Cutest Thing In The World!!!

I was thinking how great this pregnancy would be since I wouldn't be huge through the summer months.  It turns out that I just traded that yucky feeling of battling the heat and swelling for worse nausea and throwing up then ever before.  Man the heat got to me and really heightened the morning/ day sickness!!!

So today I was feeling icky, the kids were all playing board games so I was laying down watching them. I am not know for laying down and resting.  So that tells you right there the morning sickness was not good!

All of the sudden Grant comes over to me and places a handful of these little toy bees on my tummy.

He said, "Mommy these are toys for yo baby to play with!"  Then before I could respond he says, "And mommy, I neber gonna be mean to yo baby!"

It was the cutest thing ever!!!

Grant can just melt my heart!

He is going to make one amazing big brother!

This little spirit that will be joining us the beginning of January is already one lucky kid!

CIty Boy

We sure enjoyed having this City Boy here this summer.  This is Rieley's second year (not in a row) of coming to work for Justin.  We sure love having him come!  We hope we can talk Marla in to letting Aubrey come for a summer!

Rieley was pretty excited when he saw this rabbit out in the field behind our house and even more excited when he shot it with a bow.  The kids were all impressed as well!!!

Rieley has killed rattle snakes for me this summer as well!  He's great to have around!

We love you Rieley!

Las Vegas Trip……Day 5

After the last dance classes all the girls headed to the pool for some much deserved fun!

Kiersten and Kiulani chicken fighting!

This was our last night in Vegas and I had gotten us tickets to see O by Cirque du Soleil.

Hunter insisted on going with the Roger's to Circus Circus to ride the rides.  I was a little torn on letting him go because the tickets I had gotten were super expensive.  But Kiersten's friend Jalyn wanted to come with us to the show so it worked out in the end.  I still think Hunter would have LOVED the show, but he did have a wonderful time with Gavin and his family.

Hands down the show O was my favorite.  It is a water acrobatic show and it absolutely breath taking.  This is the one show I'd see again and again!  Every moment and move was impressive.  So if you ever make it to Vegas, even though the tickets are expensive, see this show!  You'll be glad you did!

We had fun on our last night walking the Strip after the show.  

It was such a fun trip…..even with the morning sickness I has having, but it's gotten much better.

Marla and the rest of her kids made it to Vegas late this evening.  They are staying the night with us in our hotel room and then heading to Utah for the week.  Rieley and Aubrey have EFY at BYU and the rest of them are going to visit friends.  

Rieley wanted to meet us on the Strip and see a bit of Vegas since he has never been before.  Of course we had to get a shot of him playing the slot machine!  We also got a crazy picture of him with some girls in feathers.  So fun!

The drive home the next day turned out to be difficult on my pregnant body.  I got a really bad headache and we actually ended up sleeping at a hotel in Globe because I was going to fall asleep at the wheel if I continued on.  But we got up early the next morning and made it home safe and sound.

It was a great 6 days with Kiersten, Hunter and Aubrey!

Las Vegas Trip…….Day 4

This was the day of the actual competition….so we just hung out at the pool while Kiersten was in her classes.  We had no plans to go do anything else this night.  These dance competitions can take awhile sometimes.

Kiersten all dolled up and ready to dance!

These two were quite the pair on this trip!

They sure have a good time together!

We were so glad Aubrey got to come with us……the trip wouldn't have been the same without her!

These two knuckle heads had a great time hanging out as well.  

These two had nothing but fun the entire trip.  They loved going back and forth between our room and the Roger's room.  They swam and I even bought Gavin Steak with shrimp one night!  It was so funny cause he came with us to dinner and then ordered this huge expensive meal and he had $5.  He was too excited about the dinner that I just couldn't say no to him.  Issac and Jenny kept telling me they owe me a steak and shrimp dinner!

The girls danced AMAZING!  This is actually a group that was thrown together once they knew who was making the trip to Vegas.  So all these girls don't even dance together on a regular basis.  It was a combination of girls from three different groups.

OMGoodness!  Isn't she gorgeous!!!

Love this little dancer of mine!

The girls received a 2nd place for Afro Circus and 3rd place for Lion King.

You would have never guessed they weren't a regular group who dance together all the time!  So impressive!!!

After the long day of dancing we walked down the street to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe with the Hansen's.  They are such a fun family!  Hunter and Brinlee really had fun hanging out over the past few days.  They are two of a kind you can see from this picture!

Not a great picture but it was great food and wonderful company!

So proud of Kiersten and all her dedication and hard work.  Jenny came to me and told me how she walked into Kiersten's class today and Kiersten was the only one out on the floor dancing.  All the other girls were sitting down visiting or playing on their phones.  Jenny told me how proud she was of Kiersten and what a dedicated dancer she is.  Sure makes a momma proud to hear things like this!

Las Vegas Trip……….Day 3

Kiersten is such a trooper!  We stayed out pretty late every night and she got up and showered every morning to make it to her 8:00 dance classes.  I would get up and take her down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast, then walk her to her class.  I then went back to the room and went back to sleep……….Aubrey and Hunter slept in every morning as well.  

Kiersten not only didn't get as much sleep as the rest of us, she also was dancing for about 7 hours each day.  Man did her feet hurt each night when we finally did go to bed.

We did a little shopping at the Miracle Mile Shops.  That mall just goes on and on……especially since it is one level.

Aubrey is so much fun!  She tried on all kinds of crazy things……login' the shoes Aubrey!

I took the kids to the Knight Dinner Show at the Excalibur Hotel.  I forgot you eat dinner with your hands.  Aubrey was a little freaked out by that but it was fun!  Hunter of course thought it was awesome!

I remember coming to this show when Justin and I were first married and really enjoying it.

Our medieval dinner.  It was good!

We had to get pictures with some of the cast after the show was over.  It was a really entertaining dinner show.

We loved all the costumes and the amazing horseman ship.  Pretty impressive what they can get those horses to do.

The kids loved the show and we had a wonderful evening on the Strip!

Las Vegas Trip…….Day 2

This was Kiersten's only full day to hang out while in Vegas.  The other days she would be at dance classes til mid afternoon.  So we took full advantage of the day!

All the fancy casinos were fun (and sometimes scary) to walk through.

The kids couldn't believe all the people gambling their money away.

We went to Mandalay Bay Hotel and saw the Shark Reef Aquarium.

The kids enjoyed getting to touch the stingrays!

It is pretty cool to touch them………they are so slimy.  There was one that kept coming by and splashing…….the kids thought that was funny.

The sharks were awesome to see.  I've been scuba diving several times and seen sharks so it was nice that they were behind glass this time.

This was our second buffet experience at the Luxor.

Hunter just had to have this picture to send to his friend Carsen Davis.  The things we do to please silly 9 year old boys!

Yes I did gamble a little………I had to show the kids how fast you can loose $10.  They couldn't believe it and we all agreed we'd rather spend our money on shows and shopping!

This picture is blurry I know but I just had to include it.  Hunter is my little "cool guy".  He wore my Beats all over Vegas because so many people commented to him about him being so young and having beats.  Just cracks me up that he is so into style….I can't imagine what he'll be like as a teenager!

I think Hunter was most excited about this show……The Criss Angel Believe Show at the Luxor.

It was a good show, minus a few things that I didn't find appropriate for my kids.  The actual magic was impressive for sure!

We all enjoyed looking at all the choppers in the waiting room before the show.

It was a fun night for sure!

We also enjoyed some shopping and just looking at the way the malls are decorated.  The Venetian was one of our favorite malls as far as the atmosphere they've created there.

I think we all agreed Vegas, better yet the Strip, was a fun place to visit but I wouldn't want to live by it or have to go down it on a daily basis!  It was fun to see all the fancy decorations through out the hotels and malls.  We loved people watching………and Vegas surely did not disappoint!

Las Vegas Trip….Day One

Kiersten had a dance convention/competition in Las Vegas.  We were able to talk Marla into letting us take Aubrey with us and they would pick her up on their drive up to Utah for EFY.  Kiersten could not have been happier……….she LOVES Aubrey.

It was suppose to be just us three girls but last minute Justin and I decided Hunter should get to come with us as well.  Hunter was thrilled………he had been wanting to go on this trip and he earned it in my opinion! 

The hotel we were staying at was about a mile from the Strip.  It was where the dance convention was held.  It wasn't a very nice hotel where we had to stay which was a bummer.  But we didn't spend a whole lot of time in the actual room so it was fine.  The kids loved walking the strip…….and of course they loved the M&M store.

Now we couldn't pass up the chance to take a picture with Optimus Prim!  The costume was pretty awesome!

There were two times that I took the kids to buffets while in Vegas.  It's not like the good old days……….those buffets are pricey now a days!!!!  But I wanted them to experience all the fancy food and trying new things.  And yes I let them try one of everything on the dessert table!  It was awesome!

This particular night Aubrey tried wasabi sauce at the sushi bar for the first time.

WOW was it an experience!  I thought she was kidding when she took a spoonful of it and said she was going to eat it.  She did just that and she swallowed it all!  Then she pretty much had an asthma attack and heart attack at the same time.  She was FREAKING OUT!!!  The kids and I were laughing so hard we cried!  It was the most dramatic 10 minutes of the trip!

The first night we got there we went to see Blue Man Group!

The kids were super excited to watch the show!

Blue Man Group sure are entertaining.  They do some interesting things.  It wasn't my favorite show we saw in Vegas but I was glad the kids got to see it.  I've been to see Blue Man several times, both in Vegas and in Chicago.

The end of the show with all the toilet paper and huge beach balls sure made for some fun.  

The black lights added to the fun ending of the show.

We had to get pictures with the band!  They sure rocked!

One of the Blue Man Group!

Their facial expressions were priceless!

The kids were really impressed once we left the show and they saw the Strip all lit up!

I've never brought kids to Vegas before.  It actually made me really nervous and when you are walking the Strip with your sweet kids you REALLY notice all the bad things you don't want them exposed to.

We all enjoyed the water show at the Bellagio.

This guy was on America's Got Talent.  He is an extortionist.  The kids remembered seeing him on TV, so they thought it was super cool to see him on the streets of Vegas.

It was a fun first day in Vegas!