It's what fun is!

We went to Lagoon last Thursday with our friend Marianne (whose husband's name is also Joel and works at the Olive Garden, as well. Unfortunately, he couldn't come). Anyway, we had so much fun! I never did grow out of loving Lagoon. These pictures loaded backwards, but it shouldn't really matter to you. This whale ride has got to be the cutest thing ever:
Cassidy loved the "scary" rides, like the egg drop, and her favorite was the Bat!
It started to hail on us, and then it rained really hard and we were freezing...but we stuck it out, anyway! Those are Marianne's two cute kiddos with Cassidy and Ethan:

the train...Ethan loves all trains:

Cassidy always preferred Marianne's family:

Cassidy and her friend Noah were SO cute together! They were holding hands, tickling each other, hugging each other...they reminded me of myself as a dating teenager! If they end up together someday, they will have a GREAT story to tell!

Ethan was afraid of the huge ferris wheel, but I enjoyed the free snuggles:

I shouldn't say we really toughed it out, because we did go home to get warm, dry clothes on after a while. But we came back for more fun. It was a blast!

pre-school graduation

I have previously mentioned her pre-school graduation, but here are the pics:
Mrs. Banu

Cassidy is all done with pre-school and is signed up for kindergarten! So crazy! She has been learning to read and gets a sticker on her chart each time she "plays school," which is doing hooked on phonics. She is working towards getting a new fairy movie. It has been less than a week, and she can already read at words (sat, cat, bat), an words, ap words, ag words and ig words. Harvard, here we come!

*Oh yah, if you missed her dance post, go see it below. She is ADORABLE!!!

crafty day

I was feeling pretty crafty the other day, so I ran to the DI and got some used frames.

Actually, I had been inspired last Wednesday when we made this whiteboard (glassboard, really) at our Relief Society Activity:

I got some extra vinyl letters, because they were the wrong size at first. So the other day I made this extra one. Watch out...next birthday or wedding, you're getting a to-do list:

I found a nicely framed The Living Christ, but I already have one framed out with pictures of Christ, so I stuck in a proclamation and painted the frame black:
These next ones are my favorites. I found some crafty wooden frames and used mod-podge to glue on scrapbook paper. Then I painted the edges and added some ribbon, and our engagement photo. I LOVE how it turned out and it matches our room so perfectly!

This was the true reason for my DI excursion. I needed something to hang my necklaces on so they won't get tangled in my jewelry box anymore. Again, it's scrapbook paper mod-podged to a frame, with a mirror in the middle. I added some ribbon again, 3 nails, and voila! I'm so proud of it! I haven't had such a crafty day in a long time! So, here's my question: is it good as is, or would it be cuter if I got some white vinyl lettering down the side that says "Jewels" or something? Let me know...

This last one I did a couple months ago, but I figured it couldn't hurt to include it in my crafty post. It's in Cassidy's room and holds all her bows. So cute, but I didn't realize how fast it would fill up! I need longer ribbons.

hehe; I love crafting!

My so-called life

I couldn't think of a good title for this post, so please ignore the fact that I'm sure this post has no similarities to the 90s show.

updates:

*Cassidy graduated from preschool last Friday and her class sang some songs. I can't believe that my little baby girl will be going to kindergarten in the fall. It freaks me out.

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*I got a new calling that I'm seriously freaked out about, but I will tell you what it is next week after it's official.

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*I might apply to be a French teacher again, this time at a High School. Okay, "might" is not quite strong enough. Probably, most likely, yah, pretty much for sure...

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*the kids got a new playset for the backyard, and it is WONDERFUL. I can send them out there and they play and play. When the kids were playing outside before, it always had to be out front, so they could ride bikes or something. And I don't let them out front without me. The new playset has really changed my life.

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Memorial Day:

*I ran a 5k today and got a Personal Record! (27:30) Hooray! Now I want to get down near 8 minute miles, so I can get my time to 26 minutes.

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*We took the kids shopping and to the park for lunch today. Always fun.

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*I walked the kids to the store for some ice cream cones and to rent a movie. It has been a pretty fun Memorial Day, despite the fact that Joel's at work :(

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Sorry there's no pictures in this post. At least I posted, right?

Cassidy's Spring Dance Recital

Cassidy's dance recital was last Thursday and it was so cute! She was very excited to show off her dances on the "big big stage".

She had 2 dances: the Rainbow Song, sung by Kermit the Frog, and "the monkey one". (I don't really know the names). She did really well!Her friend Connor brought her some flowers. It was the cutest thing EVER!
Here is one of her dances. The quality is really poor, because I took this with my camera. Joel took better videos with our video camera, but they are too hard to upload to the blog. Cassidy is second from YOUR right (for most of the dance).

i live for vacations

This picture really sums it all up: fun in the sun, yet relaxing all at the same time:)...but if you want to hear/see all the details of our trip, continue on below

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Our family went to Las Vegas last week. We got an awesome deal to stay at a condo for a week, so off we went!We met up with my cousin Natalie while we were there, and she took us hiking at Red Rock. The kids loved it, and Cassidy really liked meeting her cousin Joshua. I'm holding her little girl Avery in the picture; she's so tiny and cute! And Natalie's new baby (not pictured) is to die for. I want a baby girl.

This picture makes me laugh; each and every one of them are pulling a funny face:

They had a way cool visitor's center at Red Rock.

Our condo had a nice pool with a beach, and a lazy river!

We met up with some friends we met on our cruise who live in Vegas. They took us out on their boat.

I tried wakeboarding for my first time, and got up on my first try!

Joel got up, too. It was a good day. Thanks, Sabrina and Jason!

MnM factory:

Cassidy was in heaven

We took the kids to the Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay. It was so cool!

Ethan kept saying there were "scary fish"

Cindy and Joel in the human tank:

(the tank went up and over your heads in an arch, so you could see the fish all over)

I made Cassidy touch a stingray. You would have thought I killed her. She did NOT like it.

The kids liked the gardens at the Bellagio:

but then they fell asleep and missed the water show:

Joel had never seen it before

We sat through one of those "2-hour" presentations that turned into 3 1/2, just to get tickets to the Tournament of Kings. It (the tournament) was really cool, but those condo people can be pushy.

I won that mug I'm holding below by making the top 10 in the laser quest. Basically, you go in a room with security lasers all around, and try and get through them without touching them. It was a really cool game, and if it didn't cost $5 each time, I would have liked to see if I could do better.

We went to the Adventurdome at Circus Circus and the kids loved the rides:

They had a 4-d Sponge Bob Movie

This is Aria, a new casino at City Center:

It was a good trip, and a terrible drive home (Cassidy puked)...but it is nice to be home for a couple days, until we go to the cabin with my family. We're not even putting the suitcases away:)