Town Square

I don't miss much about Las Vegas apart from family and friends. But sometimes when we go somewhere cool, like Town Square Las Vegas, I really wish there was something even remotely similar in Globe. We spent Saturday morning at Town Square. The kids had a blast playing in the central park on the little merry-go-round, slides, and the little stage where they put on a show for us. There were clowns to paint the kids faces and make them balloon animals and swords. We got some pizza at a nearby snack shack, and watched all the dogs that were there for the adopt-a-dog event.

Then for dessert, we went over to Yogurtland, which is the most amazing self-serve frozen-yogurt place I've ever seen! They have like 20 flavors of yogurt, and you just squirt as much of each as you want into your dish. I tried cookies and cream, cheesecake, vanilla, and chocolate; but they have other flavors like peanut butter, green tea, mango, etc. Then you move to the toppings section, and spoon on as much as you like! They have fruits, nuts, candies, cereal, cookie crumbles, sprinkles, etc, etc. And syrups too. I opted for Butterfinger, Oreo, chocolate and white chips, M&Ms, and cookie dough. Then you just put your dish (or dishes) onto the scale, and you pay by the ounce. My dish of ice cream (which was big enough to share with Bree) came to about $3. Cheaper than Coldstone, and I didn't have to agonize over which add-ins to pick--I picked them all! So if you're ever in Las Vegas (or California, NY, or soon-to-be in Scottsdale!) I highly recommend stopping in for a treat.

Happy Sunday!

Yesterday we had the traditional Sunday dinner at Fran and Jim's house. While we were waiting for Fran's delicious chicken and rice dinner, we went to the park to play wiffle-ball, horseshoes, and bubbles. Then we had the yearly Easter egg hunt; this is the first time our kids have been in town to participate. And these Easter eggs don't hold mere candy--they are stuffed with coins and bills! Bree came away with a whopping $40, and Mason did well with $19. Everyone was there for dinner: Bob, Syd, Shea, Nathan, Abby, Rachel, Curtis, Amber, Callahan, Rob, Jaime, Fran, Jim, and us. It was a full and happy house--and delightfully noisy! We sang happy birthday to Bree (she turns 3 on Thursday), and devoured a superb chocolate strawberry torte. We are so thankful for our family and friends, and for the great time we've had during our visit!

Red Rock Lanes

This afternoon the whole family went to the bowling alley at Red Rock Casino for $1 Monday Madness. The last time we went bowling was last August when we visited Las Vegas. This time Bree actually had fun--she had a blast actually. Chad scored a respectable 147, and I scored a record-breaking 67, making it an all-time new low for me. Bree scored 35, which would have been higher if not for all the times she scratched. What a great way to spend our last evening in Vegas.

Lied Children's Museum

Yesterday we took the kids to the Lied Children's Museum. Bree was so excited to go in, and I was quite impressed with the place once we got past the public library area and the outdoor "movie room" that attracted an impressive number of vagrants. It was a little pricey for our family ($30 for all 4 of us; anyone over 12 months needs a ticket), but it was a lot of fun. Bree was so funny--she just kept running from one area to another, barely stopping to check things out. I couldn't get her to smile or talk to me much; I just had to chase her around and try to get a few pictures. Her favorite things were the Clifford post office where there were mail boxes on all the little houses to put letters in, the airplane that you could load luggage on and off, and the grocery store with tons of fake food to load in your cart and take to the check-out. There was an awesome hurricane simulator where the winds went up to 80 miles per hour. Even though it was hard to tell, because she was so overwhelmed (Bree has never been so mentally stimulated in her life!) I know Bree had a blast.

Gastroenteritis

It's seriously an epidemic. I'm hearing of cases of stomach/intestinal infections across America. You can get it by eating bad food, or just from being too close to an infected person. But however it's spread, it spreads easily. And we all got it. During our Vegas vacation. Poor little Mason has had it the longest, so he's still recovering. It's one thing when your kids have a cold or cough, but when they're spontaneously spewing or diaper-leaking all over your mother-in-law's house, sometimes it's a little more than you can bear. But don't worry, we have until next Tuesday to make up for being miserable, and the fun is well under way. I'll post more details soon.

Who to invite?

We're planning Bree's third birthday party, and when I asked her who her friends are so we could send them invitations, she said: "Calan's my friend, and Lizzie's my friend, and Jacob, and Andrew, and Jacob's daddy, and Calan's mommy." When I asked her if Levi (another boy in Nursery) was her friend, she said "Yeah...Levi likes to hit me." So, does that mean we should invite him or not?

RS Notes

Last Sunday my RS Secretary handed me a letter she had gotten in the mail in response to a birthday card she had sent to one of our inactive sisters (she sends all the sisters birthday cards). She returned the birthday card and its original envelope with a note that said (verbatim, all original punctuation reflected):

"Ladies-
Thank you for the card - but -
- I do not know who you are -
- It is not my birthday
- I am not a Relief Society member.
Again - Thank you - for "whatever" - anyway!"

I laughed for a good two minutes when I first read it, and then again when I showed it to the Bishop in our meeting that day.

A Complete Success!

Tonight we had our Ten Virgins performance, and it went off so amazingly well. There were at least 100 people in attendance. Dinner was first, with an authentic theme (chicken pitas, Israeli Salad, pita chips with charoset (cinnamon-apple dip), and lekach (honey-cake) for dessert. Thankfully there was plenty of food for everyone, which I always worry about with event-planning (the ward Christmas social fiasco of 2005 will always live in infamy as the night people went home hungry). The performance itself was so beautiful. Everyone who came was so touched with the music and the message. Each woman really shone, and I think some of them surprised themselves with what they were capable of. I have some photos, but I can't find the cable to import them from my camera (having toddlers who misplace your things sometimes makes you feel like you're losing your mind!). I'll upload them as soon as I find it. We also video-recorded the performance, so maybe I'll be able to post a video clip too.

I am so pleased and relieved that tonight turned out so wonderfully. All the hard work was totally worth it. I did tell the Bishop, however, that the next time he puts me in charge of a performance like this, he'll have to release me as RS president first! I told him he can give me the calling of "cultural arts specialist" and I'll be happy to do this full time! Thanks to everyone who participated; to the ten virgins: Susan, Monica, Rachel, Amy, Dani, Janalyn, Stephanie, Joanna, Martha, and Cecilie; to Marshall for the sound, Larry for the lighting, and Bethany for the microphones; to Amy for being my partner-in-crime for set-building (woman-power!); and to Kenzie for jumping in as Activities Committee Chair with amazing finesse. Here's to a complete success!

My new housekeeper

My new housekeeper's name is Bree. She's a little inexperienced, and her English isn't so good, but she tries hard. She's learning how to sweep, mop, dust, vacuum, and wipe down the table. I left the kitchen the other day, and came back in to this sight. The prize goes to the person who recognizes the song!

Happy Birthday RS!

Last week we had our quarterly Enrichment meeting, which was a really fun birthday party for the Relief Society. Amy, my enrichment counselor, planned the evening, and she talked about sisterhood and unity, and we held each others' hands and gave each other manicures with our mini manicure gift sets. Then the night got a little crazy, and the karaoke began. We heard everything from Elvis to Patsy Cline, and Amy and I did a dramatic redition of the Celine Dion and Barbra Streisand duet, "Tell Him." I think there may be video evidence...

It was definitely one of the most fun Enrichments I've ever been too, thanks to Amy. And our ward's resident chef/baker, Matt (who is also my next-door neighbor) made us a gorgeous cake to complete the evening. It was really well attended, which always makes me so happy, especially since so much work goes into these things. I feel so penitent about all those Enrichment meetings I've skipped out on in the past. I'm telling you, because of this calling, I will forever be a good meeting attendee (and visiting teacher!).