Bridger started piano lessons

 So Bridger has officially started piano lessons.  I've taught him a few simple songs and he just eats it up.  He's been begging me to "take lessons."  I got out Chase's beginner books and started Bridger at the beginning.  He is loving it.  I love that I can teach the boys!  He and Chase wake up in the morning and practice before they go to school.  He is so excited to play the piano!

There's a first for everything....Monster Truck Show!

 A couple of years ago, a commercial came on for a monster truck show and Marilyn spoke up and said "I know this sounds crazy, but I would love to go to one of those. That's on my bucket list."  At first, I thought she was joking but then I realized that she was serious.  So I received an email for really cheap seats to a monster truck show.  I asked Matt and the boys if they would want to go to it and they said yes.  So I called Marilyn and asked her if she had plans and would want to come to a monster truck show.  She was really excited!  We invited Mom and Dad to come along too.  

What an experience we had!!!!  We had great seats with a perfect view of the stage.  We knew we might be in trouble when we saw people with ear plugs.  When the monster trucks started up, we immediately had to cover our ears.  It was SO loud!!!!  But it was really fun to see the trucks go through the obstacle course.  They had a few motorcycles that did fancy jumps throughtout the show.  They did crazy things on their bikes! Dad bought us some treats during halftime.  At the end, the monster truck "toxic" went off the biggest jump for the finale.  The crowd went wild.  It was incredible!  We had such a fun afternoon.  I had more fun watching everyone's expressions.  Marilyn just giggled and giggled!  She said she was very happy to cross that one off the bucket list!  

Las Vegas Trip

We came down to Las Vegas for a couple of reasons.  Chase had a soccer tournament for the first couple of days and then Matt had a work conference the last few days. So it worked out perfectly to combine the two events into one vacation. Unfortunately Chase woke up Friday with a temperature of 102.8.  All I could do was laugh, because we always got sick on vacations when I was little. I figure it's payback from Mom and Dad.  We left early Friday morning and only made one stop in S.G. for lunch. We were trying to get to Vegas in time for Chase's practice so we really hurried! After the practice, we went to our hotel and checked in. The ibuprofen had worn off and Chase was feeling really sick again. So we loaded him up on cold medicine and ibuprofen. He actually slept for two hours! He never takes naps so that's how I know he's sick! Chase had his first game Friday night at 8:00. The team really struggled and just couldn't pull off a win.  Originally Chase said he felt too sick to play but after warm ups he decided to try and he played great. You couldn't even tell that he was sick. He was such a trooper!  Saturday morning we woke up and had to be to warm ups by 9:00. Chase said he felt a little better but he sounded worse. He sounded really crouppy! Watching the other team in warm ups, we realized we were in trouble. They were a really good team! The game did not go well and they beat us 6-2. Even though they lost, Chase played awesome again! After the game, we went back to the hotel and relaxed. Chase was feeling better so we took the boys swimming. A couple of other boys from his team were staying at the hotel and were swimming too so all the boys had a blast swimming together. We made Chase try to rest for a little bit before his evening game.

 The coach gave the boys a really good pep talk and told them they needed to fight better for the ball. Something changed because all the boys played exceptionally well! We had a shut out of 3-0. Chase played amazing defense! At half time Chase was resting when the game started back up.  The coach wanted to put Chase back in but he asked if he could rest a little longer because he felt sick. The coach told him only for a little bit because the team needed Chase out there. He was so tough because he played for 3/4 of the game. When the game ended, the boys had huge smiles on their faces. Even though we didn't advance to the finals, they were so ecstatic with that win it was like we had won the championship game. We were so proud of our boys for playing so hard and for not giving up. 

  Sunday we moved over to the Paris hotel on the strip. That's where Matt's conference was being held. The boys kept saying "this is a fancy hotel!"  We walked around a little but mostly just relaxed in our room. We ordered a pizza for dinner. I think we were in bed by 8:30.  It was so nice to have such a relaxing day.  On Monday morning, Matt got up and went to his conference.  It's nice because his conference goes from 7:30-1:00.  The boys and I played card games and read. Chase taught me how to play Nerts. I went to the gym for a little. When he got back, we went to "In N Out" because we told the boys that they were going to eat a hamburger on this trip. Chase actually did really well with his but it took a lot of encouragement for Bridger to eat most of his. Bridger did NOT like the fries because of all the "black marks" on them. At the end of the meal, Matt told the boys that he would give them each a dollar if they ate a fry with a black mark on it. Chase dipped his in lots of ketchup and earned a dollar. Matt picked one out for Bridger and he tried to eat it but the end was really crunchy so Bridger threw up the fry! I was just so grateful it wasn't his whole hamburger! Even though he didn't eat the fry, Matt said he still earned a dollar because he tried. I don't know what we're going to do with that kid!

Then we drove out to see the temple. Everything was closed because it was Monday, but we still were able to walk around the grounds. What a different feeling compared to the strip! On our drive back to the strip we passed a McDonalds that had closed down. Bridger spoke up and said, "I know why that McDonald's closed!" We were curious and said "why?" He replied "I bet it's because know one liked their chicken nuggets!" Matt and I laughed so hard because he hates their chicken nuggets. It struck us as so funny.  We came back to our hotel and walked the strip for a little. We walked down to the M&M store. We watched the Belagio fountains for a while. That is Matt's favorite thing to do in Vegas. We agreed to watch one last song before calling it a night. Matt was really hoping for his favorite song so when the music started, we couldn't believe that it was his favorite song!  

  

On Tuesday morning, the boys and I went to the Paris breakfast buffet.  I was so excited to eat the crepes.  I gave Bridger a bite of the Nutella banana one and of course, he threw it up! Awesome! He is very sensitive to textures. Chase didn't really like them so I ate some of a berry one, apple one and a banana crepes. They were so good!!! The boys' favorite foods were the bacon and ice cream. I guess we all have our favorites at buffets.

Later in the afternoon, we went ands explored the north end of the strip. We watch some of the Treasure Island pirate show. We left a little early because it turned into a "dancing girl show."  We walked around the Mirage and Caesars Palace for a little. We tried to go the dimmer buffet at Caesars because it's the best in town, but it was an hour wait plus $46.00 a person. So we settled on the Cheesecake Factory. You just can't go wrong with their food. There was a Nike store next to the Cheesecake Factory.  I think Chase wanted to move in.  He was in Heaven.  I realized that this store was like an American Doll store for me.  

On the way back, we stopped at the fountains. I think Matt could have stayed their all night. I took Bridger back to the hotel with me. He found this little notebook and has been begging to get it all trip. At first I thought it was really silly but then I realized that he loves anything that is small. He sees me writing in my journal and he said thus could be his special journal. He was so happy when he got it! He came right back to the room and wrote his name in it. He was telling everything that he wants to write in it. So sweet!  I'm actually sad to see this trip ending. It's been so nice being together as a family with no distractions! The relaxing time has been greatly needed!   

Gingerbread House

The boys love our tradition of building a ginger bread house over the Christmas holiday. St. Nicholas brought us a gingerbread kit this year.  We were a little late in getting to our kit but it gave us something to do after Christmas.  The boys were very creative with the decorating.  We even were able to use some of our old candy (the candy corn for a fence).  The boys wanted to try the frosting and quickly realized that it taste like glue.  The boys were shocked to find out that it didn't taste like homemade cake frosting.  But, there was someone else that decided they liked the frosting.  A few days after we made out house, I noticed that some parts of the tree were missing.  I just figured that the boys had broken off the parts because they wanted to try the gingerbread.  I realized that I was wrong when I found Sophie with both front paws up on the counter and she was going to town on the house and anything else she could get her mouth on.  The boys were sad to learn that she ate our snowman that came with the house.  Poor frosty!  At least Sophie enjoyed our house!

Happy New Year's Eve

 I was feeling like we were wasting our winter break so I talked the boys into going to the Children's Museum.  Chase is feeling like he is too old for it but Bridger and I convinced him to come.  I told the boys they could invite a friend but only Bridger wanted to invite one.  I think Chase feels like the museum is "for babies."  But as you can see from the pictures, they have a fun time once we're there.  Bridger invited his sweet friend Brody.  They get along so well!  It was a little bit busier than I had anticipated because of the "First Night" (New Years Eve) celebrations in downtown.  But it was still manageable.  We stayed for a few hours and then came home.  One of my favorite things to do is watch the boys put on a play.  It's hilarious to see their creativity!

 I was scheduled to work New Year's Day so I didn't want to stay up late. We ended up having a quiet night with just our little family. We went out to dinner at our favorite little Chinese restaurant here in town. It just seems like tradition to get Chinese food on New Years Eve.  (There are lots of other people that have the same tradition because the restaurant was very busy!) When we came home, we had a Wii Rock Band party. We had such a fun night playing Beatle songs on the wii! Around 10:00 we got out the bubbly and had our New Year's toast. The boys LOVED using the "fancy" glasses. I was a party pooper and went to bed early because of work. Bridger fell asleep on the couch. Matt and Chase were the only ones that made it to midnight. Chase loved staying up late playing the wii. As luck would have it, I was getting ready to leave for work the next morning and my work called and put me "on call." So I missed out on the party for nothing but who could have guessed that! Happy New Years!