The Wind Strikes Again

We headed up to Red Rock Canyon a few days ago with high hopes of a family hike.

 

But it was not to be. It was really windy and Jansen flipped that switch in his brain where he becomes deathly afraid of it. He WOULD NOT GET OUT OF THE CAR. His little legs were shaking and he was so worried about it. Nate ended up going on a hike for about an hour with Natalie, his faithful companion. Well, I'm his faithful companion too, but she is more faithful when it comes to outdoorsy stuff. Jansen and I hung out in the car and I took a little nappy nap. Because I'm pregnant and stuff.

I've missed the West. It's beautiful.

 

I love Nate in the background. He is definitely looking at a bird. And I love my brave little Natalie hiker.

Bedtime Checklist

Pillow - CHECK
"Train track light blue blanket" - CHECK
Stuffed monkey - CHECK
Cars blanket - CHECK
Goggles - CHECK

Everyone Needs One

A Kami that is.

She will take you to wonderful restaurants that feature the world's most expensive dessert...a $1000 sundae that is served in a crystal goblet with an 18k gold spoon. What you see here is just some tasty nachos.

 

Which were the appetizer before our frozen hot chocolate and fried oreo sundae.

Get yourself a Kami and she will make your 2 year old actually hold still for several minutes. Who knew it was possible?

She will feed your children. Cheerios. Through a cardboard tube.

It's a jolly holiday with Kami.

Why are Kamis in such high demand? Well, they act as personal stylists and shoppers and help you make sure that you retain some sort of fashion sense as you wade through motherhood.

You can't tell me you don't want one.

Not Completely Desolate

This picture WAS in fact taken here in Las Vegas. It's not completely desolate out here. We had a nice evening at this state park eating Sonic and marching at the geese to scare them away.

I'm surprised at how much I am liking it out here. But here's the thing...Nate hasn't started residency and it hasn't gotten all that hot yet. I am trying to prepare myself for *real* life in a couple weeks. Many, many times a day I get that ache for things and especially people that are familiar and comfortable. I just want to know right where the worcestershire sauce is in the grocery store. I want to know the best place to get pizza. I want to know all the names of the kids in Natalie's nursery class and who their parents are. I want to know which dollar store is the best. I want to know all my options for preschool this fall. But its the relationships that I miss the most...I'm definitely longing for those faces and voices that came to mean so much to me.  

Adjusting

Our first day I here I kind of went a little crazy and I think everyone knew to stay away because I would either burst into tears or snap at them. Our electricity and gas weren't on and although we got power the next day (Thursday), we didn't have gas (hot showers/baths, the dryer, the dishwasher) until Monday. When combined with the fact that my whole life was in boxes and I was in an unfamiliar place, this was devastating to me. The days passed quickly though and we had a great time with my mom and Aunt Robin who were here when we arrived and helped us through those first few days. And you know how those first few days are!

We ate out a lot and ate on the floor a lot.

I am so in love with the enclosed backyard. The kids are in heaven back there, and they make huge messes, but they are fun, creative messes and it keeps them busy.

One night we had dinner at the Cannery Casino buffet and they had food representing all different parts of the world. Always the best part of a buffet though...the unlimited soft serve ice cream. 

So far I actually think the weather is nice. It's REALLY bright and warm, but not too hot yet. I am basically going to be going through my last trimester in the hottest place ever. You will hear lots of complaining about the heat soon enough.

Something else I am loving...this room on the main floor that will be a playroom. We cut the legs of our old kitchen table and the kids use it now. I'm so glad to have a place for the toys besides the living room!

And the best part about Vegas? The Comins are here! We had dinner together yesterday and it was so nice to be with people we are comfortable with. Nate and I always joke that when we move somewhere new we have to "date" the other couples and see who is a good match for us. It was nice to just be with old friends instead of starting all over and "dating" right away.

I am realizing I have to drink a lot out here. The first few days I did not feel well (threw up one night but I think that was because avocadoes and I don't get along) and I kept telling Nate I just didn't feel right and I realize now I was not drinking enough. Gotta stay hydrated!

Here are the kids in my mom's hotel watching an outdoor concert. Yes, Las Vegas is a skanky little town.

From There to Here

After many many miles...

I am reporting to you from sunny Las Vegas!

All this stuff (well, most of it...some things wouldn't fit and we had to ditch our TV in Missouri because it was damaging some of our other things) miraculously made it from this garage:

 

To this garage:

It took some strong, good looking men:

And two VERY helpful, happy, fun, and selfless individuals:

But we made it and we had lots of good times along the way.
Nauvoo was beautiful and Carthage was incredible.

Springfield, Missouri was a fine time thanks to these men:

We drove A LOT. A LOT. And narrowly missed deadly tornadoes, seriously.

Which meant we needed to invent games like who could carve a shovel out of a carrot only using their teeth.

Gallup, New Mexico hosted us as we waited out a dust storm that closed the highway. Boy am I glad I don't live there.

And Flagstaff, AZ has a pretty tasty Denny's. Maybe we were just really hungry.

We pulled up to our new home on Wednesday. But that's for another post.

A Beautiful Place and Cute Faces

Last night for Family Home Evening we went to our temple, the Columbus Ohio Temple. Who would have thought that when we moved out here from Utah we would be closer to a temple than we were in Utah!

As Nate gave a short lesson about the temple, I thought about its importance in my life and the significance of the things I learn and feel there. It helps me apply principles to real life situations that I experience everyday...reminds me to work on not speaking badly of others, to have patience with my family and those around me, to try to always have love in my heart...things I need help with each and every day.

And it especially reminds me of the how lucky I am to have family and friends and to make sure those relationships are nurtured and treated with great respect and care.

This might be my last post before we take off on Saturday. Things are getting busy!
These are all pictures that I stole from Monica. Thank you for always being the picture taker!

Always a Little Awkward

It's always a little awkward when you go to a fondue party and everyone only eats one plate of goodies. But you have 3 plates. At least. And then they all go play basketball but you drive home and snack on sausage dip and chips as you drive.