Fun in Las Vegas

I've had the unusual opportunity to travel to Las Vegas twice over a six month period to attend conferences for work.  What fun!  Really, I'm not a huge Las Vegas fan but it is fun to visit once in awhile but after spending time there twice in such a short amount of time I think I've had my fill of that crazy, mad city.

My first visit was in March and I brought Todd along with me.  We had the opportunity to stay in the fabulous Cosmopolitan hotel, a hotel we normally couldn't afford on our own, but was able to get an amazing rate through my conference.  Check out our view!  Amazing, right?

One of the keynote speakers at the conference was John Legend, a singer I wasn't familiar with but he's now a favorite of mine.  He is so incredibly talented and has such a passion for education that is impressive.  He makes me realize how thankful I am to be working in the field of higher education and how important it is in our lives.

Todd and I had fun together after the conference and spent most of our time walking up and down the Las Vegas strip looking for new and interesting restaurants.  It's fun to wander in the fabulous hotels and check out the decor along with finding new places to eat.  While there, we discovered that there's a Serendipity in Las Vegas, a favorite place of mine to eat while visiting New York city.  Their frozen, hot chocolate is amazing.  A great way to cool off and enjoy something sweet.

My second trip to Vegas was in June and I brought Tori along with me.  I figured since she sleeps most of the day and is up late at night her schedule would fit nicely with my conference schedule.  I got up early, attended the conference, came back to check on her and eat some lunch, went back to the conference, and by the time I got done Tori was awake and ready to check out the sights of Las Vegas.

Such a wonderful time with my sweet daughter.  I love that she's old enough to come with me and enjoy traveling with her.

Playing Catch-Up

It's time for me to play some catch-up and update this blog.  There's been some great events going on in our family and life has been hectic and wonderful as usual.

First up is Spencer's birthday.  My baby boy who isn't much of a baby boy anymore.... turned 25.  Can you believe it?  He's 25!  We celebrated his wonderful day by traveling to Salt Lake city to meet him and spend the day (sadly Ashley was not feeling well so she was not there with us).  We had fun touring the Clark Planetarium and got a picture of my three wonderful children visiting the planet Mars (not really, of course). 

Aren't these three wonderful children so kind to indulge their Mom by posing for a cheesy picture? I keep forgetting that grown children and teenagers don't like posing for cheesy pictures for Mom... when will I ever learn?

 After spending time at the Planetarium, we walked around and found a great place to eat.  I have to say that spending time eating with the family is really, truly one of the best ways to spend time with your children.  It seems that wonderful conversations always come up around the table.  I love it!

We were able to get a group picture at the end of the day.  I love these two pictures.... our three wonderful children hugging the parents who love them forever and always.

Spencer's birthday always seem to fall on or around Mother's day.  Mother's day is always nice but can many times be a little disappointing (just being honest).  Disappointing because there's so much hoopla about wonderful Mother's and wonderful children who love their Mother's.  While I know my children love me and my husband loves me, there really isn't much hoopla going on in our house on Mother's day.  That's fine.... I guess.  But I have to mention this day... this year.... because Todd surprised me with a wonderful, thoughtful gift this year.  Do you see why I have to mention the gift?

More catching-up to come....

Sisters

Sisters can be a wonderful thing in life.... they can also be a challenge.  Luckily for me, the majority of the time my sisters are a wonderful thing.  Yes, it's true I didn't say ALL the time, just the majority of the time.... because, really, no family relationship is perfect.

With that said, last month I've had such a fun time with my sisters.  Lillian came to visit all the way from Connecticut with her cute family and we thoroughly enjoyed every minute of her visit.  While she was here, we managed to take a few minutes away from our time talking and laughing and eating to take a few pictures.

Unfortunately, we are missing our sister Carol who wasn't feeling well that day; otherwise, I absolutely love this picture and love that we could be together for this picture.  While the picture above is great, I think this next one is my favorite.

This laughing together is really what we do.  I pray that I can pass along this love of family to my children so that as they grow and become adults they will always have the joy of family around them.

Tori Went to Prom

Tori went to Prom a few weeks ago.  I can't believe my baby girl is old enough for Prom.  Can you? 

We had a tough time finding a dress for her but the searching and shopping for one was sure fun.  We eventually found just the right dress through a friend of hers who was selling her dress from the previous year.  It was a perfect fit.

She was absolutely beautiful for the big day and so excited to go.  What a fun experience.  She went with a group of five other couples and had a great time.  Isn't she beautiful?

Happy Birthday to Todd

I'm a little behind with my posts.... Happy Birthday to Todd a few weeks ago!

In all the world, there is no heart for me like yours.  In all the world, there is no love for you like mine.  ~ Maya Angelou

A Few Things.....

It's been awhile since my last post and I have a few things to share.

First, my last post is in reference to sweet Tori's 16th birthday.  She's now driving.  We decided to buy her a car.  We are now a four car family.... four cars.  I kind of think it's ridiculous that we have four cars; however, with that said I'm very grateful that we have the cars.  It sure is convenient and so very, very nice not having to run Tori to all her practices and school events.  I hope we can survive the insurance and fuel!

Second, Evan is such an amazing young man.  I don't talk enough about him and he needs to be talked about.  He has such a steady, reliable, quiet personality and a quick intelligence.... he's going places.  One other item of note with Evan - I've discovered his motivation as a teenager.  As a parent trying to encourage certain behaviors and enforce rules, it's always very nice when you discover something that motivates compliance, right?

We've always encouraged good grades because we know all the children are fully capable of earning good grades.  To encourage good grades, we have offered a monetary reward for each A earned.  This reward has never been a motivating factor for Evan.  What we discovered is that when we started making Evan pay us for his car insurance because the cost increased due to his low GPA, he suddenly improved dramatically on his grades.  His motivation is that he doesn't want to spend his money.... he's a saver.  I love it!

Finally, Todd has been cleared for full-duty at work.  It's a true blessing.  After his shoulder surgery, the doctor told us it would most likely be a year before Todd would be have the range of motion needed to return to work as a firefighter.  His surgery was the end of December and he's back to work the first of April.  Todd received a Priesthood blessing, given by members of the Mormon faith, and was blessed to have a speedy, full recovery.  I believe our prayers were answered and I am grateful.

Sweet 16 and Loving It

Our beautiful Tori is sweet 16 and loving every minute of it.  She loves being able to drive, loves the feeling of being "so grown up" now that she's 16, and thriving.  She's a naturally skilled driver and has been looking forward driving the car on her own since... forever. 

For her 16th birthday, she played hooky from school and went shopping with her Mom all day.  We did some serious shopping and had a blast.  That seems to be what makes Tori super happy.... getting spoiled and having all attention lavished on her... so that's what we did.  She loved it!  And we LOVE her.

Happy 16th baby girl!