I copied these questions from my sister's blog. I thought it was fun to see Taylor's responses. I tag anyone that thinks they would have a good time asking their kids these same questions.

1. What is something mom always says to you? I think it is...I love you.

2. What makes mom happy? I clean my room

3. What makes mom sad? I don't clean my room

4. How does your mom make you laugh? Sometimes you tickle me just like Daddy

5. What was your mom like as a child? (Taylor wanted to draw me which is a typical way for her to express herself.)

6. How old is your mom? 45 (NOT!)

7. How tall is your mom? 7 (she did this by counting from my feet up to my head)

8. What is her favorite thing to watch on TV? Cooking shows (Taylor likes to watch them with me)

9. What does your mom do when you're not around? I think you watch Will and Reagan.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? Being cool.

11. What is your mom really good at? cartwheels (LOL-yeah right)

12. What is your mom not very good at? back bends (she obviously had gymnastics on the brain)

13. What does your mom do for her job? mop the floor (I must only go to work about once a month ;) )

14. What is your mom's favorite food? Chicken Enchiladas (this would be Eric's fav)

15. What makes you proud of your mom? Everything!

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? a cooking character (?)

17. What do you and your mom do together? We play "I spy with my little eye".

18. How are you and your mom the same? We both have ponytails.

19. How are you and your mom different? We don't wear the same things

20. How do you know your mom loves you? Because I'm so cute!

21. What does your mom like most about your dad? He gives you money. (This was my favorite
answer because it made me laugh the hardest)

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? Hikes

Last weekend we went to St. George for a winter weekend getaway. It was nice to only have to drive 2 hours to see some of my family. Erin's family, my mom and dad, and Ethan and Amy met us for a relaxing weekend at the Worldmark Resort.

This is Ethan and Amy (the almost newly weds!) standing at some ruins at the Silver Reef Ghostown we explored on Friday morning. Not much here to see but was still very interesting place to check out.
This is Taylor, Will and his long lost buddy and cousin Kyle. After Silver Reef, we went to Red Cliffs and did a great family hike that Eric and I have done a couple of times before but no one else had so we thought it would be fun to go again.

Papa with some of his grandkids in a tree along the hike.


This is a beautiful spot along the hike. When we have been here in the past, it was much warmer so we've played in the water but this trip we all avoided getting wet.

Reagan fell asleep on her Daddy's back toward the end of the hike. We had a picnic lunch at this point and she slept through the whole thing on top of the picnic table.

That night we went to dinner at the Pizza Factory and watched a movie after putting the kids to bed.

The next day we explored the red rock above St. George. This is Erin, Adam, Kyle and Noah.



We also went to the Johnson Farm to see dinosaur tracks. This is the kids watching the movie in the museum. They actually look like they are learning something!

The pools at the resort were open and warm so some went swimming while I napped with Reagan in the condo. We ate Taco Soup at the condo that night and went out for ice cream at the Blue Bunny Creamery. Just a nice relaxing getaway with some family. You can't get any better than that!

I know... I'm a geek.

Ever since we got our new Bosch mixer for Christmas, I have had fun trying out different bread recipes and baking in general. I feel more confident in purchasing wheat for our food storage because I know now that I will actually use it! Since moving to Las Vegas, I haven't had my favorite Grandma Sycamore bread that I would buy at Costco. I have seen it on some grocery store shelves but for a very premium price! Now I have better tasting and better for my family bread made with ingredients from my food storage and it has been very rewarding. Lest anyone think I have become one of those mom's from a 50s sitcom with my retro apron (thanks Dawn!) and warm loaf of bread, the rest of my house has gone to pot! After all, I can't seem to focus on cleaning, baking, the raising of perfect children, and the grooming of myself all at once. Somewhat unfortunate, but for the last couple of months, I've enjoyed baking bread!

Three Day Weekend at Home

We've enjoyed this past weekend with Eric being home from work and Taylor out of school. First, Eric and I went out on a date (woo hoo!) Friday night going to dinner at a restaurant some friends recommended called Ta Ta Asian Bistro. Asian food is my absolute favorite and we got our meals for 50% off because of a deal they have going on right now. Such a great deal and good food too! The kids really enjoyed the Valentine holiday with all the exchanges of Valentine's including two packages in the mail from Nana and Papa and their cousin Ava.

Saturday we just hung out as a family and did some shopping where we bought a tent. Eric put it up in our loft upstairs and we let Will and Taylor sleep in it that night. Kids can be so easily pleased sometimes. Taylor was on a high talking about how fun our camping party was and all we did was set up the tent! No food or camping activities--just set up the tent!Monday morning we got up and decided to go hiking. It was a last minute decision but we thought the weather was decent enough we should go. We drove to Red Rock which we have only ever driven through and decided to do the Children's Discovery Loop. It was cold and a little drissley at the beginning but we decided to go for it because it was only a mile long. Half way into the hike the snow started piling down but we decided to press on because we could hear the waterfall (which is seasonal) flowing in the distance. The kids were doing great at this point but after seeing the waterfall, they went downhill both literally and emotionally. We got back to the car with cold and crying kids. Maybe we had been a little too adventurous today! After they warmed up in the car, we asked them if they had a good time in which they responded enthusiastically with a "Yes!" So while Eric and I wondered if this was a mistake maybe it wasn't after all. Maybe in fact, they will be more likely to remember this little trek their parents dragged them out on! By the way, this hike was a beautiful one (especially since we were treated to the waterfall which only goes on between January and March) but I would recommend doing it in DRY WEATHER.


So far so good!

Getting close to the waterfall. Still so far so good.

At the waterfall. Starting to feel a little wet and cold now.


Looking back at the trailhead after the hike. You can't even see the top of the mountains because the clouds have moved in.

Lest anyone think that all we do is play, there was plenty of other things going on this weekend. It was just boring work and who likes to take pictures and blog about that!

Out to Play

We have had incredible weather this month of January and decided we should take advantage and get out and explore. We read Deborah Walls articles in the Henderson newspaper every week and love her suggestions for hikes to do in the area. We were amazed to find out that we were only a 30 minute drive from a natural bridge in the Eldorado Hills area. I love rock formations and especially arches and bridges so off we went this past Saturday to go hiking. The weather was overcast and in the 50s but was perfect for our hike. We went with our friends because it is always more fun to involve others who are up for adventure as well.

This is Taylor and her friends Kelsie, Riley, and Katelyn. You can see the little town of Nelson in the background.

Katelyn at 3 years old, takes the lead!

Daddies and their babies
After about a mile we reach the Bridge.
Eric can't resist getting on top of the Bridge.

After the hike, we drove a little further to the shores of Lake Mojove and had a picnic lunch.
We stopped at this building in the tiny town of Eldorado for a little break and some history of the area from the owners. There is a mine across the street that would be fun to go back and tour sometime.

If any of you are from this area in which we live, don't hold back--I want to know more about all the great places to hike and go exploring. This day was a gem and we would be willing to do it again sometime for those who haven't been here.

New Family Pics

Brace yourselves! I couldn't resist posting a bunch of the family/individual shots we had taken recently. My friend Angela Salazar took our family pictures out at Lake Las Vegas which is a resort area on the east side of Henderson. She did such a great job that I'm having a hard time picking which photos to develop for the wall in my family room. Which ones do you like best?

Looking back over the last couple of weeks

For my kids, the Christmas season didn't start when the Christmas tree went up but when the snow came down. I've never seen my kids so excited as they were on the magical day it snowed at our house. Taylor questioned my earlier statements that we wouldn't see snow until our visit to Utah and they all ran around yelling "Its Christmas" over and over again. Of course, we had to play in it but since I wasn't too prepared with winter gear, the kids had to wear a hodgepodge of gloves, hats and mittens. Luckily, we still had our sled!
Will has a habit of leaving his pants off after using the potty and had sneaked outside with Daddy's boots while Mommy wasn't looking!

While this day of snow was filled with sweet memories, it was also a sad day because I found out about my grandpa's passing. We had planned to leave for Utah on Sunday but instead we found ourselves on the road Friday morning so that we could attend the viewing and funeral services. The funeral was wonderful and the Spirit was felt strongly by all those present.

It was fun to have Santa come to Nana and Papa's house this year. Taylor is pretending that this candy cane is a walking cane in this picture.
Taylor loved playing with all her cousins and even had sleep overs at Ellie's and Emma's houses. Will also had fun sleeping over at Kyle's house and didn't ever want to leave.
"Rocket" was Will's favorite present. He was also very fond of the rocket pjs he is wearing in this picture.
Reagan warmed right up to her many aunties and took to Aunt Erin (in the picture) and her soon to be new Aunt Amy. We joked that Amy was her second mommy as sometimes she preferred her over me!

We stuck around and Eric worked from the Salt Lake office so that we could be around for Shaley's wedding reception on January 1st. So glad to have seen Shaley and her new hubby, Howard. They were married in St Paul, MN on December 26th.



We had a great time for the couple of weeks we spent in Salt Lake and were glad to attend the family events that went on while we were there. We were happy to get back to our own home however and even Taylor expressed excitement for our return.