Hike and new friends

Red Rock

We've had another great week here in Vegas. Due to John's schedulers, he had an entire week off! He had his normal days off then was put on recall for the one day that he was on the schedule.

We went hiking on Tuesday in Red Rock Canyon on the west side of town. Madison has graduated to a backpack now and Carson got to ride in his new backpack. Carson loves his new backpack because he can get into it himself now. Madison slept for about half of the hike which is normal. I could not wear my hat however because she kept pulling it off of my head then she would play with my hair.

The hike was beautiful! The wildflowers were in bloom. I have never seen such a variety of flowers in one place. The picture we took simply do not do it justice. We saw a variety of colors including orange, yellow, white, red, fuschia, purple, and blue. We even saw a few flowering trees.

Yesterday we were invited to Carson's new friend's birthday party. Travis had a cool birthday party with a jumpy castle, a pool, and Carson and Madison's favorite: a water table with boats and bridges! We did not get to stay long since John had to go to work but it was fun to meet some new friends!

Race for the Cure

Race for the Cure

We ran the Race for the Cure 5k this morning. It was a beautiful morning. I don't think we have ever seen the valley so clear. There were soooo many people there. John was awesome! He ran with me and pushed both kids in the stroller!! We finished the race in 33 minutes which was our goal. Not fast but for my first race, I was pleased. Carson munched on his breakfast during the beginning and Madison slept through half of it! Two ladies with a mic and video camera picked John out of the crowd and interviewed him! We should have asked them what it was for. I did not see a news channel logo on anything. I did notice that they both had on Quilted Northern Ultra shirts on.

We wanted to run the race to get into a race groove but more importantly, we ran it for Mom (the kids rode in the stroller for Memaw!)WE LOVE YOU!!!

Playtime

playtime

The kids have spent a lot of time outdoors lately. We've been trying to enjoy the temperate weather before it gets ridiculously hot here! Both kids love being outside. Madison makes a beeline for the door even if it is just cracked. It's probably a good thing we do not have a doggie door anymore!

Carson's little vocabulary has exploded again. His sentences are much more intelligible. He is really focused on the plural forms of words right now. He realizes that there should be an 's' at the end of the word but it usually comes out as 'carses' instead of cars. He is also such an observer. We always have fighters flying around and he can always identify the Thunderbirds vs regular fighters. Case in point: We were out for a walk one day and he spotted a plane flying and exclaimed, "Oh, I see a Thunderbird!" then he retracted his statement and said, "oh, its just an airplane."

Madison continues to change on a daily basis. She is so active! We found another tooth yesterday so we are at a total of 4. 2 on top, 2 on bottom. That makes 3 in two weeks!! She is so close to walking. She be in the middle of the room and stand up on her own unassisted and stand there for a little while before she realizes that she is not holding on to anything. She went to the doctor this past week and weighs 17lb 3oz. She did NOT have fun at this appointment. In fact, she screamed throughout the entire thing!! She thinks she is every bit as big as her brother and tries to do everything he does now. I know it is just beginning!!!

Easter

Easter pics

We FINALLY made it up to one of our favorite spots in the city to take the kids Easter pictures. First the weather didn't cooperate then when we did make it up there, a festival was occurring at the park and it was super crowded. It was worth the wait. We are so pleased with the pictures! Carson looks like a little man in his tie. So handsome. I can't believe he isn't a baby anymore. Madison looks so pretty in her dress. My precious baby girl is growing too fast!

We had a wonderful Easter. John was scheduled to work that day but received an early call telling him to stay home. So he helped Carson dye eggs and we had a relaxing day with a lovely Easter dinner.

Egg Hunt and Misc.

We had a great Easter. I had a hard time remembering what I had made in the past for Easter dinner when I finally realized that I had never made an Easter dinner! We've always been at John's family's for Easter. We had a total of 3 egg hunts. The first one was hosted by the Youth Center that is around the corner. John was working so it was just the kids and me. I forgot the camera and it is a good thing I didn't go back to get it or we would have missed the hunt!! It had already started by the time we got there but there were still plenty of eggs (and candy!) for Carson to find. They also had bounce houses which Carson LOVED!!

Our second hunt was here at the house with our friends Sarah, Matthew, Abby, and their grandma Ms Judy. Matthew and Carson had such a great time! It was such a beautiful day to be outside! Matthew was so funny. If the egg did not rattle, he would throw it back down. He was in search of eggs with prizes!! Madison mostly just sat in the grass and watched the boys run all over the yard, but she loves anything that involves being outside. 

I'll post the pics from our family egg hunt soon. We will be going to a park in the next few days to get pics of the kids in their Easter outfits. We tried right before church but we were in a rush as always!

Quack, Quack

Madison is in love with ducks (real or otherwise) right now. Her new thing is to quack at them. At first I just thought that she had learned a new sound, gaa gaa. I finally figured out that she always said that sound when Carson quacked at her. Now she quacks at every duck she sees! 

Death Valley Trip

Death Valley

We were able to do a little more exploring this week. We took the camper out to Death Valley for a couple of days. We were both surprised by everything that we found there. There was so much more than what I expected. On the first night we hiked a short trail near our campsite that took us up to a lookout point. Carson kept calling it a tractor every time he saw it. The next day we drove all over the park. We went to Bad Water Basin which boasts the lowest point in North America. Then we went north to see Scotty's Castle. This home was built in the 1940s and cost approximately $2 million then. It still has original furnishings and hand carved Spanish tile. On our last day we stopped by the gift shop to look around. Carson easily found the kids area and found this stuffed horse with these huge endearing eyes. He picked it up and said, "Mommy, I like this giraffe." I said OK and continues to look around. A little while later he said the same thing but with a little more emphasis on the 'like'. My response was the same. The next time he got my attention he said, "Mommy, I LOVE this giraffe!". He wouldn't put it down for anything! Needless to say we brought it home with us. He still says that it is a giraffe and her name is now Brownie. 

Another highlight occured as we were driving into the park. On the side of the road, we saw a wild donkey. Carson loved that and only wanted to go see and feed the donkey for the next several days!

We really had a great time getting away for a few days. I do not see how in the world we lived in the camper for 8 weeks!!

PS- Click on the picture to view the entire album.