Wetlands Park

Frank had today off so after spending the morning just hanging out we went for a hike at the Wetlands Park. It was an absolutely beautiful day. We got some exercise and had fun as a family for free.

Marie-Anne

Game Night

(I still have no idea how to turn the picture.)

Now that the kids are getting slightly older and wanting to play games we will be having family game nights. We tried this before, but they weren't too interested. We have quite a stash of games, most of which, were from the thrift store or b-day gifts. (If you buy games from the thrift store be sure to open them or you'll get home with missing pieces or missing instructions.)

Marie-Anne

Bonnie Springs

Frank had Monday off so he took us to Bonnie Springs, (a tourist trap outside of town). We went there when we first moved to Las Vegas.





Alex and Sabrina both loved it; especially the merry-go-round, the petting zoo, and the train.





Marie-Anne

Christmas Eve

We celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve. I cooked for what seemed like forever, but it was very good.



The kids could hardly wait to open the presents. Of course, they were super excited to get many new things- games, toys, a learning guitar, puppets, puppet theater, books, DVDs...



Marie-Anne

Little Drummer Boy Play

This morning while at WalMart the song “Little Drummer Boy” was playing. Alex, as serious as can be, exclaimed,”Even WalMart must have heard about our Christmas play!”


(Alex is in green.)

Tonight was the play. It is based on Veggie Tales' version of the Drummer Boy, (which is a very cute movie). Alex was a bouncing pea and a chariot driver. Frank was a comedian gourd. Sabrina was supposed to be a star, but she refused to be in the play.



It was really cute. They all, (except Sabrina) did a wonderful job. At the end of the play Pastor did an altar call and several people prayed for salvation- that's the whole reason why the Potter's House does this kind of thing.


(Alex is the taller pea, of course.)

Marie-Anne

Great Date!

Frank and I dropped the kids off at Nick and Crystal's for a fun play-date. Then we went out for a fun date. Frank bought me chocolates and took me to one of our favorite restaurants, Hush Puppies. We had so much fun. Then he took me to overlook the city- it's so pretty at night. Before picking the kids up we stopped at Ross and picked up a few more gifts.

I am so glad he came up with the idea of swapping babysitting with friends. It works out great especially since they have kids so the kids get a play-date at the same time we get a real date. I look forward to the next time.

Marie-Anne

And the winner of the Ugly Sweater Contest is....

Frank Rendla!

Frank's work had an ugly holiday sweater contest. The prize was a $50 gift card. I went to the thrift store, but there were no ugly holiday sweaters, (apparently this is a popular contest). I found the ugliest sweater/sweat shirt I could find. Then I made it uglier. Didn't I do a horrible job?

I made a felt Christmas tree and did an absolutely pathetic sewing job. I added Christmas ornaments down the front and along the shoulders. I used the same beads on the Christmas tree as an attached necklace. I also added jingle bells to the sleeves. (Frank's co-worker added the tree car freshener.)

You know you want one so don't delay, put your order in now!

Marie-Anne

Christmas Party at Pastor's

We were invited to a Christmas Party at our Pastor's house. It was so much fun. We had a white elephant gift exchange with a lot of prank gifts. The kids ended up with three out of the four gifts we brought- how'd that happen? The many many hairclips in Sabrina's hair were part of a gag gift we brought. The night went by too fast.

Marie-Anne

Jaycee Park with Kristina

We went to Jaycee Park with Kristina and her son, Vegas. It was chilly, but the kids did not care at all.



They had a lot of fun feeding then chasing pigeons.

Marie-Anne

Playdate

We are going to start trading off babysitting with some friends so we can go on a date. We took the first time and the kids had a great playdate! They loved playing dress-up; two princesses and a fire fighter. On Tuesday we are dropping off our kids!

Alex didn't want Seth to destroy his Legos so he spent most of the time in his room with the door shut. He did play with the younger kids some.

Marie-Anne

Story time at Barnes and Nobles

Near the end of outreach, (inviting people to church) we were near Barnes and Nobles so I took the kids there. Though it was unplanned we were there for story time. So the kids got to hear a story and make a craft.

Then they got fresh baked cookies! The man said to help yourself, that wasn't the best thing to tell kids, (well my kids). Alex ate three cookies and then grabbed another three. GREEDY! I made him put the last three back. We talked about sharing.

Marie-Anne

O Christmas Tree

We had fun setting up our Christmas Tree. The kids hung almost all the ornaments themselves. Sabrina is wearing a dress that was mine when I was a kid. They were super excited about having a tree and won't leave it alone. (That is why there are no fancy ornaments for a few more years. Sorry, Frank.)

Marie-Anne

Bass Pro Shop

We took the kids to Bass Pro Shop for their winter wonderland. The kids absolutely love going there and it's free!

Marie-Anne

Roller Skating

I absolutely love skating; I used to go every weekend and I owned my own roller blades. I haven't been in years. I got invited to go with a friend from church to take a group of girls skating. I jumped at the chance. It brought back so many memories and felt sooo good to be on skates again. I only fell once, but I can already feel the workout.



We'll go soon for family night.

Marie-Anne

Red Lobster

Frank took us out to eat at Red Lobster. It was crazy the kids were acting up then I spilled Frank's drink all over him and the tic-tac-toe game Frank and Alex were playing. Despite that we all enjoyed our meal and even managed to have fun.



As we were leaving Alex and Sabrina got to touch a lobster. Alex loved it. Sabrina wouldn't touch it at first. She finally did, after I put away the camera.

Marie-Anne

Mission Hills Park

The kids and I took a break from unpacking to go to Mission Hills Park.

Marie-Anne

Fall Leaves

On the day that we moved the kids and I had fun with the leaves.

Marie-Anne