Nate and Katie Weekend

So after YEARS of waiting for them to come up for a visit, they finally made it here. I will have to admit that it was worth the wait. We had a great time. Katie had actually NEVER been to Vegas and they of course had never been to our home. It was so great that they called last week and said they had some time off and wanted to come and visit us....

THURSDAY: They got here Thursday night and we showed them the house and then headed right out to get some food. We had dinner at Chili's. We then went and rented some movies just in case we got bored during the weekend and needed something to do. That night we sat around and talked and just hung out catching up with each other.

FRIDAY: Friday we went down to the strip in the morning and decided we were going to see what kind of show was available for that evening. We had a hard time choosing but ended up going with "Tournament of Kings" since we would get the dinner and the show and neither Nate or Katie had ever seen it and it is different every time you go. We spent some time at the strip seeing the M&M store, the Coke store, walking through the Venetian, etc. That afternoon we came home for a break and actually did watch one of the movies we had rented. "Lars and the Real Girl".... a strange but funny movie to say the least. That night we went to our show and had a great time... our knight not really winning but being the best night of course! We came home and talked for a while and then were off to bed.

SATURDAY: We had to go to an FSA BBQ in the morning but Nate and Katie were great sports. They helped set up with us and mixed and mingled with the best of them. It actually was a great BBQ and hopefully they had lots of fun too. After the BBQ we came home to relax before our show that night. We had gotten tickets to see "Toxic Audio" at 5:30pm. So we headed back down to the strip for our show at Planet Hollywood, which was fabulous, and then we did some walking around again on the strip catching the Bellagio fountains and seeing the shows in Planet Hollywood. We picked up Arby's on our way home and came home to play some board games.

SUNDAY: It had been a long weekend so we all sort of slept in. After packing bags and getting goodies for the road Nate and Katie were on their way home. It had been such a great weekend and we hope that they will be coming back again SOON.

The HOST

While on the topic of Stephenie Meyer I thought I would let everyone know about her new book, "The Host" and how fabulous it is (so far). It came out on the 6th and I picked up my copy on the 10th..(While I also reserved a copy of "Breaking Dawn" while I was at it)..... I have had visitors and late nights so I haven't been able to speed through it like I did the "Twilight" Series but it is definitely a great read and sucks you in. I am trying to find any time I can to read it and find out what happens next. It will keep you on the edge of your seats for sure. Can't wait to find out how it ends!!!!

Twilight Update

Many of you may have already seen THIS ... but some may have not. It's the new trailer for the "Twilight" movie coming out on 12/12/08! I know that I have my calendar marked and can hardly wait. The trailer is awesome and makes me want to see the movie even more....


And take a look at the movie poster....

Visit from Sweden

It is always fun to have people come and visit, but it is even more fun when they are from out of the country and have never been to Vegas. This weekend/week have have had the chance to spend some time with Hanna (and old foreign exchange student who became part of the family forever) and her husband, Jan, and their little one Julia. It has been tons of fun. We haven't seen them since we were over in Sweden, 5 years ago, for their wedding! Time sure flies.

The big group at BARRY MANILOW!!!

From left to right it is... my sister in law Lisa, my brother Robert, ME, Hanna, Jan, Laura, my Dad and Dan
Their precious little girl Julia who will be 1 in June. She was so cute and fun to have around the house. It is great to see Hanna as a mom too!

As we sat and talked we realized that Hanna was here for the year in 1992 and that means that we have known each other for like 16 years which is over half of my life. That is crazy to think. We had a "rough" year while she was here to say the least. We fought like sisters - or worse, but I love her to death and am glad that we have all remained close and are able to share our lives together and that our families are close as well. She is truly the BIG SISTER that I never had! We had fun this week and will miss them until we are able to see them again.... maybe at her sisters wedding...HINT, HINT LINA AND GARY!!!

Two years later

Today is another one of those hard days for me.... two years ago today I had my miscarriage. Two days after Mother's Day... What a way to celebrate huh??? That was the hardest day in my life. It doesn't really get easier but now I have the hope of knowing that one day we will be blessed with a sweet baby in our home through adoption. I am grateful for that. I still miss and think about the baby that could have been, but it was obviously not meant to be at that time and place and the baby that comes to us will be in our home for a reason and I know that now. May that time speedily come.

Weekend Wrap-up: I'm a Fanilow

Okay another weekend post with no pictures (only because I don't really have time to post them)....

Friday: We spent them afternoon cleaning the house because we had guests coming in.... Friday night we went to the airport to pick up our guests. We picked up Hanna, Jan and Julia from SWEDEN. Yeah. We had been anxiously awaiting their arrival since we had never met Julia yet and it has been 4 years since we were over in Sweden for Hanna and Jan's wedding. (Boy does time fly). It was great to see them and the week will be great with them here.

Saturday: We had a laid back morning and then decided it was time for some shopping. We went to the new outside shopping area Town Square and did some shopping. Had dinner at California Pizza Kitchen and then we were off to a show... Barry Manilow that is. We got tickets and all of us- Dad, Laura, Me, Dan, Hanna, Jan, my brother and his wife Lisa were all able to go and see Barry himself. The show was actually okay but the best part was watching some of the older people go CRAZY for Barry... They were really FANILOWS for sure.

Sunday: Not may favorite day (Mother's Day) but it wasn't so bad since I was surrounded by people and kept busy. We decided to just enjoy the beautiful weather and have a BBQ. We went swimming and had an American BBQ with hot dogs and hamburgers. Little Julia loves to swim that is for sure.

A fun weekend and they are still here until Wednesday so we will see what the rest of the week holds for us. It is great to have guests and especially ones you haven't seen in FOREVER, and a cute little baby is some much fun too!

Birthmother's Day

Last year I had no idea there was even a day they called Birthmother's Day... but now I am very aware of it and I am very proud that there is such a day and I can't wait until I am able to celebrate it and have a wonderful lady to honor.

"Birthmother’s Day is not a holiday you will find on your calendar. Nor will you find Birthmother’s Day cards in the aisles at Hallmark. Birthmother's Day is beginning to become more recognized in the adoption community. It was created in 1990 by a group of Seattle birthmothers not only to educate others about adoption and bring recognition to birthmothers but to give birthmothers the opportunity to come together and honor the children they gave life to and relinquished. Birthmother’s Day is always the Saturday before Mother’s Day symbolic because our (birthmothers) motherhood comes before the motherhood of another. Birthmom’s Day Celebrations, receptions, and banquets are beginning to pop up all across the country hosted by different agencies and support groups as a way to honor birthmothers."

For more information on Birthmother's Day take a look at the following sites; Celebrating Motherhood or Birthmother's Day.

We are Warriors

It told me we were warriors when we completed the President Hinckley Book of Mormon Challenge and I liked that. We started on February 4th and finished up last night. I honestlywasn't quite sure if we were going to be able to finish or not. Some days we did really good and read a lot; other days... not so good. It was great to be able to participate in the challenge and honor President Hinckley in a small way and also do our "daily" reading together. It was really fun. We hope that we will be able to continue the pattern we have set forth and carry it into the other books and just keep the momentum moving forward. We now know that it is possible and that we really can do it.

Roller Coaster

I want off of this roller coaster!!!!

Today was crazy and I had no control over it. It started with a phone call from a friend (thank-you to her for being so observant and helpful) and ended with a phone call as well. All of the rest was just madness...... Tomorrow is a new day!

Maiden Voyage

Dan worked this morning, as did I, but by about noon we had done enough and decided we had to head to the lake. We needed to make sure that the skis still worked after being stored all winter and besides it is so nice outside right now and it is Tuesday and we knew we would have the lake completely to ourselves.... Well, we were right...

We were able to spend the afternoon at the lake basically all alone and it was wonderful. The water was 66 degrees and outside it was 93! What more could you ask for. It was a great first trip out and we hope to be able to have more fun, quick trips like this throughout the summer. We love that we live so close to the lake and make spur of the moment decisions to go (and that we both have great jobs that let us go on Tuesday afternoons!). We look forward to a great, long, season at the Lake!

We found a little beach area and hung out for a while....

Me looking fabulous on "Big George"

Dan giving the thumbs up right before he takes off

Weekend Wrap-Up

Another full weekend and we are worn out.....

Friday: I went to Card Class and made lots of fun stuff and got ready for the craft fair that I am going to this coming Thursday. Pretty low key for a Friday night...

Saturday: Dan went to a Scout Expo at Sunset Park bright and early 6:30am that is... I went to my friend Fara's house for some dance practice for the upcoming dance show. The rest of the day was very relaxing and I spent some time finishing up some left over work from Friday and some time outside in the beautiful weather and also some time reading. It was very nice.

Saturday night we had dinner at Mimi's Cafe with some friends and then went to see Iron Man. It was okay for a comic book type movie (not my #1 choice of movies) but it was good. Dan really enjoyed it.

Sunday: We had a chapter wide fast with FSA for birthmothers since birthmother's day is coming up on May 10th. It was great to have a day to fast for them and remember them in doing so. After church we had over a couple from FSA, Forrest and Kaarina, and had a BBQ. Again it was great to be able to have people over and just hang out and enjoy their company.

Now we can rest up and see what the coming week will bring us....

Book Club: Watership Down

After trips to TWO different libraries I finally have my copy of this months book club book, Watership Down by Richard Adams. I am really apprehensive about this book. It is so NOT my style but I am going to give it a try. I am not the Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, or even Harry Potter kind of girl and this is what this book seems to be like.... But I said I was going to try new things and go for it... so I am all in!

Dan is at a scout expo right now, and the weather is beautiful so I have by book, some water and I am heading outside to give it a try. Wish me luck and I hope I can get excited about this book and most importantly that I will be able to keep up and finish by the 25th when our meeting is. Because not only is this book not my style but it is huge too....426 pages of not my style... But outside I go and Watership Down here I come...

There is still time to join the BBBC if you feel the need. It is way fun and it is summertime so who doesn't love to sit outside, get a tan and enjoy a good book?! Join the fun.