We Love Water Parks!

Today I took Madi and Luke to one of the water parks near us. They had a great time, and I know we will go back quite often over the summer! They are both at the perfect age to just run around and have fun! Luke was a little hesitant at first, but then he ended up loving it! Madison had been before so she was just having a good 'ol time :) Madison was a good big sissy though, she'd grab Luke's hand and say, "Come on little Lukey, let's run through the water again."

Check out my Slide Show!

Happy 30th Birthday, Mike!

Today is Mike's big "30th" Birthday! Yesterday morning we dropped the kids off with my sister, and she watched them for us until this morning. We first went and ate at one of our favorite little Mediterranean restaurants called Paymon's! It is over near UNLV, and if you've never eaten there, they have the best gyros in town! Then we went to the Bellagio and checked in... since we live in Vegas we never really go down on the strip, so I decided this would be a fun way to celebrate Mike's big 3, 0, kid free, and just a relaxing day with just the two of us. Anyhow, after we checked in, we walked around the shops a little bit (all of which are way to expensive), and checked out the Botanical Garden. Then last night we went and ate at a restaurant in the Venetian called The Grand Lux Cafe. It is owned by the Cheesecake Factory. We had this awesome Chicken Parmesan, and Greek salad. (We're on this greek kick lately!) The food was great. I would definitely go there again. Afterward, we went to see Phantom of the Opera. It was an excellent show! We had pretty good seats, too. The only bummer was I thought they'd be taking pictures there, and they didn't. So I had my camera, and was getting ready to ask this couple sitting next to us to take our picture, when the camera Nazi came by and told me to put my camera away. I told him I wasn't going to take pictures of the show, I just wanted a picture with my husband. He replied, "No pictures at all! The guy had to be around our age, and acting like he was the king of the Venetian Hotel. Jerk! Anyway, we took a couple of pictures afterwards. Then before we went back to our room at the Bellagio, we went to this yummy place called Jean-Philippe, and got 2 of the best crepes you will ever eat in your life! (If you can't tell we did a lot of eating! I'm going to have to go to the gym a lot over the next couple of weeks!) Anyway, the crepes are delicious, and right around the corner from the Botanical Garden at the Bellagio. So if you're ever there go get one! (See Pictures) That about ended our night, and let me tell you that the bed at the Bellagio was so dang comfortable. Mike and I both woke up feeling fantastic! I think we are going to be searching for a new bed here in the near future :) It was especially nice not having kids crammed up in our backs :) Once we checked out we came home and picked up the kids to relieve my sister who dealt with them for us! Thanks, Aunt Kerri! Anyhow, we had a wonderful time, and I know Mike enjoyed his Birthday fun! I also bought him a new Blackberry that he's been wanting! (all of this is well deserved! He is such a hard worker, and does so much for me and the kids) Happy Birthday, Mikey! I love you!

Springs Preserve!!!

Yesterday we took the kids to the Springs Preserve. It was kind of cool. I think a lot of the stuff is meant for older kids. There are a lot of things that tell the history of Las Vegas. The fun part for my kids was seeing different animals and spiders that are found in the deserts of Las Vegas (Cottontail rabbit, fox, tarantulas, etc.) They also have this cool little sandbox where the kids can dig for fossils! I thought for sure Madison would hate that, since she hates getting dirty! She loved it. It was nice to take them somewhere different than what we normally do.

Swimming!

Mike is off work for the rest of the week, and I love having him home. We already took a vacation a few months ago, so we decided we'd use these days to just hang out, and relax. We took Madi and Luke to the pool this morning. My kids love the water. Madison is like a little fish, and Luke just enjoys sitting in his little baby ring and relaxing. We had a fun time, except for a few of Madison's OCD tendencies! (Mike and I aren't sure if she's our child...LOL) I'll talk about that on another post, seeing as there are to many OCD moments to mention. We love that little girl, and wouldn't have her any other way!

Fun Little Tag!

My sister-in-law Mandy did this tag, and I think it is too funny! So here is my answers, and I pass this tag onto anyone who reads this!


1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME (first pet, current car): Kirby Toyota

2. YOUR GANGSTA STAR NAME (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe):
Cookies and Cream Flip Flop

3. YOUR NATIVE AMERICAN NAME (favorite color, favorite animal): Red Dog

4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name, city where you were born): Jane Henderson

5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME (first three letters of your last name, first two letters of your first name): RusSa

6. SUPERHERO NAME (2nd favorite color, favorite drink): Yellow Diet Coke

7. NASCAR NAME (the names of your grandfathers): Edgar Randall

8. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME (your 5th grade teacher's last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Leagitt Lincoln

9. SPY NAME (your favorite season/holiday, favorite flower): Winter Tulip

10. CARTOON NAME (favorite fruit, article of clothing you are wearing right now):
Watermelon Bermuda Shorts

11. HIPPIE NAME (what you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree): Mini Wheats Pine

Yummy Paint...

Yesterday I had my activity day girls over and we made mother's day gifts for their mom's. We made the little flower pens w/ the flower pot. They had a lot of fun, and I promised Madison when they left I would let her make one. So of course Luke and my neice, Arielle, wanted to make one, too. I look over at Luke and he is eating the paint. Yuck! Why would I give paint and a paintbrush to a 2 year old????

Tagged by Holly!

What is the best thing you cooked last week?
Double decker taco's (Mike love's them, and I think mine taste better than taco bells :)

If time, money, and babysitting were no object, where would you go and with who?
There are so many places I would go if that were the case. But definitely Japan with Mike (He served his mission there and we've been wanting to go there for awhile). I would also love to go to Hawaii with Mike, and I'd probably take the kids there with us, as long as we had a babysitter to leave them with when they started driving me crazy!

When was the last time you cried?
I cry way too much. As lame as this is, I cried last night when Luke was on my last nerve. Mike was in Reno all weekend for work, and didn't get home until late last night. Having to deal with the kids all weekend by myself was not fun. Luke knows how to push my buttons. (I think he was wondering where Mike was, and I was probably getting on his nerves just as much as he got on mine!)

List 5 things you were doing 10 years ago. (1998)
Well this is interesting. 10 years ago seems like yesterday.

1.I was a working full time at the City of Henderson.

2. Going to school full time. I had just completed a year of college. Deciding which profession I wanted to go into. (nursing, teaching, broadcast journalism), and finally after a year debate I decided to do teaching.

3. I was still dating my high school sweetheart, and started feeling like things weren't
going to work out between us.

4.Getting ready to buy my first car (chevy cavalier)

5. Running a lot.

List 5 things you were doing 5 years ago. (2003)
This also seems like yesterday. Anyhow, here we go.

1. Deciding that I was ready to have a baby, and the baby making began.
(Mike enjoys this process a lot more than me! LOL)

2. Just finished my first year of teaching 2nd grade.

3. Excited that Mike was in school full time now that I was done with my degree. At the time it seemed like he still had so long to go. Now I look back at all we've been through and it flew by.

4. We had just bought our condo (well nov. 2002), and it felt nice knowing it was ours!

5. Enjoying Mike and I going out on the weekends after a long week!

List 5 things you were doing 1 year ago.

1. Mike getting his doctorate degree in Physical Therapy, and being so happy we
could actually feel like a "real" family now! :)

2. Getting ready to celebrate Luke's 1st Birthday. (in June)

3. Mike and I doing a lot of stressing and praying trying to decide which clinic he should work at.

4. I had just got called as the Activity Days Leader in our ward (girls 8-11 years). I still have this calling, which I love, but is a lot of work. I also teach them in primary too.

5. Finally after a year of doing it, I had gotten the whole nursing thing down, and then it was time to stop. (I'm going to be a pro when we have another baby!)

List 7 of your favorite hobbies.
1. Scrapbooking/Digital Scrapbooking
2. Taking the kids to the park.
3. Shopping w/out kids.
4. My new hobby, Blogging.
5. Working out. (I wouldn't necessarily say it's my hobby, I just do it cause I have to!)
6. Watching movies, TV. (Lost is our favorite show, and as lame as it is, you don't want to bother Mike and I when we are watching it!)
7. Going on dates with Mike.

Name 5 of your favorite foods.

1. Pizza (Don Antonios or Montessanos)
2. Chicken Wings (Buffalo Wild Wings Spicy Garlic, yum!)
3. Chicken Caesar Salad
4. Chips and Salsa
5. Diet Coke (does that count? Oh well, that's the one thing I can't live w/out!)

Name 5 places you have been.

1. Washington D.C.
2. New York City
3. Niagra Falls
4. Rosarito, Mexico (That was scary!)
5. San Diego, CA (I know everyone and their mom has been there, but I absolutely love it there!)

List 5 of your favorite memories.

1. Meeting Mike and knowing immediately that he was the one I was supposed to marry.

2. My wedding day, and feeling so lucky to be married in the temple.

3. When I had Madison, and Luke.

4. My first day of teaching and how nervous I was, but how great I felt to finally be doing what I loved.

5. Last Year going to San Diego with my with my whole family.

I pass the tag onto Kenna, Tara, Corey, Heidi, and Erika.