mostly just visiting. My parents and other sister and her husband had come, too. Nancy was having her newest baby blessed on Sunday. The kids enjoyed playing together. We took them to the park that evening and then we stayed up late talking. It was pretty enjoyable. EXCEPT.....Joshua broke my camera! I had the camera in my lap when he walked up and whapped at me with a toy. The toy hit the lcd screen just right and cracked it. Since then, I bought a new screen on ebay and my brother-in-law installed it for me. So, not too many pictures available from October.

ABC School started in September, right after Labor Day. I had the A day and we did some fun stuff with apples. I made these cute cupcakes, the idea coming from a Family Fun magazine. The kids didn't care for the tootsie roll stem and leaves. Oh well.

Here are the kids balancing their apple balloons on their heads. I filled the balloons with rice (idea from Family Fun, too) and a small amount of air. They had foam leaves. But, not sure the rice was a good idea, since they all got holes and lost their air.

Sarah started ballet again, we got our teeth cleaned, and I canned peaches. Then they called me to be a cub scout den leader. Aagh! I thought I had at least 6 more months (til Ben turns 8). It's been a struggle for me. Just trying to get it organized and figure out how to run the meetings. I've got both bears and wolves in the den, so I have to try and help both groups with their achievements. Chasing after my own kids during the meetings didn't help much. My mom has volunteered to babysit for me. I also am missing my assistant. She is unavailable until football season is over, so that's been a stress, too. I'm hoping it will get easier and be more enjoyable and less stressful.