More Hiking

My sister-in-law's parents are in town for a few weeks. So yesterday we took them up to Calico Basin with the little guys. We did it early in the morning so as to beat the heat. The flowers were still blooming and we got to see a couple rabbits. It was a nice little walk. Here are pictures:

 

Keeping hydrated

Dan ran off the path for a bit...his grandpa Thane had to go get him

Can't get enough of these poka-dotted rocks

"Fluffy Hopper" cooling off in shade

 

It's always nice to get out of the house and see some rocks. Mom and I went swimming later on and I can see myself spending lots and lots of time in the pool this summer.

Little Dan's Pool Party

With all the excitement of getting a new baby brother, Little Dan's friend party was pushed back a couple of weeks. But he did get one. We brought out the kiddy pools and got him a cookie cake and cooked some hot dogs...it was just a nice fun toddler party. Here are some pictures:

Chillin with the ladies

 

I want MORRRE!!

It's hard to tell with a 2 year old but I think he had a fun time.

Homemade Chinese

Every now and again my brother Doug pulls out his Chinese cook book and we experiment. The other night, with lots of help from mom, we made three recipes out of it. It took about 3 hours to make and we had a few hits and a few misses on the tastes, but it was pretty fun. Here are some pictures of the finished products:

Wanton Soup.....it was a miss...turned out too salty but a good attempt.

Lemon Chicken....a HIT...to die for...so yummy must make again!!

Stir-Fried Cabbage and Shrimp....it was okay. The shrimp were a bit crunchy.

I hope Doug tries some more recipes soon.

Summer Time in Vegas

After Memorial Day the temperature in Vegas always jumps to the 100*F...but that is also when the public community pool opens and the summer flowers bloom. It may be hot but there are lots of things to enjoy.

Summer flowers

Sitting in a hammock swing in the backyard

Constant blue sky

Since it's so hot during the day, Mom and I have taken to going on a walk right when the sun goes down. We usually meet up with a couple of friends and walk about 3 miles. The other night we witnessed a gorgeous breathtaking sunset.

 

But it is still not that fun to jump in the car after a day of work and see the temp reading as so:

A/C is a must in every car and home. And the most important thing besides drinking lots of water is to remember this:

Here is to three more months of living in the Oven. :)

A Memorable Memorial Day Weekend

This last Memorial Day weekend a lot happened. Starting Thursday night, I got one of my huge debilitating migraines. I was in pain all night. So on Friday I called in sick for work. My co-workers are always very understanding when it comes to my migraines so they told me to get lots of rest and that they would see me on Tuesday.

As I was lying in my bed the text messages started to come...my sister-in-law had gone into labor and was about to have their baby. Just two hours after I got the first text my new little nephew had been born.

Liam Thane: Born May 27th

He is a cutie. It is pretty fun having them in the same town as us. And after my migraine was finally under control I got to go to the hospital to see him.

The happy family.

Happy Grandma.

They all came home the next day. Little Liam was born on my sister-in-law's birthday so when they got home we had a double birthday party. Here are some pictures:

Happy Grandpa

Nicole's cake

Liam's cake

 

Then on Memorial Day it was Little Dan's 2nd birthday. We took him out for donuts...breakfast of champions.

Biiiiiiiggg Donut!

 

In the afternoon he got to play in the kiddy pool in the backyard, my mom joined in the fun.

 

Then it was present opening time, Dan's attention span was about 2 seconds long so his daddy helped keep things moving along:

 

 

"BALLLLL!!!"

Then we stripped him down and set a cake in front of him....the boy was in heaven.

 

And what more could a 2 year old ask for but a new baby brother for his birthday:

We had fun and as my brother says, their little family will now have a Christmas in May....three birthdays all in a row. Here is to next year.