Vegas

 We (Lace and Jax) took a little trip to Vegas where we met up with Grandma Cindy and Grandpa Ed.  We had  such a great time!  It was such a needed, enjoyable get-away.  We both enjoyed the swimming, going out to eat, Jabbawokees show, and just hanging out.  I love just hanging out with my peeps.  It's delightful!....and makes me a little homesick just thinking about it. 

On with the report: 

 We walked around the Belagio one afternoon and were amazed at the artsy flower arrangements.  Now I want to be a Florist.  (Kimi--when are we starting up our business???)  We even talked to some arrangers for a minute.  They re-do the arrangements every few days.  It sounds like a cool job to me but maybe you would get sick of it if you were doing it ALL THE TIME.  I'm not sure.  Their creations were really cool!   

 We were also amazed by this bakery/shop inside of the Belagio.  Look at this woman made of chocolate!  ORNATE is the best word I can come up with for these little treats and cakes.  (Ornate is one of my mom's favorite words too so it's perfect!) I bet they tasted as good as they looked too!  Now we officially have an entire wedding planned with the flowers and the treats...no one is getting married at the moment but we are prepared when the time comes.  :)

 The summer-themed flower garden was also picture-worthy.  We loved the flags along with the upside down umbrellas.  Who dreams up these things??!!  Creative. 

        This is the view from outside our window.  We thought it looked just like "The Capitol" from Hunger Games.  (It did!!!)  

And...some of the people in Vegas looked "Captiol-ish" as well.

 We went swimming a couple of times.  Jax loves swimming.  He loves to splash his hands in the water. These are pictures of the mini-zoo inside of the Mirage.  

We met up with Diane and Chris, Tishelle, and Kiddos for a few hours. (Thanks again for making the drive down.  And thanks Tishelle's mom for letting them borrow your SUV). There are dolphins behind us, if you cant tell.  They did a few jumps out of the water. Just like Sea World! 

 Above: The little boy cousins together.  I have to add in that at one point, Cameron had Jax laughing almost to the point of tears by jumping and throwing a paper up in the air about 50 times.  Simple Pleasures.   

Below: These white tigers were cool too!

Rrrroooaaaarrrrr!  

Extra things:  

-We went shopping at ROSS...twice... and spent a lot of money on some mega-cute items.

-My mom bought a CD from a street-rapper.  She's so nice.  Way to encourage the arts and music, Mom! ;)

-Why are there no pictures of Dad?  He was there too.  Or Diane?  She was there too.  (Because I didn't take my camera and these are just a few Smartphone pics from the Smartpeople)

-What are Mormons with young children doing in Vegas?  Just hanging out.  Clean fun only.

Thanks for the fun visit, all of you!

Rain.

The rain storms here are CRAZY.  I had forgotten since last time we lived in Texas/Arkansas!  I just thought I'd document it.  It's amazing what the weather can do in a matter of minutes!

7 months

Happy Independence Day!

We started the celebration by going to a San Antonio Missions Baseball game with John, Maddie, and Eli on July 3rd.  The weather was pleasant;; We had great seats; It was $2 Tuesday; The home team won!  Couldn't have asked for a better kick-off to celebrating USA!

The 4th was filled with yummy BBQ food, family Farkle game time, and just lounging around chatting.  It was so laid-back and enjoyable.  Thank you John and Family for joining us.

 

Maddie and I made our own version of this Patriotic Poke Cake and she had the brilliant idea to put a star on it with blueberries outlining it.  We were so proud of ourselves when it was all said and done because it was looking a little scary there for a while :)  So we documented our success by taking lots of pictures :)

We have enjoyed living near the military folk for the last few years due to Mark's jobs on Army posts.  It has truly given us a deeper appreciation for the sacrifice they and their families make.  We appreciate our great country and the freedoms we enjoy daily.  I love how the spirit of patriotism is almost tangible on days like this.  What a great holiday and reason to celebrate!

 GOD BLESS AMERICA.     

Father's Day

 On Father's Day, we were able to get together with my uncle John and his kids since they live in San Antonio too!  (Crazy how that worked out!)  I wanted to make the day special because it's Mark's 1st Official Father's Day.  We went to church and then had a big brunch complete with pancakes, whip cream, and fruit.  We also had eggs, sausage, Chocolate milk, and OJ (thanks John!).  We had great conversation with our visitors as it seemed like there was a lot to catch up on from life in general and to find out about the area as well.  They met and held the baby and we just hung out for a laid-back and nice afternoon.   

Mark opened his gifts that evening.  We spoiled him with a desk fan for work, a couple of ties, a lock for a "gym locker," and many new pictures for his office.  I'm now realizing that they are all work-related things but that's what was on his want list.  :)   For dinner, we had some yummy Greek Gyros.  Mark has been in to Greek food lately.  I'm still learning how to make it.

Mark is a fantastic father.  It has been a joy to watch him interact with Jax.  Mark is very good at getting Jax to laugh super hard.  I don't know if it's the tickling or the rough-play but I think it's adorable and we have several videos of it. :)  Mark is kind, helpful, caring, and a hard worker.  I love his ambitious spirit and how much he loves spending time with the family.  

YOU ARE A ROCK STAR, DADDY!!!!  HAPPY 1st!

Made It!

Hi Folks!!!! We are officially TEXANS!  I am now wearing cowgirl boots with a hat daily.  :)  Actually, it's pretty HOT so I stick with flip flops and a pony tail.  Mark is enjoying his job and trying to get through the "first week at a new job"  learning curve.  He anticipates learning a lot from his coworkers and new tasks.  We are all happy! 

Ta ta for now.

6 Months