Random Snapshots of Natalie

Here she is enjoying this bouncy chair. This was a gift with Nathan, he loved it. I totally forgot about it and it was stored in our attic so Taylor never got to play in it. Well Preston got it down for me a couple weeks ago. It hangs from the door jam and she can bounce around. As you can see she likes it.Taylor enjoyed twisting her around in the chair. Natalie would just squeal with enjoyment.

Natalie loves to put this paticular pacifier in her mouth sideways. This is the only one she does it with. Preston says she is trying to plug her nose with it.

Hanging in the stroller in Vegas. Check out those baby blues.

Our Vegas Get Away

Last week there was an ISC trade show in Las Vegas. Preston wanted to go so he could see some of the new security system products. Instead of him flying up alone for a day trip we decided to make it a little get away for us in addition to the business trip. So Thursday about noon Preston Natalie and I hopped in the car and drove to Vegas. Big thanks to Grandma Jo who stayed with Nathan and Taylor. Here we are waiting for the tram to take us to Mandalay Bay on Friday night. It was REALLY Windy that evening so we didn't spend a whole lot of time walking around the strip which was fine. The only thing we didn't do that we had wanted to was see theBellagio fountain show. It was just too windy and cold for us and especially for Natalie.Preston at the Madalay Bay Shark exhibit. It was a neat exhibit but quite pricy. I learned some interesting things about the different fish that live in the deep ocean.

Preston posing with the M&M Nascar in the M&M Factory. This was a neat store. We got some little presents for the kids here. I couldn't believe all the M&M merchandise there is. There was a T-shirt there that had an M&M guy on it and the caption said "Who's your Candy?" It struck me as funny.

Natalie hanging out on the hotel floor. She was a perfect little traveler. On Friday when Preston was at the tradeshow I sat and read a book that I've had since Christmas 07. Natalie spent the day either sleeping or playing with her toys. It was NICE to have the quiet time to read but also a little strange at the same time.

Natalie and I on the balcony of the hotel room. We stayed at the Platinum Resort and Spa, it was about a block away from the strip. It was really nice for many reasons. 1. COMPLETELY non smoking, they charged $500 if there was even a hint of smoke in the room or on the balcony. 2. There was not a casino there at all. 3. It had a full kitchen so we brought an ice-chest with meals and made most of our meals in the room. 4. Had a HUGE jacuzzi tube which I took advantage of a couple times to soak and read without interruptions.

It was a GREAT and RELAXING trip and I wish we could do it more often but I will take what I can get. I think trips like this make me a better mom and helps our marriage be even stronger.

OHHHH What a Night :-(

As I mentioned in the previous post, Nathan started Karate last night. The class was over at 6:30 so we go out to the car load up and I try to start the car. NO LUCK!! I first check to make sure I am not out of gas (because of a previous experience) and I have more than half a tank. So then I check the dash gages and it looks as if my battery is dead. I call Preston to tell him what is going on and then unload the kids and try to find someone to give me a jump. I found a guy to help me but he was VERY hesitant to help. Apparantly he planned to go running while his daughter was in a class at the complex. The whole time he was "helping me" he was putting off a vibe that he really didn't want to help. This is my first evidence that there are not many good samaritans in the world anymore. So we try a few times and the car still won't start. I tell him thanks for trying and then he high tails it out of there.I then call Preston again and tell him the jump didn't work so he calls the Bishop and gets out of his appointments at the church and heads to Auto Zone to buy me my own jumper cables and a new battery. When Preston gets there we try to jump it again still no luck, then while putting the new battery on the battery post is stripped (or something like that ) so he heads back to the store to buy that part and new batteries for his flashlight so he can see what he is doing.

By this time it is about 8:15 pm. Keep in mind we arrived at Karate lessons at 5:45 and the kids and I have NOT had any dinner. Fortunately right before we left I grabbed a couple granola bars and fruit snacks, a bottle for Natalie and some drinks and threw them in the diaper bag. We will call this inspiration.

Another fortunate thing is that we were stranded in a parking lot next to a playground. So the kids played to kill some time. But it is kind of chilly and they are not dressed to be outside after dark.

We were also next to the complex where Nathan's class was so we went inside a few times and used their restroom, to warm up and Taylor looked at some books. They also had vending machines so we bought a few things for our "dinner" to supplement the granola bars and fruit snacks.

The complex closed at 9:00 so we went out to the car and I tried to get the kids to sleep. Nathan finally did about 9:20 in this very uncomfortable position. Good thing he is flexible. Taylor is asleep in the back of the car and Natalie went to sleep in her car seat.

A little before 10 my wonderful Mom came to our rescue. She came with some food and to take us home. This is another reason I wish we had more than 1 family vehicle. We couldn't all fit in Preston's van so she came to take us home. We loaded up the car seats and left about 10:30 PM We had to leave the car there where it still is now. Preston had done everything possible and we even called the husband of my visiting teaching companion who is a mechanic and he tried to help Preston over the phone. I had to deal with the kids and try to keep them happy and comfortable while Preston had the frustration of trying to fix the car, not a fun task for either of us. Hopefully we can get it fixed today because we are supposed to be driving to Las Vegas tomorrow. So another positive is that this didn't happen while we were at a rest stop on the highway or while in Vegas.

Okay now to discuss my frustration with the lack of good samaritans in the world. This whole ordeal started at 6:30 so I spent 4 HOURS with 3 small children in a fairly busy parking lot with the hood of my car up and only 3 people asked what the problem was and if they could help (2 men and 1 woman). I saw 2 policeman 1 Sheriff and a park ranger be within a few feet of me and my car and NEVER stop and talk to me. The Park ranger was parked about 20 yards away from me and sat in his truck the WHOLE 4 hours and never once came over to help me or even talk to me. What is wrong with people. It was frustrating and exhausting at times I just wanted to cry,but we survived no thanks to fellow citizens of our community.

Swim Lessons and Karate

Taylor started swim lessons on Monday night. (Yes it is a heated pool, I am not that cruel) It is through the city and is actually free. They are training the instructor for the summer. She is in the tadpoles group, this is her first swim class without me in the water with her. This is Taylor posing with her new Dora swimsuit before the lesson started.In the beginning she was a little nervous to get in the water so she sat on the side.

She got brave enough to get in the water, but spent the first half of the lesson hanging on to the bar. Eventually she let go of the bar and just sat on the step. She never cried about being there which I was happy about. She was however typical Taylor. The instructor would say: "Okay Taylor it is your turn to jump out to me and practice floating."(or whatever they were working on) Taylor's response was very matter of fact. "I don't want to do that." So the instructor would say okay and move onto the next kid. She definitely knows what she wants and does not want. We have another lesson tonight, we will see how that goes.
Nathan started a beginner Karate class last night, also put on by the city. There are about 15 kids in the class. Here they are dividing into groups after stretching.

Nathan doing a Karate move. He did enjoy the class. It is only 4 times so I am thinking about signing him up for another one.