New Friends and Old Friends

We went over the Rogers house today so Claire could see Emily and Easton and meet baby Carly. Claire loves babies and I want to encourage that as much as possible. She did a good job of being soft around the baby and she wanted to hold her hand and bring her toys, which was cute.


Claire and Easton played too and had a dance party - wish I had a video camera with me, so this one pic will have to do.

Eureka! Our Trip to Mesquite

Ever since Father's Day we have had a weekend trip to Mesquite, Nevada (about 1.5 hours North of Vegas) planned with our friends the Neels for last weekend - the guys received a round of golf at Wolf Creek for their Father's Day present and then we definitely got spoiled with a free hotel room at the Eureka courtesy of Brent's dad, who is one of the top execs at the hotel.




The one catch was - outside of golf and gambling, what was there to do in Mesquite? We did some research and didn't find a lot (they referred us to trips to the Grand Canyon and Zions Park for family fun). I knew when my search for great restaurants turned up almost exclusively casino buffets, plus one restaurant that was given a 10 out of 10 for its American food, only to find out when we pulled up it was Mexican (Mia's in Mesquite - worst tortilla soup I have ever had), that we were in for some slim pickins'.

But we had fun at the hotel and swam a lot and I got to re-read Harry Potter for a few undisturbed hours. Our girls played really well together, and even after a long, hot day of golf this is what we lucky wives got to witness - I love guys who are willing to do the dirty work (literally - this photo was censored for poop). :)

Latest Craze: headbands and pockets

Lately Claire wants all of her outfits to have pockets - all pants/shorts/dresses that have pockets definitely rise to the top of the list because she insists on them almost daily. She likes to store things in them, like pennies and small toys; Matt upgraded her to a dollar bill over the weekend and she was very excited. I even find myself buying clothes for her just because they have pockets, like this pink dress. This photo also shows Claire's latest "say cheese" smile - she scrunches up her face and gets all squinty-eyed.


Her other favorite is headbands - until about a month ago I couldn't get her to wear one at all. She of course wore them as a baby when she had no say in the matter and lacked the motor skills to yank them off every chance she got... that changed, obviously. Now she loves them again and likes to put mine on her head, as well as her own. I just loved this photo:

Free Massages at Massage Envy on Tuesdays

Hey, Vegas folks. Thought you'd want to hear about this cool offer from Massage Envy -

Massage Envy Offers Free Massages in the Month of July

Starting July 7, Massage Envy is offering a free ten-minute chair massage for anyone who stops into one of the 8 locations across the valley. No appointment or purchase is necessary but it is first come, first serve.

In addition, if you choose to tip your massage therapist for the 10 minute massage, those tips during the entire month of July will go directly to Safe Nest, a local non-profit dedicated to helping victims of domestic abuse.

When: Every Tuesday in July from 4 pm to 7 pm; July 7, 14, 21, 28

Where: All 8 Massage Envy locations across Las Vegas/Henderson:

1) South Rainbow – 6870 South Rainbow, Ste 112, 89118
2) Grand Canyon Parkway – 4245 S. Grand Canyon Parkway, 89147
3) Henderson - Galleria – 711 Marks St., 89014
4) Rock Spring – 7175 W. Lake Mead, Ste 174, 89128
5) Blue Diamond Crossing – 4280 Blue Diamond, Ste 101, 89139
6) Shadow Mountain – 6475 N. Decatur Blvd, #160, 89131
7) Henderson-Anthem – 10845 S. Eastern Ave, Ste 100, 89052
8) Centennial Hills – 7140 N. Durango Dr, #140, 89149

Is a sweet tooth genetic?

'Cause Claire totally has one, and I think she got it from me. At the beginning of my pregnancy I just wanted salty stuff - a sure sign (per the wives tales) that I was having a boy. Especially since that goes against my natural tendencies to always pick out a sweet snack. Now that my feet are swelling to the size of watermelons, salt is out. Now where is that leftover cookie dough...

4th of July - food, fireworks and fire

This year we went to a friend's house for the 4th of July for his annual bash (4th of de Maya for those who know him). He goes all out for Independence Day - he spends a ton of money on fireworks (the big go off in the sky totally illegal kinds), plus plans events, food, drinks, music, and this year a few dance numbers in addition to an afternoon 3 on 3 soccer tournament - Matt's team won!).

Claire wanted to run all around, all the time - her cheeks were so pink. She wanted a sparkler so bad so we finally gave in and helped her with one. She only stayed in my lap once the big fireworks started and some were that loud, screeching kind - she didn't like those, but didn't seem scared at all even though they were going off maybe 50 yards from her.

The glow in the dark guys were hard to photograph but it was really fun to watch - they were an act between sets of fireworks displays and they had this whole choreographed dance number. The grand finale was when after the actual fireworks finale, the neighbor's tree caught on fire. I think that one will go down in history for memorable 4th of de Maya events.

The Prego Sisters

It is pretty cool when you can be pregnant with your sister at the same time (and sister in law too). I got to visit my sis up in Salt Lake last weekend and we had a girls weekend (well, a day) and our girls got to play together. We are both having boys - Becky is due in November so they will be just a few months apart. We had to take the obligatory belly shots - I think it looks like my belly could swallow her baby bump for dinner and still be hungry. She is tiny but of course thinks she's huge already. We had a great visit - went to a farmers market where we tried to memorize all the cute baby crafts so we can try to make them ourselves, watched the girls run in the sprinklers, broke up a few toddler fights, and compared our pregnancy woes. All in all, a fun trip! I think I will stay home for a few weekends now and get ready for baby boy.

Proof That I Went Swimming This Summer