Texas!!!!

As I posted before we recently spent 9 days in Austin (Round Rock),Texas visiting my sister and her great family! The drive out there was long but fueled by our excitement to get there. I loved seeing new places and landscapes along the way, while much of what we saw was really flat the closer we got to Austin the more beautiful it became! The kids did amazingly well considering and there were only a few times that the phrase "If you don't quit it right now so help me I will pull this car over right now and........" you fill in the blank :)! There were a plethora of bathroom stops and caffeine consumption but we made it there safe and sound Thursday night.

Driving into there neighborhood I called Alyssa to get their exact address and she sent the kids out to stand in the yard to help us find it, well we had actually driven past it so the kids were running down the sidewalk screaming!! It was all our girls could do to keep from jumping out the windows to see their cousins. We turned around and parked in front of the house and the car was barely stopped when Lexi and Grace opened the door and leaped to the side walk, watching them all embrace was almost more than I could take but I managed to keep the emotions in check. After a million hugs we all made it into the house for a tour and then since my nieces and nephew had school the next morning we put the kids to bed and us adults stayed up to talk!

Highlights

I will spare you all from the day to day run downs and just share some of the highlights of the trip.

One afternoon we had lunch with Carli and Amy at their school followed by a tour of the campus. The facility was AMAZING! The lunch room had the "Kids Cafe" where they all went through a buffet of food and selected the items they wanted to eat. There was even a salad bar and a condiments island and after they ate they could return to the cafe for an ice cream treat! Now for those that are not familiar with Las Vegas schools our lunch rooms don't really provide the same luxuries, OK so not even close but back to the story.

After lunch we were taken by our tour guides Amy and Carli to see their class rooms, it was at this point that I knew I liked this here place called Round Rock, Texas! Each classroom has 4 Apple computers and the K and 1st grades have bathrooms in the class, there weren't 42 students to one teacher and the windows everywhere made it feel so much happier. The older children are separated from the younger ones with their own multi leveled wing of the school and then when my sister mentioned that there are just over 500 students in the school I nearly fell over!! They have empty classrooms so there will be plenty of room to grow as people move into the area! C'mon Clark County it's time to give up your money and split the district for the sake of our kids!! OK let me compose myself whew, breathe in breathe out, wax on wax off! Anyway you get the gist of it, an AMAZING school!!

Next highlight will be shorter, sorry got carried away

The Food!!
Rudy's (twice)
Jimmy John's
Chuy's
Some Asian place
Cru's
Custard place
Shaved Ice place (twice)
#2 Doughnut Place (OH MY GOSH!)
And a few home cooked meals!! Diet? What Diet?


Outings!
IKEA
Children's Museum
Park with a Train Ride
Target
Great Shopping center (like The District, only better)
Block Party with their neighbors

Many of the afternoons were spent hanging out playing their Wii and playing in the HUGE backyard and driveway. They all rode bikes, scooters and skateboards, we played Red Rover, Red Rover, Duck Duck Goose, Red Light, Green Light, Tag, T-Ball! It was a blast!! Jimmy and Chet became quite the duo on "Rock Band", their inner Rockers came out with a vengeance, they played the drums and guitar like nobodies business!!

It truly was a great way to spend our vacation! Jimmy did spend time looking for work, turning in his resume and interviewing. We don't know if we will get to move there but we sure did fall in love with Texas!!

The drive home was hard to get excited about after the week we had, but we managed to pack up and pile in to head home on Friday the 23rd. We made it all the way to Tucson, AZ and spent the night there, had breakfast at Cracker Barrel with our friends the Bush's (No not George and Laura) Mesa and Mark and then made the rest of the trip home! So now it is back to real life but boy was it fun to escape for a little while!!

The Hotel in these pictures was in El Paso,TX and in the room there was a sign that said "Please Dispose of Syringes at the Front Office", WHAT?! We almost packed up and got back on the road but it was 1 AM and the kids were tired!!


I decided to take my Nieces and Nephew out for a little photo shoot around the corner from their house! They were so much fun and great little models!!

And the Winner Is..........

Named on My Craft Blog!!! :)
I know I am cruel!! For those that didn't win there will be more opportunities ahead so keep a look out!! Love to all of you and thanks for your support in my creative side!!

A little Sample of my stuff!

I Know, I know I am late!

So I haven't forgotten about the Give Away, just trying to recover from our trip! So many things to do! So here is a last chance for you slackers that haven't done it yet!! I will officially announce the winner tomorrow!! So good luck and if you still want to enter just go leave a comment on my Craft Blog and there you have it! There is a much more detailed list of rules here.

Happy 1st Birthday Little Man!!

So I know I have lots to blog about but first HAPPY BIRTHDAY my sweet little James!!
Today you are 1!! I am sorry you had to spend the day in the car, but you were really good and I love you so much. A year ago today was a wonderful day and the last 12 months wouldn't have been the same without you!

Business or Pleasure!

Well we made the 22 hour drive to Austin, Texas beginning early Wednesday morning and had a night in El Paso, Texas and then made the rest of the trip on Thursday. My sister and her family have been living here in Austin (actually Round Rock, a suberb of Austin) for nearly two years and we finally found the perfect time to come for a visit!

Part of the reason we came was for Lexi's 10th birthday and to see our family. The other part is so that Jimmy could apply for some jobs here in the Austin area, there seems to be a pletheria of Engineering firms here in Texas that are still doing ok. For those that don't know, Jimmy has been working as a Designer in the Civil Engineering field for the last 6 years. His schooling is actually with computers but when we got married he was hired on as an I.T guy and through some late nights he taught himself AutoCADD. Well for those that still have no idea what he does, I will try to explain it the best I can, he basically designs all the sewer, drainage, curbs, streets, setbacks, water, plans for a neighborhood or business complex. Since the residential side has been hit so heavily by the hault in the housing market it has put many Engineering firms out of business!

As we watched the slowing in the market we realized that there was a very real chance that if Jimmy wanted to continue working in the industry we would most likely have to leave Vegas and since Texas as a whole seems to be in a much better place economy wise it has been on our radar for sometime now. While we trust in "His" plan and that where ever we are supposed to be will present itself, after being here just a few days we have fallen in love with the area!! We were able to visit my nieces school and it was seriously AMAZING!!!! I have not been into a school that could even compare to it in Las Vegas, in fact Texas has some of the best schools in the nation! Anyway the coming week will be some days for Jimmy to look into some prospects as well as for us all to spend some good time with Lys and Chet and the kids!

This post has gone in a little different direction that originaly planned but I want to remember this time of our lives so we can look back one day and perhaps see why and how our lives changed. I truely believe that our family has a change coming, not sure what, but I guess we will see!

These pictures were taken on a train at one of the MANY parks near their house. It was so fun, it took us for a ride through and around the park all for only 10 bucks for all of us!!! I love cheap family fun!!

K Ya'll GIVE AWAY!

So we are headed on a little trip to Texas this week which means I will spend the next few evenings packing and getting ready to leave so I thought I would post to give another reminder about my Give Away on my Craft Blog! Quick rules

1. Leave a Comment on my Craft blog = 1 Entry
2. Leave a Comment, post about it on your blog = 3 Entries
3. Leave a Comment, add craft link to your blog roll = 4 Entries
4. Leave Comment, post about, add link= 6 Entries

***Make sure to leave your name and the City you live in!!

Oh and the Prize, well that will be up to you, either a one of kind Apron or a blanket!

And just cause I felt it was fitting here is a nice old picture of my sisters and I love that Alyssa is wearing the Cowboy hat and she is now living in Texas!! Haa haa so funny! And I just can't post without a picture!

Sunday Scripture"Impressions" & Something Sweet

D&C 8:2 "Yea, behold I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart."

Today in Church I was a bit distracted, yes by three children but mostly by my own mind. I was kind of in and out the entire time, getting bits and pieces here and there, yet most of the time was spent silently praying for guidance and piece of mind. Many times I have experienced life changing impressions or revelations while sitting within the walls of a church building. The Lord is so smart because he has allowed us to have these buildings that are dedicated and prepared in such a way that even with little ones crying, crawling around, eating gold fish to keep them quiet for just a few more minutes, we are able to feel the spirit. Personally I have received the inspiration to expand our family in the case of James and Grace while sitting in Relief Society or in the Nursery! I believe that the Lord has blessed me so greatly through the Holy Ghost so I try very hard to live my life in such a way that I can feel it. I don't wish to go throughout my week without knowing I have some backup! I know that Jimmy was guided while we were sitting in Sacrament Meeting on August 25th 2002 that he was to marry me and that boy follows his promptings because he purposed that night!!

I pray that I will be able to always listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost so I might teach my children through example and so that I can help my husband in guiding our family the way we should go. So here's to a day that perhaps didn't lend itself to all the insights that were being taught through the lessons but I was spiritually fed through the Spirit.





***And on another note, a few posts back I talked about the "Salt Chaser" and last night I made the most perfect combination of Salt and Sugar, it doesn't bode well for my "Biggest Loser Challenge" but that is why I gave some away and made everyone else eat most of them, but I had a taste or two!! :)



It ended up being pretty simple, a little messy but very tasty. So here is how I did it. I bought both white and milk chocolate Almond bark (about $1.98 at Wal-Mart) I also found these great caramel pellets in baking section right near the chocolate. They are all capable of melting in the microwave which shortened the time to make it all. I then purchased pretzel rods, but any shape would work ok.


Step 1 Melt the caramel and cover about 3/4 of the pretzel leaving enough to use as a handle (side note:prepare a sheet of wax paper on a plate to keep it from sticking)then put the caramel covered pretzel on the wax paper,place the plate in the fridge allowing it to cool. (About 10 Min)

Step 2 While the pretzels are cooling begin melting the chocolate remove the pretzles from the fridge and again spoon or dip 3/4 of the pretzel in the chocolate covering the caramel entirely. Then place them back on the wax paper and put in the fridge let cool (about 5-10 min).

Step 3 Next melt the remaining chocolate (which ever one not used previously) remove plate from fridge and then drizzle chocolate over the pretzels while they remain on the plate. For one last time place the pretzels back in the fridge and allow to fully cool (10 min) REMOVE THEM AND ENJOY!!