Benson's first day of Pre-K

This cutie boy started pre-k today. I can hardly believe it. How is my baby old enough for pre-kindergarten? It makes me both a little sad and a little excited. He's growing up so much and it's so fun to see it. He's getting to be such a fun age. 

Seriously- how cute is this boy? I love him. 

He had a great time at preschool and can't wait to go back. He walked in without too much hesitation and was thrilled to see me afterwards. His teachers said he did great and I was relieved to hear that. After spending so much time at home with me last year, due to Covid, I was worried how this transition would go. But, Benson was a rock star and did great!

We celebrated his first day of pre-K with ice cream at Spark Cafe. 
He loved this so much. We threw some coins in the fountain and ate ice cream and he was so happy to have the one on one time with me. 

Happy first day sweet boy! 

 

Labor Day Fun

After I got back from Las Vegas, I spent Labor day with my family. It was a nice relaxing day. 
We decided to watch "Jungle Cruise" and the kids helped me put together just jungle themed snacks. 
The also brought out their tigers that Nanny and Papa got them in Branson. 
We had a great time watching the movie, although it was definitely scarier than I thought it would be. 
Luckily no one had nightmares. 

I sure missed these cute faces while I was in Vegas. I'm glad to be home with them again.

We all got plates of treats and then snuggled up on the couch together to watch.
I sure love this family of mine. I am glad we had one day together from the long weekend. 

Happy Labor day!

Viva Las Vegas

I just got back from a really quick trip to Las Vegas. My friend, Liz, was going to a Harry Styles concert and she just wanted a friend to come along for fun. So I bought a last minute ticket and we took a late flight out of XNA directly into Vegas. we left Thursday night.

Once we landed in Vegas, we got an uber and went to the hotel Liz had booked. Unfortunately, after checking in we discovered the hotel room was disgusting and so we checked back out and made our way to a different hotel. We found a room at "The Sahara" and it was gorgeous and clean and so wonderful. We got checked in and then promptly passed out, because at that point it was 3 am. 

The next day we slept in and then went downstairs and ordered a delicious breakfast. Then we checked out and hopped on the sky tram and went to check in to a different hotel for the rest of our stay. 

We checked into "The Paris" hotel and it was so beautiful. The entire hotel is designed to look like you are in Paris. It was gorgeous. Even the ceilings were painted to look like the sky. It was so pretty. 

and this stained glass window was amazing. 

We went to our room after exploring a bit and took naps. And then we were back up and ready to explore. We went to the Venetian hotel and did a gondola ride. It was so fun and our gondolier sang to us. It was awesome.   

We explored the Venetian a bit more after our ride. 

And I had to get some macarons before leaving. They were so yummy. 

After our gondola ride, we went back to our hotel for dinner. We ate at a delicious restaurant with patio seats and watched the Bellagio water show while we ate. The food was delicious. 

This was right outside where we were eating. The hotel was so pretty, inside and out.

 

After dinner, we walked over to the "High Roller Observation Wheel". Its basically a big ferris wheel, but instead of little seats, they were big pods and it was massive. 
Sadly, once we got there Liz didn't want to do it anymore. So I went alone and it was awesome. 
By the time it got to the top, you could see all of Las Vegas. Such an amazing view. 

When I got off the wheel, Liz and I uber'd over to "Fremont Street" and did the old Last Vegas strip district. This was definitely more Liz's scene than mine. It was loud, it was crowded. There were people everywhere and it was craziness. It was an experience. 

Fremont street is the original Vegas strip. 

 

After we finished, we uber'd back to our hotel and hit up the casino. I had my first (and only) experience gambling. I lost $9 and it was not fun. I only played the small nickle slots and then I tried a dollar one. I lost everything immediately and it was not very fun. I have no desire to do it again. lol.

Then we finally went to bed. It was another late night and we got to sleep around 2 am. The next day we slept in again. Then we got breakfast and decided to explore some more. 
We went to the "Cosmopolitan" and got to see their beautiful chandelier lounge. It was gorgeous. 

   

Then we went to the M&M store. I wanted to see it and get my kiddos some M&Ms. It was so fun. The wall of m&m wall was amazing. 

 After the m&m store we walked through "the MGM Grand" and caught the sky tram back to our hotel. 

We grabbed dinner and then Liz left for her concert. She was so excited and she had a great time. 
Meanwhile, I explored a little bit. I watched the Bellagio show again but from closer up. It was awesome. Then I grabbed some food and went back to the room to read and relax. 

Liz got back late and I was almost asleep. We talked just for a few minutes and then I was out. 

Sunday was our last day and we got up early to and got crepes for breakfast. They were amazingly delicious but so huge. I couldn't finish mine. 

Then Liz stayed behind and I went to see the Famous Las Vegas sign. I had been looking forward to this photo op since we landed in Vegas. 

 

Then I came back to the hotel, I got us a late checkout and then went to the pool for a couple hours. 

The pool was gorgeous. I read, relaxed and cooled off without any kids. It was wonderful. 

 

Eventually it was time to pack up, catch an uber back to the airport and board our flight home. 

It was an easy, quick flight home and we were home before we knew it. 
We had a great trip and someday, when my kids are older I would love to go back with them. 

Chris' new calling

 We've had some changes in our home recently. Chris was called into our ward's bishopric. 
He was asked to serve as the first counselor.  He accepted and was set apart this weekend. 
He will be serving with Braden Moore as bishop and Johnathon Welker as second counselor. 

While this calling is very time intensive, I know that it will be a blessing to our family and to our ward. 
When Chris was ordained as a high priest and set apart he was given a blessing. During his blessing he was told that his family wouldn't suffer because of his service. We would still have time with him and he would be able to find the time to be successful at work and in other aspects of his life. 

Our old Bishop was called into the stake presidency and while we will miss him as bishop, he will be wonderful in the stake. I am excited to see our ward grow and come together under a new bishopric. 
I have no doubt Chris will do great. He has such a servant's heart. He finds such joy in helping others and he's an inspiration to us. I know Heavenly Father has great things in mind for him and I'm just glad we can be along for the ride.