Vegas Visitors

Nothing makes a new house feel like a new home more than visitors! Friday afternoon my sister came from Utah. We spent some time hanging out at the house and then running around on Saturday. Saturday evening we went to the hot air balloon festival twilight glow. So awesome. All the balloons were grounded and lit up, it was beautiful. The highlight of the night though was when one of the pilots called the boys over to get in the hot air balloon and pull the fire handle. Beckett was not for it, but Tayden couldn't climb in fast enough. It was such a cool experience for him. Watching his face light up as he pulled the fire handle was awesome. Everything is more beautiful through his sweet innocent eyes.

Sunday rolled around and we waited in anticipation for the arrival of Grandma and Grandpa Mennear as well as Echo and the kids. Scott and Tayden headed to the airport to get my parents while I stayed behind to get the two little kids and myself ready for church. While he was gone, there was a knock at my door. I knew it was Echo so I flew down the stairs and wrapped my arms around her sweet children. Just as we were heading inside, my brother popped out from behind the corner of my house. I screamed in surprise and immediately burst into tears. I haven't seen Justin in over a year and a half! It was the best surprise I could have asked for. Minutes later my parents showed up and just like that we had a house full of visitors and excitement and for the first time in 19 months my family was together.

We set off to church to watch Tayden participate in his first primary program. He did wonderful. He was the kid that waves and thumbs up his family the whole time. He beamed ear to ear as he sang the songs and when it was his turn to speak, he pulled down the microphone and said, "Jesus loves me because he gave me my brothers and he makes me better when I am sick". Never mind his part was, "Jesus loves me because he hears me when I pray". I giggled to myself and then thought about how blessed I am to have a four year old speak from his heart and tell his simple truths. He is so precious to me. The final song he sang was 'Jesus Wants Me for A Sunbeam'. Again, he was that kid that screamed "Sunbeam"...every time. Over all I'd call it a success.

That evening we hung out and enjoyed each others company. We hit bed a little early since we had to wake up bright and early for family pictures the next morning.

We had a house full!

We woke up to the windiest day I have ever seen in my life. Our outside photo shoot had become an impossibility, so I started scrambling for indoor venues at a moments notice. I was not going to let the wind ruin a chance to get our family pictures done. We ended up using the model homes of our community for pictures. It was beautiful and I can't wait to see the finished products. Overall, I am just excited to have an updated picture of everyone. 

Monday evening we went out to dinner and tried the Bellagio water fountains, but due to the high wind the show was canceled. We were bummed, but still got to see the gardens inside. 

Cache all bundled to go outside to see the fountains. He couldn't move anything but his sweet little eyes. It was the cutest thing. 

Tuesday morning Justin and I hit Home Depot and got supplies to finish my project. He's practically a professional woodworker, so I enlisted him to help me make my table. It was fun spending some one on one time with him without the kids and working on the table together. It turned out so beautifully.

We loaded up the kids Tuesday afternoon and made a trip to the children's museum. I have a pass and like to take our visitors there when they come. It never disappoints and we had a great time. 

And then before I knew it, Wednesday morning rolled around and everyone, minus my parents, were off. Tayden was sad all day and vowed he'd never be happy again without Coda and Gracie. He loves his cousins so much. They literally played for 3 days straight. I told him it was okay to be sad, because I was too. Its good to love our families so much that it makes our heart hurt when they leave. My mom and dad stayed until Thursday morning, so that helped with the blues a little bit. 

Luckily, Thursday was Halloween, so we had things to keep them distracted. We when to the haunted library with some friends, had dinner at the ward trunk or treat and then went on our traditional trick or treating with our closest friends. It was a great holiday. As good as Halloween can get anyway. 

 Poor Cache didn't dress up. He did have a Halloween shirt on though. It may or may not have said, "My first Halloween", but at least we were festive. 

The boys were ninja turtles. Awesome Aunt Ashley bought the boys hard shells and masks, so we just added some green sweats and hats and viola...the real ninja turtles. They loved it. 

It was the perfect week. I am so blessed that my siblings, Echo included, are my best friends. Honestly, I love my family so much and being together again was priceless. One thing that I love most about family is it doesn't matter how long you are apart, when you see each other again you pick up where you left off and its like you were never apart. I hope we don't have to wait that long again!

Baby C Stats

Some of you have been asking about Caches one year appointment. Here's the scoop. He looks great. Hitting his milestones and is developmentally perfect. As everyone knows, we have been watching his growth. At 6 months he was 1% for height, at 9 months he was 4% and at his 12 month appointment he was 10% for height. A good jump! The doctor said he was from super...and semi scary...short, to just short. He thinks Cache has a constituted growth delay. Basically, most kids grow a bunch in the first 2 years and then slow down until their next growth spurt. Kids with a growth delay grow slow and steady and almost always catch up to their peers. Looks like that is what we are dealing with. And I am perfectly okay with that, because that means he is healthy. Everything else is great. 

This week has been madness. Scott has worked the graveyard shift and I am going on my 6th night alone. Glad to have him back tomorrow and get back into the swing of things. 

My family is coming this weekend, so hopefully I have some good pictures and stories to share! Don't expect much from me while they are here. I can't wait to soak them up! 

Have a great weekend! 

Round Two

Scott is in Idaho this weekend for his little brothers mission farewell. Since we've only been in Las Vegas 10 days and in the home a week, we decided it would best to not pack the kids up again and drive them 24 hours in the space of three days. It was a hard decision to make, but that is what being a parent is about. Making decisions for your kids...even if they are hard.

So that leaves me alone for 3 days. Not too big of a deal considering Scotts job is extremely demanding and I've been on my own the past 8 weeks. So, really-- I wasn't too phased. This morning as we were making beds, I noticed one of Becketts pillows was missing. I remembered it was on my bed from earlier in the morning and asked the boys to go grab it. They were having a hard time listening, and I was starving for breakfast so I asked them again to go get it. Nothing. I probed them to race to see who could get it the fastest, and sure enough they both took off running. For some reason, I decided to follow and just as I turned the corner I watched Tayden trip and dive head first into my sideboard of my bed. I knew the minute he screamed it was serious.

I picked him up and sure enough he had blood everywhere. I immediately knew he needed stitches. Oddly enough, I stay very calm in these situations and just do what needs to get done. I called a friend to drop the two little boys off to and loaded up the kids. Beckett didn't want to stay with Adam and Melissa and since I needed to drop him off at his new nursery today--I decided to let him come along. Thankfully the Turneys were able to keep Cache, which is really the one I didn't want to take. He was kind of a stinker for them, but I appreciate their help so much. 

We were the only ones in the ER and got in and out rather quickly. They had to numb it up really good and use an anti-inflammatory to make the swelling go down enough to sew him up. While we waited for the meds to start working we all hung out on the hospital bed and watched cartoons. A real treat for the boys since we don't watch TV before church. 

The doc came in 20 minutes later and determined the swelling had gone down enough that he could glue it. So within a few minutes we were on our way home. 

Its not awful, but is on the opposite side of his other scar. Poor kid--not even 5 and already scarring up his face. He was brave and did great in the hospital. He talked to the nurses and doctor and smiled the whole time. He is a great little boy.

Never a dull moment with these boys.

Now lets just hope Beckett doesn't decide he needs a matching scar again! 

Cache First Cut

Look who got his first hair cut. 

Isn't he handsome. 

Learning to thrive

I've been thinking lately.

Moving into this new home has given me the opportunity to start new. Everything (almost) is organized just they way I like it. Its fresh. Its clean. It's like a new slate and I can wipe away all my bad old habits. 

As I thought about the temporal changes I was making, I thought about the spiritual and personal changes I needed to make. For the past two years I have been surviving day to day. Just doing the bare minimum to get by. I was getting lazy and it was affecting my attitude. Some days being a mother felt like a chore, not a blessing. It was easy to stay in my PJ's and let the house go. I was making excuses about not cooking dinner because Scott wasn't home to enjoy it. I was lonely, angry, and waiting for the day to go home. 

But now, I know. I am home. Having this house has changed everything for me. Its given me a sense of purpose, reason, peace and more importantly a sense of home. Now that I know in my heart I am home--I'm not afraid to let myself find comfort in Las Vegas. I never wanted to plant myself too deep here for fear that leaving would hurt too bad. I have met the most amazing people here and in a way was trying to protect myself from heartache. As cliche as it sounds. I'm more excited then ever to dive into Las Vegas and make it my home without any reservations. I'm ready to embrace this life.

So my goal everyday is too thrive. Not merely survive, but thrive. (I'm sure that would be a great catch phrase if I could find the right wording!) I wake up every morning, shower and get dressed--regardless if I am going anywhere or not. We make beds, read scriptures and start the day on the right foot. We listen to the mormon channel music all day and invite the spirit in our home. I find ways to keep the kids busy through out the day--I play with them. I enjoy them. We take a nightly walk and as a new part of bedtime we talk about the good things that happened during the day.

I'm not trying to sound self righteous or prove a point to anyone. Its just for the first time since we have moved to Las Vegas-- I feel like I can do it. I want to do right by my children. I have the energy and desire to make the most of my situation. I finally agree with the Lord that is where I am supposed to be. And I'm happy with it. I need to live up to the potential that he sees in me. Because I know he believes me. 

Now, if only I can remember this feeling of strength. I know there are rough days ahead. I know there are lazy mornings and days where I want to pull my hair out. But I hope to learn how to thrive in those situations as well. 

Its going to be a process and a learning experience for sure. But I'm excited for the change. And I'm proud of myself for taking this plunge.   

One Year Down

Well, we made it! After a few grueling days in a not so great hotel (that's a whole other post) we made it Las Vegas and have moved into our new home. Well, almost. It's a work in progress. It's been a ridiculously crazy 2 weeks and things haven't slowed down for a moment, but something very special happened during those chaotic few days--Cache had his first birthday. 

I wish I could have got the birthday post up sooner, but tonight is my first night with a computer and Internet--so it will have to do. Cachee Boy turned one on October 12th. Which happened to be the day we moved in, so he got the best first birthday present of anyone I know. A new house.

Because of the business of the days leading up to C's birthday, I did not get one thing done. At all. Not one. No party. No cake. No gift. Absolutely nothing. I was pretty bummed about it as I like to try to make birthdays a semi big deal, but this year it just seemed impossible. My amazing friends. I repeat--A-MAZING friends called and said not to worry about dinner for the night and that they would be bringing it in and asked if I needed anything else from the store. I replied with a no but later changed my mind and asked if they would mind picking up some cheap cupcakes and a candle. Their reply, "One step ahead of you. We got it covered." I burst into tears. I don't think they realize how much the gesture meant to me. I wasn't able to provide a birthday for my littlest love and without being asked they took care of everything for me. They brought a party in a bag complete with streamers, plates, cupcakes, a candle and balloons.

We took a break from packing and celebrated the birth of my sweetest baby. He was in awe of the candles and loved the cupcake. Which isn't much of a surprise. 

We ended the evening with opening some gifts and playing together until bed. It wasn't much, but it great. I love this boy with all my heart. I think back at the struggles of his pregnancy and the first few hard days of his life and am overwhelmed with gratitude for my healthy baby. I love this boy with all my heart and cannot imagine my life without him. He is exactly what the this family needed. He is exactly what I needed.

At a year Cache:

-Is a walking pro. He can stand up in the middle of the room to start walking and hardly ever crawls anymore.

-Likes to eat. Haven't found much he doesn't like.

-Is a chatter box.

-Adores his brothers. He follows them everywhere around the house and tries to play with them.

-Is a flirt and flashes those dimples to anyone who is willing to look.

-Waves.

-Is learning to blow kisses.

-Loves my phone and remotes and anything else with buttons.

-Has a major temper. He screams until he gets what he wants and then immediately stops when he gets it.

-Loves his mama.

-Can not go down stairs. By no fault of his own. I just never let him. 

We love Cache and are extremely happy he is a part of this family. 

Happy (late) birthday buddy!

Now that things have settled down, stay tuned for some good posts coming up.

You don't want to miss them! 

MIA

I'm still alive! I've haven't had much access to a computer lately and when I did have access I was super sick with the flu! The kids got it first and then passed it to me. It was pretty awful... Like super awful, but we made it out alive. And that's all that matters. 

Anyway, we are in Utah and headed back to Vegas tomorrow. We do a final walk through the house on Wednesday and get the keys Friday. So we'll be in a hotel for three nights in LV. I can't believe we survived and will be in the house in 5 days. I am beyond excited. 

I'll post pictures and update more as soon as we get our computer set up.

Until then... Wish us luck. One more week and this adventure will be over.