Pioneer Day Parade

Ever since we moved to Las Vegas our family has gone to the Tri-Stake Pioneer Parade & Festivities. Each year we have fun too. This is was especially fun because we got to participate in the parade. Which I have to say was the first time I got to do that. This year Bishop asked the Primary if we would participate in the Parade or have a Booth. Immediately I agreed to the Parade. Thinking it's easy and we get it done with and can enjoy the rest of the day playing. Well all was true, except the easy part.

First I had an idea that we just have the kids decorate their bikes and then ride then through the parade, I thought that's easy & cute, then I thought I would borrow a play house and put signs on it with words that Strengthen Families.

Then . . . you can only imagine it got bigger and bigger ideas. The best thing is I had so much fun making everything. Alix helped me with tons of the painting. She painted most of the orange signs, the red on the house and the brown roof.

I had so much fun making this float. But the best thing of all was watching the children stand on top of the float with their BIG SMILES THROWING CANDY OUT TO THE CROWD. I think it's moments like those why leaders, teachers, and parents put so much effort in things they do, for that one moment they forget about all their worries and imagine themselves the person they want to become. I like to admit in a humble way one of my talents is creativity; however, I think this idea came from someone above.

I LOVE SERVING IN THE PRIMARY!

Another Trip to the Hospital

Well Alix had to go to Summerlin Hospital to do an Endoscope. She went down with annesia again. Thankfully this time she didn't vomit like before. She actually felt great.

The results were confusing cause the Pediatric GI didn't find any nodules in her throat to indicate any reflex disease. Which is odd cause twice the ENT specialist found them. So as of right now the doctor thinks we shouldn't do anything. Now when I think of it I should of loaded her up with tons of acid food to really make it bad if that is the case.

Anyway she will see the ENT again and then Alix has another apt. with the GI specialist. Hopefully we can figure out something else. The thing though is Alix has not lost her voice since the surgery, so who knows maybe that's all she needed.

Oh we did find out something with Alix's blood results. It showed that she is allergic to CAT DUNDER? - When I asked the doctor what that was he said, "Cat Dunder!" OHHH CAT DUNDER. I asked Jon and he told me right away what it was. Made me think who am I dealing with? Too bad he is the only pediatric GI specialist in the area or I would reconsider this one.

Not sure if I want to talk about this - PART III

Okay the pictures are finally here. Sorry it took so long I have been working on many projects here. Anyway the pictures are grainy cause I have a little youngster who loves to snap away and change my settings and then I never notice until I start downloading them onto my computer.

So here are Addison's bangs now. They look pretty wispy, but that's how it's going to be. These pictures really don't do justice. Cause in real life her bangs underneath are really short.

We have been wearing this in a ponytail. It's funny cause not all of it fits in the hair tie and the pony tail is a little stub. I must say that someone is praying for me cause Addison's hair is growing really fast. I already feel it's easier to put it in a pony tail.

I took the girls swimming at Black Mt. Rec-center. It was fun. I didn't have Addison's hair in a ponytail, cause I think all the chlorine and water damages the girls hair when I try to pull out the hair-tie, so I don't always like to have their hair up. So I let it down and looked so funny cause it would dry really fast and stick straight up and no matter how much water I would splash on it- it would still stick up. I saw a lot of people looking at her hair. :)

Alix is so proud of her haircut!

Can't you tell?

Not sure if I want to talk about this PART II

Well I haven't taken pictures of the girls yet and their crazy hairstyles yet, but who know maybe molits and mohawks are back in! So this happened last night right?

Well today I took the girls to the movie and then to lunch at Taco Bell afterwards. The girls BEHAVED PERFECTLY I even text Jon telling him how wonderful they have been. Great listeners, Helpers and everything thinking they really learned there lesson.

Then . . .

After Addison woke up from her nap she decided to take of her diaper and smear the poop in the carpet. That has never happened to me and wish it on no one. Trying the best to clean it up I sprayed it to let it sit in for a bit. Then I cleaned up Addison as you can image she was a nasty mess too.

Then . . .

I went downstairs in the Garage and pulled out my STEAM CLEANER. Thank goodness I have one and was trying to find a missing piece that fell off. When I finally made it in I noticed the girls hands were BRIGHT RED. Addison opened a Crystal light cup spilt it and then decided to pour water on it. This all happened in the Pantry. The only room that has Carpet in it downstairs. It looked like a blood bath.

Wanting to cry I put Alix in one chair and Addison in a highchair (cause she can't get of it) and they have been there for 20minutes. I told them if they talk I start the timer over. I started it at 15minutes.

Whoever said to put a kid in Timeout for 1 minutes times their age was not thinking. That never works. I get what they say about the attention span but I need it for insanity and personally I think it works better. However I have never put Addison in time out this long, but at this point there is no other choice.

During . . .

The timeout Alix said, "Mom can you give me my Book of Mormon, so I can read it while I am in Time Out"

How do you say "No" to that.

After that I wasn't mad anymore!

Feel free to tell me what discipline works for you!

Not sure if I want to talk about this

I gave the girls each a haircut on Saturday morning, but this is not what I cut off.

OKAY I'm starting to think I have too many of these stories. I think this is the 2nd? 3rd? oh no it's the 4TH TIME, but I have to say the others weren't so bad but this?

This hair belongs to both Alix and Addison's hair. The hair stylish? you guessed it's ALIX! When is that girl going to learn. Jon was really impressed how I handled myself and the girls. (If it wasn't that I just finished reading a talk in the Ensign I think it would of went a little different).

Anyway Alix lost all computer rights for a week (her favorite thing right now) and not to mention, I call it, she's on probation this week, which I'm not sure what that means but something like don't mess me and you better be on the best behavior. I sent Alix to her room early to bed and of course she cried for a very long time. I then called a friend and asked her to make an emergency stop at my house. Poor Addison has a molit. Jen and I decided the best thing to do is cut more bangs because Alix cut those way to short too. and to leave the rest. Needless to say Addison's hair is going to be in one style with a BIG FLOWER TO COVER THE 1/2" HAIR on the top of her head for a very long time.

I am sure you will see the damage around cause 75% of the time Addison takes off her bow or her flower and lets just say if she does (Well you can just fill in the blank for me.)

I'm not sure how many months this will take to grow out. It's a good thing my girls hair is short , so it wont take 5 years but hopefully in 6 months it will be looking decent again. And to think all the HOLIDAYS ARE COMING!!! Please pray for her hair to grow fast for me.

Oh and for Alix's hair. Her hair was up with some hair on both side hanging down. She cut those off and 1/2 of her ponytail that was on top of her hair. So her hair will lay down for 6 months too Maybe 4 months.

I'm sure I will post more pictures too soon.

Another funny thing is I called my Aunt Jacqui for some motherly advise and when I got of the phone she got me feeling all good about myself again and got me motivated to still be strong even when life throws you down and next day I got this. (Maybe another reason why I handled so well .)

I figure there are worse things then this. . .

. . . Well not a whole lot!

20 BABY TEETH oh I mean 19 BABY TEETH

You are probably thinking it doesn't look like she lost a tooth. It's because her permanent tooth is 1/4 way up.

My baby is not a baby anymore. Just yesterday I pulled her first tooth. She was so nervous but after I did it she had this surprised look on her face thinking that didn't hurt. It hardly bleed simply because it was hanging by a thread. She was so excited that she is right there with Kendra her 6 year old cousin that she so wants to be like. When it's her birthday she is always telling me "I'm 5 like Kendra" and Kendra will then turn 6 the next month and she gets so sad. Anyway Kendra just lost her first tooth last month and Alix was only 1 month shy of her first tooth. So Alix you can imagine is so excited about it. The first thing she wanted to do was call Kendra and tell her all about it.

Anyway this is the post that I had to speed through like 5 posts just so I can get this one on the blog. Alix right away grabbed the camera asked me to take the picture then told me to blog about it. I just have to laugh she is totally turning into me.

Also this week Emberlynn finally got her first tooth on Sunday and her second on Monday.

I have one child who is getting her first baby tooth and one who is losing her first baby tooth all in the same week. It's fun when things happen like that.

I know it's hard to see them poking out but I promise they are there:)

Another "Dam" Parade

I love saying- simply because I never swear. But like I said before with Jon's dad being a dam engineer the jokes keep flowing and never get old. Anyway for the 3rd year I have brought my children to Boulder City and watch and participated in the Damboree Festivities.

Again we had fun and that's why I went again for the 3rd year. The girls got hats, bracelets, necklaces, candy, water bottles, popsicles, water, and I am sure more stuff that I can't think of right now.

After the girls long nap we headed over to our friends house and swam in their fun pool while eating totally awesome food and talking with other friends. After all the fun we headed this year to the "M" Resort that is less then a mile from our house to watch the fireworks. We had lots of fun. Addison on the way there fell asleep but was excited when we woke her up for the fun of eating popcorn, playing with sparklers and watching the fireworks. It was a great day!

31 AND STILL LOOKING GOOD

So Jon turned 31 on June 30th. We had my brother and his family come over for cake and ice-cream. It was the last hooray with them before they moved to Denver. We will miss you guys so there was 2 CELEBRATIONS THIS DAY

1. JON'S BIRTHDAY

2. LOTS OF FUN AND LOVING MEMORIES OF THE DITTRENNER FAMILY and WE WILL MISS HAVING YOU SO CLOSE

YUMMY!

This cake took me 3 1/2 hours to make. All from scratch down to filling, cake, icing and topping (well not the cherries). This is how I tell my babe that I love him! When I was finished with the cake Alix told me, "Mom you got to take a picture and put it on the blog :) "

Happy Birthday Babe!

Swimming Practice

Okay so I know I live in Las Vegas and everywhere I go there are swimming pools, or water parks and I still haven't put my kids in swimming lessons. Well here is the reason. I'm lazy and call the day after registration starts or even one time it was the day of but in the afternoon and when I have called ALL the classes are booked. SERIOUSLY the demands for swimming lessons is crazy over here. Anyway my friend Maria told me about a girl in her ward who was doing lessons at her parents pool. So I totally jumped on that. It was great. The girls practically had private lessons for a half hour. We did it for 4 days in the week. On the second day Alix could swim half the length of the pool. I was so excited. I usually have had her wearing her life jacket cause that was easy. She can now swim the entire length of the pool. I am very proud of her. Addison took lessons too and his great at blowing bubbles and kicking. She was a little leery of the water and the instructor but other then that she's doing great. Danielle the instructor did a fabulous job.

.

I'm so Glad when Daddy comes HOme!!!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

TO A GREAT DADDY!!!!

Sunday late morning on Father's Day we went to a park and snapped some pictures of the girls and Daddy. They were so cute. I have so many wonderful pictures. I haven't edited them yet but I couldn't wait to share.

This year Daddy had a bit of a Rugby theme going on. He got a Rugby Card with his S. Africa colors and stripes that say "you have scored a try with us! He also got the New York times with all the latest news of South Africa Rugby team and we bought him Forever Strong DVD, by the way is such a great movie. It his home a little closer because we lived right next to Highland H.S. and all our YW and YM went there and Jon would play rugby right next to it all the time.

We also made him his favorite german baby pancakes and yes I totally burnt the sausage, but Jon's said it still was great. That's what I love about him. I can totally screw up, say the wrong thing, and he still thinks I'm great. Boy I have that boy fooled or he is just one GREAT GUY! Anyway he is a great daddy and that is one of the many reasons why I knew he was the right match for me.

I love that he takes his role of a father serious. I love that he brings the spirit in our home constantly and consistently with family prayers, family scripture reading, FHE (by the way his lessons make mine look bad). I love him

I asked the girls their favorite thing about daddy and they both said that he plays with us. I would add that he reads to them all the time. I love to watch them cause the girls love it and I think I am more animated with the story then he is, but the thing is I know it's because he is the father and they respect that. He loves them and they know that. You can never replace the role of a father and Jon is proof of that.

Happy Father's Day Jon!

Casandra & Brett Comes to Town

So Casandra and Brett came down again to visit right after Oupa left. We did some fun things with them. One of our favorite things that I hadn't down till now was go the SHARK REEF at Madalay Bay. It was totally cool. Casandra scored us tickets for the whole family to go for ONLY $10.00. You're awesome Casan!!! We were so excited and were happy to pay the 10 bucks. Here's what we saw inside. . .

Here we all are petting the sting rays. It was really cool. I love getting up close and personal to animals and fish. I think it's so cool. Alix and Addison were way into it as well. Jon was too, however I took the picture and the setting was wrong and his picture didn't turn out as nice as these. Sorry JOn.

Alix was so into her passport and learning all about every fish. It was so fun to watch her because she is at the age were learning all about the facts is so interesting. We would walk around with a speaker that you would turn to a channel and it would tell you all about that particular fish. Alix was so good at it and made sure she didnt' skip any of them. The greatest was she could later tell you all about them too. What a great memory she has.

Emberlynn was so facinated by all the fish. I made Jon take a picture.

I had to get a shark in here, since it's called the SHARK REEF

Thanks again for the CHEAP TICKETS we had a blast.

Oupa comes to Town AGAIN!!!!!!

We are so very lucky to be able to have our Oupa come to town again. This time he was here for a big Engineer Conference. He was here to network, not really because he had to more because it gave him the excuse to hang out with us and that is what he did. We were so excited to see him. The first night we went to his Hotel room and he gave the girls the cutest kinder surprises luggage chocolate set. It had real wheels and everything. Jon has those on his computer, so hopefully one day I will show you a picture how cute they were. The girls loved them and of course the chocolate. Each evening rather then spending a dazzling night with the company Oupa came and hung out with us. We felt so lucky and after the conference was over we lets say he left it a day early so he could spend more time with us. I think he is in love with his grandchild don't you think?

Well half the pictures we took are on Jon's computer and he hasn't synced them on my computer yet (mac's are totally awesome like that) but here are some picture that I took on my camera.

FEEDING THE DUCKS AT SUNSET PARK

Some of the ducks were missing legs and looks really weird like a bit deformed, made me think what is in this water. I make these pictures black and white but the water is actually green-Nasty.

What a CUTIE!

Addison don't fall in!

WALKING THROUGH WATERFALLS AND BY FLAMINGO'S, TURTLES AND FISH

(sorry no pictures of the flamingo's)

I think someone is in HEAVEN!

Addison's new look is this. She loves sticking out her tongue. It's her pose model look! She can be quite the nut sometimes, but she looks so darn cute though. Alix on the other hand should drop the tongue and stick with her other model pose shots.

BELLAGIO'S SUMMER GARDENS

WORLD'S LARGEST CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN

(Need I say more?)

Okay so I would say I am totally not a big chocolate fan. Don't get me wrong I love chocolate but I love my salty foods more then my sweets.

But this bakery made me craving EVERY KIND OF SWEET IN THERE.

Kristie- I promise you- you would want to eat this chocolate and all there yummy sweets.

LOVE CIRQUE DU SOLEIL

So Oupa wanted to treat us to a Cirque Du Soleil. No complaints there I was right on board. So we saw Love at the Mirage. Before the show we went a bit early to watch the new improved Volcano Erupt in front of the Mirage. It was pretty cool and awesome. I have seen this with my family before I lived in Vegas and thought it was cool then. I just don't know why haven't brought my kids yet to see it. They would think it was so cool and it is.

As for the "Cirque" it was totally awesome. I loved it. We tried to get tickets for "O," but they were all sold out - darn it. But after sitting down and watching this. I thought it was cool and very relaxing listening to all the Beatles songs. My in-laws are big Beatles fans, so of course Oupa loved it too.

Here are my rankings on the Vegas shows I have seen

1. KA - MGM Grand

2. LaReve - Wynn

3. Love - Beatles Mirage

4. Steve Wyrick - Planet Holleywood

5. Ice - Riveria

Shows I would like to see before I leave are . . .

"O"- Bellagio

Phantom of the Opera- Venetian

Hey locals or Vegas tourist tell me what shows are your favorite and worth seeing.