Halloween

I was more exited for Halloween this year than I have been in a long time. I don't know why. Maybe because my family was finally over swine flu and we were no longer quarantined. Anyway it was a great weekend. Along with trunk-or-treating and our usual stops, we went trick-or-treating in a neighborhood for the first time since we've lived down here. I decided a perk to the nonexistent yards is that doors are much closer. Very handy one night a year.

Bellagio Conservatory

I'm not going to try and catch up on the last year. This is some of the latest. This is in my opinion, one of the best parts of the strip (especially if you're looking for family friendly). This is the fall display at the Bellagio Conservatory. One of the trees talked and had the most life-like expressions when it moved. Very cool.

It's Been So Long

I haven't posted in so long I don't even know where to start. I've missed my blog and I've missed everybody else's that I inherently look at when I'm updating mine. Life is still crazy, but I finally have a handle on being a mom of three and school and everything else life offers. I'm a little hesitant to start using my blog again just because it looks really funny. Does anybody know how to get rid of the BRIGHT pink. I need help.

We are still around!

How could she be more loved?


Ten hours beofre her big debut.

For those of you who haven't completely given up checking our blog ( I don't blame you at all if you have, I would have too). Here is the update. We bought a house and spent a VERY frustrating summer trying to close. We had to itemize everything that needed to be done then get price lists for all of those parts. This was no small task. We have build walls and ripped them out. Ripped out both bathrooms all except one tub. The kitchen was nonexistent for a few months. Everything was remudded and textured. The flooring had to all be replaced. Along with new wiring, a new roof, new lighting, new windows, new doors. Literally everything was redone but that one tub that we had to put a hole in the wall so Tony could get in under it and brace it. Anyway we were finally able to close one week before I started nursing school. We spent endless hours that week scraping popcorn off of the ceilings and on our hands and knees (me with my then six month belly) popping up the old tiles with hammers and chisels.

Then school started and things really got crazy. I have never known stress like the last few months. It was intense and demanding and a whole lot really fast. On nights I didn't have school we were working on the house until really late. When I did have school the kids went with Tony and I'd pick them up around ten when I was done. We'd go home, have baths and Tony would work longer. On Saturdays I'd leave for clinicals at 6:00. Tony and the kids woke up and got to work. When I got done, I'd come here and we'd all work until late that night. That went on until October 31 when we moved in. It was a month later than we had hoped, but still probably too soon. We didn't have a kitchen because the granite wasn't done. I did have cabinets, but no sink and no appliances other than a fridge. We didn't have any heat which wasn't a big deal because the weather was still perfect. The gas guy came a few days after we moved in ran into a problem and we ended up going ten days without gas ( no hot water, no fun). Finally all of that started to work out.

On November 21 we had our baby. Yes, I am lucky enough to get to share my birthday with her. Her name is Anabelle Grace and she has every single one of us wrapped around her little finger. She came out with a ton of hair (a novelty in our family) and a dimple in her left cheek. She's an amazing baby. She is so patient and happy and has brought a lot of peace to a very crazy home.

Two weeks after she arrived I finished my last final. They went really well and I'm excited for next semester, particularly because the hardest semester is behind me and now there will be more time for fun with my family.

The last few months have created emotions like I've never known. I was scared going into it and considered turning down my spot once accepted. My dad gave me a blessing that said I would be provided with everything I needed to be successful. Heavenly Father proved that over and over; making impossible situations and overwhelming circumstances work out just fine. I went to bed sobbing more than once and was always blessed with the peace and hope that I needed to continue. Especially now looking back I am absolutely in awe at the miracles we have experienced. Paricularly with the strength that we have all needed. I am so indebted to my family who sacrificed so much to help us out. They came down four or five times and put in long days over the weekend to make as much happen as possible. They have been endlessly supportive in so many ways. Most of all Tony has been amazing. He has been mom and dad as well as everything else. He has cooked and cleaned and done my jobs on top of his. I couldn't ask for a better husband.

Our house is coming along. Not completely done, but getting better and better every day. I am now starting to unpack everything that wasn't an absolute necessecity and things are getting more organized. I'm grateful for the whirlwind we have been through. It has brought us closer and made us really recognize our blessings. It's a great time of year and we have so much to be grateful for. Even the little things. Last night Hope and I were reading a Christmas story about baby Jesus while we were holding our own little baby and it was all perfect.

Here are a couple of pictures. Our camera is still packed somewhere. I will post more when I can find it and you can all finally see our house that you've heard so much about.

I'm a dork!

I was getting tired of the same old thing on our blog so decided to jazz it up. I wanted a different template and thought I could figure it out myself. I got the new template but deleted my songs and friends and family links. How do you do it right? I'm a little more technilogically impaired than I thought apparently.

Professional Help

Ever since Hope's first birthday I've tried to make their cakes special. I've had some success and some catastrophes. For example, Hope's first cake was a rubber duckie cake which was all blue with mini marshmallow bubbles and ducks all over it. I used so much food coloring that it died Hope's face, hands, arms, high chair, shirt, everything, blue for several days. For her second birthday, I wanted to make her a Jo Jo the Clown cake which turned out pretty cute until her cotton candy hat melted into a big sticky puddle by the time we ate it. Anyway, instead of having to rely soley on sweets of every kind for my creations I decided to sign up for a Wilton class. Here are my first three assignments.

My very first attempt at using an icing tip.

These bottom two are to prove that not every one of my previous cakes have been a disaster. It's nice to be able to do a little more with frosting that just spread it now though.

The BIG Recital

It just wouldn't be Hope without the big cheese.

Hope had her second recital for tap and jazz. The first one was dress them up in Christmas colors and come have fun. This time they ordered costumes, had professional pictures taken, and performed at the ampitheatre. She loved it all; especially the costume. She did a great job. If she has many more I'm going to have to invest in another memory stick. I didn't want to miss a step. I'll save you from all of that and just give you a couple.