Adventure Angels Activity #4

Well we had our most recent and MOST TERRIFYING Adventure Angels activity on Saturday night. Like so terrifying I am still not over it, and may not ever be. I think I would even consent to being shot with another paintball before I would ever do it again!

Anyway......For our 4th activity (I missed #3: A hike up Mt. Charleston due to being out of town) we rode the thrill rides on top of the Stratosphere!

I have driven under these rides many times and determined that I had absolutely no desire to ride them. However, put me in a group and apply a little peer pressure and I fold!

The before shot:



I am blissfully unaware how scary it will actually be.

The first ride was Insanity. A mechanical arm extends you 64 feet over the edge of the stratosphere and then spins you around. Did I mention you are 900 feet above the ground? I found it to be the most terrifying ride of the night!



Then we headed over to ride X-Scream. This is the one that sends you HEADFIRST 27 feet over the edge of the Stratosphere, 866 feet above the ground!

Me, Rachael, Michelle and Natalie getting ready to ride:



Here is the ride in mid-air over the edge of the Stratosphere before the drop:



It was nightmarishly scary. I am quite sure that the only reason I didn't find it scarier than the other ride is because I am on the shorter side and thereby my view of the drop was partially blocked.

Our final ride of the night was the Big Shot. You take off from a 921 foot platform, and then are propelled into the air another 160 feet at a speed of 45 m.p.h. It was a piece of cake compared to the other two:



 The view is incredible:



Me and Rachael:



Me and Natalie:



Finished:



Good job girls! Let's not ever do it again. Ok?

Boutique?

Ok. It's been months and I CANNOT let another minute pass by before I address an extremely important issue!

 

Have any of you traveled to Target the last few months?

 

And on your travels have you seen this?:

 

 

I just cannot get over it!

 

And although I try to keep my blog as neutral and non-confrontational as possible, I am taking a stand!

 

THIS IS A TERRIBLE NAME FOR A STORE!  I do not think Chic-Boutique when I see this. But rather Chic-Butt-Ick!

 

Anyone else?

 

(If you don't agree with me don't bother commenting.)

 

(Just kidding)

(Kind of)

Hot or Hot Mess?

 

Don't be jealous. I know I look totally HOT driving this thing around.

 

 

 

The pose was solely Sadie's idea. I couldn't be happier about it:



 

Tucky-Wucky Update

 Our little Tucky-Wucky Baby is growing up!

The first day we had him:




 Day 19:



I cognitively knew that having a puppy was like having a newborn, but just like when you bring a newborn home, your body rebels. I was exhausted the first week! I even had to nap during the day when he napped!

Anything in his field of vision he attempts to chew. Megan bent down to pet him and he immediately went for her necklace:



Pulling it away:



More chewing:



The sweet little baby:



He doesn't bark much. Except for at this soccer ball:




He also hates the vacuum, and barks like a complete nut at our next door neighbor Mr. Hawn. He can't stand him!

We are sadly still working on potty-training. It may send me into a severe depression! As evidenced by this picture, he is perfectly capable of going to the bathroom outside:



And does all the time! But randomly he still pees (and poops!) inside. Yes he is crate trained (and does not go in his crate). Yes he can hold it (he sleeps for 8 hours a night with no accidents or problems). Yes when he is in the house he is sitting right next to me, is being held, or is on a 4 foot leash, and still pees! And yes, he does get rewards (treats) when he goes outside. I'm out of ideas!

It is a good thing we already love him.

Guitar Box

Jacks and Sade found an inventive way to play with Megan's empty guitar box:
 

 

 Sade insisted that she was the "real dead person" and not Jackson since she didn't have to bend her legs.

8th Place!

A couple of weeks ago the Young Women and Young Men held a Pinewood Derby race.

 Since we are a family of procrastinators we waited until the day of the race to complete the car.

And when I say we, I mean me and Megan (Eric was out of town!).

And when I say me and Megan, I really mean Megan (although I did hot-glue the bb's to the front of the car).

Needless to say we were not expecting much, so you can imagine the thrill when she came in 8th place!

 8th place never felt so good!

Seriously. We were ecstatic. 

12 X 12 - September 2012

Wednesday morning I awoke, made the kids breakfast, packed their lunches, and asked Jackson 15 times to get ready. He has a hard time staying on task! He is in charge of getting himself ready every morning, except I still help him comb his hair:

I bent down to take a picture of Tucker and he immediately lunged for me and attacked the strings on my shorts:



Anything in his field of vision is fair game for chewing.

Megan has a lot of stuff to carry to school each day. Her backpack, lunchbox, guitar, and guitar bag:



My kids are in a new carpool with three other families. When it is your turn to drive you go and pick up this 15 passenger van (which is known as the Warner bus to everyone at Somerset), and then drive it to pick up all of the kids. I have only driven once so far and it is stressful! I feel like I am driving a semi-truck.



After the kids left for school Eric made his morning shake. So far he has lost 24 pounds!!!



A little bit later on Sade and I did some nail painting. She chose purple, and I chose green:



Eric was home doing paperwork all day, so I left Sadie (and Tucker!) with him while I ran some errands. My first stop was Target. Just a heads up, they are currently doing their shoe clearance! I purchased quite a few... AND I saved 5% because I used my Target debit card. Do you have one of these? If not get one ASAP!

I then went to Gold's Gym to sign Sadie up for child care. I finally determined that if I was ever going to make it back to the gym (I have taken an extended month vacation from it), I needed to bite the bullet and pay the extra $15 a month. However, when I got there the power was out. So although I was able to get the paperwork, she is still not signed up!



Then I came home and cleaned the house. I spend quite a bit of time sweeping the floor everyday. The amount of dirt brought in from outside is staggering:



Right before Megan and Jackson arrived home Sade crashed. She has been sleepy lately:



 I had Eric sit down at the table and teach me the rules of soccer. Megan, Eric and I are coaching Jacksons soccer team and I wanted to make sure I understood everything before the first game. I am still a little iffy on the concept of offsides.



For dinner Eric and I had 5 guys. I love 5 guys!



We picked up Sonic for the kids, and then hurried home to take Jackson to Scouts:



An hour later it was Megan's turn to be driven to Young Women's.  I spent the evening driving back and forth to the church, making sure homework was completed, and that everyone was showered and ready for another day of school. Busy, busy.

Tucker

We have been committed to being pet free for four and a half years. And when I say we, I mean me and Eric. The kids, not so much. I have regularly heard from all of them, but especially Megan, how they are THE ONLY kids in their classes that don't have a dog. But still I could not be swayed.

But then something happened. While in Logan after a breakfast date with my friend Kate, I happened to notice three cocker spaniel puppies being sold on the side of the road. On a WHIM I decided to stop and look at them. The rest is history:



I had to bring him home.

As I mentioned, this was a WHIM, so I was able to surprise the kids. I got back to my moms, told the kids I had a surprise for them outside, and waited for their reaction. They were shocked:





And really happy.




Especially Megs:




Not only was my dog purchase a surprise for the kids, it was a surprise for Eric as well! He was out of town, without cell phone service, so my purchase could not be confirmed with him. When he arrived back in Logan, we told him I needed help moving something out of the truck, and then surprised him with the dog sitting in the front seat. His reaction:



It's a good thing he is easygoing!

 We had waited to give him a name until Eric arrived home. And by almost unanimous agreement (Jackson had his heart set on Rocky), we named him Tucker.

The next day it was time to pack up and head back home to Las Vegas. Jackson declared, "This was the best vacation ever! Lagoon and a puppy!"



I knew for my own sanity that if I was ever to purchase a dog I would need one that was fairly calm. So when I asked the guy selling them if they had one that was calmer than the rest he directed me right to Tucker. He said he was everyones favorite, liked to snuggle, was non-aggressive, and sweet.  And he is:



Now if he would just stop peeing in the house life would be perfect.