Pawn Stars!

Being a fan of the History Channel show Pawn Stars, I really wanted to stop at the pawn shop and look around. They are technically on the strip, down the street, kind of in a sketchy neighborhood. And no, none of the workers were there. But I got a great t-shirt! I expected to go in and see all of this cool stuff for sale because that's what you see on television. Instead, it looked . . .like a pawn shop.

Bellagio

Being an Oceans 11 fan, I really wanted to see the fountains at The Bellagio while we were in Vegas. I loved the end of that movie where they walk out and calmly walk over to the fountains and watch them go off and then walk away, one by one.

Okay, the fountains are viewed the strip, and there is no serene beauty on the Las Vegas strip. There were people EVERYWHERE. It's beautiful in the movie. And only in the movie.

The show was fabulous but quick! The fountains go off for about four minutes -- about the length of a song. Still stuck in my Oceans 11 fantasy, I expected something classic and beautiful and serene. Um, no. It was loud. But powerful and still fun to watch!

M&M World!

On our way to Disneyland, we spent the night in Las Vegas. We took the kids to see the lions at MGM Grand. The hotel/casino was CrAzY because they were getting ready for a big boxing match that evening. But we meandered our way through to see two lions. That were sleeping. I have to say, I was disappointed.

But then we hit M&M World. Hooray for chocolate! You would think that I went crazy and spent a ton of money there, right? Well, normally, I might have, as they had a wall of M&Ms in different flavors and colors, all there for the picking. But I realized that I would shortly be in Disney and would want all of my dollars, quarters and cents to spend on something meaningful. . .like Star Wars bath toys for Braden. (Some day he will thank me).

I did, however, buy a Christmas ornament and Garry got the girls each a bag full of M&Ms. Heaven.

Her Big Day Out

While I was taking Macey and Braden to the doctor, my friend offered to take Molly with her and two of her kids to see the witches at Gardner's Village.

Molly was so excited for her outing with her little best friend. I took out her booster and put it next to the door. While I was getting things ready, Molly was also getting ready. I went back to the door and saw that my little two year old had packed a purse, gotten her bunny ready and drawn a picture for my friend to say "Thank You". She did all of this on her own.

Molly is my little pill sometimes -- she likes to get her way -- but I am always so impressed by her!

Surgery Siblings!

Braden has had ear infections since this summer. It's been hard as he has not been able to sleep well. Or nap well. I finally got an appointment with an ENT. I joked with my friends that I was going to demand tubes the next day. So when I took him in and the doctor said that he needed tubes soon and I said that tomorrow worked well for us and he said fine, we'll put you on the schedule, I was ECSTATIC!

While we were in the office, I also had him look at Macey. She had tubes put in at 14 months. And one never came out. The doctor said it was stuck and would require surgery to take out and she could go on the schedule the next day as well.

The next morning Garry took the two to the surgery center and I got Emma ready for school. I went and picked up Braden when he was done, and Garry stayed with Macey. They did well! Braden still has the congestion I was hoping would clear up, but Macey feels good!

The "Fun" Run

When Braden was over three months old, I headed back to the gym. I had some serious weight to take off, and, honestly, probably had not lost the weight from Molly.

My friend and I decided that to motivate ourselves we would run in the American Fork Fun Run right before Halloween. You run a portion of the race through a graveyard and many people dress up. It's fun. Especially when it's over.

It's just a 5K, but I was very anti-running for a long time, preferring to speed walk on the treadmill while reading.

I will never love running. It's just not me. But I do like the effects of running. So that's something!

I ran the race with my friend and my brother in law and my nephews. I have a nephew who is a serious runner and came in 6th overall. He's awesome. I came in 10th for my age range. There are some smoking fast 29 year olds out there!

I am running another 5K at Thanksgiving with my sister and seven other family members. They will all beat me, by a lot, but at least there will not be any guilt when I eat a whole pumpkin pie by myself!

Player of the Game!

You would think that with her Daddy as the coach, Macey would be Player of the Game early in the season and often. Well, maybe not often, as each kid only gets it once, but still. . .

Macey and soccer are an interesting combination. It's just not her thing as she is not aggressive and so would never try to take the ball from someone or beat them to the ball. It's just not her style. But she likes being part of a team, and she likes to compete with the team. And she likes the snacks that are passed out at the end of the game!

At the end of the season in October, it was her turn! Player of the Game! Since it was the last game and she knew it was her turn, she really put her heart into this game. She had a lot of touches and really hussled. I was proud of my Macey!