Vegas Baby!!!

We just got back from a fun filled weekend in Vegas. We went there to visit Tara and her boys. Raleigh was out of town on a ski trip so Tara invited us out there. We left on Friday around 1 p.m. and drove pretty much straight through minus one stop for gas. We ended up in Vegas about 630 p.m. (Vegas time) We made pretty good time and I didn't have any problem staying awake. We went out to eat, did some shopping, visited with my cousin Rachel (whom I haven't seen in years), went to the Stratosphere, and had plenty of fun playing with Drew and Luke. I swear I have the cutest nieces and nephews ever. The weather wasn't the greatest while we were there but it was still a great time and fun to get away. We drove home Monday afternoon.  On our way out of town we decided to go the the Wax Museum at the Venetian Hotel.  It was pretty cool.  I couldn't believe how real some of them looked.  The pictures got out of order and I am to lazy to fix them..(:

 

Drew and Luke wrestling each other or as Drew would say "killing"...lol

Noah and I at the top of the Stratosphere. We weren't really there at night but they were able to modify the picture to make it look like we were. I think it would be so much more fun and pretty to go at night.

Noah at the top of the Stratosphere



Elvis and Noah



Eva Longoria...I thought she looked pretty real

Will Smith

The Rock



Julis Roberts...Noah didn't even know who she was...lol



Brad and Angelina

Walking with the Beatles

Joe Montana

Tiger Woods

Michael Jordan

Shaq O'neal

Lady Gaga

Snoop Dog

Jack Sparrow

George Washington and Ben Franklin

Abe Lincoln

Marilyn Monroe



Not sure why Noah was making this face..



Noah in front of the volcano at the Mirage.  It was raining that night so we never got to see it erupt.  Maybe next time.



Waterfall inside the Mirage

Simon Cowell

MJ

The Blue Man Group

George Bush

Junior Jazz Wrap Up

Another Jr. Jazz season has come to an end. We had another great season. We only lost 1 regular season game. We also did a tournament and only won 1 of the 3 games but the boys had a lot of fun playing together and learning to be a team. Kent coached them again this year and Noah seems to like him coaching. They had mostly the same kids again except for a couple new ones. I think Noah wants to try a super league or the A Train league next season. I don't think Jr. Jazz is as challenging enough for him anymore and he would like to play against some more competitive kids and be on a tougher team so I will probably look into it for next year.  I always think I took more pictures than I did but I guess I didn't so here are the ones that I got.

Valentines Day and the Jazz Game

I actually had to work this year on Valentines Day which I didn't mind too much. I knew the restaurants and theaters would be crowded anyway. I gave Noah a bag of Valentine candy and surprised him with tickets to a Jazz game. I splurged a little and got some great seats in the lower bowl from KSL. It makes such a difference to sit there instead of clear up in the nosebleeds. They played the Washington Wizards and won by about 20 points. It was a really fun game. After the game, we went down on the court and the usher offered to take a picture of us. After the game, we headed to the Cheesecake Factory for some yummy dessert.  We ended up sitting right next to us was Gordon Hayward and a player (Shelvin Mack) from the Wizards. Noah got both of their autographs. Then a few minutes later, Earl Watson came in and Noah got his autograph too. Looking back now, I really wish that we would have gotten a photo with them. Oh well, maybe next time. Noah was super excited.  Noah also made a cute Valentine box for school.  This is his last year of doing a box since they don't do it in jr. high.  He did a Chicago Bulls box.  He has really liked them this year and is a huge fan of Derrick Rose.

Noah's ordination

Noah is officially a deacon now. He passed the sacrament for the first time in our ward on January 22nd. I was so proud and happy to watch him. He was really excited and a little nervous but he did great. I got a little teary eyed thinking how fast he is growing up. I wish I could do something to slow things down. He's very excited to be part of the young men now instead of primary. I'm so proud of the great young man he is becoming. I didn't get a picture of him on his actual ordination day but it was on January 8th.

Noah's birthday

Noah turned 12 on the 6th. Kent had him for his actual birthday so on Saturday, we went to dinner at Red Robin. That is his favorite restaurant. We also went and saw Mission Impossible. It wasn't my first choice but I actually liked it. It was pretty entertaining. Sunday, the family came over for pizza and cake to celebrate.

Christmas

We had a nice Christmas once again. We did our family party the night before Christmas eve. We did it at my parents church. Everyone was able to be there. Noah had to leave a little early because he was supposed to be with Kent but he was able to do white elephants and eat dinner. It was a fun night. Christmas eve, Noah was with Kent. I slept most of the day and then went to dinner with Kevin. We went to Chili's and it was actually kinda busy for Christmas eve. I was supposed to work 11-7 but got called off. Christmas day, I went to church and then went to my parents and had breakfast and hung out until Noah got home at 1. We opened presents and then went back to my parents and hung out with the rest of the family for the day. I'm sad because I guess I didn't get any photos of our family party. Hopefully, Tara or Kristi got some that I can steal...:)

His favorite gift, the Ipod touch. He was so excited to open that.

We got our Christmas tree up on Monday night. It's a cute little tree and nice and full. I got all the lights on. (5 strings) and then Noah and I both put on the decorations. We had a lot of fun. It finally started getting me into the Christmas spirit. This might be our last year of getting a "real" tree though. Noah mentioned to me that he didn't care if we had a fake one. I think I might be done with the real ones too. It would be nice to just pull our tree out and get it up and decorated when we want to. We'll see what happens next year.


Each year, Noah picks out a new ornament. This is the one he picked this year.