We've moved!

As you can see from the slide show above, we finally moved. Sorry it's taken so long to get the pictures up and such, but we have a lot of crap and it took forever to get it put away! The house is finally beginning to feel like home.

It's a big house! Probably bigger than we need but it's better to have too much room instead of not enough. It's a 3 bedroom with a giant playroom above the 3 car garage. The boys are now sharing a room so we still have a guest room. All their toys are in the big playroom....and it's stuffed! Let's just say the fat guy in the red suit won't be dropping off a lot of toys this year. I must admit it's wonderful to not have any toys downstairs in our living room. We always had a basketball hoop, books and cars in our living room at our old house. That was annoying. They have a TV in the playroom with a DVD player so we don't have to watch the Wiggles over and over any more either.

We also finally have a nice sized yard that's landscaped for them to play in! And a nice covered patio to hang out on as well. Plus, there's a big greenbelt next to the house for them to play ball. It's a great neighborhood. We're on a cul de sac so there isn't a lot of traffic for a change. We got Calvin a bike for his birthday so he can cruise the neighborhood and hopefully make a few friends. The best part about this house is the location....I'm literally a 2 min walk from my great friend Sandi's so it makes it very easy for our weekly wine night!

Believe it or not, it's snowed the past few days! Who'd have thought that the first time I'd ever see it snow would be in Las Vegas?!! We got quiet a bit of the white stuff! Valley wide we got about 3 inches, up where we're at it was probably more like 4 or 5. On Monday when I went to pick Calvin up from the bus stop by our old house it looked like Vermont or something! Snow was every where, and a lot of it. It was so beautiful! I sat and watched it snow from the window in the playroom for about 30 mins. It's amazingly beautiful.....as long as you don't have to drive in it. I didn't leave the house at all yesterday because it was snowing non stop for hours. In fact it snowed so much that school was cancelled today! Can you believe it? A snow day here in Vegas? Crazy!

Calvin hasn't switched schools yet. I'm not sure I will switch him? I heard they will be rezoning all districts next year so it seems pretty pointless to me (besides the zoning now is very confusing). We aren't but a few miles from our old house so it really isn't any trouble to take him to school and pick him up at his old stop. We were suppose to have a parent/teacher conference yesterday but it was cancelled due to his teacher's new baby being sick. When we finally get around to seeing her I will ask her about a voucher for him to keep going there.
We will be having a dinner party in Calvin's honor for his birthday this Saturday. We convinced him to push his party back to after the first of the year in hopes that more kids will come. I just knew no one would come with it being the Sat before Christmas, there would be too much to do. The dinner party will just be us and our friend's Sandi, Eddie and Christopher. I just hope Calvin doesn't make us all dress in our formal wear like he did for Easter one year.

We don't have any big plans for Christmas. We'll be going to my step mom's sister's house for Christmas Eve. That should be interesting as her brother in law is quite the character. On Christmas night we'll have our friends Sandi and Eddie and their little guy over for dinner since they had us over for a Thanksgiving feast. We'll be having the yummy Honey Baked Ham that arrived today from Lynn. Yummy! Thanks Lynn!

Our friends May and Rob and their 2 girls will be coming up for New Year's so we're very excited about that. We'll have a little bash either here or at Sandi's with just our 3 families. We aren't the party animals we used to be that's for sure!

Well, that's about it for us! On a frustrating note, the house we lived in finally sold at auction. For get this........157,000!! That's about 69$ a square foot! They had an offer from the couple who were going to buy it and let us stay there for 220,000 but wouldn't sell it?!! I just don't get those stupid banks!?? Oh well, this house is better any way.

So, we hope you all have a great Holiday and a safe and Happy New Year. Hopefully 2009 will be a better year now that Obama will be in charge. (Sorry, had to go there! wink, wink!) Love to you all!

More snow pictures!

Yes we DID!!! Woooo Hoooo!!!

Wow! Can you believe it?!!! We did it! America finally woke up and elected a President for who he is and what he can do for our country! They didn't look at the color of his skin but instead at the strength of his character! It's amazing! I have never been so happy and proud to be an American as I was on November 4Th (and now). I feel we picked the right man for the job. Obama has a wonderful calm to him, there seems to be no arrogance. I know he will surround himself with the right people. I don't understand how anyone can look at him and hear him speak and think that he would want anything but the best for our country. He has a tough road ahead of him but I'm confident he will navigate it successfully with a calm intelligence and grace.

I was very inspired to get involved this year. I went out canvassing for him, and woke up early on election day and put door hangers on people's doors who hadn't voted yet. I also worked at our local democratic headquarters making phone calls for our local congresswoman Dina Titus. Thankfully she won as well. I took Calvin to see him at one of his rallies before election day. It's very moving to see him speak in person. My friend Sandi and I went to the big Democratic Party Celebration and it was great. There were so many people completely overwhelmed with joy and excitement. This is what I love about Barack Obama.........he inspires people. He makes us realize that if we really want to make something happen we can. I sure hope our country can come together as one now. As he says.........there isn't a Red America, or a Blue America......there is the United States of America! Although, it was quite a thrill to finally live in a Blue state. (((wink wink)))

OK, so moving on! Halloween was a bit uneventful around here. The neighborhood has so many foreclosures in it so it wasn't very festive. Zach really isn't into getting dressed up. As you can see in the slide show above......he tried on 2 different costumes. He hated the monkey suit......Calvin did at his age too. We decided on the Fireman costume. I still can't believe I let my kid wear one of those stupid costumes with a tacky plastic mask! I really am disappointed in myself! I swore I would never do that! I feel like a failure! Calvin REALLY wanted to be a Transformer so I broke down and got it for him. My friend Sandi's husband, Eddie, brought their little boy Christopher and as you can see from the picture he wasn't a very happy Superman. I think with all the anticipation of the Election, my heart just wasn't in it this year. Next year will be better.

Calvin has lost 3 teeth now. Two on the bottom and one on top. I swear I think he's pulling them out for money from the tooth fairy. Every time I turn around he has another loose tooth. Between the tooth fairy and good behavior rewards at school the kid is racking in the cash...and breaking my bank!

Dwayne's family came in to town last weekend. It was his Mom Lynn, sister Leah and her 3 kids and husband. Lynn and his niece Lena stayed with us, while the rest stayed at a local hotel. All of us but Dwayne, Lynn, Zach and baby Lili went horseback riding out at Bonnie Springs where my father Tim does trail rides through Red Rock Canyon. It was so much fun! Calvin really enjoyed it, he didn't stop talking the whole time. Us parents also got to go see the Cirque du Soleil show called LOVE (done to Beatles music). Oh my god! It was Fantastic!! What an amazing show! We highly recommend it if you ever come to town. Thank you! Thank you, Lynn for the tickets and the night out! It was a wonderful visit with everyone, lots of love, laughter, wine and celebrating of Obama's victory!

We finally have official news on the house. As of this Friday the bank will take over ownership. We aren't very happy about packing but we're happy to be moving out from under this financial mess that isn't even ours. We found a great house not too far from where we are now. It's a 3 bdrm 2.5 bath with a huge bonus room above the 3 car garage, that will be the boys playroom. The boys will share a bedroom so we will still have a guestroom for anyone who wants to visit. There's a balcony off the master bedroom with great views of the mountains. The best part though, is it's got a really nice sized backyard, it's on a cul de sac and it's only a short walk down the road from my friend Sandi! Hopefully we get the keys tonight! I need to walk through it and visualized where all my crap is going (and most of you know I have A LOT!)

So, I think that's it! It's going to be a very busy few weeks for us! I have so much packing and purging to do, I'm exhausted just thinking about it. It will all be worth it in the end to finally be organized and settled for a while. Then we have December with Calvin's birthday and Christmas.....uhg....what was I thinking having a baby so close to Christmas? Apparently I wasn't thinking at all! I'm pretty confident I will be unpacked in time to make my Christmas cards and hopefully more calendars.

Until then I'll be working like a crazy lady getting my house in order. Hopefully the stress of it all will help me lose the jelly belly that I have jiggling around my waist!

Love to you all! And, Cheers to Obama and a brighter future for us all!

Mexico was GREAT!

I will start out with Calvin and his soccer team. They're called the Tuzos. They're named after the first ever soccer team in Mexico. Tuzo is Gopher in Spanish.

The team is doing great. They've only lost one game so far and I truly believe it was because Calvin wasn't there! He is their goalie. His team mates are all Mexicans so they call him "Cal-veen". So that's what we all called him while we were down in Mexico. Zach particularly gets a kick out of saying it.

As you may notice from the slide show above our trip was great! The house we stayed in was just the right size and only a very short walk from the beach. We had the beach pretty much to ourselves most of the time. The water was like bath water and the sunsets were BREATHTAKING. Everything was wonderful except maybe the weather. It was pretty hot, which we can all handle, what we couldn't handle was the humidity....it was at about 90%! It was a good thing the house had air conditioning and was close to water.

All the kids got a long fine, as well as us adults. There was a lot of laughter, good food, beer and wine. All of us adults packed on a few extra pounds from all the eating and drinking! After the kids were in bed us moms would grab a bottle of wine and head up to the patio on the roof to chat, laugh and look at the stars. The stars were AMAZING!

Us Moms got a night out by ourselves. We weren't too sure we were up to it but once we rallied ourselves we were glad we went. I have an old friend down there who owns a bar/pizza place. We stopped in for a few drinks and a shot of Mexican Moonshine. YIKES! I don't think it was Moonshine, I'm sure it was GASOLINE!

The Dads got a Sunday football afternoon off. They too headed down to Johnny's place for some football and beers to watch the Steelers lose! They weren't as happy when they got back as they were when they left. Eddie also got to test out his truck in the sand. His truck had never seen the dirt so he took it up Competition Hill. The view from the top has changed A LOT since I was a little girl.

I think Calvin and I spent the most time in the water. We had a good couple of afternoons out there pretty much to ourselves. He was always in the water with his goggles on. He's the tannest of us all. He blends right in with his soccer team now. One evening Dwayne and Rob took the kids out hunting for hermit crabs and such. They all loved it.

The best time was the last evening we spent on the beach. We bought tacos from a local taco stand and brought down some beers and limes. The sun was just beginning to go down. The weather was perfect and the water had a tiny chill to it. The kids ran around and swam and us moms broke out our cameras. Some of the best pictures were from that night. There are MANY more pictures than what's on that slide show above. Sandi and I took over 200 alone, and I'm still waiting on May to send me hers. Get on it Girl!

It's going to be an annual trip for all of us. We're already looking forward to next year. I feel so very lucky to be blessed with such great friends. Sandi and May had never even met each other and they got along like they'd known each other for years. I figured all would be fine since I'm the most outspoken and intense one of the 3 of us. If they could both get a long with me, I knew they could get a long with each other.

On our trip back, while we were staying in Arizona, Calvin lost his first tooth! He just yanked it out all by himself and didn't even cry. We were all excited. It was nice to be home once we finally made it. Calvin was going through Lego and Computer with drawls, and I was itching to see what was happening as far as politics went. It was great to be "unplugged" for those 6 days though. All the Dad's especially needed the break. It was nice to see them relax and let loose.

I would have to say the only down part about the trip was the drive. It's a long 6 hrs to AZ with 2 little guys in the back of the car. It seemed once one was asleep the other woke up and started crying and vice versa. The 4 hour drive down to Mexico wasn't too bad except for all the border patrol. It was worth all the driving though once we saw the beautiful Sea of Cortez.

I do wish we could have spent a little bit more time in Arizona. We were there less than 24 hrs on the way in and on the way out. I did get to see my Mom, Dad, Jess and Gilbert, but I didn't get to see my dear friend Kristen. She's in the battle for her life and isn't feeling well at all. I'm hoping to make it down there very soon to see her, but in the mean time I ask that all of you keep her in your thoughts and prayers. She needs all the positive vibes she can get right now. I love you Kristen!

Well, that's about it. We all survived our trip south of the border, and we all LOVED it. We hope all is going great with everyone. We miss you all and love you more. Until next time...Audios!

This may be a long one....

For the most part August was a good month for us. A wonderful new park opened up here not far from our house. This part of the valley is really beginning to take off and grow. We have a lot of beautiful parks for the boys to play in.......once it cools off that is! There will be a beautiful new Library soon as well. It's really going to be a happening place to live. I'm very happy that we live on this side of town, as long as we're here in Vegas I don't want to leave this area.

I don't think we'll be leaving any time soon. The sale of our house should finally go through with in the next month. It will be good to finally get all of that taken care of. None of us like the feeling of having our lives up in the air. With the economy in the crapper Dwayne won't be looking for a new job any where else soon either. Who wants to be the first person on the chopping block if they have to cut jobs? Besides he loves his job and they love him.

Calvin started school finally! He's only been going a week, but so far he likes it. His teacher is still on maternity leave so he will have a sub for the first month or so but, he doesn't seem to mind. I'm very glad to have him back at school! We are so much alike so we butt heads a lot. It's also nice to have a little bit of time with just Zach and I.

Zach is getting so big so fast! He's talking a lot. He says "Oh My Gos" and "No Way" a lot. He just finished up his swim lessons. He didn't really like them until the last day....of course. Now he seems to think he's Michael Phelps (he's not, the best he does is hold his breath) cuz he'll jump in with no warning. I don't know which is worse, him thinking he's a pro or him being afraid and crying. I'm just glad the classes are over. He's such a slim Jim his teeth were always chattering and it made me feel bad. He's growing into quite the little character, always making us laugh. I just know he's going to be the class clown.

I can see it now....being called to the school because Zach is disrupting class with fart noises and falling out of desks and Calvin is giving out too much information about one thing or the other. "Mrs. Carpenter, Calvin is running around saying if a Republican gets elected president we will all go broke." Or "Mrs. Carpenter Calvin is saying 'My mom says that the big building with the giant white horn on the top ( a Mormon church) is where all the crazy people go on Sundays'." I really have my hands full here people! You all know I've never been good at minding my Ps and Qs and now I REALLY have to and it's hard!!!

Calvin has also started soccer. His first practice was Tuesday and when he got home he was exhausted! Dwayne said half way through practice (it's 2 hours!) he looked over at Dwayne and told him "Just cancel me! I can't do this!" He made it through though and according to Dwayne he did a really good job. He's the only kid on his team that doesn't speak Spanish so he doesn't always understand what the coaches are saying but he pays very close attention. Don't ask me what the team name is cuz I can't even pronounce it! They're named after some Mexican soccer team. I'll post it later.

I'm convinced Dwayne is going through a mid life crisis. He went on some crazy diet called The Master Cleanse where he drank nothing but a crazy concoction of lemon juice, maple syrup, water and cheyenne pepper for 10 days! Yes he made it all 10 days (damn him and his stubborn will power!) and lost 18 lbs! Now he's Mr Fitness working out all the time and trying to eat healthy. He got all bummed cuz he gained 1 lb!!! Uhhhhggg! I so wanted to scratch his eyes out over that!!! Gimme a break! It was muscle, since he's turned into Arnold Swharzenegger! Here I am with my Jelly Belly and he's turning into Jack Lalanne!

Do you think I've developed a bit of a self esteem issue lately? It's my own fault. I had minor surgery on my "lady regions" earlier this month and haven't been back to the gym since. I'm so lazy. Hell, I'm lucky I get outta bed to get "Mr Too Much Information" to the bus stop. I must snap out of it soon because you know what's coming in 2 weeks? Our Mexico Vacation!!!! Woooo Hoooooo!!! Maybe I'll try The Master Cleanse Diet!!!! I'll show Dwayne and his will power! Ummm, doubt it. I'll just be the one on the beach with her margarita or beer resting on her belly with a straw in it! Just kidding! It's not that bad!

Okay, on to a more serious issue. As you can see from my side bar over to the right, I've added a widget or 2. A few of them being about Obama. Did you all see his speech last night (8/28)? Did he knock your socks off or what?! He was amazing, inspiring and just plain AWESOME! I'll admit, he wasn't my first choice.........stupid John Edwards was...........I'm still kicking myself for that one, the ASS. Now Obama is my man! I truly feel he is the best man for the job. He has a vision and hope for us that I haven't seen in a politician in a very long time. I know most of you are democrats and will vote for him......for the few of you who aren't or are undecided please do vote for him. We so can't have 4 more years of the same SHIT. McCrazy is just that.....CRAZY. And that woman he chose as his running mate is no where near ready to take over if he kicks the bucket (and you all know that could likely happen cuz he's OLD)! Here's a few quotas from her: "What does a vice president do any way?" or "The war hasn't really been a priority for me." She's pro-life, anti-gay and a lifetime member of the NRA. She has ZERO foreign policy experience. This was simply a ploy to win over women. McCrazy must think us chicks are stupid. I can't wait to see feisty Joe Biden mop the floor with her!

There, I'm done. No more ranting about politics........for now any way.

We hope you all are doing great! I'm sorry I didn't send out a link to this for last month...it was just a bit uneventful that's all. The slide show from last month is on the right under the Obama stuff if you're interested (the blog about it is below this one). You probably won't hear from us until we return from our fabulous vacation in Mexico. Until then Audios Amigos!!!

Not all that much is new...

Zach and I both got haircuts in the past few wks. I just couldn't take it any more. I've decided that I will always have short hair unless we move to somewhere cold and I can wear a hat for 9 months out of the year. It could happen.....if McCrazy is elected president we are so moving to Canada! Any way, I've never been a "hairdoer" so now I have my old short do back that I don't have to "do". It's much easier and I'm a much happier person. You know how women can be grumpy if they have a bad hair day? Well, that is so me....er was me.

Unlike me, Zach wasn't too thrilled about getting his new do. His hair was looking rather "helmety". When we went to a party for a friend from Dwayne's work someone called him "Moptop" and it put Dwayne over the edge. The next day we broke out the clippers and buzzed it all off. He was very squirmy and didn't like it much. I think it looks great. He was fascinated with it, he rubbed his head for about 2 days.

We signed Calvin up for soccer. He will start in September. I don't know what's happened to him? He's become this big sports nut. He's been obsessing over baseball for weeks now. I was surprised to hear he wanted to play soccer. He's looking forward to it. First I was the the neighborhood babysitter and now I'll officially be a soccer mom? Uhhhh, what's happening to me?

We're going to look into putting Zach in soccer or tee ball. They have leagues for both in his age group. I think he would LOVE it. His whole world exists of balls and "drives" (cars). Every day Dwayne comes home from work he runs up to him and says "Hi Daddy! Ball? Let's go!" He loves going to play baseball with Calvin and Dwayne. He has to wear Calvin's helmet and use his bat and real baseball....no toddler equipment for him, no way, he's a big boy.

I am counting down the days until Calvin starts school. We've already bought his new backpack and lunch pale.....Animated Transformers. We found them at Target and as we were going up to pay for them he was dancing down the isles singing the theme song-"Transformers....more than meets the eye." Everyone thought it was very amusing. He's looking forward to school, but I don't think as much as I am!

The sale of our house should be finalized around about October or November. That should be a relief. This whole situation is one hot mess! I'm not even going to write any more about it cuz I just get all fired up.

My great friends Tom and Don came up this past week. It was their 11 year anniversary. I can't believe it! I can't believe I've known Tom for almost 18 years! He's one of my best friends and knows almost all of my secrets. Ha! Like I have any secrets?! Who am I kidding!

Ok, I believe that's it for us. We hope all is going good for all of you! Love you all and miss you tons!

A busy couple of weeks......

It's been a busy few weeks for us. Last weekend we went down to Arizona to surprise my Pa for his 60th birthday. He was very surprised. It was a short visit but it was great to see everyone and lounge by their wonderful pool in their beautiful backyard. It was next to impossible to get Calvin out of the water.......he was rather "pruney" all weekend. We know he can swim if he would just venture into the deeper water. We're planning on putting him in swim lessons here soon. Zach loved the water too, he starts swim lessons this Wednesday. I'm hoping he enjoys them.

Next up was Zach's 2nd Birthday. It was rather uneventful. We didn't plan anything too special. We went out to eat at Red Robin on his actual birthday and when they came to sing him Happy Birthday he was none too pleased. He cried and didn't even finish his ice cream. A few days later we had my Vegas family over and had my "blue ribbon chili" and some cake. As you can see from the video above he again wasn't thrilled with the whole singing thing. He loved his present from Gramma Cheri and Grandpa T though.......a golf kit. He was busy hitting the little balls all night. Until I broke out a cd of music my Grandpa Bill recorded many, many years ago. Then he broke into a dance........he has his mama's dancing gene! He hears music and his body can't help it's self. See video below.

Finally it was the 4th of July. What used to be my favorite holiday back in the good ol' days in Apache Jct. I remember the water balloon fights, fire hose fights, sack races, fireworks and Jess being on the front page of the local paper sitting in a tree with the caption "Unidentified boy watches fireworks from tree". This years celebration wasn't as extravagant but just as fun. We went over to our dear friends Eddie and Sandi's house and had burgers, hot dogs, wine, beer, chips and pasta salad. Fireworks were going off every where, it seems everyone in the neighborhood had some. It was really quite festive! We watched the big shows from their balcony. It was a nice mellow affair without having to fight any traffic, just the way I like it.

I have yet another update on our stupid house situation. It seems again we WON'T be moving (for now any way). Not only that, we now have to start paying rent again! Grrrrrr! Long story short...the house was about to be foreclosed on because the different departments at the bank didn't communicate. Now as of part of the short sale the mortgage has to be paid until the sale starts the final process. WHATEVER!!!!!! I sooooo wish we had about an extra 2 grand so we could get out from under this damn mess that isn't even ours!!! It's so annoying!!!!! It's driving me crazy!!! It changes from day to day, week to week. I HATE IT!!!

Well, that's about it for us. Besides the house frustration all is well. We are eagerly awaiting September for our fun filled family vacation in fabulous Puerto Penasco, Mexico. Believe me when I tell you I am counting down the days!!!! Sun, Sand and Margaritas!!!!! I can't wait!!! Ok, back to reality Kelli........

Love you all!!!

More house drama!!!

First off let me start this by saying Lynn (MIL for those of you who don't know her) came to town a few weeks back and as always we had a good time. Despite the fact that Zach and I were both pretty sick for most of her stay, she got to see Calvin's last school performance and last baseball game. It's always so nice to see her. I feel VERY lucky to have her as my mother in law! Love you Lynn!!

Now on to our house drama! Uhhhhhggggg! Unfortunately we've decided we need to move. The stupid bank wants to wait for more offers to come in before they accept either of the ones they already have. I just don't get it? No one is going to offer them more money? Why don't they take what they can get? It makes no sense to me. We can't sit around waiting for the deal to close until the new owners (who ever they may be) take over. It will probably go into foreclosure any way so we've decided we better get out while we can. We will be moving August 1st. Where to yet we have no idea? Rentals here open and close so fast because of all the foreclosures, it's crazy! We found a couple great places but they were already taken. We aren't even going to officially start looking for another 3 weeks or so. Wish us luck! I'm very sad to leave this house. I love it because ALL my crap fits perfectly in it. I hope we can find something similar. We may get a 3 bedroom with a loft and make the boys share a room. Calvin REALLY needs it. He's always yelling at poor little Zach and hording all his toys.....even if he doesn't like them! He needs a giant dose of brotherly love!

My best friend here up and got herself a job! Now I babysit her little man. Gosh, I just got rid of the little girl I was watching! It's been a bit of an adjustment for me because I have to get up early. Calvin always just took care of himself and Zach sometimes slept as late as 10! It hasn't been too bad but then again it's only been a week! It's good for all of us though. He's a bit of a Mama's Boy and needs to be around other kids/people and I need to practice getting up early for when Calvin starts 1st grade. Calvin has been a big help......I'm even thinking of giving him an allowance each week for his help. Zach is a bit jealous of Christopher, it's kind of funny. I never in my life thought I'd end up being the neighborhood babysitter! I swear if I take on one more kid I'm gonna look like a MORMON and I sooooooo can't have that!!!

We joined the YMCA recently. I've been working out 2 or 3 times a week! Gotta get my body back (yah, like that will happen!) for our big vacation to Mexico in September! Calvin is in a once a week baseball camp and Zach starts swim lessons in July. Dwayne's been pumping iron too. Our new family theme song is "Let's get Physical". Just kidding!

Well, that's about it for us. We will keep you posted on our house searching! Uhhhhgggg! Just the thought of it makes me cringe! I guess it's time to start some serious purging! Nah, I think I'll have a glass of wine instead! Hope all is well for you and yours! Much love!!!