Our newest family member...

 For months, Dan has been trying to convince me that we needed a new bird. I told him that I didn't want a pet that "we couldn't flush if it died." Seriously. When our sweet bird Marley died a year and a half ago, I was done. I didn't want to face the loss of another pet and I didn't want to clean up after it or to arrange for someone to watch it when we're out of town. But somehow, we ended up at Petsmart on Monday night with the family. They didn't have anything that was a possibility, so I was somewhat relieved. Then on Tuesday, Dan took me to lunch and then to a store that bred and sold birds. Claire was with us and was so excited to see so many birds! 

Dan fell in love with a bigger parrot named "Nikita" that wanted nothing at all to do with Claire or me. Claire and I had a soft spot for a gorgeous and sweet turquoise Quaker parrot named "Harry Potter." I couldn't imagine having a bird that the owner told us "only likes men," so we went home without a bird yet again. After school that day, I took the kids back to get their opinion. Corey and Ashlyn loved "Harry" too, so I gave in and we brought him home!

On the drive home, we were discussing another name for "Harry Potter" and Ashlyn suggested the name "Blaze." We all liked it, so now we are calling the bird "Blaze." He's very sweet and likes to be held. He supposedly says "Hello" and "What doing," but as of now, we haven't heard him speak yet. It remains to be seen if I will regret this decision, but I admit, I am already very fond of Blaze...

Vegas, baby!

It has been 8 years since we've been in Las Vegas. We moved away when Corey was just 3 months old, in 2003 and went back to visit some friends a few months later. Dan had a last-minute opportunity to take me with him on a quick business trip last weekend, so I scrambled to find a babysitter for the kids and Dan & I were off to enjoy 26 hours in Sin City! 

We stayed at Mandalay Bay and enjoyed walking the strip on Friday afternoon with our friends. There were a lot of new hotels and buildings since we lived there, but it pretty much felt like the same old Las Vegas! I enjoyed spending some time alone with Dan, the sunshine and being with our friends. 

 Friday night we enjoyed a nice dinner at STRIPSTEAK at Mandalay Bay. We sat and talked for almost 4 hours! On Saturday morning, it was back to reality, but our kids missed us and were glad we were home. I'd love a quick getaway with Dan more often! 

"Daddy hurt his pinky promise!"

 I was just sitting down to dinner with the kids last night (Coconut Mahi Mahi...yum!) when the phone rang. It was Dan. He said he needed to go to the emergency room because he "messed up" his finger playing basketball. He walked in the door a few minutes later and it was obviously broken or dislocated. Yikes! Claire was concerned that "Daddy hurt his pinky promise." I gave some quick directions to the kids and Dan and I headed out the door to the ER...

We waited for an hour, then finally got called back to a room. After 3 x-rays, the doctor came in and numbed it so she could pop it back into place. She said it appeared dislocated, but not broken, which is good news.

Check out this picture (below)... Can you see the doctor's face? After pulling for a while and no POP, she numbed it up again because Dan was really hurting. On her second try, she was finally able to relocate his joint. It looked so much better and Dan said it even felt a little better (but, it just might've finally been numb!)

Dan's disappointed that he won't be able to finish his basketball tournament! I'm just glad he's okay! 

My little Orphan in "Annie!"

 Last weekend, my parents flew into town to see Ashlyn in the musical "Annie!" Ashlyn and her 2 best friends were in the Orphan Chorus, so it's been a good introduction to drama, without being too much of a time commitment. The past 3 weeks they've had rehearsal every day after school until late, so it has been busier. We were looking forward to seeing it all come together and I'm so glad my parents could share in our excitement! 

Ashlyn had performances Wednesday afternoon, Thursday and Friday nights and 2 performances on Saturday. My parents came to visit on Friday morning, so we chose to see the Friday night show. Our 9-year-old friend Lauren played the part of Annie, and I was so nervous for her that I had tears rolling down my face during the first 2 scenes. Lauren's in my Primary class at church and I just adore her! It was such a huge role and she was absolutely incredible! We thought that the orphans just lit up the stage every time they were on. I couldn't believe my Ashlyn, up on that stage, singing and dancing with such confidence! It was so much fun to see!

The "orphans" had a great time together.....

I was so grateful that we could carpool to rehearsals and shows with our friends! It made the whole experience a lot less hectic. (ABOVE): Rachel, Ashlyn and Kaylee after the show.

My Mom and Dad got Ashlyn a bouquet of flowers. She was thrilled!

Claire made it all the way through the 2 3/4 hour play... Until the last 5 minutes! My parents got lots of cuddles (a.k.a. they got smothered) all weekend!

One of my favorite memories from the weekend was Friday night after we all got home from the play. We put Corey and Claire to sleep, then ate leftover pie (from when I hosted Book Club the night before)! Ashlyn, my Mom and I stayed up late and watched "The Last Song." What a great night! I snapped this silly picture with my cell phone (above)...

On Saturday, Ashlyn had a call time at Noon, so we dropped her, Rachel and Kaylee off and went to lunch and The Downtown Aquarium. My Mom had been with us last summer, but my Dad had never been before. 

The only problem with the weekend was that it was over way too fast! 2 days just flew by. Thanks Mom & Dad for making it so memorable!

Spring Break: Butterfly Pavilion

 On Tuesday of Spring Break, we went to The Butterfly Pavilion with friends Kaylee and Ethan. It was a cold day, so being inside the hot, humid building with the butterflies actually felt nice! They have a new exhibit called Tropical Odyssey, where we played for almost 2 hours. The boys loved the zipline and the girls loved the trivia games and reading about insects.

We took a LOT of pictures, so I was experimenting with 2 new iPhone apps:

Collage Creator and Collage Maker Pro...

I love my little Claire butterfly, all hot and sweaty from being in the humidity.. Fun day!