recent family outings

We went bowling recently as a school reward. The kids have a giant vase they work to fill up together. Whenever anyone finishes a lesson, they add a scoop of beans. When it's full to the very top, we do the chosen activity. The first activity they chose of the year was to go to Krispy Kreme. This last time was to go bowling. This was the first time we bowled two straight games without Jess loosing interest. We're getting a bit faster. The girls still have the bumpers up, but are using them less and less. Isaac claims to be too big for them and does well, rarely gets a gutter. The lighting in this picture is pretty horrible, but it's the only one I have.



This picture just makes me laugh. I love Jessica's expression. It's classic her. This was taken inside the big toy store inside Caesar's Palace, the one with the big Trojan Horse entrance. (I never figured out why they have a Trojan horse from the Greeks in a Roman building, but that's besides the point.) We were killing time while Matt had a meeting there.

City Center

This is a bit of an update on Matt's business. He got a call from Control4 (the company who produces the products they use) a week ago Saturday, asking for help with the City Center project. The City Center is a massive project under the MGM umbrella with several towers containing 1000's of hotel rooms and condos/apartments of varying sizes. Control4 was contracted to automate ALL the rooms. They are scheduled to open in 2-3 weeks and are not ready, needed help. So Matt, Tim (his partner) and another guy they hired have been doing 12 hours a day for the past 7 days, programming and bug fixing room by room by room.

This is a wonderful opportunity for many reasons. First, the basic ability to put this on their (Padwerx) company resume. Working on this massive project holds a lot of weight. Then there is the relationship they are building with control4 and the builders downtown. Turns out Matt and Tim have been able to train up a few of their "experts" and have been a real asset to them. That can only help in the future. Control4 now knows they have a solid team on site here to call on rather than the previous go-to guy in Phoenix. They have already asked if they are available to help on another downtown project (smaller) coming up. Matt is bringing in the director of operations of another resort and their COO on Wednesday to show them what's possible--a little pressure to keep up with the Jones, so to speak. And lastly, they are being paid well, and that is really great for our fledgling business.

So, Matt does not want to loose this opportunity while it lasts and I fully agree. So he is missing the drive to Utah and Thanksgiving. It would be silly to stay here with him, because he is leaving at 6am and getting home between 7 and 8pm, so it's not like we would have a Thanksgiving here. We are going to have a celebration dinner with a turkey roast and lots of rolls after the project is over. We will have many things to be thankful for then.

So that's just to fill you in. I can tell more, if you want later. Matt is getting an interesting look at the building process and behind the scene view of a massive project. He has to wear a hard hat the whole time and sometimes is climbing 24 floors of stairs (that's the record for now) because the elevators can have an hour wait at times. He doesn't see how they will open on time, but there are 100's of people working on 100's of different things trying to complete the whole.

Aviation Nation

I forgot to mention our family field trip last week (now two weeks ago by the time this gets posted). Nellis Air Force base does a HUGE air show each year. On Saturday and Sunday they expected to have 100,000 people come. The non-ID card holders park at the race track and get shuttled in. But Matt's ID card is still good, so we got to beat the crowds and go the day before--Friday, family day. It's not the full 8 hours of airtime, (which was too much for the kids anyway) but you get to see plenty of planes in flight, including the Thunderbird show and have full access to all the planes and copters on the ground without the crowds.

When we were driving in and walking to the flight line, there was an interesting mix of planes in the air. An older jet, a bomber and carrier and something else. Sorry I don't know my planes well, and I couldn't get a good picture. They took turns doing maneuvers and flew in formation together. One of them, I think Matt said it was the A-10, was just crazy loud.

We were right at the barrier for the Thunderbird portion. They have the whole flight check with the crew and pilots set to music and it's all very sharp, if rather long. Those planes sat in front of us idling with their engines roaring for what felt (literally, you could FEEL it) like a long time. When they finally got up in the air, it was all worth it. I think I saw the Thunderbirds as a kid, but I don't remember it well. This may be a faded memory for our kids someday too, but it was fun to go together. Their flying was amazing. The #2 soloist is a neighbor of Tim (Matt's partner). The turns, manuvers, near misses and vertical flight were just impossible to catch with my iphone. I think the only way to do them any justice would be to bring a video camera next time. I couldn't help thinking of the Ramstein air show crash that happened just before we moved there, but all was safe and well in NV. It's easy to see how easy it would be to crash.

Makenna trying out the guns on a helicopter.

Isaac in the cockpit of an old, restored, Vietnam fighter.
There are bullet holes in the tail, but it still flies.

Jessica getting her helmet and directions on jumping down the slip rope, seen coiled above her.

Cold Weather Food

It's amazing how much hot chocolate we have gone through since the weather hit 60 and below. The kids love making it in the morning. We are still playing the "how long can we go without turning on the heaters" game. Sometimes we feel a little warmer going outside in the afternoon than we do in the house. I guess that's good insulation? The big plus for me is lots of soup. Within the last week we have had two hearty soups and a yummy Sunday stew. mmmmmmm, soup.

Races and soccer

Isaac and I went to a local race yesterday morning. He was running the 2 mile route. I made him stick with Makenna last year and this year he wanted to see how fast he could do it. 15 minutes was his goal and he made it!! Only two teenagers finished ahead of him. I was running the 10K and rather hoping to match or beat my last Provo time. I ran with my friend Lorna. It was our 7th race together. We were supposed to start at 7:30 and the 2 milers at 8:00, but we stood waiting in line for almost 45 minutes for some still not fully explained reason. The 2 milers started before us and were finishing as we finally started. So poor Isaac had to wait a LONG time for me instead of the 15 minutes or so as we originally thought. He hung out with some friends we have made from the girls' soccer teams. My time was somewhere under 52 minutes. I don't know exactly because I forgot to stop my watch and I can't find the times posted online anywhere. Either way, it was a bit faster than last time. Yay.

Great Harvest Bread was one of the sponsors. mmmmmmmm. Spinach feta bread. Isaac drank so many smoothie samples, we lost track. And he brought home balloons for the girls. Jess was mad last year that they weren't handing out medals. But they did this year. Her two good soccer buddies ran it, so she's considering next year. I think Makenna would do really well too.

A few hours later, we had the girls soccer games in some crazy wind. Our earlier race breezes had turned vicious. Both girls teams' shut out their opponents and Jess scored another goal.

Pumpkin Patch

We went to another pumpkin patch this year. Well, we thought it was a pumpkin patch, but I don't think any pumpkins were actually grown there. It was more of a ranch with loads of pumpkins trucked in acting as decorations and souvenirs. The name should have been a give away, McKee Family Ranch. It was a big of a drive, just south of the Strip, but it was a bit more picturesque than the one we tried the first year we were here. It still seemed a little odd to be picking out pumpkins in t-shirts and shorts. It was dry and dusty and we were all grateful for the free cool lemonade after being there a couple of hours.

The girls loved riding the horses. There was rather a long line, but they didn't mind letting me stand in it for them while they ran around looking at the other animals, finding funny pumpkins and meeting other kids. With the price of admission, you get to take home your choice of pumpkin. The three kids picked out a very fun one. It was rather skinny, but very tall. Too bad someone else thought it was wonderful too, because by the time we were ready to leave, it was gone.

Isaac thought he was too big to ride, but not for feeding the horses carrots. Or the goats, pigs, sheep or turkeys. I think there was a llama too. A couple of the goats were wandering around with the chickens. The girls found this one (in the picture) under a wagon just when we were about to leave and quickly scrounged for some food to offer it.
This picture is obviously older. It's the pumpkin patch we went to several times in Germany, and this is the year it wasn't raining. The kids got a wagon ride behind a tractor from the pumpkin field to the barn yard where they got to see all the animals, loads of them. It was muddy and wet, but just beautiful. Coats, boots and plastic bags to put the boots in in the car were a must, but it remains a favorite spot in memory.

Carving Pumpkins

We did carve pumpkins this year. It didn't happen till the day before Halloween with all the busy evenings. The girls drew out their designs and Matt and I helped cut them out. Isaac did his all on his own. (his and Makenna's are visible in the background of the second picture--Isaac right, Makenna left. Then we let all three have at the last and biggest. They cut initials, ghosties and designs all over it. I wanted to take a picture of the kids in costume with their pumpkins the next day, but it got too chilly that night, and when we woke up Halloween morning, their masterpieces were rather shriveled up. Rats. So the carving was hours of fun with little photographic proof.

Family of Friends Visit

Our friends, the Lintons, came for a quick visit. Our kids had been counting down to this Friday afternoon for a couple weeks. Their kids spent the night while Todd and Chalon (parents)went to the U2 concert. Isaac and Denali started with Little Big Planet, but left to make cookies. (The next morning Denali helped Isaac make a cake too for the ward Halloween party/cub scout fundraiser.)



Makenna and Torrey disapeared to the guest room and played school. They had books and whiteboards and big imaginations.

Elias was a charming little boy who minded amazingly well, was already potty trained and played mostly with me.












Jessica and Whitney took over the Playstation and split their time creating silly characters and riding the skateboard in the game.

We went to the park for a couple hours too where they played pirates first before Isaac taught everyone Steal the Flag.

I wish I had a picture of their sleeping arrangements. They toyed with the idea of sleeping on the balcony, but we didn't have enough mattresses to make it soft enough. (Matt had our futon at the home trade show.) And they didn't want to split up into different bedrooms. So we gathered all the pillows and blankets in the house except for the ones on MY bed and piled them up on the living room floor. Isaac squeezed himself into the tiny pop up tent next to all the girls. Well, Elias was there too, of course, curled up next to Torrey.

The kids all had a grand time. The only complaint was too little time. They have always got on remarkably well, and that much sure hasn't changed.

Halloween

I have let time slip away without writing, thinking that we have not done much out of the ordinary or "blog entry" worthy. But now we have had Halloween and the end of football, so I guess it's time to catch up a bit.

Gone are the days where we are all dressed up in theme and I spend hours and hours making costumes. The kids brainstormed many ideas and settled on a couple each. (They are already making plans for next year.) Jess wanted to be a bird and I was preparing to make a costume fashioned after my memories of being a bird myself in an Alice and Wonderland play in elementary school. But happily, she changed her mind just before I went to get a green hoodie and fabric to cut feathers. Instead she decided she loved the idea of being a big bag of jellybeans. Jess loves all things starting with the letter "J." I was thrilled--the work load was drastically reduced. We reinforced a clear plastic trash bag, cut leg and arm holes, and filled her up with lots of little balloons. She got the most compliments by far while out trick or treating and trunk or treating. Probably those moms are thinking, dang, that's so easy!

Michael Phelps, Jellybeans, Animal Rescuer

Makenna was an animal rescuer for the ward Halloween party, but switched to a cat for neighborhood trick or treating. She liked the idea of having a monkey hanging around her neck, but in practice found it a little annoying. It really got in her way when trying to eat. She liked having cat make-up much more. Plus she got to wear her favorite boots again.

Kitty Cat for the Neighborhood. Loving the make-up!

Isaac was Michael Phelps at first, which was easy enough. He already had his long, black speedo suit and dark goggles. We added an American flag to a black swim cap and wrote "PHELPS" with a sharpie. We meant to have him wear 8 gold medals, but forgot to take them with us to the ward party. On Halloween, he had had his last regular season football game and we barely made it home in time to meet his friends for trick or treating, so he just kept his full football uniform on--pads and all. No, I think I had him leave his mouth guard at home. Isaac went with some friends and another dad. They hit every house in the neighborhood. I know he stopped by home once to dump out his bucket to make more room because there was a big pile of candy when I got back with the girls.

Jellybean Jess--the only kid who didn't change costumes.

The girls lasted longer trick or treating than I thought they would. It helped that we met up with several families of friends. It was a little odd being so close to our old neighborhood, but not going over there. We have been in this house for almost a year now--Thanksgiving will officially be a year--but this was our 3rd Halloween in Las Vegas. There was one house on our street that you had to walk into to get your treat. The entry, dining room and stairway were completely decked out in spookiness. The owner said she had been setting up for about 2 weeks. I believe it too--it was amazing. Jessica did NOT like it. She stepped one step in and then decided to wait outside for Makenna and the other kids. There were plenty of decorated houses, but none of the others crossed the line for Jess. Their very favorite house gave out dollar bills. Super excitement. We learned from our trick or treating buddies that it is a tradition that's been running for at least the last 3 years. I was sure Jess would loose her dollar, she kept pulling it out so often. Makenna had promptly buried hers at the bottom of her bucket so it couldn't blow away. After a little over half the neighborhood, they were ready to call it quits.

Back home again they dumped their buckets and started trading right away. However they jumped each time the doorbell rang and dashed to hand out treats. Matt was happy to let them take over his job. They stayed up rather too late, but went to bed happy. It's going to be a long time before those buckets are empty. It's funny that each time any of them pick a treat from their buckets, they still dump the whole thing out and root through it all before picking just the right thing. After going through their loot so often, I'm surprised they don't have it all memorized by now.