The Best Kind of Pi!

It's Pi Day!

So we celebrated with some apple pie.

And this kind of pie is just sooo much better than the pi that I learned about in the horrid geometry class I had to take in high school.

By the way, I insanely stink at geometry.

Though if Mr. Weil had involved apple pie, maybe I would have paid more attention in that class and passed.

Also, it might have helped if I wasn't sitting next to (what I thought at the time) was an insanely cute boy.

;)

Visit to the Clark County Museum

My cute friend, Danielle, and I took our kids to the Clark County Museum for a picnic and a playdate.  She had told me how cool it was awhile ago, but I kinda forgot about it, until she suggested we go over there.

There is an inside museum part, that has a lot of Nevada's past and fun artifacts.  Outside, there is "Heritage Street", which has restored historical houses that are set in different time periods in the past that can be walked through and explored.

The kids pretty much got to run around like crazy from house to house, while we tried to chase them.

It was great!

It's definitely a place I would like to go back to and actually read the signs/explore a little more.  The kids were having too much fun running around to look at it in too much detail.  Their favorite was the train depot and train.

And, if any of my LV friends are thinking about going, it's $2/adult and $1/child over 3.

So, super-inexpensive, super fun, and as a bonus, they were all completely worn out afterward.

;)

We Do Like Green Eggs & Ham!

We do not like green eggs and ham.

We do not like them, Mom-I-am.

And then, Mom-I-Am said, "Well, that's breakfast today."

*Bite!*

Say, we DO like green eggs & ham.

Thank you, Thank you, Mom-I-Am.

And then, Mom-I-Am said, "Do I get enough cool points to go back to bed now?"

The little Grinches all shook their heads, 'no.'

It was worth a try.

;)

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Chinese New Year at the Bellagio

I am sad to say, that I have been misinformed.

I thought that the conservatory & botanical gardens at the Bellagio had 5 displays (one for each season + Chinese New Year), and that once we had seen all 5, we had seen them all, since I had been told that they kept them the same year to year.

Right before Christmas I learned that they were never the same.  A visit to the Bellagio at Christmas confirmed this.

Aagh!

As far as I'm concerned, the conservatory and the fountains at the Bellagio are the best part of the strip (and completely free to boot), and we have missed a lot of displays.

I'm on a mission to never let that happen again.

So, on the last day of the Chinese New Year display, we went down.

It was Adam's favorite one ever, so it was well worth it.

The dragons breathed smoke, the flowers were unique and beautiful... it was all amazing.

We stopped out after for a quick fountain show, and then headed home.  They are taking it all down this week, and then the spring one will be up.

Which, of course, we will go see as soon as possible.

I'm on a mission here, remember?

;)

Nevada Reading Week

This week the kids celebrated Nevada Reading Week.  Each day, they did a different reading activity at school (or watched a different presentation).

In Grace's class they had green eggs & ham, did a science experiment, saw Cosmo, and watched a demonstration.

Adam got to see a demonstration, see Cosmo, earn some money for memorizing quotes from books, and saw a presentation by a poet.

They ended the week with a pajama day/day of reading.  They had SO much fun getting to wear their pajamas and read ALL day!

Sidenote:  Cosmo is the mascot from the 51s minor baseball team here.  Inside that ugly costume is Grace's kindergarten teacher's husband.  (Did you catch that?)  He's had the job, as a fun side job, since he was 15 and loves it.  That's just too fun.

PS - I feel like I know a celebrity now.

Finally.

;)

Blue & Gold Banquet 2012

We were SO excited to attend Adam's first Blue & Gold Banquet.

It was a really nice night.  The leaders did a great job with the decorations, the skit was adorable, and the boys had a great time serving the food.

Adam received his belt loop for Marbles:

It was such a fun night!

Weekends at the Park

Last year, we would spend Saturdays cleaning the house, shopping at the store, and (trying) not to work until Monday.

There was no school on Mondays, and Mike was off on Mondays, so it made sense to work on Saturday, and have fun on Monday.

A few weekends in this year, we were doing the same thing.  But, I realized that since the kids now have school on Mondays, that it was kind of terrible for them to spend their entire weekend doing work.  

So, I forgo-ed a clean house and a full fridge.

Who needs those, right?

We do a little bit of tidy-ing in the morning, pack a picnic, and then find a new park.

If we really like the park, we go back Sunday evening with Mike.  Because the other problem with him working Saturdays (and late during the week), and the kids going to school 5 days a week, was that they were not getting to spend time with him.  Sunday evenings at the park have become something we look forward to (especially because after morning church and a quiet afternoon, with all of us crammed in the living room while Josh naps, has us all wanting to strangle each other).

Strangling on the Sabbath, is a no-no.

;)

We recently found a park in Henderson that we L-O-V-E.  

I mean, it has a climbing contraption that spins:

How awesome-ly dangerous, right?

Even toddlers have to take a turn pushing:

We have had so much fun finding new parks and spending time as a family in the beautiful weather!

Especially because pretty soon it will be too hot to play on dangerous metal objects at the playground.

;)

Pinewood Derby 2012

Adam participated in his very first Pinewood Derby today and had soooo much fun!

The race was supposed to be in January, but the track broke, so it was delayed for about a month.  These boys were SO excited to (finally) get racing!

In our entire pack (which is a combination of 2 wards), there are only 4 boys.

Needless to say, the official race was over pretty quickly.

So, they raced for fun (with many different variables... backward, upside down, etc.) for the remaining 50 minutes.

The car catchers

Mike, happy to be racing.  Me, happy that it is over!  ;)

Adam ended up winning First Place!  Wahoo!

As fun as the race was, I think the real fun was in making the cars.  Adam made one with Mike, and one with my Dad and Mike, and then raced them to see which was faster.  He had soooo much fun making those cars and spending time with his Dad and Papa!

(Oh, yeah, the brown mark on his forehead?  He decided to "Harry Potter" himself this afternoon, in non-washable marker.  Lovely, huh?)

;)

Good-bye, Elder Nathan Rice (Part 2)

After the picnic with the W* family, we went back to my parent's house, to officially say good-bye.

This was the part that had me really, truly worried.  

Because my kids, especially Grace, kinda adore Uncle Nate.

Which is kind of funny, really.  

When Adam was born, my family (and Mike's family) came down in anticipation of seeing him.  They crowded around when Mike brought him out of the nursery.  Oooh-ed and aaah-ed at his ten perfect tiny toes.

Nate, however, stayed in the lobby, watching cartoons.  

For whatever reason, he wasn't fond of having a nephew.  And over the next 3 years, had no problem admitting so.  He refused to go near baby Adam and fought with toddler Adam.

Then Grace was born.

And my Grinch-y baby brother's heart grew 2 sizes when she came into the family.  He warmed up to her, and Adam (and adored Josh from the start).  Before he knew it, he was wrapped around their little fingers.

Which is a good thing, because they absolutely idolize the boy.  He is Grace's "very best buddy" and Adam thinks he is the coolest person ever.

Which makes me thrilled, because, well, I can't think of a better person for them to have as a role model.  My baby brother grew into a great person, that I am so proud of.

Anyways, we love Uncle Nate and I was worried about Grace and Adam having to say good-bye.

***

At my parent's house, they finalized Adam's Pinewood Derby car:

Did some more playing:

Josh took a ride on my parent's horse/dog:

                                      

We got one last family picture with our missionary:

And Grace got a few more of the throws in the air, that Nate gives her, that she absolutely loves:

Then we said good-bye.

And when Grace leaned out her window as we pulled away and shouted, "Best buddies... forever" and Nate yelled, "Best buddies... forever" back, I cried.

I think I'm really going to miss that pesky little small fry.