22,000 Steps

For a few months we have been talking to Adelyn and Odin about the "Big Surprise." Ben has occasionally given clues to them,for instance, we need to take a plane there. Well, on December 13 the Big Surprise was revealed - Disney World! It was funny... when we got to the property to check into our hotel, we told the kids where we were. We had 2 blank stares. They had no idea what Disney World was. But they quickly found out! We checked into our hotel and went off to the Magic Kingdom.

We spent the most time at the Magic Kingdom, but we also went to Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios and Epcot Center. We did all the rides and shows that Adelyn and Odin would like. I was surprised as to how many rides Genevieve could go on with us. That was a nice surprise.

Our typical day was to sleep in, grab breakfast at our hotel, head to a park, go back to the hotel for naps, wake up for night time park fun. The kids did very well on this schedule. It was nice too, because at night the lines to the kiddie rides were very short. Didn't even need Fast Passes!

One day I decided to use the pedometer feature on my phone. By the end of the day I had more than 22,000 steps! The next day was pretty much the same. The amazing part - Adeyln and Odin walked most of those with us. Our last night we had the stroller for Odin, otherwise Genevieve was in it. I am so impressed with the amount of walking they did.

I could write a super long post, but instead I'll just list some highlights.

- Princess lunch with Belle and the other princesses
- Breakfast with Chip and Dale and Goofy
- Lunch with Winnie, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore
- Breakfast in Cinderella's castle
- Random invite to skip the line to see Anna and Elsa
- Everest roller coaster
- Animal safari
- Countless smiles and shrieks of delights

Thankful Tree 2014

In November we started a new family tradition - a Thankful Tree. I bought a stand-up tree from Target and cut out paper leaves. Several times throughout the month, we would share what we were thankful for. Then we added the leaves to the trees. Here is what we were thankful for:

Odin
I'm thankful for...
God
Boo-boo
Grandma reading to me and letting me paint on her tablet.
Mac and cheese and cereal
Watching Mickey Mouse movies on mommy's phone and TV.

Adelyn
I'm thankful for...
Mac and cheese
My family
Mommy and I like your shirt
Genevieve
Muffins

Ben
I'm thankful for...
My children coming in and snuggling with me this morning.
Mommy's back rubs.
My staff hiring someone without my help.

Me
I'm thankful for...
That we can spend time with friends.
That even though we [the girls] live far apart we are still super close.
Play dates.
That daddy let me go for a run.
Adelyn puts a smile on my face.

Woof: I'm thankful for grandma coming.

Dolly: I'm thankful for mommy.

Grandma: I'm thankful for being able to spend time with my 3 special grandchildren.

Heather: Girlfriends who travel lots of miles for a last minute weekend.

Andrea: I'm thankful for Grandparents and that they make girls weekend possible.

Cassie: I'm thankful for annual girls weekend. 11 Years and 6 Years.

October Fun

Yikes! I am way behind on this. I thought about skipping October and going straight to November, but there are some things I wanted to document, so here I am. In no particular order...

Oktoberfest - One thing I like about other countries is their culture. Being in America, I feel like we have a lack of culture. A while back I decided that perhaps we can do things as a family that is a reflection of our heritage. If nothing else, it's a fun family thing to look forward to. For our Oktoberfest I wanted to have a German breakfast. For us, that means brotchen. I looked up a few recipes and was all set to make it when I thought about the logistics. Quickly I decided that I didn't want to wake up in the middle of the night to make it. Fortunately, I found a German bakery. The kids and I headed over there in the morning. We picked up the brotchen along with kinder chocolate and real German gummies. We had a yummy breakfast with brotchen, salami, and cheese. For lunch we had Nuremberg brats from Trader Joe's. They are Ben's favorite from his time in Germany. After lunch I taught the kids how to polka. We finished our fest with the Chicken Dance. We were going to make pretzels, but ran out of time. Next year!

Halloween - This year we once again headed over to the Lantz's for Halloween. We headed over there in the afternoon for some play time. Then we went to their club house for an early dinner. Dinner was good, but service was slow! After that it was time to change. Adelyn was Rapunzel again (she liked the pink and purple costume the best), Odin was Thomas the Train and Genevieve was Cinderella. We had a lot of fun. The kids got a lot of candy. We actually still have most of it left! The kids were more interested in playing with it than eating it.

Genevieve - Genevieve had her 2 month well check. She did great during the ridiculously long appointment. The appointment was at 11:30 and we got out of there after 1. We are switching doctors for sure! She weighed in at 11 pounds 4 oz and was 22 inches long.

Vegetables - The kids and I headed over to Gilcrease Orchards to pick some veggies. We ended up there the week before Halloween. It was packed! Everyone was busy getting their pumpkins. We picked beets, zucchini, sweet potatoes and a pumpkin. With two little helpers, it was a kind of pathetic haul, but it was fun. For a treat we had some of their apple donuts. Those were pretty amazing. I will definitely go back,but next time I will bring Ben and the baby carrier for G.

Brian's Birthday Party

When we first moved to Vegas, we spent a lot of time at the Platinum Hotel. The location was good. Prices decent. We had a kitchen and washer/dryer. But most of all, the staff were amazing! Most of our contact was with the valet guys. They knew us by name and were always super friendly. Especially to the kids. In addition to the valet crew, there was a guy, Brian, that worked security. He would pop into the lobby when he saw us and blow bubbles for the kids. The kids LOVED this. When we moved into our condo, Adelyn was missing her friends at the Platinum. So, one day we made cookies and pictures and went for a visit.

Fast forward to last week. Adelyn started being sad that we weren't at the Platinum. Somehow she got it into her head that it was Brian's birthday and that we should make a cake and have a party. Wasn't sure about the party part, but I figured we could always bring a cake over. Adelyn was so excited!! I let her pick out a cake mix and frosting at the store (pink and pink because she insisted he loved pink). We made the cake and headed over there.

Unfortunately... Brian no longer works there. Adelyn was so disappointed. But I give her tons of credit - she handled it so well! After talking through our options, she decided we could give the cake to the valet guys. So we stepped outside and were immediately greeted by name! It was a slow time so we chatted for a few minutes with them. It felt like seeing friends again!

Getting Our Greek On

The end of September was the Greek Food Festival. We decided that sounded like fun. Parking was a little on the crazy side, but it didn't take us too long to find a spot. The kids had fallen asleep on the drive there, so I fed Genevieve in the car while we let them rest.


Our first stop was for food, of course. We had way too much... gyros, pita and hummus, Greek fries, saganaki (fried cheese), loukoumathes (deep fried dough with honey) and of course baklava.


Near the food tent they had a stage with live music and dancers. Adelyn thought it was too loud, but we enjoyed watching and listening.


After our tummies were stuffed, we walked over to the rides. Adelyn and Odin picked the kid Ferris wheel to go on, followed by a bounce house. They both had so much fun.


By then we were ready to go. Mostly because it was getting chilly and for some reason we didn't think to pack jackets. Silly us.


On our way out we bought Adelyn a scarf with coins sewed all over it (think like a belly dancer). It seemed like all the little girls were wearing them. Odin wanted one too, but the nice lady at the booth found a light-up toy for him instead. Adelyn has been having fun with the scarf. It makes a bunch of noise when she dances. :)

Thirteen Years

On September 15, Ben and I celebrated 13 years of marriage. Well, we celebrated the weekend before, but you know what I mean.

Rick and Mickey came into town for the weekend, so we took full advantage! On Friday we went shopping. I did a horrible job of packing non-maternity clothes when we moved back to Vegas. I literally did not have anything to wear for a nice dinner. Oops. We found an awesome store at Fashion Mall. Can't remember what it's called, but I could have bought just about one of everything in the store and would have worn them all. Only down side of this store is that it is expensive. Of course. So, I settled on one dress for Saturday night.

Friday night we had friends in town, so we met up with them for a drink and a walk around the Linq and the Strip. It was fun to see them and spend time with them.

Saturday afternoon, Ben and I headed over to Mandalay Bay for their day club. Krewella was playing at the pool. We had a lot of fun. The girls rocked it!

That evening Ben and I went out to dinner. It was my pick. I almost went for Steak n' Shake, but decided that since the kids like that place, I should pick a place that they don't like. So we went to Sushi Roku. We had some excellent hunks of fish. So good. They gave us free dessert. So nice!

After that we walked around the mall a bit, mainly to get out of it. But we stopped by a cool gallery. We found a print we both really liked. Turns out it could be ours for the low price of $6800. Hmm... Maybe not. Then we went on a hunt for dessert (don't judge! it was our anniversary!). The first place we tried to go to didn't exist. So we walked to the Mirage. That place didn't exist either. We ended up at BLT Burger. They have awesome shakes. So we got that. So full.

On Monday, our actual anniversary, was busy with laundry and running around getting things for Ben's trip to Peru the following day. We ended up at a Greek restaurant for dinner. The kids didn't really like it, but Ben and I were in gyro heaven! Their pitas so so good!

And thus concluded our 13 year celebration.

Firsts

Even though Genevieve is our third child, we still had some firsts with her.

She was the first to have formula. Before leaving the hospital, they checked her bilirubin. It was elevated. Ben and I weren't concerned since both other kids had this and everything was fine. But for some reason they freak out about that here. So, our choices were one more night in the hospital while they put her under lights in the nursery, or supplement her feedings with 20 ml of formula for 24 hours. We would rather be home. So we agreed to formula. Her bilirubin dropped drastically by the next day when we brought her in again. No more formula!

She went to her first buffet at about 36 hours. We had both sets of grandparents in town. I felt great. So, Sunday morning we all went out to brunch. The hostess was a little appalled that we took our newborn out. To a casino. Where there are germs. Someone else thought that we had the baby and then flew to Vegas. But one thing is for sure, the Bacchanal Buffet is AMAZING! The food was terrific. And you should see the dessert counter. I would pay just for that! Genevieve did great.

She was the the first to co-sleep with us. Honestly, this was due mainly to the fact that I was so completely tired. I would just snuggle up with her to feed her and fall asleep. When she fussed, we would roll over and she would eat some more and I would go back to sleep. As I got caught up on sleep, or my body got used to the lack of sleep, I started to get paranoid that she would suffocate - she really liked to snuggle into me. So, gradually we transitioned her to her crib. I miss my snuggle bug, but I think it's the best for both of us to get a good night's sleep.

She is the first to like tummy time. Just a few times I've put her on her tummy. Absolutely no complaints! Adelyn and Odin would basically scream bloody murder until we moved them back to their backs, or they figured out how to roll. Genevieve does not mind one bit. In fact, I think she likes it. I'm trying to take advantage of that.

Genevieve Marie

At 9:30 pm on August 22, 2014, we welcomed Genevieve Marie into our lives.

She was 8 pounds, 1 oz and 20.5 inches long. Ten fingers. Ten toes. And absolutely perfect!

On August 21 I had my weekly doctor's appointment. I was dilated to a 2. I figured that our little girl would be making her appearance soon. My mom had flown in on the 16, so we had child care for Adelyn and Odin all set, so really, the baby could come whenever she wanted to. That night I had contractions on a fairly regular intervals (every 6 minutes). But they weren't painful yet. Before heading to bed, Ben and I made sure our bag for the hospital was all set and ready to go.

We made it until morning with nothing much happening. We had breakfast and tried to have a normal day. I played with A and O. I worked a bit. Contractions were coming more frequently. And they were starting to hurt. Ben started to get concerned that we were going to have the baby on the freeway on the way to the hospital, so after we fed the kids (well, everyone but me) we packed up in the cars and went to the hospital.

They checked me out and I was at 4 cm with a bulging bag, so they weren't going to let me go anywhere without having the baby first. Once I got into a room, we said goodbye to Adelyn, Odin and Grandma.

The nurse,Janice, was having technical difficulties with our room. She couldn't get the computer up. That meant she couldn't monitor remotely my contractions or the baby. That meant she had to stay in our room. That was fine, just annoying for her because she had to keep calling other nurses in to do things. We all thought baby was going to come quickly, so Janice was working quickly to get everything set. I made it to 6 cm. and had just got an epidural when the decision was made to move me to a room with working technology. I think Janice thought the baby was going to be delivered in the hallway. She kept informing everyone helping to move me (had to move the bed because of the epidural) that I was at 6 and this was my third. We made it without incident to the new room.

Then things slowed down. I think my body was too comfortable. Contractions slowed way down and my progress slowed down too. At this point they wanted to give me to pitocin. We asked if we could wait an hour. The doctor agreed. So, we tried to make me uncomfortable. Instead of relaxing in a reclined position, I sat up more to get gravity to help more. I moved from side to side every 10-15 minutes to get the baby to move on her own. It worked! I was back to making process.

At some point during all this, my doctor made the call that he wasn't going to deliver for me. He technically had the day off and had already been at the hospital most of the day with others. Janice assured me that the doctor on call was excellent and one of her favorites.

Nurse change! We said goodbye to Janice and said hello to Keisha. She was very nice too. My pain level was going up. We talked about getting more drugs. We had some more administered. The next time I was checked, she asked me to do a practice push to make sure I could push. She said the baby's head was "right there." So I gave a little push. Keisha started to yell at me to stop. She told me to not even sneeze until the doctor came in.

Our room got a little busy with the baby nurse getting everything ready and Dr. Juarez getting ready. He asked if I was ready to push. Sure! Let's get this over with. :) With the next contraction he had me push. He told me to stop basically mid-push... she was born! Seriously, less than one push and she was out. No tears even.

Adelyn's 4 Year Well Check

Adelyn has been asking for weeks when she gets to go to the doctor. The combination of me going weekly and her fascination with Doc MCStuffins has fueled this. I'll take it! I finally got all medical records transferred and new insurance in place. On Friday she finally got her appointment.

She weighed in at 40.0 pounds (78 percentile) and is 42 inches tall (83 percentile).

She was being a little shy, so she wasn't talking much when the doctor came in. So, naturally the doctor asked if she had any problems speaking, forming sentences, etc. I chuckled. She's been a talker for so long now, I barely remember her not talking in complete sentences! Meanwhile, Odin wasn't shy, so he was busy telling the doctor lots of things. She was impressed with his speaking too. I wonder where my kids get it...

Adelyn did end up needing shots. Uh oh. In Minnesota she didn't need any until 5. But here, they do the last round before school at 4. So, she got 2 shots. We talked about it while we waited for the nurse to return. She was so brave! After the nurse left the room again, she let out a little sob and said, "Mommy, that did hurt a little bit!" But that was it. I think knowing that a sucker was coming helped.

Getting Settled

We have been back in Vegas for two weeks. And what a crazy two weeks it has been!

When we got here we had a mattress, two folding chairs, a memory foam pad, a highchair and a pack n' play. And a few random kitchen things. Not much to live on. We started off looking on craigslist for furniture. Turns out that is a lot of work. We wasted so much time! In the end, we did get a bed for Adelyn and that's it. We found a nice furniture place (after going to two separate ones that ended up to be being out of business). We ended up with a couch and rug for the living room, dining room table and chairs for the dining room (duh) and a mattress. And just in time!

Friday night we had our first event at our house. We ended up having about 30 or so people over. It was a busy day of shopping and food prep. First guests started arriving around 9 pm. We had a great time and it was fun to see the different social groups collide.

Saturday Mickey came to town for a few days. And on Sunday Rick joined us.

It is so nice to have some furniture. It was getting challenging to eat every meal on the floor. And I'm sure Rick and Mickey appreciated a mattress versus sleeping on the hardwood floors. We are still on the look out for a few more pieces, but we've actually been enjoying the minimalist lifestyle we have started. 

Gone

This past Father's Day the plan was to meet my parents, brother and Katie to go bowling followed by dinner. The kids were both so tired that we had them take a nap before the festivities. They were still sleeping when it was time for us to go. I was about to text my brother to let him know we were running late when he texted me saying that Gram wasn't doing too well. They were going to stop by the rehab center on the way to go bowling.

Doug, Jane, Leah, mom, dad and Jacob were all there. They couldn't wake her up at all. Her breathing was labored. She would take a breath and wouldn't exhale for a few moments. Then she took her last breath.

Needless to say, Father's Day wasn't what any of us were expecting. We decided to pick up dinner and eat in the privacy of my parent's house.

My last conversation with my grandma wentsomething like this:
Gram: How are your beautiful children?
Me: They're great. They must get their looks from the Obert side of the family.
Gram: [blank look]
Me: I mean Bridenbaugh (her maiden name).
Gram Yes. That's more like it.

Even with her difficulty breathing, lack of energy, etc. she still was able to show off her feisty wit. I miss her so much.

First Broken Heart

The other day I was going downstairs to let Zoey out. Odin followed me down. Zoey was in the middle of doing her "business" when I heard Adelyn upstairs crying hysterically. I hurried Zoey along and ran upstairs. Adelyn was sitting in her chair in the library, holding her blanket. I asked her what was wrong.

Adelyn: He broke my heart!
Me: Who, sweetie?
A: Odin!
Me: How did he do that?
A: He told me I couldn't go downstairs with you and that just broke my heart!

Happy 4th Birthday Adelyn!

What a lucky girl this year - she got two birthday parties!

On July 1 we celebrated with Grandpa and Grandma O, Uncle Pranob, Auntie Krys and Asher, Uncle Jake and Katie and Uncle Doug and Aunt Jane. Asher's birthday is July 4, so we had a combined party for the two cousins. Pranob and Krys made some yummy tandoori chicken. Adelyn and I made cupcakes. She picked out a recipe that she thought Asher would like. They were supposed to look like this:

They didn't quite work out that way, but they sure were tasty! 

As we were singing the happy birthday song, I realized that it was the first celebration without my grandma (more on that later). Typically with my family we sing also sing the birthday song from "Howdy Doody." I was really hoping that no one starting in on that after the typical birthday song, because there was no way I was going to be able to keep it together. Fortunately for me, no one tried to start it up. Phew.

On July 3, we headed up to the lake. There was a party waiting for us there! Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle John, Aunt Sara, Malachi, Simon and Coen were waiting for us. They had games and prizes set up for the kids. Adelyn had so much fun. Well, I think all the kids did. 

Adelyn, I love you so much. You are growing into such a fun and spunky girl. I love that you love to dress up, even if that leaves your room a disaster. You are sensitive and kind. You are a great helper in the kitchen. You love books. You are willing to try new things. You still bring use your purple blanket, but it doesn't have to come everywhere with us. You like crafts. In so many ways, you are like a little me. Happy Birthday, Little Lou!

Blow Flowers

While it makes sense, I'm not sure why Adelyn calls dandelions "blow flowers." She was so excited the other day to find a bunch of blow flowers at Como Zoo.

 

The other day Odin waved and said, "Bye! Going [to] Timbuktu!"

This morning around 6:30, Adelyn said, "Mom! Mommy, come to my room quick!" I jumped out of bed and "ran" to her room. "What is it?" She replied,"Mommy, can you open my window so I can hear the frogs and birds?" She is so like me!

First Play

I will admit that while there is some sketchiness around the libraries in Vegas, they also have a lot of things going on.

On Friday, May 16 the kids and I went to a puppet play at one of the libraries. It was free. And it was a real play too (meaning a traveling puppet troupe, Tears of Joy, was in town for the event, not just the librarians doing a show). It was pretty neat. It was "Malika: Queen of the Cats." It's a Palestinian story about a poor lady who was very generous and kind. She is rewarded with a gift from Malika. Towards the end, Adelyn whispered to me, "Can we go now?" I thought this was a strange question since she seemed to be enjoying herself. The play ended about 5 minutes later. They had a Q&A session. Adelyn raised her hand. I was a little scared about what she might be asking, so I asked her what her question was. Sure enough, she wanted to ask why it was so long. Silly girl. Fortunately, she wasn't called on. But when we left the theater, she did ask the one puppeteer why it was so long.

She Got Her Cookies

My grandma makes these awesome cookies. They are chocolate with a maraschino cherry in the middle and then covered in chocolate. This is the only way I like maraschino cherries. On my first mission trip she made a whole batch for me and met me at the airport with a tin filled with them. They tasted so good! Especially after 10 days of rice and beans.

On April 11 my Grandma O (Gram) fell and broke her hip. It was very strange. My uncle had just had lunch with her. She got out of the car and fell. Just like that. My uncle could tell right away that her hip was broken because of the angle. She went to the hospital and had surgery. The kids and I visited her a few days later. She was happy to see us. After a few more days at the hospital, she was transferred to a rehab place for physical therapy. Before we headed back to Vegas (April 21), I visited her there. She mentioned to me that she was in some pain, so I passed that on to my mom.

Some time passed and my mom mentioned how short of breath my grandma was. Keep in mind, she does have COPD and has been a smoker for a very long time. But at the rehab place she was on oxygen and she was still short of breath even from just talking. I thought right away that she must have pneumonia. It seemed strange to me that prior to her hip she wasn't on oxygen and smoking and didn't have this much trouble breathing. Sure enough. When my parents and aunt and uncle requested a chest x-ray it was confirmed that she had pneumonia. It seemed strange that the medical people didn't think to check that.

On Thursday, May 15 my grandma was taken back to the hospital because of low oxygen levels. Sunday May 18 I got a text from my mom that Gram had to be resuscitated. This surprised me on several levels. For one, I have known for years that Gram has a DNR in place. So why did they? (But secretly I was glad, because that did allow me to see her again). It also surprised me because it seemed out of the blue. Sure, she was on oxygen, but still? When my parents got to the hospital they found out that the resuscitation actually happened on Thursday. But no one bothered to tell her family until Sunday. Really??

Monday, May 19, my grandma was transferred back to the rehab place. We also made the decision to fly home on Tuesday. Tuesday afternoon we landed in Minneapolis. On the way home we stopped by to say hi. She seemed to recognize us (although she called Odin, David) and was happy to see us. Adelyn gave her a bunch of pictures that she colored and painted.

On Wednesday I wanted to visit her again, but our day turned into a little craziness. And she had a doctor appointment that afternoon, so our visiting times were limited. So I planned on visiting her on Thursday after bringing Ben to the airport (he had to go back). I knew that I wanted to bring her cookies, so I started making them right away. Her doctor appointment was ok. He said that her right lung wasn't working at all and her left was barely working. He agreed with the DNR as her body is just too weak to ever really recover if that happens again.

Thursday morning I get a call from my mom that Gram has been transferred to the hospital. I was so confused. After she got back to rehab on Monday my parents made sure that all the paperwork for the DNR was in her file so they wouldn't do anything for her. After some calls and some waiting, we found out that the admitting doctor in the ER was sending her back to rehab because of her DNR. My parents met her at the rehab place she was pretty tired and out of it. Ben changed his flight to 5 pm so I could head over there.

When I got to her room, she woke up right away. We talked very briefly, but it was clear that she was too tired for company. She did say, "It's been an exciting week, huh?" Understatement, but yeah. I found my parents and aunt and uncle in a conference with the Assistant Director of Nursing to find out why she was taken to the ER. I guess her oxygen level was 60 and they couldn't get it up (normal is 100, they want her at 90). She was agitated and uncomfortable, so they asked her if she wanted to go to the hospital. She said yes. That superseded the DNR, apparently. While I understand, it is frustrating because my grandma isn't of sound mind. Especially with all the recent medical drama. You can ask her the same thing within a minute and get two different responses. So, after more paperwork, the dude told us that instead of bringing her to the hospital, they could give her something like morphine, and then call us to see what we want to do.

After the meeting we went back to the room and found her sitting and eating lunch! Well, the cookies I brought her, but that counts as lunch, right? We were all a little shocked. Happy, but shocked. We were able to have a nice visit with her.

So now it's a waiting game. But I got to tell her that I loved her. And I got to give her cookies. 

Mother's Day 2014

Last week was Mother's Day. It was a terrific day! It actually started on Saturday when Ben gave me these:

On Sunday morning, we started off the day with breakfast at the Peppermill. Ben and I have been there before, so we knew to expect huge portions (rumor is an omelet is made from about 10 eggs). We ordered an omelet and a waffle with fruit and whipped cream. That amount of food was just about perfect for the 4 of us. 

Quick Adelyn story: on Saturday we had gone to the library for story time. They made some crafts for Mother's Day. One was a paper frame that Adelyn colored. Adelyn wanted to bring it with us to give to another mom for Mother's Day. When we got to the Peppermill, she gave it to the hostess that seated us. The hostess was touched. I thought it was super sweet too.

The weather had been super windy the past few days. Sunday was no exception. I felt like a bit of a walk, so we headed over to the Venetian to walk around the canal. We ended up taking a gondola ride. The kids liked it a lot. Our guy was actually from Italy. And had a great voice. He sang two songs to us as we rode along. 

After that, we were pretty much ready to leave. As we were leaving, Ben asked if it were too early for lunch. We were walking by Haagan Dazs. I said that it was never too early for ice cream lunch! So we had some ice cream then headed home. 

We ended up having a family nap (aahhhhh!!!!). After that we packed up some stuff and headed outside to grill up some steaks. It was a perfect family day. I'm so thankful for my honey bunny and kiddos.

Cinco and MOPS

Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo. We sort of celebrated.

In the morning Ben wanted to go rock climbing (indoor. He joined a local place). We decided to take the kids along so they would know what we were talking about. We got there about 10:30 to discover that it didn't open until 11. So... we found a park a few blocks away. Turned out to be a pretty awesome park. Very creative equipment in a woods theme. And there was a splash pad too. We will definitely be back there! Once it was 11 we headed back.

We watched Ben climb a few runs. Then the kids said they wanted to try. So, we got them geared up. Adelyn did great. Until she decided that she was scared of how high she was (maybe 3 feet off the ground). We tried to show her how the belay system worked. That backfired. She was caught off guard and ended up hitting her leg against the wall. Oops. Odin did great too! Until he was too short to reach the next hand grip. But we were proud of the kiddos for trying. We will try again when they are a little older.

After climbing we went to Chipotle. Yum. That was part of our Cinco celebration. When we got home we had a pinata for the kids. Note to self: an almost 4 year old and a 2 year old can't really break open a pinata on their own. They thought it was fun hitting it.  Daddy had to give it a few good whacks to get it open. The kids were excited to find bouncy balls, watercolors, place mats, bath stuff and some Oreo cookies.

Today the kids and I attended our first MOPS meeting. I have thought about it for some time. And now that we're here for a month, I figured we could check it out. The one we attended meets twice a month during the school year. So, this week and in two weeks we can attend. Then not again until the fall.

I wasn't sure what to expect. Turns out it's a pretty large group. I think there were about 35 of us. When I went to drop off the kids I found out that Adelyn and Odin would be in separate classes. Hmmm... He's really not used to being without mommy AND big sister. I let the lady in that room know that he might not be thrilled with the arrangement and that she could get me. He made it about 40 minutes before they said he was crying. So he got to join mommy and the other moms. I am very thankful that he is a pretty chill guy. He had some fruit with me and then was happy to take notes on the guest speaker and finally put some puzzles together on my phone.

Adelyn had a good time, but she did say it was a long time (it was 2 hours). I had fun. The ladies at my table were very nice. And we all come from very different backgrounds. We had some nice discussions and laughs. Now to get Odin on board with going back...

Odin's 2 Year Well Check

Yesterday Odin had his 2 year well check. He did really well! He stood on the scale nicely while the nurse weighed him. And he stood still when she measured how tall he is. When the doctor did the exam he didn't fuss or cry or anything. Just kept pointing to the crayons on the wall and saying the colors (which did impress the doctor). Such a big boy! I am so proud of him.

His stats:
Weight: 33.4 pounds (94 percentile)
Height: 3'1/4" (92 percentile) - this would put him at just over 6 feet if the double the height at 2 role is true.
Head: 20"

The doctor was very impressed with his language development. Apparently for boys it is typical to just make 2-word sentences at this stage. Odin regularly puts 4+ words together. She did say that trying to keep up with big sister is probably why he is above average. Good job Adelyn on being such a good teacher! She also said that we should be able to understand about 50% of what he says. That made me feel better because sometimes I really struggle with what he is trying to say. Sometimes Adelyn is able to interpret for me. :)

After the appointment we headed to the grocery store. Odin got to pick out lunch. He picked mac and cheese. Or as he says, "mac n cheeeessseee!"

Home Sweet May Home

We got back to Vegas on Monday, April 21. The staff at the Platinum were happy to see us. But we knew we couldn't stay there forever. So on Wednesday we met with a Realtor to look at some rental options.

We looked at 6 different condos. Some were immediately out. Others we weren't so sure on. Both Ben and I looked online for more options that night. The next day we were off to see a few (6!) more options. Same story as before. On Saturday we looked at a few more. We decided that a few of the options that we looked at could work. But none were perfect. Not that we need perfect. So, we quickly changed gears and started looking at places that were available for a month. We only had a few options since May was almost upon us.

We looked at one at the Trump Towers. It was beautiful. Gorgeous views from the 59th floor. But... it was too small. A lot of the square footage was taken up by a ginormous master bath. And it was only one bedroom without a nice size living room. Sadly, we passed on that.

Our other option was a two-bedroom unit at Sky. It is only on the 5th floor with not much to speak of for views. But it has two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a nice layout. We took it. So, we have a place for a month. Yesterday we moved in. So far, I like it. There's a CVS on the bottom floor, which is nice in case we need something quickly. Like yesterday. The kids and I needed cookies. :) The kids did great with our move. So as a special treat, we got some fudge stripe cookies and had a picnic on our patio.

During this month we plan on keeping an eye on the listings to find a place. In June and part of July we will be in Minnesota to spend time with Ben's brother and family. We will need a place when we get back.

And yes, I know I haven't written about Japan yet. I really need to. Just been busy with life.

Happy Birthday Little Man!

Last week was Odin's second birthday. Seriously, where does the time go? The night before, I blew up as many balloons that I could and left them all throughout his room. When he woke up he was pretty excited to see them. Once out of his crib, he went to work at popping them. He loves to pop balloons!

We had planned on going to the zoo, but a spring snow storm was coming through and we decided that we didn't want to drive through snow and traffic. We went to the Maple Grove Maze instead. The kids had a lot of fun. Adelyn was pretty brave and went down the slide all by herself (Karin - remember when she got stuck and Julian had to rescue her?).

In the evening, the grandparents and Uncle Jake and Katie were over for the party. I had asked Odin what he wanted. The only thing he said was blueberries. In fact, that was his answer for any birthday question (what kind of cake? what presents?). Silly boy. We had planned on burgers, but again, the snow messed with our plans. So we made sloppy joe's instead. We had blueberry lemon cupcakes that I had decorated to look like frogs. Odin thought that was pretty cool.

He got some nice presents from everyone. He needed clothes, so that was the primary gift. Can't wait for shorts weather! He also got some toys. And blueberries and a train track from us.

I think the highlights for him was popping balloons and having blueberries.

So, happy birthday little buddy! I'm glad that we had a fun family day together. You are growing into such a big boy. It is an honor to be your mom. I love how you love to snuggle when you are just waking up. You are starting to talk so much. You try and repeat everything. And you are starting to make your own sentences. You like to jump. You try and do everything your big sister does. When we ask your name, you reply, "Adelyn Elise Roy" and then laugh. You have a sweet and sensitive spirit. You eat just about anything in front of you, but your favorites are berries, avocado and beans. You bring so much joy into our lives. We love you, birthday boy! 

Another Year... Wiser?

Last week we celebrated my xx birthday.

I really wanted Monkey Bread for breakfast. But I decided to be somewhat good. So I tried to make gluten-free blueberry pancakes. Fail. The pancakes wouldn't flip over. And when I tried a bite, they were awful. So I added some more flour, some honey, vanilla and cinnamon. They still didn't want to flip. And they still tasted terrible. So, I scratched that and made regular pancakes. Those were yummy!

Jake and Ben went off to ski. My parents, my kids and I went to Kangaroo Zoo. This time both kids could hardly get their shoes off fast enough! They had so much fun.

After the skiers came home, we had cake and presents. I made Better than... cake. Yum. It was hard to just eat a little bit. Then it was off to Ogden to eat some Thai food. Mike and Nayri and some visiting friends met us there. We had so much food. It was so good!

When Ben came to bed he told me about my present. He had ordered some flowers for me. They were supposed to be delivered that day. He even called to confirm. But they didn't actually get there in time. He felt super bad. The next day, they did come. It was worth the wait. They are beautiful!

Another Fun Week

Yesterday Odin and I were talking. I can't remember what I said, but his response was, "Major pain." Oh my goodness that little boy cracks me up!

March 14-19
Friday the 14 was Pi Day. When I was in high school the math team would decorate the math hall doorways with giant Pi's and would sell pie in the cafeteria. I'm always up for random reasons to celebrate, so I try to remember to celebrate my nerdiness with this "holiday." This year it worked perfectly that it was on a Friday. We had pizza and I made a blueberry pie. With the Pi symbol cut into the top crust. Our friend Jason came into town to celebrate with us. OK. Maybe he didn't. But he did come for the weekend.

This weekend was a Summit family weekend. The kids and I sneaked into a few of the events. On Saturday we sat in on a paper airplane demonstration from the current Guinness Book of World Records holder for longest paper airplane launch. Then we played outside in an igloo that Summit had built. We came inside to warm up. After playing in the basement and creating box houses and tunnels, Odin and I got to meet a few owls and a hawk from a bird handler. Adelyn stayed downstairs to play with the Summit girls. Odin thought it was pretty cool to touch an owl. When I came back down, Simone had made a pair of ballet slippers out of duct tape and pipe cleaners for Adelyn. She thought that was very cool. Sunday the kids got their faces painted and we went to a dance class. Adelyn was convinced it was going to be ballet. But it was hip hop. Adelyn was so cute trying to follow along. As soon as the music was put on, she bent over with her booty in the air and shuck it. I was laughing so hard. Good times.

Monday was St. Patrick's Day. I had read somewhere that corned beef and cabbage isn't really traditionally Irish. So, I made boxty (potato pancakes) instead. I tried to make them like Kip's in Minneapolis. So, I topped them with shredded chicken and pepper Jack cheese. It wasn't an exact match, but it was pretty close. We also made cole slaw and Watergate Salad. Not sure how authentic those were, but they were green and yummy.

On Wednesday we invited Haru over for dinner. We also had Mike and Nayri over. We decided to wow! this famous chef with salsa burgers, 7 layer dip, guac and corona. We had a little issue starting up the grill (we didn't have a lighter or matches, so we had to get creative). Other than that, the night was at least a mild success. We had a great evening of table pounding (that's what Haru does when he gets excited) and conversation. He even had two burgers, so I guess they weren't too terrible. I do sort of wish we weren't moving in a week. It would be fun to hang out some more with him. And our other friends here too.

And Then She Ran to Her Mother

One thing that always cracks me up is how Adelyn will narrate what she's doing in the third person. She's been doing this for a long time. I know she was doing it in December of 2012 because I was telling our friends about it when we were in Mexico for the Maverick Mayan trip.

Odin has started putting words together. He also tends to repeat things. Two of my favorites are, "Dude" (said like doo-dah) and "What the deuce?"

March 11-14
On Tuesday, Rick and Mickey came for a visit. This was the first time for them to see "our" mountain. We still had Nikki and Damien too, so it was a busy house! During the days Nikki was busy visiting family, and Damien and Ben were out skiing. That left the grandparents and the kids and me to have some fun.

On Wednesday we went to Kangaroo Zoo. The kids and I had passed it a few times so I had looked it up to see what it actually was. Looked like fun. When we got there Odin went into one of the bounce houses. Then he realized that his big sister was scared and decided he should be too. So we spent the next 20 minutes (maybe more) trying to get them to try out the different bounce houses. We even had a little girl try and show Adelyn around. FINALLY, they both decided it was a lot of fun. And it was hard to get them to leave.

On Thursday we met Ben for lunch on the mountain. Then we took the kids skiing. Make that kid. It was a nice and sunny and warm day. Adelyn just had her light jacket on. After getting her ski boots on, she started to freak that she needed her winter jacket. In the end she didn't go skiing. But little mister sure did! I steered him down the little hill a few times, then I went back to Adelyn. Ben got Odin to go down unassisted a few times. Odin had a great time. After naps we headed back up for a village tour to show R&M our home site. Rick went on a snowmobile with Joe the rest of us hopped into the new toy that's like a dune buggy on treads. I'm sure it has a name. When we got to our street, we strapped on snowshoes and walked around the property. It was so nice and clear. We had great views. I'm so excited to build!

Friday R&M left right after a quick breakfast. 

Where Has March Gone??

I seriously can't believe that March is nearly half over. We have had a busy month!

March 6-10
We had my mom fly out so that we could both participate in the Summit Weekend. The event started Friday evening. It was very nice to be able to be out late with other adults. We met some new people and were able to spend time with Mike and Nayri, Jeff and Beth, and Hollis and Jewels.

Saturday I signed up for snowshoeing. It was so much fun. And it was a perfect day - sunny and perfectly clear. While I was doing that, Ben went cat skiing. After lunch at the Skylodge, we headed back to shower and change for the evening. We went to the Lake House to cook with Summit Chefs. We had wanted to do this last year, but the waiting list was always a mile long. Our first assignment was to extract the seeds from a bunch of pomegranates. And by a bunch, I really mean an entire crate full. We were cooking for 200, after all. Sam showed us what to do and we got to it. We were almost done when Chef Haru came in and said we were doing it wrong. He picked one up and started to jam while pounding out the seeds. It was pretty funny. Chef Renee had Ben help him make a dressing. He was explaining why you want it acidic when using bitter greens. Very informative.

Before dinner there was a talk from a lead conversationalist. I almost didn't go because I was afraid it would be a little too much for me. But I am glad we went! He just finished filming a documentary that explores humans and nature. He was able to share with us a few clips. Very entertaining. I'm sworn to secrecy. Next year I can write more about it.

Dinner was fabulous. Maybe because we helped? After dinner there was a comedian. He was pretty funny. After that was a musical guest. And by that time, I was done. I was tired. I was uncomfortable. I was sore. So, Ben and I headed home.

Sunday was a chill day. Brunch at the Skylodge. Ben went skiing. I hung out with Nayri. Then it was time to head to Timberline Lodge for a Wailers concert. I do think it's kind of funny that in December and again in March I attended a semi-private concerts for two big reggae stars and I'm not really a reggae fan. Nikki and Damien came into town for the concert too. After the concert, we went out to dinner.

Monday my mom went with the kids and me to the library. Then it was time to take her to the airport. We were all sad to see her go.

The rest of March to be continued....
  

Getting Into A Utah Groove

We've been in Utah for over a month now. Crazy! We just had to move houses on Wednesday, so we're getting settled into our new place.

February seemed to fly by. We had house guests the first week. Neither Ben nor I had ever met them before. Ben only knew them a teeny tiny bit from a group that he is in. Turns out - they were great guys. Peter and Nick are from NYC. They are good friends and they love skiing. So they spent the week skiing with Ben while the kids and I kept busy. We went on daily "adventures" being "all snow-geared up." We had a lot of fun playing in the snow.

We also discovered the local library. Every week they have "Discovery Time." I jokingly told Ben that it was like Little Gym but without the gym part. But they do have an opening song. Then the librarian reads a few books related to the day's letter or theme. More songs. Then bubble time (see? It's like Little Gym!). Then after you get stamps (sound familiar?) you can go into the other room for crafts and snacks. We've been having fun doing that.

After we got back from MN, we had 3 more house guests. These ones had me stressing out. Ben had told me that he thought they were strict Paleo dieters. We kind of eat that way. But our daily eggs couldn't be cooked in butter. We couldn't have chili because it has beans. So, yeah. I was trying to find new recipes that I could make. Turns out... Ben was wrong. They eat Paleo-ish. Basically like us. But, I did find two yummy muffin recipes. Mike, Abel and Allison were a lot of fun. At night we played games. Allison was great with the kids. They really felt like old friends to me. I like that feeling. I was very sad to see them go.

And now it's March. My mom is up this weekend to watch the kids so I can participate in the Summit Weekend with a bunch of our friends. I am excited to get out a bit more. Next weekend Ben's parents come into town. Followed by a couple of our friends. Followed by my parents and brother. Then - poof! The month will be over.

Carrot Banana Muffins I found that this makes 15 muffins. I used golden raisins instead of dates, and I didn't add the nuts.

Zucchini Berry Muffins This one made 18 muffins. I used only almond flour (2 cups). Golden raisins instead of dates again, and again, no nuts.

Good Grief!

Monday, February 10, was a difficult day for me. The first bit of sad news was that my grandma passed away. Hours later I found out that a great and dear friend's cancer is back and doctors aren't giving him much hope.

The Wednesday before, I had gotten a text from my mom saying that my grandma wasn't doing too well and that she was put under 24 hour hospice care. The hospice workers thought that Friday would be the day. Friday was pure torture! Every time my phone made a noise I jumped, thinking it was news of my grandma passing. But she kept hanging on. It wasn't until Monday morning that she peacefully passed away.

Of course I was sad. I cried. Part of it was that I feel like I haven't been the best granddaughter. She was basically deaf, so I couldn't call. She had dementia, so she didn't know who I was. These are the excuses that I told myself when I would feel bad about my lack of communication with her. But who doesn't like to get mail? I would occasionally send her a card. I just feel like I could have done more to help her feel loved and joy in her last years.

Her funeral was the following week in New Ulm. We all flew to MN for that. It was nice to see my cousins and their kids. It was nice to see my parents and brother. But it was also hard.

A few years back we met Jordan. He was an awesome fun guy. Less than a year later he was diagnosed with skin cancer. This was weird, because he so didn't fit the "profile." He had some chemo. He changed his eating habits (basically vegan with no salt or sugar). He retired. He took experimental drugs. And it seemed to be working! But a few weeks back, the tumors started growing again. He is eligible for another study and different drugs. But the doctors had originally told him that if it came back, this particular cancer type had a recovery/remission rate of less than 5%. Of course, we're all hoping and praying he's in the 5%. But this cancer really seems to like him. The awesome and amazing thing is that it doesn't seem to get Jordan down. He is still happy, calm, and at peace. He is handling everything with such grace. And his wife, Paola too. I would be a complete basket case.

We're back in Utah now. We're really enjoying it here. More on that later. I have a library date with the kids!

Balboa Park

We are in sunny San Diego! Ben is here for Traffic and Conversion conference. It's HUGE! It's about 2000 people. He said he knows more people at this event than were at our wedding. And I believe it. He has been very busy juggling the conference, additional sessions, meeting with people he hasn't seen and spending time with us. Needless to say, we have had a lot of time on our hands while he has been out.

Yesterday the kids and I went to Balboa Park. We started off at the playground. Adelyn went right to playing. Odin... well, for some reason he wanted to observe for a long time before playing. I have no clue why. When we got there, there were only a few people there. But anyway, he soon discovered the joys of throwing wood chips in his hair. Then both kids went to work on making "snow" angels in the wood chips. I do have a picture. I need to figure out how to get it off my phone and onto here.

After the playground we headed to another portion of the park. We got to the old church tower just as they were starting the noon bell performance. It was prerecorded, but it was still very cool. It would be very neat to watch them do the recordings.

At that point we decided we were hungry. We made our way to the hot dog stand (the only food we had seen up to that point). Adelyn had money in her pocket and she insisted that she pay. So she proudly handed the guy a coin. From Singapore. He was amused and she was happy. The kids love to throw things away. In fact, some times there are fights as to who gets to throw things away. After we were done eating, I divided our garbage so they would each have a few items to throw. There was a foreign couple sitting next to us. Every time Odin or Adelyn threw something away, they cheered. This made the kids even more excited to throw things away!

After lunch we wandered to the fountains and flower gardens. As we were walking back, I told Adelyn it was time to go back to the hotel for Odin's nap. Her response? "But mom! We haven't been to the museum yet!" How could I resist? So we walked through a portion of the free art museum before heading home.

On our way out, we passed the hot dog guy again. Adelyn asked to get some popcorn. I would have said no, but figured it was a good way to keep Odin awake in the car. So I gave Adelyn the money and she went up and bought the popcorn all by herself! Such a big girl.

The Twelve Days of Christmas

We had a very long Christmas season this year. My sister and her family came to town (by town I do mean Minnesota) the 13-15. We had family Christmas and celebrated my brother's birthday. Then on the 19, we headed up to the lake to celebrate with Ben's parents. While there, Ben decided he wanted to drive his convertible to Vegas. We're going to try and sell it and figured we could do that sooner there than in MN. The weather looked clear, so we scrambled to get our affairs in order.

Ben left Sunday evening and headed to Des Moines and stayed with our friends, Chuck and Michelle. Monday was his long day. He drove about 15 hours. Tuesday was the rest of the way to Vegas. He got there mid-afternoon.

Meanwhile, I was packing the kids and myself into one suitcase. I needed to fit stuff for Vegas (50-60 degrees), Utah (10-30 degrees) and Florida and a cruise (70+ degrees, plus a dress for every night).  For the three of us. Did I mention one suitcase? Yeah... one because that's all the room we have in the car. Especially since we were adding ski gear too. I made it.

The kids and I had an easy flight to Vegas. Before takeoff the kids were singing and laughing. They were being a little loud, so I shushed them. The flight attendant looked up and said, "Don't shush them! It's Christmas Eve and that's the most beautiful sound in the world!" Let's hope the rest of the passengers agreed. :)

Ben picked us up from the airport and brought us back to the Platinum. After getting us in the room and putting the kids to work decorating a foam tree, Ben went to pick up Chinese take-out. It was pretty good, but it wasn't China Star.

After the kids went to bed, Ben brought out some presents for them that he not only bought, but also wrapped all by himself. I had no idea he was going to do that. It was so sweet! We set the presents out and I put the stockings out (yes, I sacrificed clothes for stockings). We went to sleep.

The next morning Adelyn was so excited that Santa came. We opened presents, had orange rolls and just relaxed. It was the perfect Christmas.