December Happenings

December started off with some late night excitement (like, 1AM early), as Acelyn was having difficult breathing in her sleep because she was wheezing and getting into lots of coughing fits.  I was worried about some retraction in her breathing, so I decided to take her into the E.R. to make sure her O2 levels were okay.  Sure enough, she was diagnosed with croup, and after a two hour ER visit, we were finally given some steroids and cleared to go home, while taking in some chilly winter air to help her lungs.

That morning, our Elf made his appearance and brought the kids their advent calendars for the month!

November Happenings

We started November 1st off with candy inventory... and the kids were allowed to eat candy before breakfast for their one allotted day of the year.  (Don't worry, Acelyn didn't eat all of those lollipops... just unwrapped and carried them everywhere... and was so happy about it!)

Halloween Events and Traditions 2017

As every fall, October marks the start of our busy holiday season, with tons of local events to attend celebrating each holiday.  Halloween is definitely one of our favorites, and having more than one costume has become kind of a tradition, now.  I love getting creative and trying to DIY my best attempt, and this year was no exception!  

We started our first Halloween event of the season at Black Mountain's Trunk or Treat.  It always falls on the Thursday before Halloween, but this year, school was out for Nevada Day on Friday, so it was much busier than years past.  We waited in a lot of long lines, but the kids still had a good time, cashing in on their first Trick or Treat of the year, plus playing lots of games along the trick or treat path.  We met up with the Nowaks and Goodnows for a few minutes, but because it was so busy, we ended up getting separated for some time.  The boys were able to play games together towards the end, and it was fun to see that they are finally old enough to understand and be able to play most of them! 

Gilcrease Orchard 2017

Fall has officially made it's way to Vegas with some cooler temperatures, and what better way to really get into the fall spirit than to visit our favorite spot for pumpkin picking... Gilcrease Orchard!  This is my absolute favorite tradition for fall, and I love that the kids are old enough to fully enjoy it, too!

We started out the morning early, and it was still really cool in the 60s which made for perfect fall weather!  Acelyn eyed everything closely in the beginning while she took a ride in the wagon, and wasn't quite sure about all the people around and what exactly was going on, at first.  

Once she saw "PUH-INS!" in the photo op area, she was hooked.  Nolan sat on every one asking for his picture to be taken, and Acelyn just kept touching and inspecting each one.  Since we weren't quite to the pumpkin patch yet, we made a pit stop in the apple trees, where Acelyn loved running through the grass and Nolan was focused on finding apples in the trees (except that they were all picked off already!)

Easter and Easter Happenings 2017

We started off celebrating Easter by attending the Tivoli Village Egg Hunt & Festival, which we had done previously and really enjoyed it!  We always arrive early to get registered for the early time slot Egg Hunts, so we got our hunt time and had extra time to spare, so we grabbed some breakfast out and then headed back to the festival.  There was a petting zoo that Nolan was really excited about, and I even thought the llamas were pretty sweet.  The other animals were hard to get to, but of course all the kids tried their hardest to touch them!

We headed over to meet and greet with the Easter Bunny next!  Nolan was also super excited for this part, and he ran right up to the bunny to say "HI!"  I wasn't sure how Acelyn would react, and she basically just sat there, looking confused as to who this was and why she was sitting on his lap.  She posed with some RBF faces for photos, and after a quick chat, we were off again to get ready for our Egg Hunt!

The kiddos lined up against the wall before they counted down to race in.  Nolan was totally focused and pumped, and Acelyn was ready to go with her bucket!  They counted down and Nolan went to town, collecting eggs like a champ!  Acelyn stayed in one spot and had some help from big brother to get her eggs, and as soon as she realized what was being put in her basket, she of course was quick to take them out!  Once our eggs were collected and time was counted down, we got to trade out our eggs for some candy, which Nolan thought was the best.  

This year's festival wasn't as great as previous years, but it was well worth it and the kids enjoyed themselves!  An egg hunt is necessary to start off the Easter traditions, and we continued to carry on more throughout the week!

We crafted some Easter paintings by shaking up some paint with rocks and making these cute bunny and egg shaped paintings!  They both loved shaking their boxes and Acelyn shook her head more than her arms, but the painting still came out cute!  Afterwards, Nolan got to wash up all the craft eggs and loved scrubbing them clean.  He especially liked that he got to do this all by himself- big boys only!

A few days before Easter, we (as in mostly Nolan) dyed Easter eggs.  He was focused and really intent on specific colors, this year, and even asked for glitter eggs, so of course we had to shake up some glitter on them, too!  Acelyn even helped with the shaking and did great until she dropped one on the floor... Luckily it was in a baggie!  We made a few messes, but his finished product came out great, and he was proud of himself!

On Easter morning, I caught what the Easter Bunny had left behind before everyone else woke up!  His footprints gave away where he left the kids' baskets, and eggs were left scattered through the downstairs!  

Soon enough, Nolan and Acelyn went downstairs to discover their treats brought by the Bunny.  He left their egg hunt baskets at the bottom of the stairs, so they took a peek at their big Baskets on the coffee table and got to hunting around the house for the eggs he left them!  Nolan found them all fairly quickly, and helped Acelyn find what was inside each of them.  Girlfriend was a champ at finding the ones with food, and gobbled down all the Puffs she could get her hands on!  Nolan was surprised with a few with M&Ms in them, too! 

 

After hunting, they sat down and opened up their baskets.  Nolan helped Acelyn nicely go through everything in hers, where she thoroughly inspected each item.  She loved her glow wand and her squeaky eggs, and snuggled with her monogramed bunny, too!  Nolan got down to business on his basket and was so excited about the bubbles and chalk that was left for him.  Plus, they both got all of their swimwear for the summer- hats, sunglasses, suits, sandals, and even a bubble blower!  I'd say they made out well!

Not long after, we headed over to the Luks' for brunch and an egg hunt!  It was such a nice morning and we love being able to spend holidays with our best friends that are more like family!  The kids loved the egg hunt and Acelyn was obsessed with the chick eggs, and wouldn't put it down for days.  Once they hunted them all, they sat at the table and went through their goodies.  It was a chill and fun morning to enjoy before heading over to my Mom's later in the afternoon for dinner. 

We snapped some pictures (or tried) of the kids at my Mom's house, but they weren't really feeling a phtooshoot so we didn't get many of their cute Easter outfits.  Instead, they wanted to play with all of Grandma's toys, especially the fun dancing Donald Duck Bunny that they couldn't get enough of!  We had a yummy dinner (as always), and enjoyed our time together.  The Easter Bunny also made a stop at Grandma's house, where he left the kids even more baskets filled with goodies!  

We had such a great Easter and especially loved celebrating Acelyn's very first one.  She made a pretty cute bunny, if I do say so myself!  We hope everyone had a nice holiday, too!