Red Rock 2013

Last, last weekend we went to Red Rock to do a little hiking. Our first stop was our favorite easy peasy Lost Creek-Children's Discovery hike to a mini waterfall. We have done this hike many times and continue to love it. Last January we found snow, but this year it was snow free.

Me and Jackson now:



Me and Jackson four years ago in almost the exact same place:


And with a photo bomber:



Our next hike was Pine Creek Canyon trail that takes you deep into the mountains. For at least a mile, Jackson would run ahead:



And then sit down on a rock and wait for us to catch up:



And again:




Sade caught a ride most of the way:



On the trail you walk right by an old homestead:



More Sade photo bombs:




The Pine Creek Trail is supposed to be a loop, but somewhere we took a wrong turn and never found it! Disappointing but not heartbreaking. It was a beautiful, beautiful day.

Grandparent Preserving

Breaking News: My year Springs Preserve pass has now expired! By the number of times I have posted about the Springs Preserve it is safe to say I certainly got my money's worth.

Luckily before it expired we were able to visit one last time, with Eric's parents who were visiting us for a couple of days.

The newest exhibit is CSI: Crime Scene Insects. Before entering there is a sign telling you that you will see pictures of crime scenes and dead human bodies. They weren't kidding! The whole exhibit was morbid:



General grossness:



Kids and Grandparents:



Luckily Grandpa was there to take over for Eric as holder of Sadie:



Sade is a big Grandpa fan:



The statues are like gifts that just keep on giving:



World's strongest man:



It was a Friday so we were also able to visit the Nevada State Museum next door:



The trek was exhausting:



I quite enjoyed our year as Springs Preserve members and plan to buy another pass! So many more Springs Preserve posts to look forward to!

Adventure Angels - Laser Tag

Our Adventure Angels activity for February was Laser Tag! We played at Warehouse Wars inside Flip - n -Out.

 

 It's THREE floors full of stairs, hiding spots, boxes and fun! I totally recommend it.

 

Looking way cool:

 

 

The guns were seriously heavy. 

 

Happily we had quite a large number of participants:

 

 

My team for round 1:

 

 

We won game one, but got totally smoked when we all played together for game two. Our competitors were a bunch of pre-teen boys that had obviously been preparing for battle their entire lives. They won by a ridiculous amount.

If you are reading this, you live in Las Vegas, and you don't come to these activities, please reevaluate and come! It's fun.

Sweetheart's Ball

 A few Saturdays ago Eric and I were headed out to dinner. On our way, he pulled off the road and mentioned to me that there was a new geocache on the corner that he had been wanting to check out. Although I was in somewhat of a hurry to get to dinner, and I inwardly thought that we could just check out the geocache another day, I got out of the truck and searched for it with him. He was checking the coordinates on his phone while we searched under rocks and in the bushes. Not having any luck he said, "Maybe it's up by the fence?" I duly went to check, and found it!

As I opened it I started to get excited because it seemed that we were the first ones to find it! (Which is a kind of a big deal in the geocaching world).

But then as I opened it I noticed something different. Instead of a traditional log sheet, I found this inside:



Not ever having heard of the Sweethearts Ball, I thought we had intercepted some creative way a high schooler was asking some girl to a Valentine's dance. I asked Eric to give me a pen so I could write some smart-alecky reply like, "No way sucker!, or "If you insist." At which time Eric explained to me what the Sweethearts Ball was, and that he was formally asking me.

Is that not the sweetest thing? He's the best.

Here I am finding the geocache:



As I love to dance, I was so excited, and couldn't wait for the next Saturday night. Before the dance we went on a group date (high school style) with some friends.

The group at the dance:



Eric and I:



As we all first walked in they were playing THE MOST BORING MUSIC YOU HAVE EVER HEARD! I was worried. The boring music went on for a while, but was eventually replaced with a plethora of dance music. Woo-Hoo!!!



Our group was filled with people not worried about embarrassment (myself included), which is the best type of people to dance with. Eric may disagree, since he was probably the one I was embarrassing.

I can't wait for the next one!

Valentine's Day 2013

I'm a low-key Valentiner. If I get a heartfelt card and taken out to dinner, I am a happy woman. Which is good because this year Eric gave me a necklace I had ordered for myself at Christmas, which he then lost, but happily found right before Valentine's. Yipee!

I maintained my commitment to buy store bought Valentine's for my kids to bring to school. However this year I waited until the day before Valentine's Day to buy them, which meant Target was completely out! Luckily I found some that had been discarded by a fellow shopper on a non-Valentine's related aisle. Hallelujah! I bought some tattoos, and bubbles to make up for it.

Luckily Jackson and Sadie were happy with my choices:



I did decorate the kids doors with love notes. Megan and Sadie took them down the next day, but Jackson (my most sentimental child) likes to keep them up for a good long while.



Heart shaped waffles for breakfast:



Checking out the after school stash:



Heart shaped pizza for the kids for dinner:



And Macayo's for Eric and I:



We go ever year. Although busy, not impossible to get into, which is why we keep going back. Plus I love it. It can't be helped.