Mo Ranch

The Senior High Youth at Celebration play games with their small groups to learn how to work as a team and get to know each other. Isabella decided to get a head start and begin composing her game plan now. She had a great time with the bands, balls and hula hoops. I'm thankful for the MO RANCH photographer who caught her in action!

Kathy and Isabella spent some good FREE TIME reading and walking all over MO RANCH.

Swim Lessons

Isabella and Megan finished their swim lessons today. Ethan even
presented them with certificates! Isabella now knows lots of fun
songs to sing in the water. She also feels comfortable going under
water and jumping in the pool. Thank you YMCA!

Vegas Vacataion

Yes, we did it. We took a toddler to Vegas. We also lived to tell about it! I think the worst part was trying to adjust to the time change... but that threw all of us a little off.

So, what do you do with an almost 15 month old? Well, keep reading and I'll tell you! :)

We stayed at the Luxor. The room was great and Isabella LOVED that she could watch the cars GO GO GO from the window.

We had a great time and watched a beautiful wedding at the Wynn. Congrats Todd and Shauna. Thanks for including us in your big celebration!

Isabella was impressed with the shiny gold fountains at the Wynn.

That afternoon Isabella and I hit the Mandalay Bay (Robert hit the bed! He'd won big with the big boys the night before!) The Shark Reef is celebrating it's 10th birthday. If you are 10 you get lots of cool perks, but the rest of us over and under 10 had a great time too. There was a magician, a birthday cake contest, clowns making balloon creatures, free cookies, and hats! My iphone did the fish very little justice. I think it is amazing how Isabella has few words but can capture such emotion with her oooooooooos, ahhhs, and woahs! She wasn't too sure of the alligator but she loved and manta rays and sea turtle. This fuzzy blue fish got a big WHAO! It was bigger than Isabella!

That night we were all exhausted. The next day, Father's Day, we woke Robert up and wished him a HAPPY FATHERS DAY! We went and hit the buffet for breakfast. It even prompted Isabella to eat like a champ. After breakfast Robert and Isabella needed a nap. I headed to the spa to cash in my Mother's Day gift. I had a wonderful time and my body feels like new! Then, Robert went to play poker and Isabella and I hit the strip.

In New York New York they have the Statue of Liberty made of Jelly Belly Jelly Beans!

We stopped at MGM for a little lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. Isabella and I sat near the fish tank. Every few minutes when the animals would come to life Isabella would ROAR with the leopard! :) It was truly comical! Then we walked down to M&M World. We explored each floor. Isabella can kinda say the word CAR and she loves to talk about how they GO GO GO. Therefore, I took her picture with the car and a giant M&M for memory's sake! :)

Our final stops for the day were at the Bellagio and Caesars. We were able to catch a fountain show... run down to Caesars to see the moving statues...

SIDE NOTE: We were able to see the statues that told the story of Atlantis. The statues, pyrotechnics (SP) and water display were amazing. Isabella gave some good oooooos and whoasss and even prompted the group around us to break into applause after the show.

and get back in time to catch one more show at Bellagio. Did you realize they play a different song each hour?

Summer Time Fun

Summer is officially here. We have hit the park and the pool. Isabella is more interested in the wood chips at the park than the playground equipment! :) She also loves to play a good tune on the "piano". Enjoy!

The Peterson's (our neighbors) joined us for the GRAND opening of the family pool at the TROTTER YMCA. The pool is GREAT. The shallow end is just shallow enough for the girls to walk about and splash. Robert even tried out the new slide! He said it was FUN!!! You have to be at least 7 and so many inches to ride... so for now Isabella will just have to applaud her dad and watch him come down the slide. There is also some fountains and buckets that fill and dump from high above. Robert and Isabella took the bucket splash and survived! It looks like it's going to be a HOT, but GREAT summer.

Playing and Swimming

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Ug

My personal computer isn't working.
The screen is blank.
I promise I will post and catch you up on Isabella as soon as it is fixed.
Promise.

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body..
I didn't know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom

I have no idea who wrote this or where it came from, but it was sent to me in an e-mail chain and I thought it was a small summary of the many things that you don't think about until you have this NEW WONDERFUL SMALL person in your life. To all the moms, dads, and people who love us like a mom or dad... THANKS!