Home Sweet Home

We're in California at last!  And it feels so good to have a home again.  We've been "on the road" the last month and a half, and we can finally sleep in our own bed, eat at our own kitchen table, and well, just unload and organize.  Chelsea has been an amazing help.  Chelsea, watch the kids.  Chelsea, clean the blinds.  Chelsea, do the dishes.  Chelsea, iron my clothes.  Ok, no, we didn't turn her into Cinderella, but she helped in any way that we needed.  And for that, I thank you SO much Chels.  You're an amazing aunt and a fabulous sister!

My mother-in-law, Letha, stayed with us for a few days before heading back to Texas.  And she tackled a lot while here as well.  Thank you, Letha, for all your help with getting our lives unpacked and set up.  We were through our boxes in two days, very impressive Wade.  And we didn't have a washer and dryer yet, so we had to do laundry every couple days at the laundromat on base.  Not fun.  First of all, it was a sauna in there!  Second of all, they're public machines.  Enough said.  But, at least I could do 5 loads at once.  That saved a lot of time.  And it was only 2 blocks away.  I'm proud to say I own a shiny new, red washer and dryer.  Problem solved.

I deleted the post of our new house because I was going to replace all the pictures with new ones.  Everything's settled and nearly all decorated.  However, I still haven't taken any new ones.  I promise, I'll take some soon.  Oh, and I have art projects, thanks to my crafty sis, to post.  Those coming soon too!  For now, here we are in Lemoore, California!

Brenner's 10 Months

Brenner is 10 months and time has just been flying!

Brenner likes to feed himself. He gets a little annoyed when you try and feed him. He just wants food on his tray. And he piles it in. He's a GREAT eater. He likes tomatoes, grapes, bread, pork loin, ham, chicken, pasta...the list goes on. There's not a lot he doesn't like. A matter of fact, he sometimes eats his big sissy's leftovers.

He loves splashing in the bathtub. Mommy likes to keep it clean, so I typically tell him, "Brenner, no splashing." And then when Daddy gives him a bath, he says, "Splash, splash!"

He loves going to the swimming pool. I have a turtle floatie that I put him in. He loves looking around and watching all the kids jump in the water. He especially likes watching Emmy swim around in her water wings.

Brenner hasn't figured out crawling yet, but he's getting closer and closer. He gets around by rolling and rolling. It's pretty funny watching him.

He loves getting tickled, and is extremely ticklish. I love giving him kisses on his neck. He just shrivels into a ball and cracks up.

He still uses his pacifier, mostly at night. He's not completely sleeping through the night. Probably because mommy has spoiled him. By the second fuss, I'm already in his room. He wakes up about 6:30 in the morning. Don't know where this came from. We are not morning people around here. On a happy note, he takes 2 naps a day still.

He loves going on walks in the stroller. We go on a morning walk before it really starts heating up outside. And we take one after dinner. The wind starts blowing in the evening and it's completely perfect outside. It's funny because he starts getting fussy after we eat dinner, and I tell Wade every time, that it's because he's ready to go outside. Sure enough, we plop him in the stroller, and he chills out for his evening stroll. He knows our routines around here!

He loves clapping his hands and he gives big waves. He says "mama" but usually when he's really tired and gets whiny. He says "dada" and "haaa," which means hi.

He's getting to be so big. I love watching him play with Emmy. They are just the cutest. She can still get the biggest laugh out of him. I don't know how she does it. We love you Brenner! Happy 10 months!

Are You Feeling Lucky?

Vegas! Finally, my first visit to Las Vegas, Nevada. Wade's already made the trip out there 3 times while in the Navy. Must have been tough work, huh honey? I can't thank my sister, Chelsea, enough for coming along this crazy road trip with us. It only took us about 5 1/2 hours to get there from Scottsdale. Not a bad drive at all. The mountains weren't too bad along the way either. My wonderful mother-in-law flew out to meet us as well. We spent time walking the strip, doing some shopping, and of course sight-seeing like no other! Wade, Chelsea, and I even got to see a Cirque de Soleil show, Ka. What an experience. It was an amazing show. Thank you Letha for keeping the kids for us! I can't wait to go back and see another.

This is the theater at the MGM Grand where Ka is performed. It was unreal.





Did I mention it's only a 6 hour drive from Vegas to Lemoore?? Anyone wanna meet in Vegas? Anyone, anyone? Oh and were we feeling lucky? No, not really. Wade and I gambled one night for all of about 20 minutes. He showed me the craps table. We played a couple rounds. It's really confusing, and I still don't understand it. Needless to say, we lost. I used my last $20 on a slot machine, and I after I lost $10, I wanted to stop, take my $10 and run, but Wade coaxed me into playing out the rest. And I lost, again. It's more fun to me watching, than playing. Boo hoo But I did have a good time watching the hustle and bustle of the casino.

On the drive up, we got to see the Hoover Dam.








Here's Chelsea posing outside our hotel.
























We even got to see some singing, a juggling act, and flips. Emmy really enjoyed this. Especially when they gave her gold coins. She thought it was money. We debated with her awhile that it was chocolate, but she was sure that her gold coin was in fact, money.



Brenner's first taste of lemon



We ate at a really yummy Italian restaurant. And we had the greatest waiter. He LOVES kids, and I think our kids loved him more. Usually eating out is a bit of a challenge with 2 kids, but this was the greatest dining out experience we have ever had. He made the kids laugh, played tricks and joked with them, and even made Emmy a crown from a napkin. We all really enjoyed ourselves. If only this man could dine with us every night.











Here's a random bird that Chelsea pointed out. And then I felt the need to take a picture.





My gorgeous sister































My favorite part...the Bellagio water show!!!











We decided to cut our trip one day short because the movers said that they could deliver our furniture that very next day, otherwise we'd have to wait until after the weekend. So, we quickly packed up, kissed Vegas goodbye, and set out to our final destination, Lemoore, California.