Our Memorial Day Outing

Rinar did not work on Monday, in honor of Memorial Day, so we had a fun little outing with the kids. First we went to the Mirage to pick up tickets to the Cirque de Soleil show, called Beatles "Love". The boys posed for this cute picture at the entrance of the theater.

Then we headed over to the Bellagio to see the conservatory and the water show in front of the hotel. It was very colorful and fun to see what was on display. They had a little bird house with some colorful birds to look at. I can't remember the names of the birds, but they were very beautiful.

Eli was just soaking it all in.


This was a bear family made of twigs and flowers and moss. It was a good excuse to pose for the camera again.

After our outing, we stopped to get a treat at 7-ll. Slurpees...what else, right?

I did this one time before and didn't really get to enjoy mine because of my chubby-cheeked little one year-old boy. So I decided to get him his very own glass. He can now drink from a straw. Therefore, it worked out well for him. However, it was a bit tricky getting him to the car. He was not happy when the cup was extracted from his hand. He would plunk himself down on the sidewalk and start to cry fretfully. It was actually quite hilarious.

Gut Check...18 weeks

This is probably about half way for me.

Progress

Yesterday Rinar and I watched our lovely, bright red Chevy Tahoe drive away without us. It has been a good car, very reliable, and I got a little bit sentimental as I saw it turn the corner of our neighborhood for the last time.



But the big wad of cash in Rinar's pocket helped the tears to dry fast.

Memorial Day Remembered

In honor of Memorial Day, I want to remember my grandfather, Eugene Carpenter. He was one of the millions of Americans that put his life on the line for the sake of freedom. Grandpa Carpenter fought in World War II, in the European theater. He went everywhere: Africa, Italy, Normandy, and all through Europe. He was a part of the D-Day invasion...Utah beach, 5th wave. Grandpa didn't get to see Paris, France because he quickly bypassed it on the way to the Battle of the Bulge. It was a long, rough battle in the freezing cold. He persevered and survived.

Grandpa was a liberator. His unit discovered a concentration camp in Buchenwald, Germany. He never talked about it, except one time to my father. What could that have possibly been like to find that horror and atrocity, being a young man from a small town in Michigan?


Oh, how grateful I am for his service to our country. And for all of the men and women who have come before him and after him. We live in a country that is the bastion of freedom. We don't conquer people, we liberate them! This is what my grandfather did.

God Bless America.

Goodbye Primary

It was the big day for me because I was released as the Primary president today. It has been a very rewarding experience and I am grateful that I could have the opportunity to serve in this way. The children were adorable and since I was in Primary for over 2 years I was able to watch them really grow and blossom.



But I am grateful that I was released. I have been starting to feel this pregnancy a lot sooner than my other two. It is a burden I literally carry around with me. So, I am glad I won't have to worry about the goings-on in Primary anymore, except where it concerns my two rambunctious little boys.

Now, I hope to go to Relief Society occasionally, in between all of the hall monitoring I will be doing with Eli.

You know that he gets to go to nursery August 16th, but who is counting, right?

Eli is 15 Months-Old

In the last few weeks, Eli has discovered the joy of shoes. He likes to put shoes on his feet and walk around. Actually, he only puts one shoe on his foot and then prances around the house. He finds it very entertaining. But the concept of a shoe is really sinking in.

Yesterday, I told him that we were going bye-bye and then I told him to go get his shoe. He looked at me for a few seconds and then turned around and left the room. About a minute later, he returned with one of his flip-flops. He was holding it up high so that I could see. It was really quite a precious moment.

And here is what happens when you take a lollipop away from him...



Tonight Rinar put him to bed and made this little video of the moment. Waving has become a big thing for him recently. He is becoming quite adept at the wave. I just want to squeeze him to death sometimes, my little punkin' pie!

See You Later, Alligator

We won't say good-bye Melanie, Jared, Halle, Caleb and Ava... we'll just say, "See you later, Alligator".