8 year wedding anniversary-Las Vegas Trip

Jeremiah and I went to Las Vegas for two nights this week for our Anniversary. Although we missed the kids, we didn't miss them too much! They were in good hands, we really appreciate Tammie and my mom for watching them while we were gone. Overall, this was a good break for us. I don't think we've been alone on a trip for years. The first day Jeremiah planned a brutal schedule (typical). The morning started with all the roller coaster and rides he could find. He didn't stop until I couldn't walk.

The Strip

Jeremiah before the Treasure Island Show

Jeremiah giving his dollar to the huge slot machine...here you go.

I think the employee who helped me locate this in his casino thought I was nuts when he found out we only came in to see the Golden Nugget. Here it is....yeah! Jeremiah was excited about this.

The lion's den at the Mirage.

Jeremiah on the Strip waiting for the bus

Us on the top of the Stratosphere waiting to board some crazy stupid ride.

Another ride photo opportunity. This ride dangled your body over the 1,100 foot tall building and spun you around. Once was enough for me, not for Jeremiah. This was the ride that did it in for me. Needless to say, we gave up the rides after this.

Jeremiah's Photo Shoot

We have been working on Mountain Man Trees Web site for a ridiculously long time. I'm hoping that it will be up soon. Here are some pictures I took with my friends AMAZING camera for the site. We removed two large pine trees with a crane. I am really happy with how these pictures turned out. You can even see the specs of sawdust.Looks can be deceiving, this dangling chunk of wood weights several thousand pounds. The crane operator was psyched out the whole time (I think this was his first day to operate the big crane). It takes mad skills to judge how heavy a section of log is. The crane can only handle 5,000lbs. This crane was fully extended to reach into the backyard.

Jeremiah's giving the thumbs up

Tying the knots into the tree

The crane operator is lowering the ropes

Jeremiah's Photo Shoot

Here is a picture of Dave....I 'd like to think that he was a fan coming to see a superstar, but he was just delivering Jeremiah's stump grinder teeth. He has an awesome service. I mean, who personally delivers product and has resonable prices these days? Dave is a life saver. He reminds me of a life line on one of thoes game shows. Whenever our equipment brakes down (which, for some reason, happens frequently) we can call Dave and he'll come help.

Look, SAWDUST!

I'll be the fan

Summer

Motorcyle Poodle

Kenzie and I were giving bids one day when we saw this guy along the freeway. Normally, I'm the recipient of a forwarded e-mail with a similar photo. I don't know what keeps the dog in the crate. It's just amazes me to see a tough, leathered out, biker dude with a poodle in the back. Sorry for the poor quality photo, you'll have to click to enlarge to fully apprecaite the scene.

Filling the Pool

This is what Bahama Blue looks like. We came home from church and tip toed into the pool. To our surprise, pool paint makes the floor super slippery. Kenzie was the first to slip into the pool with her church dress on. This was a fun night.

Painting the pool was a CHORE! The paint thickens as you go, which makes it difficult to even roll. When we were half way done, after about an hour, our cat Jack chased a mouse on a high speed pursuit down the pool stairs and into the paint. He was immediately side tracked from his prey and jumped out of the pool...leaving behind blue cat prints all over our cool deck. It took him a month to clean off all the thick blue paint from his paws...serves him right. It took a couple of hours after that to finish painting and trying to clean up paw prints.

Little Helpers

The Johnson's visited in May. During their stay we were working on a pool restoration project. Jeremiah and I had acid washed the pool (which I will NEVER do again) earlier in the week. This is a picture of Austin and Isaac sweeping the bottom of the pool before we painted. The boys were so focused on doing a good job. We really appreciated all the help. Trisha helped tape the tiles which turned out to be a huge deal. Her tape job was the only tape that actually pealed off without a fight. Note to self, don't buy the cheap walmart masking tape and instead, splurge on the blue tape.

Makenzie's Graduation Party

Kenzie Graduated from the City of Mesa's Early Learner Program...which was basically pre-kindergarten. We were fortunate to participate in this program, especially since it was canceled this year.

During the first half of the year she did not like leaving her toys and backyard but after Christmas she looked forward to school everyday. Next year she will be attending a full day kindergarten class that teaches phonics.....yeah! Plus, she gets to ride the bus.....BONUS.
Not to mention (cause I just can't resist), students are required to speak English. Yes, I'm one of those frustrated parents that can't stand not being able to communicate with other parents or children in my daughters class.

Austins Preschool Graduation Party

Austin suffered through wearing his spider shoes (that he used to love), nice polo shirt and khaki shorts for Graduation day. It was his idea to spike his hair. This was Austin's last year at Mrs. Marens Preschool. He made great friends and looked forward to seeing Mrs. Maren every school day. He's not starting Kindergarten yet, but I think it's time for him to move on to a classroom preschool. Austin was fortunate that Mrs. Maren let him into class when he was so young.

Garden Shots

Our garden is still producing. This is a picture I took a few weeks ago of one day's worth of picking. I can't keep up. Tonight our neighbors found out that Kenzie and I love apples, so they brought us over a bag of apples on their walk. In return, we gave them a load similar to the picture above. I'd say we got a fair trade...anything for home grown apples.

Irrigation

We finally ordered irrigation for the rest of the year. As you can tell, the kids had a fun time. Austin turned our sandbox lid into a boat and rowed himself along the lawn with a broom. Very inventive.

This is Hilarious---thanks for sharing Natalie