I love Las Vegas

 The Torries went to Las Vegas for spring break and we didn't go to he77.  It was a super fun trip, we drove and stopped in Logan, UT and Cedar City, UT to visit family.  We really needed a break from the long winter, and found super hot weather and some sun in Vegas.  Spencer served his mission there and got to see some of his old friends, it was awesome, I love Vegas.

We stopped in Salt Lake and had fun checking stuff out at Temple Square.  Kali was super crazy-hyper, it made it a bit difficult to completely enjoy everything.

 

Kali found a large statue of Sponge bob, it totally looked like he was looking at her.  She was very excited.

We went to M&M's world and Kali was yet again SUPER excited, she wanted to buy everything.  We actually gave her an allowance of $5 per day so she could make all her own decisions with her own money.  Her first purchase at the Disney store brought on major buyers remorse, but she got over it by the time we got to the M&M's store.

On our first full day, we went hiking in Blue Diamond, we saw wild Burros and made an inukshuk on the trail.  We hiked up and down and up and down along a nice trail, it was pretty hot and Spence and I got sunburned a little.  We all loved being outside though.

 

On our next day, we went biking at Cottonwood, it was Kali's first time on her mountain bike and using hand brakes.  She did great on the asphalt but struggled on the rocky terrain, it made for some great scars though.  Spence biked from there to Blue Diamond while Kali and I geocached and pet a wild Burro.

When Spence was a missionary he loved biking Red Rock Canyon, this was a hike we did and the Red Rock mountains behind us.

We met up with Spencer's first companion and his family on our last night in Vegas.  It was one of the funnest times, they are the Falks, Jesse is from Airdrie and he just graduated from Dentistry and Lindsey is the greatest girl, I wish we lived closer to them.  They took us to the best restaurant called Robertos taco shop, I just can't get enough of Mexican food.

After dinner, the Falks took us to the Bellagio fountains and Kali made some new friends.  They were giving out free hugs, she loved it, and they let her join them.

At the end of the night we went out for "Luv it frozen custard", it was right near a strip club and a really scary convenience store with the guy behind the bullet proof glass.  The custard was great, the company was fabulous but the ambiance.... was not.

We had so much fun in Vegas, I wish we could have stayed longer.

My Birthday

Kali decorated my birthday cake for me, it says: "Mom Happe Brthday", I had to bake it for my own birthday, can you believe it?  I'm sure it's better than what Spence could have made.  He made some bread last week and missed the yeast... it was a brick.  He invited my friends over for a party but made me buy all the food, prepare it and buy my present.I really liked the party, it was so fun to hang out with some friends.  We ate lots of great food, played some games and found out about some of Trevor's celebrity crushes.  I also loved when Erin came over during the day with a cupcake tree full of chocolate cupcakes infused with buttercream icing.  We played Super Mario Brothers Wii and she helped me pass some levels in the 8th world that I couldn't have done without her, she ROCKS at games.

Yesterday, still in my birthday week, we went to the farm had a roast beef dinner, watched MegaMind and played cards.  I really appreciate Mom Torrie, she is so kind to me, I really love that woman.  Ryan & Tonya came over to with the kids, they made me cards and bought me a huge Lindor chocolate bar.

I love my birthday, it's my favorite day ever.

p.s. I got a new calling today at church:  Second Counselor in the Primary.  I was a little surprised and overwhelmed, we'll see , there are some super great girls that I get to work with.

Cupcakes

I love my chocolate cupcakes with raspberry buttercream icing.  I made a batch the other day and gave some away to a couple friends.  I have enjoyed them and have tried to savor them.  There were 4 left this morning, I had 2, Kali had one and I saved one for after my nap.  When I got up Spence had eaten the last one!!  He said it looked like no one wanted it?!  What??!! I would never say that about a cupcake.  My dear sweet cupcake has been wasted on someone who I don't think appreciated it.  Good bye cupcake, I love you and can't wait to enjoy you again.

Jenn

Sacrifice

We had a lesson today on sacrifice in R.S. and all I could think about was King Julien in Madagascar 2.

I also realized that I suck at sacrifice and I'm a little selfish.  During the lesson, I remembered that there were two pieces of chocolate cake at home and I thought about how I could eat both of them.  Some mothers would give to their husbands and children and go without... not this lady.  My friend Suzanne called me to repentance, so I guess I should try harder. 

Down To Earth Recycling

I bought a curbside recycling pickup business a couple weeks ago, and am really excited about it.  I bought it from a friend who is moving to BC, she started it over a year ago.  I have 53 clients, a cargo trailer, a bunch of bins, and a lot of enthusiasm.  It's a sweet job, I make money, get some exercise,  only work one day a week, and I'm my own boss.  I got all my invoicing worked out by using intuit billing manager, it's so easy and best of all it's free.  I also think it's pretty great to be helping the environment, no worries, I'm not a crazy, hippie, recycle Nazi.

We've had our truck for a year and it has been a work in progress, Spence put in a new starter and we flushed our tranny, it just hit 300,000km this week and I hope it lasts a lot longer.  As a side note, Spencer is so great at fixing things, we were having some idling issues and took the truck into Ford, they wanted us to replace a sensor.  Spencer took the sensor off and found that it was all gummed up with dirt and oil, he cleaned it with electronic cleaner and saved us the $500 that Ford was going to charge to replace it.  He rocks my socks off!!

Thanksgiving weekend

 We went to Edmonton this year for thanksgiving but on the way we went to the Calgary Zoo.  It's a great Zoo, we had so much fun, Kali and I spent over half the time waiting for Spence to read every info board, but we made the best of it.  My favorite animals were the Gorillas for sure, I also liked the spider monkeys, the wolves, and I kinda liked the tiger, I would have liked her more if she didn't try to spray me.

Kali chasing the peacock, which she did a lot.

A family picture outside the Zoo gates.

Another family picture at the Zoo.

Family Picture in front of the Edmonton Temple.

 The reason we went to Edmonton was to visit my famliy, but I always love to have a visit with my good friends. I got to hang out with my dear Sarah, and it was so good to see her. We went to a really cool park, talked, watched the girls play, and had a picnic, and the weather was perfect too.

 Last of all, we dug up our carrots last week and found a couple funny looking ones. I'm thankful for gardens.

I love Kali Torrie

Kali and I have had 2 great days.  I think general conference was a good wake up call for me, and I have felt that the most important thing for me to do right now is be a good Mom to Kali.  I am trying to have more patience, and we are talking about our feelings, and how they affect our lives and especially our spirits.

We had the best talk tonight right before bed.  She has a friend at school who bullies her, but she doesn't want to tell on her because she doesn't want her to get into trouble.  She's also scared of her and frankly, I am too.  I worry about the future especially since this girl is only in grade one.  I feel sad that I have to send my baby into this world where I can't be there to "save" her.  I love my little girl and am totally behind her.