my sweet Valentine x 3

When we bought Cars 2 Valentine cards, it was pure glee for Lucas.  His preschool teachers recommended doing five cards at a time.  I was naive.  Anytime I've had Lucas write his name on a birthday or get well card to someone he has done it without question.  The first night we pulled out the Valentine cards he had to look at each.and.every. card and see all of the characters before getting started and find out who was getting Lightning McQueen, who was getting Finn McMissile, etc.  Then, it was like pulling teeth to write his name on five Valentine cards.  I looked at Brent and told him "this is your fault."  {School was not Brent's priority as a child and spelling and writing were definitely at the bottom of his list, so I jokingly blamed him.  The truth is, I didn't like homework or studying either.}

Thankfully, we just needed to get in the groove and we knocked the preschool and daycare Valentine's out. 

Mr. Valentine

If Hannah would have "helped" all of the Valentine cards would be in the trash.  Or the toilet.  She loves both spots for random items... like mom's shoe, Brown Bear book, sippy cup... you get the idea.  {We try to remember keep the trash can locked and the bathroom doors closed.}

Regardless, I have two sweet little Valentine's and one sweet big Valentine.

look who's talking...

Hannah has two new words: hot and owww.  Added to her list of mama, dada, uh-oh.  At her 12 month check up, her pediatrician said she would be happy with five words by 18 months.  {Five by 13 months isn't bad}  She also shakes her head yes and no, particularly when we say "no" to doing something she shouldn't be.  :)  If you tell her it's time to get a new diaper she will start walking to her bedroom.  I would love to believe that means she will be easy to potty train.  I have a feeling it will be the opposite when the time comes!

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Although we have no clue what she is saying, sometimes she will get right into Lucas' face and blabber a whole bunch, then use some hand gestures and blabber a little more.  I wish I could document it... it always makes us laugh, Lucas especially. 
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It was one of those nights that we didn't have much motivation for supper at our house.  Trying to decide what to eat, Brent asked Lucas if he wanted a hot ham & cheese sandwich.  Lucas likes ham sandwiches, but this would be his first with this special recipe. 
"Lucas, my grandma used to make me hot ham & cheese sandwiches.  They are really good," Brent told him.
"Gramma Connie?"
"No, my Grandma.  Gramma Connie's mom.  You don't know her; she lives in heaven."
"I will meet her when I get to heaven," Lucas said matter of factly.  But then it occurred to him "I won't know her." 
"She will know you," Brent assured him.
"Yeah, when I get really old I'll go to heaven."

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"Lucas, there is pee on the toilet seat, go clean it up," I instructed him.
"Why is it there?"  he wondered.
"Because you peed on the toilet seat."
"Oh."  He goes to the bathroom and comes back. 
"Did you clean it up?" I asked.
"Yep, I used the blue towel."  I laughed and laughed.  Then I immediately put the blue towel in the laundry; it was the hand towel in the bathroom.  I didn't tell him to use toilet paper, I assumed he would - never safe to assume with a four year old.  :)

I told Brent this story and he laughed, too.  His comment, "well, at least he told you he used the towel."  Point well taken.

wrestling

There were no wrestlers in my family growing up.  My big brother was a fan of WWF on Sunday mornings.  The old-school WWF with wrestlers like Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, and Macho Man Randy Savage.  There was usually some sort of experimenting with moves on the little sisters in the house, too.  That was my wrestling experience as a child. 

In high school, I only recall going to one wrestling meet.  My biology teacher was the head wrestling coach... I think he might have offered extra credit if we went to the meet.  I'm sure I socialized through the whole meet and probably didn't watch more than three minutes of the whole thing.

When Brent and I were dating, we attended a lot of Brian's high school athletic events and I learned a lot about football, wrestling and track & field.  I remember cringing at some of the wrestling moves thinking he was going to break a bone or become paralyzed by some of the twisting moves. 

Two years ago my nephew, Nick, started wrestling in the "little kid" tournaments. We went to a tournament locally and were proud of him for his effort to not get pinned. We went to the same local tournament a few weeks ago and he's come a long way in two years, considering his dad was the one who would jump off the couch for a "clothes line" move.  Nick won his grouping {okay, I still don't know all of the terminology}.  But it was really cool to see him pin TWO of his three matches!  Lucas was watching from the stands, cheering for him to "pin' em!" 

{photos are from my phone... very blurry.  sorry.}

The champion and his medal.

Lucas was in awe of the medal.

He asked Nick and Abby, "Will you come watch me wrestle in a couple of years?"

I see a lot more wrestling meets in my future... I think I'd better get a good cushion for the bleachers.  I look forward to it! 

talent show

We had a talent show at our house recently.  There was an invitation, assigned seating, admission charge {$1} and a wristband.  The show was put on to music.

It was a packed couch.

Even Handy Manny came.

Only two pictures because I was a stagehand in the talent show production.  I can't even describe the excitement Lucas had for the talent show.  From the moment I mentioned it to the 90 minutes later when Dad pull in the driveway Lucas was bouncing off the walls.  Daddy was a good sport and even shelled out the big bucks {$1} for a ticket. 

The talent show, like our music dance parties, are almost daily requests at our house :) 

"A playful path is the shortest road to happiness."

on the home front

The kids were in good hands while we were in Vegas.  I loved getting messages and text pictures.

Making a paper chain to count down the days until Lucas' birthday.

Lucas tells me he and Hannah were building a tractor line...

They've got tools so something must have broke down. 

{There were no injury reports so my assumption is the forehead band aid was for an imaginary "owie."  We go through a lot of band aids at our house.}

All of the pieces of the nativity were in funny places when we got home.

Baking cookies.

The kids had a fun time and so did mommy & daddy.  The welcome home hugs were AMAZING!

Hoover Dam

While in Vegas, Ben, Trista, Brent and I rented a car and drove to Hoover Dam. 

In 1930, construction began on the Hoover Dam, the largest of its kind at the time. Despite the remote location and harsh working conditions, it was completed in less than five years -- two years ahead of schedule -- and well under budget.

The dam is named after America's 31st president, Herbert Hoover, who played a large role in bringing the nearby states into agreement about water allocations, settling a 25-year controversy. The dam has been called Boulder Canyon Dam as well as Boulder Dam, but Hoover Dam was reinstated as the official name by Congress in 1947.

A total of 21,000 men worked on the dam with an average of 3,500 and a maximum of 5,218 daily, which occurred in June 1934. The average monthly payroll was $500,000.  The official number of fatalities involved in building Hoover Dam is 96.

A National Historic Landmark, Hoover Dam is the highest concrete dam in the Western Hemisphere, standing at more than 725 feet above the Colorado River. With 17 generators producing 4 billion kilowatts of electricity a year, it also is one of the country's largest hydroelectric power facilities. Operation and maintenance of the facility are solely supported by revenue from power sales.

Completed in October 2010, the Mike O' Callaghan -- Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge offers spectacular views that were once only available by helicopter.  Located about 1,500 feet south of the Hoover Dam, the walkway on the bridge is approximately 900 feet above the Colorado River.

Visitors can go from Nevada to Arizona after crossing the 1,900-foot-long bridge. The construction of the bridge came to mind in the 1960s, but didn't actually happen until 40 years later. This bypass was created to not only reduce traffic, but also to protect Lake Mead and the Colorado River from hazardous spills and explosions.

Very large Channel Catfish in the reservoir.

Ben, aka. King of the Mountain.