Oh what do you do when it's hot outside, and all the yard is rock?

We paint with water and draw with chalk.

Blow bubbles on each other.

And eat popcicles 'til we pop.

                                        

Pictures are from a couple of weeks ago when it was feeling like summer outside! This week has been SUPER windy and in the 70s/80s... cool for here!  I had no idea Vegas is such a windy place in the spring time.  Seriously, it howls all night long outside.  Sometimes during the day it's just as gusty.  Poor Luke has been having breathing issues again the last couple of days and I think it's because of the wind and all the stuff in the air.  Yuck.

For the Hubby...

Jake was excited to show me some pictures from his hike on Saturday.  He went with one of his coworkers, Haris, and had a great time in the Desert!  We're really liking the mountains and hiking around here, if you couldn't tell!  Jake is trying to get ready for a big backpacking trip this summer with some of his brothers and dad.  Since he's pretty much done blogging these days, I guess I'll post some pictures so he can have them in the blog book!  They found some cool caves, old desert tortoise remains, and an abandoned mine.  Don't remember how many miles they went, but it was quite the hike.  He came home sunburned and pooped.

Haris:  Too funny.. They both showed up wearing twinner outfits.  ha ha

 

Moms are the Best

My mom has been here for the last week helping out with the kids and everything else while I've worked on school stuff.  She's the best!   I'm hoping to be like her when I grow up.  Luke and Ella have had nonstop fun playing games, making crafts, and reading books with grandma Pam.  Pretty sure they are going to have grumpy grandma withdrawl symtoms when they get up tomorrow morning and she isn't here.  I will too!  Thanks for coming mom!!

Didn't use the camera much this week, but I thought this picture was cute of them watching a movie together last night.        

We drove down to Luke's favorite plane watching spot a couple of days ago (in front of McCarren Intl. Airport's runways).  He likes to sit in the front of the car and 'control the planes.'  Good times!

I like how you can see the whole strip skyline while plane watching. 

Red Rock Canyon

This is one of my favorite things to do as a family.  Luke is always asking when we can go hiking next, and unlike the dreaded Chuck-E-Cheese, we are happy to go to Red Rock as often as we can!  There are so many trails, and something for everyone to do!  Here are some pictures from our hike last weekend.  

Ella kept running in front of me and then plopping on the ground to yell "Cheezzzze!"

She was trying to figure out why Luke thought the binoculars were so cool. 

Got a few sticks for the road... ready to go!

A Happy Week

This past week has been great.   It began with finding out we're moving to England (Woo hoo!!), we've had surprise visitors and fun with friends, the weather has been awesome, I finally have been able to run without my toe hurting (got in about 12 miles Saturday!... nevermind the fact that my legs felt super heavy and
jell-Oish when I was done) and Luke decided to pick up the pace at swimming lessons.  Not to mention Jake getting home at normal times almost every day.  Hopefully it doesn't mean this week will be bad to even things out a little! 

So, first up:  Grandpa John, Grandma Fran, Uncle Eldon, Mel, and the kids!  I wasn't expecting to see them last week, so it was fun when they made a pit stop on their way home from Disneyland.  I miss living by all of them!  Living so close to my grandparents and aunts and uncles was so much fun as a kid.  I wouldn't trade it for anything.  Luke and my cousin Kaylee are super close in age, and Ella and my cute little cousin Chace are within a couple months of each other too, so it was fun to watch them all play together!  Luke had a great time running around with Kaylee (sorry if I'm not spelling that right!?) and Ashley.
Grandma with the kiddos!

Eldon & Melanie, Grandpa & Grandma, and Crazy Kids!

 

These two play so well together.  I wish they could do it more often!

My cute friend Bahar was in town for her brother's birthday and we met up at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill (Delicious!!!) to catch up on life.  Wasn't planning on seeing her either last week!  I love surprises.  Fun to see you Bahar!  No pictures from Friday night, but I found this gem:  ha ha.


My 12th birthday party.  Bahar is the one in the black & white swim suit. 
Check out how cute and tiny Dak was! 

Saturday we went hiking as a family.  Red Rock Canyon has been one of our favorite places since we've been here.  The mountains are gorgeous.  I finally remembered to take my camera this time.  Took a bunch of pictures, but this post is taking longer then I thought it would, so those will have to wait until later!

Last night we played Settlers of Zarahemla with a cute family in our ward.  Played and munched on Oreo cake until way too late.  Good times!  Last time Jake and I played Settlers was with Aaron and Kristen like five years ago.  I had never played before, so I was totally lost when we played way back then!  This time I think I got it down.  I want to play some more!  Also noteworthy, Luke is getting pretty good at Uno!  We've been playing while Ella takes her naps. 

Castles and Crumpets, 2012 Olympics, Cool Accents, and Rain.

Just a few things that come to mind when I think of where we're going next.  So, England it is!  We'll be going to RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk England this August.  I found out last night after waiting so anxiously all day!  Jake's boss was teasing everyone and wouldn't tell the residents where they were going until the day was over.  Pure torture!  I talked to Kristen in the morning and found out their next stop is Japan, so I was just dying to find out where we would be.  I pictured us being stationed in Arizona, Utah, or some other place in the states, so it was a bit surprising for me to hear!  My heart was pounding when Jake told me and I had the jitters all night thinking about the move.  Haha.  We are pretty excited though.  It will be a little weird being so far away from family, but a fun adventure.  When else would we be able to live in Europe if it wasn't while in the military?  Probably never.  Pretty cool.        

I've been scouring the internet to find info on our new spot since I have stereotypical English images and silly Monte Python skits rolling around in my head.  To copy and paste what one person wrote about the area surrounding Lakenheath: 

"About 80 miles from London, RAF Lakenheath is located in East Anglia, a rural area, comprised of four counties: Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire. East Anglia, steeped in medieval history, boasts a unique heritage and fascinating character. It is an area of quiet, unspoiled villages and a varied landscape: dense pine forests, rich farmlands, rivers, and marshes that stretch east to the North Sea. Historical points of interest include Ely Cathedral, Cambridge and the medieval town of Bury St. Edmunds. Abbey and castle ruins from the Middle Ages dot the landscape, and village churches allow visitors a look into the past."

So, there you have it!  I'm glad we finally know where we're going. Kind of sad thinking of how far away we'll be, but super excited for all the adventures that lie ahead!     

Just tell me already.

We were told that we'd know on the 12th (yesterday) where we'd be moving this summer. 

But, we still don't know.  Now they say by the end of the week.   I. CAN'T. WAIT. TO. FIND. OUT.  It's driving me crazy not knowing.  Kristen and I decided it's pure torture to keep pushing it back.  The wives of these dental guys are way more anxious to find out then the hubbies!  Haha.  Here's to hoping for a place in our top 15!  :)     

Some stuff we're digging lately!

*  Leapfrog DVDs.  They are awesome!  I can work on my school stuff and plop one of these on for the kids without feeling too guilty.  Luke and Ella both love them.  We also have the math one and a few other reading ones.  Luke has started reading short words and Ella can identify pretty much all her letters and is even making letter sounds.  One of the best purchases we've made in a while!   

* Since we're talking DVDs, I have to mention Astro Boy.  Luke's fav at the moment!  We got it from Red Box a while ago, and he was so sad when we had to take it back.  Luckily the Easter Bunny brought it for him.

* These popcicles are pretty gross in my opinion, but the kids love them.  I love them because they are little and don't make a mess.  Pretty cool.  Give them a try if you don't want to clean up popcicle puddles.

* We all like Frosted Mini Wheats Little Bites.  All flavors.  Chocolate is my favorite though!

* Jake won the chili cook-off at work!  He won a gift certificate to eat at Outback and a big plaque to hang in his office.  Kind of fun!  Here's his famous recipe.  It's quite tasty.

Jake's "Daddy Like" Chile

4 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 lg. onions, chopped
4 lg. garlic cloves, minced
4 lbs. lean stew meat, cut in sm. cubes
3 lbs. bulk pork sausage
2 (1 lb. 12 oz.) cans whole tomatoes
2 (6 oz.) cans tomato paste
6 tbsp. chili powder
3 tsp. cumin
1 tbsp. oregano
2 (1 lb.) cans baked beans
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar
2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 (15 oz.) cans kidney beans, drained
1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans, drained
1 tsp. vanilla


In a large heavy saucepan, heat oil. Saute onion and garlic until soft but not brown. Add beef and sausage. Cook until brown; drain off fat. Add liquid from tomatoes. Chop tomatoes and add to meat mixture with tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, oregano, baked beans, salt, sugar, vanilla and cocoa powder. Simmer partially covered for 2 hours stirring often.


If too dry add a little water. Stir in kidney and pinto beans. Cook 30 minutes longer or until meat is very tender. May be refrigerated or frozen. Before serving remove any excess fat.


**Serves about 15 people (One large crock-pot full plus a little more!)

* Crocs.  Great for busted toes/hurting feet, playing in the sand, awesome that the kids can put them on all by themselves, and you never have to look for socks!  Aahh, perfect.  Luke picked some out like these a couple weeks ago.   

* Matchy matchy shirts.  It's not very often that I can completely match Luke and Ella, but we love their new matching star shirts.  My cute college buddy, Jules, has a fun etsy shop (http://www.limabeankids.etsy.com/).  They have tons of fun designs you can pick from for personalized T's, waterbottles, and other things.  I took advantage of a sale they had going on last month.  Check them out :) 
The lighting was weird in these pics, so they looked better in black and white, but I love the bold colors in lima bean designs!   The kids love that their names are on them too.

*  Luke has been into making stuff lately.  We've made a big rocket out of cardboard, a rain stick (you can see part of it in the pic above), and some bird feeders, just to name a few things.  This boy can't wait to start preschool.  See that Se7en + 1 link on my sidebar?  They have lots of fun ideas... stuff to make at home with kids.

*  Melissa, one of my San Antonio buddies, designed a super cute fabric line with her sister.  I got my box of it in the mail and can't wait to make a fun quilt!  I made a few quilts in high school, but haven't really done any sewing since.  Well, other then on paper and scrappy things.  So, I'm pretty excited to bust out my sewing machine and get going on it.  You can check out the fabric by clicking here.  Isn't it fun!? 

Easter Weekend

We made another quick trip to Mesa for Easter!  Don't know where we'll be a few months from now so we're trying to take advantage of being relatively close!  Abby & Chris and Josh & Jenni were visiting too, so it was fun hanging out with even more fam this time around. 

I think we made the most of our two days there!  Saturday we hung out with the Gift side flying kites, watching conference, playing games, and eating too much food. We spent Sunday with the Smith side of the fam.  Watched some conference at Daniel's house, egg hunting at Ross and Mareen's, and playing at Grandma and Grandpa Smith's.  Luke was pretty upset when we had to come home.  He loves playing with grandparents and cousins!  Aunts and uncles too.  

Some Saturday fun!...   My dad is awesome at flying kites so he gave Luke some pointers. Abby and Todd helped out too.

Nice work Todd ;)  He was doing pretty good until the tree grabbed the kite from him!

 Dak.  Seems like just a few weeks ago I was babysitting this kid.  Now he's graduating from high school next month, working at Discount Tire, and driving girls crazy.  I thought he was looking pretty cute in his work uniform so I got some pics.  What a stud.

Ella was loving picking lemons.  She picked and ate the only 2 ripe strawberries while we were there too!

When I grow up I want my yard to look like mom and dad's.  I'm hoping that the next house we're in has a yard so that I can learn how to keep things alive!  Haha. 
The past few times we've gotten together Todd has entertained us with his computer and weird face warping program.  haha  

Chris is always so cute with the kids too.  He was the only one crazy enough to play in the freezing pool water with Luke.  And no, I wouldn't buy my son a Speedo.  Those are his underwear!  He wanted to get in nude, but we convinced him to cover himself a little.  Next time I'll remember his swim suit!

Baby Amy.  Check out those eyes!  Such a cutie.

Dad and Mom. 

Enjoying some time in the clubhouse without her brother...

Easter morning!

She had her candy and was ready to find some eggs.

  Egg hunt!

Cute Austin!

All the kids were a little envious of Ross.  He found the "Golden Egg."  The looks on the other kid's faces when they saw him with it were so funny. 

Good times!