Where did my newborn go.....

I wish I could 'rewind' time and then maybe I would know where time flies off too! I cannot believe this is my baby, Dane. he is getting so big, too quickly! He is fastly approaching six months! And he is changing daily.... and I'm not ready! He constantly loves chatter, smiling and playing with toys. He enjoys grabbing things, sitting in his bouncy seats, and laughing! I captured this photo of him finally grabbin a toy on his exersaucer!

First Day of School

Wow... it is already this time of year to begin school. The time came too fast for our family. Myles was not looking forward to going back to school. And I don't blame him considering the temps are finally warm enough to pull out the sprinklers or head to the pool. Oh well, maybe next summer will be warmer. I was excited to get one kid out the door and engaged in activity! School is such a great opportunity for them to make friends, learn aobut surroundings, and be away from home! Myles is such a home body, it is especially important for him to get out there. Elliott will miss having her play buddy, that's for sure. It means more Barbie playing for me! I guess that'll be okay, it is why I choose to stay home! After the first day, I expected stories and lots of comments from Myles. Maybe he was overly exhausted from the 1 hour and a half bus ride home (that should have only taken 30 minutes). I had a sheet of paper ready to write down the five big things from the day at school, and the only comment I got was 'They took out the rocks and put in mulch.' And I couldn't wait to dig into his back pack and get out all the new policies and such. I love this time of year... fresh with excitement for homework and looking for creative ways to do the homework with the kids!

Baby sitting Dad

This is the way I like it when I come home!!! Baby and husband sleeping. Every so often you get to go out without three kids, and today I did for about an hour. No phone calls the whole hour or so I was out. It meant a sucessful trip to the grocery or wherever I wanted to go!!! No lugging carseats in and out of the van or into the store! Yeah for a peaceful trip out! Even though I did miss the blue eyes looking back at me as I shopped!

Homeward Bound...

Today was a hard day, and not just the travelling alone with Dane part. I had to say good bye to my grandpa. As a child I took for granted the fact I saw them on a daily basis, now our visits are few and far between. It may be another year before I can get out there again (it for sure won't be during the month of august!)... and let us hope my grandpa stays in good health (Papa, if you are reading this, then know you better take better care of yourself) and we can visit again! As for the flight Dane did pretty good. I sat in between gentlemen who probably were a little taken back when I sat in between them. They were golf buddies who were out in Lake Tahoe for something different, but happened to be on the same flight home. It was an open seat in the very front of the plane so I chose my own comfort over any embarassment/awkwardness I may have on the duration of the flight. Dane did pretty good, except for the descent into Indy in which he cried for at least 10 minutes. Once we landed he stopped. Poor guys ears must have been popping or hte pressure was too much. We did land safely at 11pm... however didn't get our luggage off the carosel until amlmost midnight. It took forever. Other than the luggage delay, I did like the new airport. Very clean. And Myles and Elliott were thrilled to see Dane (and me,too)!

Grandpa's Walking Friends

What a great support group my grandpa has... almost every morning he goes walking at the mall. There are a handful of regulars that go, too. They just love Dane. Denise even enjoyed holding Dane, and I was able to snag a picture! My grandpa looks forward to his mornings. The group has been a great outlet for him as well as watchers of my grandma when she got sicker towards the end. They would make sure she was okay so my grandpa could get his walking in (he walks daily for exercise and his overall health)... and walking inside is about the only way to do it in Vegas!

We spent the rest of the day at my grandpa's. He had some of my grandma's things out we could rummage through and take if we want. I picked up some of her jewelry, hand towels and even a few baskets. My favorite basket is the picnic basket (my basket jut got thrown away a few days ago because I left a banana and it rotted and attracted quite the collection of fruit flies).So now I have a replacement that is much nicer! Since my mother was gone, I had to rely on a other hands to help hold the baby. I was able to get this quick shot of Dane and my grandpa.

Another Day in Vegas

And all I got to say is it's HOT!!! HOT!!! And more than HOT!! We have a routine now that we are here... Dad goes out five minutes early to the car to 'cool' it off! And if you dare park withouth the flashy dashboard covers be prepared for the wheel all the way to the gas pedals to be on fire! And then the rest of us head down and enter the car. The sunglasses have worked great for Dane, this at least can protect is little eyes from the harsh sun! And you'd think parking in a garage would help, no such luck, the heat must permanently be absorbed in the ashpalt/cement. This afternoon we went to luch at a place called Dicks Last Resort, where it must be a great place to work. It is your job to pick on people, make them laugh and make crazy jokes with everyone! For example the server brought out drinks to everyone, but forgot my grandpa's, so he asked where his drink was... the server brought him his drink in a bucket, and said 'How's that for a drink?' Betcha won't need any refills! The hostess said to Dane 'watcha doin lookin at my chest, you're not going to find any milk in there.' And there were serveral other random acts of goofiness sure to put a smile on your face! Then it was to the airport for my Mom and Dad. I sure will miss the extra hands with Dane! My mother loves to hold the baby.

This is my grandpa and his super large drink.

Dane in Vegas

I just had to share this quick photo taken this morning while before we headed to my Granny's memorial service here in Vegas! Dane's cousin Broc (who is actually my cousin)got him the red sunglasses and his tuxedo onsie, and he looked so adorable! It has been a great trip in Vegas so far, a little emotional, but wonderful to see family. And Dane has been an easy traveller, thank goodness. Today was my Granny's memorial service. She actually passed away several months ago on Christmas day, but they decided to donate her body to science. This was a wonderful thing, to do, so this meant we had to wait some time before my grandpa would get her ashes! However, many people don't think of this as an option after death... and for the medical industry it is a great way to see the actual insides of people and learn various things about the human body. Hopefully, they were able to study or learn something in regards to Alzheimers, which she suffered from for some time. The memorial service was at a quaint church in Vegas. My grandpa did a great job getting things together and presenting a unique service. I was happy to see familiar faces mixed with their new Vegas friends. It was a great time ro celebrate Granny's life she had lived. She was many, many things to us all! For me she was a Granny to set the standards of Grandma's. For me she was pan cookies, Euchre player, paddle boat rides, pontoon boat rides, pink lipstick, Beautiful perfume wearer, Dirty Dancing movie watcher, shopping companion, adn so much more. I don't think I will ever truly appreciate just how much her (and my grandpa, too) role has impacted my life! Most people see grandparents on occasion, and I was fortunate for so many years to have them by my side and live in the same lake community as I did! Later this evening it was a joy to go out to dinner with friends and family at Lindos Mexican Restaurant (this would have been a fave of Granny's, so it made it fitting to go here, she loved friend ice cream). Grandpa, as usual, always a celebrating figure set it up to have them sing to my parents for their July birthdays. As a kid I remember going to Chi Chi's for birthdays, so much fun. We today it was quite the entourage of singing, guitar playing, and at least 12 or so people in the group that surrounded our table, and they came bearing tequilla shots! And of course through this whole excitement... Dane was sitting on my mother's lap while they were singing and slamming tequilla shots on the table. My camera's flash was down and it was all happening too quick for me to fix it, I was able to capture a few pics.



Overall it was a good day. HOT!!! Emotional and festive.