mom and pop

My parents came into town for a short trip... one day was just not enough time, but we'll take what we can get. We had a lot of fun and wore the kids out... then got a babysitter in the evening and hit the town. We went to dinner at Planet Hollywood, saw the water show at the Bellagio and won a ton of money at the craps table. not really.

girls night out

Girls in Vegas know how to have a good time. A few friends from the ward (which turned out to be a group of 30) decided to get together for a girls night out. We spent all night eating, chatting and playing games. I wish I had a better picture of the group, because this is only a few of the beautiful ladies.. next time. We will have to switch houses each time because I know the neighbors hated us. Around 11 pm we started an intense game of Mafia... a game I haven't played since HS.. and we finally decided to stop around 2 am. I haven't laughed that hard since our dinnertable conversation.. it was seriously a blast.

Not my favorite day...

I usually like Tuesdays. Ben and Luke have a playgroup in the afternoon, so I like to get out and run errands with only Zack in tow. But today Luke didn't want to go to the playgroup. Don't ask me why he would rather run errands with me, but I think I made the mistake of saying that Zack and I were going to hit the library. Anyway, we couldn't convince Luke to stay and play with the kids... so he joined us on our errand run. We went to the library for about an hour (thanks to Luke and his 20+ books he needed.) Then I wanted to run into Kohl's for a quick return. I told Luke as we were walking in that I needed to exchange one shirt and then we were headed out. I took about 10 steps into the store and found what I needed and said to Luke, "Okay.. let's go." As I stepped up to the cash register, with Zack in my arms, I couldn't see Luke anywhere. We had been in the store a total of 2 minutes, and I lost him already. Sometimes he likes to hide in the clothes racks, but that is usually only when he is playing with Ben. I retraced my 20 steps, looked under the racks for little legs, but no sign of Luke. I called out his name, probably loud enough for half of the store to hear, checked the dressing rooms and then started to panic. I checked outside (we were right by the entrance door) hoping not to see him getting carried off with a stranger, but there was no one in sight. So, Zack and I returned to the search. I couldn't believe he would run off somewhere because if you know Luke, he is mellow, pretty well-behaved and frankly slow. Ben calls him 'the tortoise' cause he's always behind. After 10 minutes (which felt more like 40,) I was really freaking out and started shaking. Just as I was about to alert the store to announce a lost boy, I look out the window towards my van and saw something move in the back. I thought I was losing it and figured I had imagined the slight movement, but I went outside anyway to check. My van was locked except for Luke's door. He must've manually unlocked his door after I powerlocked it.. sometimes he does that (because he's slow and didn't get out in time.) As I opened his door, he popped out from the back seat and says, "Boo!" I was almost hysterical. Seriously, I don't really yell at my kids, but Luke was in so much trouble. When I asked him why in the world he would go outside by himself and hide in the back of the car, he responded, "Well, you said it was time to go and I wanted to surprise you." I guess I should be grateful he's okay and that I still get to see his cute face everyday... but I am not that forgiving. Maybe tomorrow I will be over it. Isn't being a mom so exhausting? Ugh. I want to go back to Hawaii.

Crazy busy weekend

Rainy days and Mondays always get me down..

Not really, but we had a great weekend and it went by too quickly. I had my camera the whole time.. with nothing to show for it. Ben started painting classes and had his first lesson on Saturday morning (the pictures would have been cute.. maybe next time.) After his class, we met our favorite Montanans, Del and Nicole Post, for lunch downtown. We LoVe them and wish we lived closer... but not enough to move up north. After lunch, we came home only to throw some things together for a BBQ with law school friends (now all attorney friends.) We were all once in Spokane and now practicing here in Vegas. It was so much fun to see everyone and we will definitely get together more often! Wish I would have pulled out my camera.. dang it!
On Sunday Aaron and I spoke in church, with some help from our boys. I always appreciate speaking or teaching, mainly for the preparation, not necessarily the delivery. After church (and a long sabbath nap) we headed to the park for a cool evening of fun. Again, no pictures to show for it. But it was so nice to spend all evening out together. Another week gone. Where does the time fly? I am not ready for summer to be over...and thankfully, it will still be in the high 80's this week. Vegas is good to us.

Shin guards are highly recommended

Ben and Luke started soccer this week. It's been fun, except for the fact that Zack thinks he belongs on the field with the rest of the kids.Stretching out in the shade

Taking a water break!

Zack needed one too! This face is: "Oh, Dang.. I spilled on my shirt, again."
Keeping Zack occupied, but it didn't last long
The coach was so nice to give Zack some one-on-one time after practice.Mommy and Zack cheering on the sidelines