Our Fourth Anniversary

This weekend, Aaron and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary. Each year, I say I can't believe another year has past. It truly seems as though time has been flying by. Since we are still pretty new in town, we have not established a babysitter for Ashton. So, lucky for us, he came on our date :). We went to Aaron's favorite crab place, the Sante Fe Station Casino Buffet. It has all sorts of amazing food. Aaron bought me roses and chocolates and I bought him a new shirt. I thought he looked very handsome in it. We had a lot of fun and it was nice just to have a quiet evening together. Aaron has been working so much lately that it's been hard to spend quality time together. We have been through so much in the past four years and have accomplished a lot. I look forward to the next adventure and the many more wonderful moments we will share in the years to come.

Working in the Back Yard

As most of you know, our back yard was not landscaped when we bought our house. For months we have been staring at a rocky mess just waiting for the opportunity to landscape. We decided we couldn't do anything until we poured the concrete patio. We called around to see how much concrete was and thought maybe Aaron and I could do it ourselves. Aaron's grandpa was a mason and Aaron had helped him many years ago. After looking at the cost of tools and realizing how much work it would be, we decided to call around for bids. Aaron found a great company that is coming out to pour our Patio on Monday.

We had a mini slab in the backyard that the builder had put in. We had to tear it out before they come to pour. Of course, Ashton wanted to help his daddy every step of the way. So we had him wear safety glasses and they worked on it together. Once we receive our tax credit for buying a house, we will be able to finish the rest of the yard. It's a work in progress, but at least we got the patio started. I've already picked out the patio furniture I want to buy, once the concrete is dry of course. More pictures to come as we complete each little project.

Hiking in the Rain

Aaron has been on a unique work schedule lately, which has allowed us to do fun things during the week. Last week, we were having awesome thunderstorms and rain in the mountains every night. We decided it would be fun to drive up to Mt. Charleston and go hiking since it was nice and cool. We bundled up the kids (we had Kendra with us because it was during the week) and decided just to do a short hike around the base of the mountain. When we got there, it was a little stormy looking, but still lots of sunshine. We hiked about a mile in and watched the clouds circling over head. We decided it would be a good idea to head back because we could see the storm blowing in. We got most the way down the hill when we heard the thunder start rolling, then the lightening came and it started to rain. We quickened our step from a walk to a trot, each with a child in hand. The second we jumped into the car it started to down pour. Both the kids laughed the whole way down the mountain. Aaron was carrying Kendra by this point and I was carrying Ashton, I think Aaron got the better deal :). It was a lot of fun and the kids loved it! I love the pictures we take up there, so forgive me that there are a lot.

We also went hiking in Red Rock Canyon with some friends and their kids. It was so much fun, we packed a dinner and then hiked around the cliffs. It reminded me a lot of St. George because most of the rocks are red and it's beautiful. My friend took a ton of pictures, which I will post as soon as she gets back from vacation. For now here is Mt. Charleston pictures.

Birthday Parties

I know it's been two weeks since my last post, so we have lots to catch up on. Two weeks ago, we celebrated Luke's 2ND birthday. He had two parties; a swim party on the weekend at Krystal's friends house and at Chucky Cheese the day of his actual birthday. Of course we went to both parties and we had a blast. The boys swam through out the entire party, it was so nice to sit back and watch them have fun together.

Ashton LOVES Chucky Cheese even though he can't really play most of the games. The important thing is he tries to play them. He wouldn't look at me during a single picture, but here are some fun action shots. We also climbed into one of the booths that sketched your picture. I thought it was pretty awesome for one token.

Shrimp Primavera Pot Pie

This is one of my new favorite recipes! I do not usually like shrimp, but Aaron loves so it so I thought it would be a nice treat if i made a shrimp dish. I have put this dish on my food calendar, but always seem to skip it. I finally actually looked at the recipe and it said it was 30 minutes for prep and cook time. I LOVE 30 minute meals start to finish so I decided to try it. It was one of the easiest dishes I have ever made and it only uses one pan. The shrimp primavera pot pie was fantastic, even I loved it! I left out the dill weed, because I hate anything that resembles mustard flavor. In my opinion it didn't need it, it was fantastic with out it. After the easiness of this meal, I am on the hunt for 30 minute meals. After a long day or what ever your doing, a simple but fantastic dinner is the key. I hope you all try this recipe and let me know what you think. My only other suggestion is to make sure the bread sticks cook all the way through, so you may need to cook it longer than the recipe calls for.

Side Note: You can mix what ever vegetables you want for this recipe, I used the stir fry mix you can buy at Costco or Sams.

Purple & Brown Tote Bag

So once my cousin called and told me that everyone loved her bag in her office, I wanted to make a bag that would be easy to sell. So I went shopping and found fabric that would be easy to reproduce in several colors and options. I also wanted to make the bag completely reversible because I couldn't decide which fabric I wanted to be on the outside. I came up with one solid print and a floral print, both of which have several color options and combinations. I created 4 pockets, each are lined to match the exterior fabric. Each pocket is the same size and can be found on each side of the bag. I also added a button to help keep the bag closed a little better than before. I have gotten a lot faster and it was something I whipped up during nap time and in between events. If you zoom in the pictures you can see the lining and stitching I used to make the bag a little more unique.

The outside of the bag

The outside Pocket

The Lining of the Outside Pocket

The inside of the Bag

The Lining of the Inside Pocket

Potty Training

So we have had a rather uneventful week because I decided it was time to get Ashton potty trained. We had started doing it when he turned two and he was doing really well. We had the potty chart and treats to entice him go. Then we realized that we were going to move and it felt like we lived in limbo forever. I knew the move would be an adjustment for Ashton so we would go potty on the toilette when he wanted, but I didn't push the issue. Now that we are moved in, settled, and getting into our routines there were no more excuses. The only advantage to waiting this long is that it has been relatively easy. I had him in pull ups for a week and was taking him to the potty every half hour to hour, but I couldn't get him to go poo poo on the toilette. Then I decided to let him run around naked and that seem to do the trick. After a day of that, I switched to real underwear. He had one accident and realized he didn't like the feeling. After that he literally runs to the bathroom when he gets the urge! I still remind him that he needs to go, but we haven't had any accidents and I didn't have to bribe him with a ton of candy to do it. He is even making it through his naps and through the night. I am so proud of him and am so glad I don't have to change his diapers any more. He is such a smart boy and knew he would get it fast as soon as I convinced him it was a good idea. And yes, Ashton has pretty much been running around the house in underwear or naked. He prefers to be naked and I always told him once he is potty trained then he could. Well the day is here and so Ashton is usually naked.

Latest Creation

Yes, Just call me the Bag Lady! My cousin Melissa wanted me to make a bag for her and I finally finished it this week. She told me the colors and the look she was going for and off to Joann's I went. I found the perfect fabric and got to work. Each time I make a new bag, I get to be a little more creative. I get to try different stitches and combinations of fabric. It turned out so cute! She took it to work the next day and it was a big hit. Needless to say, I bought more fabric and will be making more bags. It's great practice on my machine and its fun to piece different ideas together. On this bag I pieced together the outer pocket and even lined it. Make sure you zoom in to see all the fun details!

The Outside of the Bag

The Outside Pocket

The Inside of the Bag

The Lining on the Outside pocket

Ashton sat next to me almost the whole way through this project. He would hand me my supplies and wanted to watch everything I was doing. He was such a great helper! I used to do the same thing with my mom when she sewed, it's fun to have your own children do the same thing and be interested in what your doing.

Lake Mojave

This last weekend we were able to meet my family at Lake Mojave for some boating fun! Aaron finished his school early so that we could take off for a few days to play on the lake. Ashton loved the boat! He kept telling papa to go faster and just loved to ride around. It was so nice being able to see all of my immediate family in one weekend. I was able to ski, which I haven't done in a long time, and boy was I sore. If I could go skiing every weekend, I would be in excellent shape. We also got to go tubing which was a blast. My dad is the best driver when it comes to tubing, I don't think I've laughed that hard in a long time. It was a wonderful trip and we can't wait to do it again. Ashton had some good training as a co-captain. He always helped pull in the ropes and would always tell us when someone fell down in the water. Here are some pictures of our fun family vacation.

Fourth of July - Friday

What a packed weekend we had! Aaron was lucky enough to have Friday off of work so we decided to hop in the car and head to California. This was our first trip home since we have moved to Vegas. We have only been gone a little over three months, but it has felt a lot longer than that. It was so fun to see everyone and be able to spend the fourth of July with our family. On Friday night we were able to go out to dinner with my parents. Since we were all dressed up we had to take some family pictures!








Ashton wanted to go for walk before we loaded back into the car (the last place he wanted to be) so he climbed in the stroller and I pushed him around. Who said you can't walk in heels looking fabulous :) Hey it's a great work out for the legs and tush.