A Photo-Op

I decided I would take the pictures for Chance's announcements myself so I found a couple props, tried to keep Chance in a good mood and took lots and lots of pics. I am not posting the picture I decided on for the sake of surprise but thought I would share a few of the others that led up to the perfect one...

Play-Doh Palooza

There is no fun like Play-Doh fun!

Chance is 1 Month Old

Chance turned one month old on the 7th of June. It is amazing how fast the month has gone by. I have heard it referenced as the post-partum cocoon where your life pretty much revolves around feeding, sleeping, changing diapers, feeding, sleeping...you get the picture. It has been a great month. I got to spend lots of time not only with Chance but with Kadee who is out of school on break and Cole. It is amazing how much I am paying attention to every little detail with Chance. I think I am doing this because I know he is my last little baby. I just sit in awe of him and love to just watch him while he sleeps. My favorite is when I have to move him while he is asleep and he pulls his little legs and arms in up to his body like a rollie-pollie. I love him to death and can't wait to see what his life holds for him.

Barrel Racing Fun

Every year the South Point Hotel and Casino host the Barrel Racing championship. It is a great event to watch, especially because it is free to the public. This year I took all three kids along with my mom, Julie and Dani. Kadee loves watching all of the horses and discussing with her grandma what kind of horse they are (palominos are her all time favorite). Cole got a huge kick out of the tractors that were leveling the dirt in the arena, every time they drove by he would yell out "FOOTBALL" not really sure what the correlation was between the tractors and football but he thought he was cool doing it so who am I to argue!

Kaitlin Turns 6!

On Saturday, June 6 we went to Kaitlin's sixth birthday party. Kaitlin's mom works with me and her and Kadee have become friends through several of our outings together. The kids had a blast playing with squirt guns and water balloons. The games were a blast too, the three legged race was quite the spectacle (lots of tumbling going on) and the "plum run" instead of an egg race was hilarious to watch. After the games we ate and had cake and then wandered over to the splash park and playground.

This was my first event I attended with the three kiddos solo and although we had a couple of hours of drama-free fun, I had a funny feeling it wouldn't last...boy was I right. Once over at the play area it was a challenge alone just to keep an eye on both Kadence and Cole, of course they shot off in two different directions. Next thing I knew, Kadee came walking over crying deliriously. Apparently she collided with another boy and hit her lip on his head. She busted her lip pretty good which resulted in a lovely fat lip. Next thing I knew, Cole came over crying his eyes out because he hit his head on the slide. Of course to top things off, Chance who had been fantastic the whole time started to wake up because it was time to eat! At this point it was time for me to catch the "Calgon Train" that I hoped would take me away. When it didn't arrive I figured we had better load up and head home. We really did have a nice time up until the last five minutes when the playground + kids = owies factor snuck up on us!

Kadence and her fat lip!

Cozy in Grandma's Blanket

Grandma Syrros made lots of warm and cozy blankets for Chance to snuggle in. This is one of my favorites! We found this print at Hancock Fabrics on one of our shopping trips.

Our Canadian Cousins

My cousin Ian and his wife Sherry came to Las Vegas for vacation and we were able to all get together for a nice visit one afternoon. Ian is my dad's sister's (Karleen) son. I haven't seen him and his wife since 2005 (I think) when they last came down to Vegas for a visit. We decided to swim and BBQ however we had some chilly weather, yes to us here in Las Vegas anything under 90 degrees is chilly! I am sure they thought we were crazy complaining of the weather since they are from Red Deer, Canada where they still have some really frigid temperatures. Everyone tried the pool but only the kids stayed in most of the day. We had a great time though just sitting around and relaxing, catching up with one another.

Flag Football Party

Charlie helps his buddy Ray coach his son's flag football team every spring. This is the fourth year they have done this and each year they just get better and better. This year they finished first in their age group with only one loss during regular season. They almost made it to the Superbowl but had one of those freakish losses in the semi-finals. They are a great group of boys and Charlie really enjoys teaching them the game he loves so much. On May 30th we had their end of the season party. We had yummy BBQ and the kids enjoyed swimming. The team got the coaches a framed arrangement of photos of them all in action. It was a great time and we look forward to going all the way to the Superbowl next year!

Let's Play Ball

Cole loves baseball. He loves going to Daddy's softball games and watching the big boys play. He spends most of the time playing catch with the other kids at the park and has developed a great throw, he even lifts his leg when he pitches the ball. It is too cute!

Grandpa and Grandma Neilson's Visit

Grandpa and Grandma Neilson came to visit us and to see the new addition to the family. They drove out from Albuquerque on May 22. Grandpa had to fly back to Albuquerque on Monday so he could go back to work but we were lucky to have Grandma Neilson stay with us for the week to help me out with the three kiddos. She was a huge help, holding the baby when I needed to get things done, keeping Kadee and Cole occupied while I tended to the baby and it seemed like she was constantly doing housework...dishes, vacuuming, etc...

While Grandma Neilson was here we tried to get everyone out of the house as often as we could to avoid going stir crazy! We went on lots of walks around the neighborhood and Kadee and Grandma went on a couple excursions on their own to find pine cones which they brought home and decorated.

We went to Town Square for lunch and some playtime in the park there.

We also went to our favorite park across from the District. The kids (and Daddy) had a blast playing in the splash park.

Grandpa Neilson flew back in on Friday and they drove back to Albuquerque on Saturday morning. We were really sad to see them go. We had a wonderful visit! I think we all wish we lived a little closer to one another so we could spend a little more time together. Thanks Grandpa and Grandma...we miss you.