Las Vegas

I never imagined I'd live in Las Vegas. But Heavenly Father knows our past, present and future and is watching out for us. If we place our lives in his hands, he can make so much more out of it than we can. We are happier than we've ever been. Who knew this area could be so amazing?! We love everything about it. The weather, mountains, scenery, parks, ward, friends, canyons, endless things to do and see and the list goes on. Chris's job is great. They have their busy days and slow days..but we are so blessed to have such a great job right out of school. Our ward is incredible, the best we've ever been in. There are so many young families, and I feel like we'll never get to know everyone and remember names:) Addy is in heaven with all the 3 year old girls to play with and absolutely LOVES Primary. It took Mason a couple months to warm up to Nursery, but now he loves it and runs in as soon as we set him down. I am so grateful for the friends we've made. Our whole married life, we haven't had a lot of time to hang out with couples. But we have weekends off and it's been fun hanging out with other families where the kids run off and play together and we get to hang out with friends as well. These amazing girls I've met have made all the difference with this move. They have helped this transition turn into a place we never want to leave. We have had a blast playing outside everyday, endless playdates and slowly seeing the sights. This is our Home Sweet Home:)

Here's some of the things we're looking forward to seeing and doing:

We can't live here and not get into hiking! We have endless trails and mountains to check out all around us. We want to see Valley Of Fire, Red Rock Canyon, Mt. Charleston, Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Lake Mead etc. We're excited for the tiny 4 hr drive to the beaches in California this summer. That's when we'll really enjoy Chris's 3 day weekends. and of course we need more trips down to this..we love the fountains!

Who's On the Lord's Side Who?

I just quit facebook for a number of reasons. But the main one, as weird as it may seem to people..is that I was getting discouraged at so many of my friend's posts and comments about things..especially the church and life in general. Some say, well just delete them. But sadly, that's a lot of friends to delete...thats why I was getting discouraged. Its sad to watch the course friends decide to take after high school and some after they get married. You watch their views change, some lower their standards..and facebook just brings out everything in people..the good and the bad. I decided to just drop it and focus the time I spend on there, on my blog! We just found out that some friends are going through infidelity problems. The worst possible scenario in a couple that you wouldn't expect it from. It just proves that Satan can get a hold of anyone when you lower your standards and step into the gray area. My last post on fb was about standing for what's right and being black and white in your standards. I got a lot of flack for it, for some reason..but this recent scenario with infidelity is what prompted my thoughts on being stronger than ever. I will repeat..in these days, with Satan attacking the family we have to choose a side. It is with God, or it is with Satan. If you sit in the middle, you'll fall. That may seem extreme..but little by little you'll find yourself slipping in the little things, and then they'll turn into the big things after time. I Know that by following the commandments and following the Prophet who is the mouthpiece for the Lord we will be guided down a path that will keep us safe and protected and bring our families back to our Heavenly Father. We can't just talk the talk when we have kids..we need to walk the walk. I want my kids to hear my testimony and see it and know when we follow the commandments that our Heavenly Father has set in stone to keep us safe.....That when the Prophet speaks..we obey. I loved what my friend said today.."if the Prophet says paint your house black..I'll paint it!" We don't question, we just obey. "whether by mine own voice, or the voice of the Prophet, It Is The Same!" I know that this gospel is true. I know that Satan is real and wants to tear down the family unit, because they are Forever. I know that if we live the higher law, we will be protected. Living it is not being judgemental and it is not restrictive. I know that saying prayers and reading scriptures with my kids is teaching them to feel the spirit..so that later in life when they need to make big decisions, they'll recognize the spirit from when they were young. I Love my Savior and am Grateful to Him for feeling my struggles and sins and atoning for them so I can try and make my weak self better each day. I am grateful beyond words for a husband that is so much stronger than me that can be constantly pushing me to be better..and who loves to serve and is so close to the spirit. This Gospel is simple. You obey without question..that's how you use your agency..you choose to obey and keep your covenants. Is it always easy to read and study and pray and have FHE and do everything? No, but your desire to do it is simple. You try a little harder each day..but you don't question it. I want the safety that obedience brings...I cry about the things my innocent children will be exposed to as they get older..but I can teach them how to be strong, and where to turn for help. I can teach them about standing on the side of righteousness. I am grateful for this knowledge. I know it is true.

Random

Fun in the backyard We get a little bored sometimes on Sunday with church being at 9...so we've discovered a love for painting. With Mason, it turned into finger painting..not so funny when he wanted to touch everything.Valentines Day french toastFound this idea in my preschool activity book..glue noodles on a plate and color them! Addy loved it!We do a co-op preschool with other moms..these are a couple of Addy's best friends:Karlee on the left, Irelynn in the middle and Addy on the right. They are so sweet and adorable.

Springs Preserve

Our fun weekend with the Grandparents continues...On Monday, President's Day - we went to the Springs Preserve. It was so much better than we expected. I want to get members passes now so we can go whenever. We were there about 3 hours and we still missed stuff. The kids did great despite all the walking..and this little gem took 2 naps. We caught a bird show, 2 museums, lunch at the cafe and the botanical gardens.

Gardens..they were soooo gorgeousState Museum..this is Chris in the room talking about all the nuclear bombs they set off where he works. The exhibit is about how Las Vegas started.Our view from the cafeThey had these outdoor caves with different animals inside, and statues that the kids loved playing on.a play area where the kids can "build Las Vegas" with foam piecesa little trainthe kids museum..you put fossils on these machines and they tell you what animal it was.The bird showthis guy was right behind us

Thank You Mike and Ruth Ann for the awesome weekend!! Addy came up the next morning holding your framed picture, and said, "mommy..I miss them." :)

Flying Kites

President's Day weekend was filled with lots of fun with Chris's parents in town. They drove down on Friday and we started out by going out to eat at Sammy's. They have awesome gluten free pizza there which is hard to find. Saturday we went to one of our favorite parks..the Centennial Hills Park. It's one of the best in the whole Las Vegas area. We played hard and wore the kids out flying kites, playing on the toys and had a picnic. We totally forgot how much fun flying kites was. Addy's face was priceless...it was covered in pure joy watching her kite. I love this picture. Mason's "blue angel" kite, and Addy's "cinderella" kite..plus all the air force jets flying around.