did you know?

* that one year ago on April 10th, we made our return flight home from the happiest place on Earth? Wow...time flies!
* that Zack is home safe and sound from his trip to Montreal and Quebec City...he had a great time and I will share some of his pics when I get them off his camera. He totally has the travel bug now and wants to go so many places...I hope he does!
* Brian headed back to work today...will be gone for the week. Seems like he has been home for so long (I guess he kinda has been...lol) and now we return to him being gone more than he's home.
* today, was the first day in at least a month my hands touched dishwater...lol. Seriously, between Brian and the boys, I haven't washed a dish in a loooong time.
* the Vegas trip is offically underway in the scrapbook department (2 pages completed this weekend)
* we bought a tent on the weekend...we're going camping this summer...can't wait!
* I still haven't filed my taxes
* I wore flip flops and capri pants today...it was that nice out... hooray!!
* I do not like the dirty look of Spring and can't wait to add some color to my yard
* I am so lucky to have the friends that I do ;-)
* even when they drive me crazy...I love all the men in my life!

k..that's enough of a random babble. I know you are all waiting for Vegas day 2 and it's coming...I promise! Hopefully after I take the boys to the city tomorrow for some new cloths and a new cell phone for Zack.

Vegas day 1

alrighty...here we go.
Not sure what you guys want to see or hear about...and some of it you won't cause some of what happens in Vegas must stay in Vegas (or at least not be posted publicly...lol)

So, we get up and head to the airport Monday morning (had to be there for 7am) at which time I find out from Brian he hadn't slept since about 2am cause he was so excited..OMG...lol!
The guy at security was kind of an a$$ but whatever, we get through. Flight was awesome. Normally, I don't do well with landing but didn't even notice this time...I even looked out the window as we hit the runway cause we were on the side of the plane that looked at the strip. You land literally right beside it...was way cool. Brian put the landing and the view on video. Was surprised (don't know why) that they have slot machines as soon as you get off the plane!!
Grab a cab and head to our hotel...took less than 20 mins. Our room was ready so we checked in and then headed to the Fashion Show Mall for lunch. Walked around a bit there and then headed off toward the Stratosphere. Stopped in at a few hotels/casino's along the way taking some pics of the interiors and lobbies etc. I had a thing for the different lights...they were so...i dunno...out there in some places.
We popped in to Circus Circus...didn't stay long though. Got to the Stratosphere...checked out the casino. Spent a few bucks and then headed to the top. Here's the view from inside the viewing tower:

this is the view from outside on the observation deck (a little bit higher still)


and this is the view Brian got when he went on the "Insanity" ride
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it hangs you out over the edge and spins around and around and your seat eventually is overlooking the strip at a 45' angle!! I watched while taking pics and making a video.

After this we hopped on the Deuce and went to Freemont Street. We had soo much fun in downtown Vegas. Spent some money at the Golden Nugget...


this is me...playing the slots for the very first time ever

this is me cashing out my $18.60 after putting in 2 bucks...I'm such a gambler...lol

After supper here, we checked out the hotel a bit...they have a waterslide that goes through a shark tank (that part is completely covered in obviously) but it would be kinda cool to go through.
We took in 2 or 3 of the Freemont Experience shows that they play on this dome like thing over the street all set to music. If I knew how to add video to my bog I would show you. It was sooo very cool (I'll see if I can figure it out and post it with day 2).
Brian had been wanting to go to 'Mermaids' sooo badly so we headed across the street and on the way in, he asked the ladies outside, who were passing out Mardi Gras beads, if they would pose for a picture with him. While they were posing, Brian let out a "woohoo"..I was thinking he was just excited to be here. Turns out, the one on the right, grabbed his ass so hard and held onto it for the duration of the photo!



I was sooo happy too cause they still have here, the older slot machines you put coins in and can pull the handle...Brian took a pic of me pulling the one arm bandit...

and this might be the highlight of the trip for Brian..a $0.99 deep fried twinkie
(also enjoyed at Mermaids)


With him being awake half the night and traveling, we called it a night pretty early. We took the Deuce back to Circus Circus and walked the rest of the way back to Treasure Island. Here are a few more snapshots:



I think we were in bed by 10:30...pretty sad for Vegas we know...lol!

Day 2 coming soon.

we're baaaaaack

and exhausted but had a blast!
Will be back soon to post pics and details...need to have a nap first...lol!

long time no blog

what a whirlwind we've been having around here lately. These last 2 weeks have flown by...some good...some bad!
Reilly is finished his hockey season (this is a good) and he went out with a bang. He was in a tournament last weekend and played his best games of the year...he was body checking, scoring game winning goals, named the Heart and Hustle recipient and was all over the ice both offensively and defensively...it was great to see.
He also turned 12 on the 20th and we celebrated with Tim Horton's doughnuts for him and a fellow teammate who's bday was the 21st and then with carrot cake on Sunday when the tournament was over. He is going shopping with his cash tomorrow.
I am taking him as I need to get some last minute things so we can pack and get ready to leave for Vegas...we are less than 3 days away and we haven't put a single thing in a suitcase...lol! I'm not worried though...we'll be ready! Mom is coming on Saturday or Sunday to stay with the boys. They will be keeping busy while we're gone so that's good. Gives me one less thing to worry about.
I am so ready for a vacation. Work these last 2 weeks have been mentally exhausting. These boys I work with have been very difficult to handle and it's taking it's toll. Been falling asleep on the couch by 9:30 lately! Can't wait to get away from it all and spend some adult time with Brian before he gets super busy with work and is gone all the time.
I have only done a bit of scrapbooking however, I don't have any pics of the layouts to share. After this trip, I'll have a ton more!!
Zack is excited about his upcoming trip to Montreal and Quebec City. He is gone for 5 days and will have some awesome experiences. Good thing we bought him a digital camera for Christmas. He's already asked me to make him a scrapbook.
Gavin is trying patiently to wait for soccer to start and Carsyn wants to try baseball. Looks like we'll have about a month of downtime before those 2 are into stuff. Good thing is neither sport here involves weekends....woohoo!
I need to apologize to all of you for not staying up to date with your blogs. I feel horrible..I just don't feel like I have had time to sit and get to them all. It's my goal to touch base with you all before I leave. Might even need to send an email or too. I am embarrassed too cause I owe some of you some happy mail. I am trying to get it together and in the mail also before I go back to work after Spring break and am too busy to take care of the simple things in my life.
How's the weather where you are? I was certain we were officially into Spring but mother nature seems a bit confused around here.
Anyone doing anything for Spring break?
I doubt I'll be back to post anything until after we get back next week.
I'm sure I'll have many more exciting things to share then...and pics too!

Play safe and have fun everybody,

struggling

with the fact that Gavin is accomplishing so many things these days. Even though I am soooo incredibly happy for him and proud of these accomplishments, it makes me a tad sad that there are a few less things he needs me for. For example, today (and apparently for some time), he logged himself onto Webkinz....spelling his username and password all on his own. Now this may seem silly to others but for me, it just kinda struck a funny chord.
Struggling with parenting in a different way. How do you get your child to be themselves and do the things they are good at without the fear of being ridiculed for being different? Not just from the kids at school...mostly his siblings?
Here's a little background info...Zack and Reilly are both pretty good at their respective sports. They have somehow convinced Carsyn that he isn't good at sports and they also mock the more creative artsy things he is interested in. Sports wise we don't have a lot of options right in the town we live in. Anything other than hockey, soccer or baseball has to be driven to at least 45 minutes away. There are no options other than dance on the creative side. So, I was thrilled to find a children's theatre in a city about an hour and twenty minutes away from here (one way) that is offering a summer drama camp for 2 weeks that Carsyn could take part in. He seemed all gung ho, I registered and paid today after school, only to have him come to me in tears 10 minutes later saying he didn't want to do it cause the boys were going to tease him (the last day ends with a performance I told him we'd all come watch). Dam near broke my heart and frustrated me all at the same time. I really don't know how to handle this? I don't want to force him to do something he doesn't really want to but I want him to know that it's more than ok to be who he wants to be. I feel horrible for him! I'm sure this will keep me up for a night or two!
Struggling with being a working mom too a little bit. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that Brian is the one at home and it's not me. The silly thing is, I am not missing out on any time with the kids as they are gone at the same time I am...it's kinda weird. Although, being awarded the "stretching yourself giraffe" at our staff meeting the other day helped reaffirm a little that I am in the right place. I guess working with these high needs kids is catching up with me!
Struggling with this upcoming trip too if you can believe it! As excited as I am, I am nervous about getting on a plane and leaving my kids behind...is that silly? I know they will be in great hands with my Mom and once we get to Vegas I'll be too busy to miss them but still...please tell me I am not alone?
Struggling with weight loss issues. This is nuts, I know but I am frustrated it's not coming off faster. I didn't even try to lose the first bit but now that I am...I seem to be stuck! A plateau I guess and it's normal I know but grrrrr!!! I had high hopes of losing 10 more the month of March(before our trip) and there is no way that's going too happen! I guess I should just celebrate the fact that I have dropped 2 pants sizes since November.

Thanks for reading/listening. I really needed to share...get this off my shoulders.

time flies

when you're having fun!
We had a four day weekend last week and spent some time with friends at their acreage quadding and sledding. Check out these pics...



the boys had a blast being pulled on the sled behind the quads. It was too much fun for all of us to spend time out there.
Then it got seriously stinking cold here...no buses ran so the boys stayed home while I went to work. We maybe had 30 kids in the building.
Today, it was +10 so after school we spent some time outside making these...

If you look really closely you can see that Reilly and his friend made a snow puppy...he's pretty cute! We came in soaking wet but had a blast so it was all worth it. It's crazy that from Tuesday to Friday, it warmed up 50 degrees!!
During our 4 day weekend, I spent one day with my friend scrapbooking. We started at 10:30 am and she left at 9:30pm. Her daughter and my boys played so awesome all day. Her DH came over and we ordered pizza for supper. The Dad's hung out, the kids played some more and we kept at it. Here are a few of the pages I did...
Zack thought he was tough enough to take his Dad on...not yet young lad...lol

I will use this page as a "title" page if you will in our Disney album and include the pics from the parade in different styled photo pages (ya know the ones that hold 4 or so photos that you would put in an album)

and another Disney age.
This one was for a Seussism challenge I issued at LITTD.

I have plans to scrapbook some more tomorrow. I am losing hope that our California album will be done by the time our one year anniversary rolls around. April 10th is fast approaching plus we are taking another trip before then.
Brian and I are down to 17 sleeps until we leave for Vegas.
We spent a day last weekend in the city trying to get some stuff that we'll need. He had to go away for work so we wanted to do some before it all became last minute. I still need to do a shopping trip but don't need Brian home for that. I think this next week we'll pull out the suitcases and start putting some things in. We are both VERY excited!!
The boys are quite excited too to have their Grandma here staying with them for the week. She asked them to think of a couple of fun things to go do while she is here. They miss having her so close and being able to see her all the time.
I've also been watching a lot of curling these last couple of weeks. It's weird..I don't have a clue how to play this game but I am addicted to watching the Scotties and the Brier. Hurry haaaard!!
Oh and we are 1 week away from being finished with hockey...can't tell you how happy that makes me!
Hope you are well. I am going to make the blog rounds this weekend to see what you've all been up too.

Until next time,
play safe and have fun!