Honeymoon in Vegas

The one picture we took we had to do with our cameraphone because I forgot the camera in our room!

Not only do we live in Vegas, but we had our honeymoon here 8 years ago and we just had our 8 year anniversary celebration here. Kind of silly, I know, but it actually was really great! The Vegas where we live and the Vegas where we vacationed on the Strip are two different worlds. It only took us a half hour (minus a few errands) to get to our destination once we left the kids behind with Crystel. After we picked up fast food at Wendy's, we went directly to our hotel room at the Stratosphere. Our friend Marlene got us an upgrade to their "Romance Suite," which was spacious and came complete with a jacuzzi tub. We spent Tuesday night and all day Wednesday just relaxing - we did a bit of shopping at the outlets, a bit of swimming in their rooftop pool, we watched a couple of movies (the more notable one being "Fireproof" - a great movie that sparked a good discussion). We went up to the viewing deck of the Stratosphere and looked out over Vegas on Wednesday night. We did a 5:30 am checkout this morning because Joe had an early hearing to prepare for, but as short as our getaway was, it will have lasting effects. Every couple needs regular getaways to "sharpen the axe" and we are no exception. It is easier to appreciate and be patient with those you love when you have short breaks that allow you to miss them. Big thanks to Crystel, Carin, and Heather who all took turns with our kids to let us get away!

Eight years...

As I look back over eight years and think of each day that has passed (that's 2922 of them), it is interesting to consider what the cumulative effect of each day's decisions, action or inaction, has been. The most obvious and worthwhile of these are our 4 daughters. They've taken more time and energy and resources than we could ever have imagined. Several of those 8 years went toward earning two Bachelors degrees and a JD. We've accumulated lots of things, some useful, many not. There have been 8 years' worth of laundry, dishes, reading, laughing, diapers, FHE, playing, crying, sleeping, cooking, cleaning, arguing (the kids, of course), and service in the Church. There have been lots of learning moments, moments of despair (3 am and the baby won't sleep), moments of contentedness, moments of frustration, moments of enlightenment, moments of sheer exhaustion. It all adds up to more than we could recount, more than we know. It adds up to a full life together as a family. I am so grateful for all that these 8 years have brought to us. We have lived, and continued to live a blessed life. I hope we are becoming what we need to become - I hope I am more patient, more understanding, more kind, than I was 8 years ago. Some days I don't know that I am. If nothing else, I am more experienced than I used to be.

I do have a better understanding of who my husband is, what his ideals and principles are, than 8 years ago. Some of Joe's more outstanding characteristics that I didn't fully understand or appreciate in the beginning is that he is a doer and a finisher. He spends very little time on things of little consequence. If a job needs to be done, he'll do it and he'll finish it. He pushes himself and expects others around him to do the same. He highly values relationships and has a gift for seeking out those who need friendship - at work, at church, wherever he is. He takes interest in individuals and their needs. He is something like Alma and Ammon, who, when they were converted, dedicated their lives to bringing others to Christ. He has a gift for teaching gospel principles to his daughters and others. There is nothing our girls like more than their dates with dad - even if it only means a walk or a quick trip to the store. I think that when many marry, they don't know what the whole package contains. I didn't, but over these past 8 years, I have begun to realize what Joe brings to our marriage and I feel incredibly lucky and blessed in the man I married.

More Spinach, please!

In the last couple of years, I've taken more of an interest in nutrition and started being more careful about what I feed my family. Joe is wary of me becoming a "health nut," and of course I continually assure him that I won't, but I do like to try new things. I started with making whole wheat bread regularly about 4 years ago. I've incorporated that well enough into our diet that my girls have little tolerance for bread purchased from the store - even some of the heavier stuff from Winder Dairy. We've switched to mostly brown rice and when I do serve white rice it is usually with equal parts millet and quinoa. Here is the point on which I probably come closest to being a nut: I smuggle raw milk over the Nevada state border. I don't know if it is technically smuggling, because I don't know that it is illegal to HAVE raw milk in Nevada, I just know that it is illegal to SELL it. So, there's my confession. That said, I still do it when I can. I get it from the dairy that the polygamists run in Colorado City/Hilldale (yes, where the infamous Warren Jeffs resided). I was raised on raw milk (we had a cow) and it holds with my philosophy that we are most likely to be eating right when our food is as close as possible to the state in which God originally delivered it to us. Did you know that many people who are lactose intolerant CAN tolerate raw milk? Presumably because it still contains the live digestive enzymes that are otherwise killed in pasteurization. Please correct me if I'm spreading false information here. I'm not a milk expert. Anyway, I grew up on it and prefer it. So the reason this all came up for a blog topic: today I made some steamed spinach for myself at lunch and Hannah and Sara wanted some. So, I obliged them. Between them, they took all I made so I steamed some more for myself. By the time the second batch was done, they were ready for it too, so I had to make a third batch for myself. I have to say, I had a little "I'm doing at least one thing right" moment that we occaisionally get as moms. They also really like asparagus and brocolli. We had steamed asparagus the last two nights at dinner and the girls all thought they were in heaven! All three I serve just with fresh lemon juice and salt/pepper.

Our House, continued...

A few posts back I started to log the work we've done on our house since we bought it about three years ago. The back yard was in terrible shape, with weeds, bermuda grass, and those evergreen bushes taking up a good third of it. We decided that it would need some fairly major changes if we were to have a garden and room for the girls to run. Other than painting and flooring, our yards were the first major project because we wanted to get our garden in and sod set before the summer heat hit us. So.....

...instead of picking me up at the hospital after Hannah was born that March, Joe sent Lolly to get me because he was busy with the Elders and a chainsaw.

In the middle of that slope that was covered by the bushes, the builders had kindly deposited a cement slab roughly the size of a coffin. We managed to dig it out, roll it onto the now-dormant bermuda grass, and break it down into manageable size pieces with a pickaxe. You can see some of its remains behind the stroller there. We got our garden in that year, mostly tomatoes (which didn't do well in the native caliche and manure mix we had for soil) and peppers (which did do well - unfortunately, many of them were an Anaheim Chili Pepper that I had no clue what to do with). The picture on the right is us in the process of shoveling all of the gravel off the north half of the yard to make more room for grass. Moving that gravel was a good way to get back in shape after the baby.

Let me tell you about that pile of dirt there. In the next pictures, the absence of that pile of dirt represents 7 trips to the dump (the FURTHEST dump in the city - or should I say outside the city, at Apex) in several different borrowed trucks, a lot of gas money, aching backs and growing muscles. I think our neighbors thought we were crazy, doing all of the work ourselves, often late at night. Around here, people don't even mow their own lawns, it's all hired labor. And...

Tah dah!! Sod! We had only a very short time left when we found out that sod was not sold after the end of (March? April? - I don't remember) in Las Vegas. We got some training and help from our good friend and neighbor James Harper, who had done landscaping work. He helped us design and install our sprinkler system in about a day, just in time to meet the sod deadline.

Before I finish, let me elaborate on that nice retaining wall that we built... Those bricks, retail are about $2 each. There are roughly 409 of them in that wall. Being the fiscally responsible people that Joe and I are, we rarely pay full price for anything. I managed to find 209 of those bricks on Craigslist for $100. The only problem was that they were located on the other end of the valley in Henderson, near the airport. Of course, as stated above, we had no truck, or van, or anything other than the Camry at the time. That same afternoon after I discovered them, I got a call from Stuart asking if we would mind picking up his truck from the airport where he had just left it, on his way somewhere or other. He didn't want to pay for several days of airport parking. Ummm, yeah!! So, I picked up Stuart's truck, drove the couple miles to the guys house, loaded up the bricks and drove them home. I thought that was a small miracle. I helped unload them that night - this was the night before my due date with Hannah, I was hoping it would put me in labor. It didn't. It only made my back sore for when I did finally have her 3 days later....

Joseph's First Blog Posting

This is my first "blog" posting. It has been raining all day today -very unusual for Las Vegas. This morning, while Haylee was at Women's Conference, I worked with the girls to clean the house, make and clean up from breakfast and lunch, and make Valentines for Emma's friends at school. We had a fun time but, I confess, when Haylee returned home at 1:30 p.m. (after being away for 5 hours), I was ready for a nap.

We are looking forward to the arrival of my parents, and my sister Becky and three of her children, in a little over a week. While we often see members of Haylee's family, it is less common to have members of my family here in Vegas. The closest siblings live at least 6 hours away.

Work is going well. Smith Larsen & Wixom is an excellent and honorable firm. I work with people that I thoroughly respect and admire. Having said that, it has been a very busy time lately. We represent several financial institutions and, over the past few months, have been retained as defense counsel in dozens of wrongful foreclosure cases. With the increased stressload, I am more busy and putting in longer hours, but I am learning a lot and the work is interesting.

I have been serving as the Elders Quorum President in our ward for the past year or so. Prior to that, I was a counselor in the Presidency for a year. During that time, I have learned a great deal and have developed a deep love and concern for the members of the ward. At times, the weight of the calling seems overwhelming, but I press on and things work out. Two new counselors were called and sustained a couple of weeks ago and I look forward to some major steps forward in the Elders Quorum in the coming months.

Our family is doing very well. All are healthy. Emma (7) is at the top of her first grade class and absolutely adores her teacher (and often brings her gifts and pictures). Sara (5) can't wait to start school next fall. Sara and Emma are both interested in learning to play the piano and, when time permits, I have given them a few lessons. Hannah is almost potty trained, although she had an "accident" at a Valentines party we went to this evening. Olivia can now walk (waddle) and she is about the cutest little toddler you could ever imagine. Haylee and I have a rich and steady relationship. I feel tremendously blessed in all respects. I know that we could not enjoy the quality of happiness and love that we do, without the gospel in our lives. God has been very kind to us.

Women's Conference

This morning I went to a really fabulous Stake Women's Conference. They had 12 different classes to choose from, kind of like a mini Education Week or Women's Conference at BYU. I attended one on Scriptures, one on Marriage, and the third was on the Temple. I took a couple of gems away from each one, hopefully to incorporate into my life. I don't think I heard anything new, just reminded of old things now seen in a different light. In the last several months I think the Lord has been teaching me the importance of daily scripture reading. In October or November of last year as I found myself engrossed in various books for the book club I'm part of, I found myself reading a quick chapter or two of the Book of Mormon so that I could assuage the guilt before diving back into my novel. At that point, I had only barely finished the Book of Mormon once in the year, while devouring whole books in a day or two. So, I set the goal for reading the Book of Mormon all in December. It was a real challenge, but I did it. Now my approach is to read six pages per day, for me a really do-able amount, which will get me through it four times this year. I realize though that it isn't the number of times we "get through it" but rather that the pattern is being set for habitual studying of the scriptures and that we are actually gleaning those things we need from them.

2441 Sun Shores Drive

Joe and I bought our first home three years ago at the end of December 2005 at 2441 Sun Shores Drive in Las Vegas, Nevada. I hope my kids will have the same great memories of this house that I have of my first homes in Hurricane. I especially loved the house at the dairy. We played in the stalls of the various corrals, jumped off haystacks, and hid in all of the many nooks and crannies of the house. There was a hidden passageway from the closet under the stairs into the den. In my older brother Mark's bedroom closet there was a slanted wall that we used as our slide. Then there was a crawl space way up high between the two bedrooms at the end of the hall. What a great childhood I had!

When Joe and I found our house it was definitely the fixer-upper we were looking for - a good sized home in a great neighborhood that we could do whatever we dreamed of with. Here are a few images that our appraiser took before we bought it:

This is the main living area with your back to the door, looking into the formal dining and kichen area. That's Sara with her frizzy hair - so small! This is how the house showed, not a big surprise it was on the market for over a year, is it?

One of the things we loved about the house is how open and airy it feels with its high ceilings. These are looking up at the catwalk that connects the master with the other bedrooms upstairs and the stairs from the dining area.

The kitchen and bathrooms needed pretty serious help.

The yards took a lot of work as well. And we didn't have a lot of time with spring just around the corner!

In the next post or two I want to record what we've done over the last three years. I've discovered a handyman in myself that I never knew existed. I think that if I wasn't a full time mom right now, I would love to renovate homes.