Family Fun

This past week our family used our time share in Las Vegas. It was just going to be me and the little kids, but things changed throughout the week. The first few days with Emily and Joseph was a lot of fun. We walked on the strip.
Visiting all of our favorite stores, like the Coca Cola store.....

....and the M&M store. They watched the 3D movie ......

......and shopped and hung out with characters.

We ate lunch at the Rain Forest Cafe and looked at the lions.

We went shopping at the outlet malls and Emily got a really nice new hair straightener. I got a new dress. Joseph got a hat. It was fun.

I spent a lot of time making this 1000 piece puzzle. I LOVE puzzles. They also swam a lot.

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Dennis then decided that he wanted to join us. A happy surprise for me. He took a bus and we picked him up. The next morning Christopher flew in from his dad's. He had been there for a couple months so we were all excited to see him.

We decided to surprise the kids and we took them to the Blue Man Group. They all loved it!

I hate pictures of me. I think they are hideous. I thought since this is our family journal that I should appear at times. Friday was a fun day.....for me. Since I hadn't seen Christopher for so long we went out on a mall date. I got my haircut and we both got our teeth whitened. It really didn't work that great. I helped him pick out a new cowboy hat and enjoyed our time greatly. Back at the condo however is a different story. Emily was yelling at some lady at the pool who made a rude comment to her. It's like rattling a lion's cage. Dennis finally got her upstairs and to sleep. Whew, she can really test your patience. That night Christopher watched the kids while Dennis took me on a date. He took me to the Paris hotel and we went up to the top of the Eiffel Tower. The view was gorgeous and we even got to watch the Bellagio water show from above. So great. We then went to the fanciest restaurant ever. It was a french steakhouse. The prices were so high. I think Dennis almost had a heart attack. To get a side dish you had to pay $7 more so we just ordered our steak. It was the most delicious meal ever. Well, not really a whole meal, but yummiest steak ever. It was romantic. I do not have too many romantic times with Dennis so I wanted to remember it. He bought me an Eiffel Tower ornament to remember this most special night.

Joseph enjoyed having his brother stay with him and play games and hang out. He had missed him too.

Saturday was our last day and our real reason for going on vacation. Someone special in our "family" was having his birthday party at Calico Ghost Town. We planned it way in advanced because Joseph and him get along so good. On the way we stopped at our favorite Alien Jerky store. Their Jerky is the best in the world!

One of my favorite girls in the world was there. She ran and hugged me. I just love her so much.

The party was amazing. They got to do so many things. They got to take an old fashioned picture.

Christopher got to hang out with the adults.

A great place for them.

They got to do leather stamping.

Chris arrested Dennis.

We ate lunch in a cool restaurant. The kids played Go Fish.

We got to take the mine tour.

This is Joseph and his "cousin". These two boys adore each other and getting to do this party was so awesome. It was great. They got to pan for gold, go through the mystery shop, get free rocks at the rock shop and so much more. The best part was the company. A wonderful day with people I love so much. It was way too short of a visit though. I guess we will make up for it on our cruise next month. The drive back to Vegas seemed long, but we went swimming one more time when we got back and left the next morning for home. I am glad to have us all home and all together. It was a long week and I cherish the memories.

Watch Out For That.........Pole?

Who knew that night games were so dangerous? Joseph looks forward to night games all week. I guess it's the thing to do in 7th grade. They play all sorts of games and the best part is the socialization they get with girls. Joseph was running as fast as he could during one of the games. Full speed in the pitch black night. He then ran into a pole. The kind of pole that holds up a big tree. It got him good. I got a frantic call and drove right over. It was indeed very dark and I drove him home to figure out the source of all the blood. I knew the big gash in his head would need stitches, so we were off to the ER. Not without a lot of screaming and crying on Joseph's part. We had to force him in the car because he was terrified of getting stitches. Emily was crying and calling Christopher to tell him about the tragedy getting him all concerned. She was saying that it looked like Joseph was stabbed in the head. She was frightened. Luckily a great friend picked her up and took Emily under her wing. The whole ride there was frantic screaming from a scared boy not wanting stitches. He ending up only needing a few stitches on his head. They put steri-strips on the cuts in his ear and on his neck. He has a big bruise on his chest and elbow and his knuckles were all scraped up. He almost broke my hand he squeezed it so hard during the procedure. When it was over Joseph sang a different tune. He said that stitches are awesome and he can't wait to show everyone. He wanted me to make sure and blog about it. So, here it is. Our adventurous night. Maybe he will change his game strategy.

Newish Car

I have been wanting a car for a while now. It finally became a need. My Expedition was falling apart. It was just over 100k miles and all the little problems started to add up. I loved my Expedition. It was the kind of car I always wanted, but could never afford. When Josh died, I used some insurance money to buy it. It was the best car I will probably ever own. It was a little sad to see it go. I was very lucky to be able to get a newer car today. I say newer because it has 19k miles on it. It seems brand new to me. It even has a new car smell. It is a KIA Borrego. It is a little smaller than an Expedition and can only seat 7 instead of 8. It is very nice though and I feel so grateful to be able to get this car before all of my upcoming travels. I am super excited for my new car and so are my kids. Dennis is just trying to adjust to the car payment. I need to start subbing a little more I think.

Super Bowl XLV

As many of you know, we are HUGE Packer fans! What a huge treat for us this year that our team was in the Super Bowl. We got lots of fun snacks and got all decked out and decorated the family room.
The Green Pay Packers are their dad's favorite team. He loved them since he was a little boy. The last time the Packers won the Super Bowl was in 1997. I remember how giddy Josh was. Just like a little boy. His face was so joyful. We carry his love and passion for the Packers as a way to feel close to him. Emily asked me today what her dad would think if he was there. Then she said that he probably was there. I don't know if he was there or not, but I do know it made her feel close to her daddy. That's why it means so much. It's not a game to us, it's a connection to my children's father, and they need it.

When they WON, they cheered and yelled and cheered so more. Oh, I was the loudest! What a wonderful evening. I love sharing these moments with my babies. We just love football and having your team win the Super Bowl is very exciting!

Emily feels very passionately about her team. She was yelling, "In your face! We are number one!"

New Beginnings

Tonight was New Beginnings. It is a big night because I am in Young Women's, but tonight was very special. It was Emily's turn to be introduced this year. She was super excited and wanted to look perfect. She thought she looked so good she kept singing that man I feel like a woman song. She is so funny.
I cannot believe how grown-up she has become in the last little while. She had so much fun and felt so special. She was part of the group of girls and it was so good to see how happy she was. It was a great night for my growing up girl. I wish it didn't go so fast.

Emily's Day

Emily got some special treatment today. She was given a free day of pampering at a wonderful friend's hair salon. Her ratty mess of hair was transformed into this lovely creation.

On the way home she wore bags on her hands because of her paraffin wax treatment. She felt so special. How lucky are we to have someone do something so special for my sweet daughter. What a blessing.

After we got home, Emily had to get ready for her clogging pictures. She was supposed to wear make-up and I think she looked way too old, but way beautiful. This is Emily with her clogging teacher. She just adores her clogging teacher who just happens to be one of my young woman that I also adore. Emily felt so beautiful today. It was good to see her smiling! I want to thank all of the people who go out of their way to make my daughter feel loved. It means the world to me!

Bringing in the New Year

We were so blessed to have our favorite people come for a visit. They stayed for 6 days and it was a complete joy!!!
We took the kids to Nickel City. They had a blast!

This is me with two of my best friends! Jamie and Dennis!!

We also celebrated Christine's Birthday!!

The boys had a lot of fun making a snowman. Jamie's kids have never really had a chance to experience snow, so it was a special treat for them.

They were all excited to sled. They had a great time!

Joseph made a ramp to catch some air and also snow boarded down the hill. That kid likes to mix it up!

I had such a great time with my friend and her kids. They are family to us all. My kids call her kids cousins. Jamie is my sister by heart. I just love her. We were able to go shopping, see a couple movies, eat out, play games and just talk the night away. She even did all my laundry. It was quite a feat and very much appreciated. We also got to play games with one of my other friends here which was a blast!

New Years was so much fun! We did sparklers,

Fireworks,

and toasted in the new year!!

I even got my New Years Kiss!!!

Happy New Year 2011........But wait!

I was outside toasting my friend and Dennis comes out and tells me not to worry, Chris is okay, but there has been an accident. I don't care who says my son is okay, car accidents freak me out. I was widowed by a car accident and both my grandfathers died in a car accident and one on New years eve. Camron had called Dennis. I couldn't get there soon enough. When I got there I saw something like the photo above. I was too much of a nervous wreck to take a real picture. Plus it never crossed my mind. Christopher was already in the ambulance, so I hopped in. My mom's car was down a ditch. Christopher and the car were not injured at all. Not one scratch on either of them. Christopher was alone and he must have passed out. He said he felt dizzy and tried to pull over. That is when I believe he passed out and a heavenly helper drove him off the road in the opposite direction to safety. The car was going very slowly and the snow stopped the car. What a blessing. It took a few hours, as usual, to get him to be coherent. It was a long first few hours of the new year in the E.R. We got home close to 5 a.m. What a scary night. We were truly blessed.

Other things seem to be looking up as well. We found my step-son's missing dog. The happiest news besides Christopher's life not being in danger is that Dennis, after three years, has gotten a full time job. YAY!!! He is going to keep his two part time jobs, but I think that is crazy and hopes he burns out soon so I can spend more time with him. I miss him when he works so much. The blessing I truly want has not come my way, yet. I am hoping and praying for a miracle!!! Jamie and her kids left on Sunday morning. We all miss them and can't wait to see them again soon. Thanks for coming my friend. I love you and your family. We all love you!!!