Vegas Getaway

So I am finally posting about our anniversary getaway that we had last week. We decided to go to Vegas and so Brandon looked up some deals on hotels and found an awesome deal. I can't remember what was all in package but we stayed at The Planet Hollywood. It's been 5 years since I've last been to Vegas and I couldn't remember where the heck this hotel was at. When we were driving on the strip trying to get to the hotel (lots of construction) I realized that Planet Hollywood use to be The Aladdin Hotel and got a total different look from the inside. We had an awesome view of the strip and we could see the water show that the Belagio does. By the time we flew in, rented our car, found the hotel, checked in, I was starving. We got settled in our room and went straight for some grub. After eating I was pooped! I got up early that morning and ran 9 miles and cleaned my house because my sister in-law and in-laws were staying out our house. My sister in law took my girls to seven peaks Friday so it was just me and Brock and I got a lot done while he was napping. I think it was 10 or 9 vegas time and I was tired! I went back to the room and went to bed. We got up the next morning ate breakfast and went to the swamp meet to meet my sister and my brother in law and the kids. My sister was suppose to meet us in vegas (she lives an hour away) at 8 but they got up late so they meet us there around 9 or so. Brandon and I walked and looked around so by the time they got there we were done and it was getting hot. My brother in law made a comment how Brandon doesn't need to go to Mexico now cause being at the swamp meet was like being in Mexico. They had the vendors, food, beverages, mariachi band, etc. My brother in law called it little Mexico. After awhile we decided to head out and go to the indoor outlet mall at the other end of the strip. We bought some things and enjoyed the nice cool air condition environment. Next thing on our list was to go to Brandon's favorite restaurant Buffalo Wild Wings. We don't have them in Utah so whenever we are in Vegas and now in Bullhead, Arizona we must go and eat their wings. I have never ate so much freakin wings in my entire life. I couldn't tell you how many wings I ate but it was alot. We ordered like 80 wings but all different flavors. They have like 15 different sauce and the have them ranged from low to very hot. Their hottest sauce is called blazin and I hear it's pretty hot. We ordered 6 of those for my brother in law and 6 of mango habanero. I decided to try the mango habanero figuring that yes it's probably hot hence the habanero but the mango taste has to sweeten somewhat right, wrong. I freakin felt like my mouth was on fire! My lips were burning so bad I couldn't handle it anymore. Brandon failed to mention to me that particular sauce is ranked the third hottest sauce. Thanks Brandon. After being rolled out of that restaurant we said bye to my sister and headed back to the room to relax before the Blue Man Group. The Blue Man Group was playing at the Venetian and I enjoyed. Well worth the money. As we were leaving the Venetian I noticed that there was a rug carpet rolled out, poster of the nightclub was being put up, and photographers were lined up. Being the star struck person that I am I told Brandon I am staying because I want to take pictures of some celebrities. I had seen signs up around town promoting this "someone" at the club in the Venetian and figured someone really famous could be there. After waiting for an hour and having to move from my fabulous spot this "someone" finally arrived. I was so flippin disappointed when it only lasted 15 minutes and no one famous came. This person was Rumor Willis, Bruce Willis' daughter. I know not too important huh. I didn't even know who she arrived with and then 4 other girls came and I knew 1 and that was Audrina Partridge. Never ever again will I wait for an hour if it's someone not too important. What a waste!
Sunday was a day of listening to a time share presentation but only did it for the free show and free lunch and dinner. Hey if it's free why not, right.? We had fun and it was a nice getaway for the both of us. It was fun to see how much Vegas has changed since I was last there 5 years ago. It's not even the same town anymore with this new city center that they are building. That thing is going to be massive. Well sorry that this was a long post but Brandon bugged me about not blogging about Vegas. So now you have it Brandon.

Don Juan the Monkey and his trainer. This guy rakes in money with charging you $5 to take a stinking picture of the monkey. Plus people give him money and the monkey takes it from you.


Here's my $5 picture of the monkey with my nieces and nephew.



The red carpet



Rumor and her boyfriend



Rumor and her entourage






Audrina Partridge




Any ideas who the Asia girl is? I don't.

1st day of 1st grade.

I officially have a little girl going to 1st grade today! She was so excited to go to school this morning that she woke up at 6:40 a.m.! Early little riser, huh. I figure I might as well get up to start her hair. She wanted me to do her hair wavy so I guess it's good that she got up that early since it takes me forever to do her hair wavy. She has thick hair and it's a pain. Not as bad as Mariah's hair though. I hot her hair all done and she got all dressed up in her outfit that she wanted to wear today. She asked me to fix scrambled eggs and toast for her so that was her breakfast. I finally convinced her to let me walk her to school this morning because she wanted to walk to school with her friends but I told her their mommies were taking them to school since it's the first day. She agreed and we walked to school. I took her picture by the front door and off she went to her class. She basically ditched me at the front entrance to the school. I wanted to take a picture of her in her class but she was off. It's so hard to let her grow up sometimes. I can't believe she is already in first grade. Where did the time go? I'm pretty excited to hear all about her first day of school and better yet her first day having school lunch. She was so nervous about getting lunch, but I told her, her teacher was going to walk them through the lunch line today. That made her feel better. She cracks me up sometimes with her things she worries about. I have now idea where she gets that one from :) Mariah was a little sad that her sister was not home to play with her and that there were NO kids around. So I made her favorite lunch, peanut butter, and we made some cookies for Jazmin's after school snack. She enjoyed that. I was so pumped to have Jazmin going to school all day, but I really miss her. It's so weird cause the house is so quiet with just one child gone. Brock does make up for the extra loss though. Well enjoy Jazmin's first day of school picture.

Hallelujah!

The day is finally here, school starts tomorrow! I am super excited to ship the kids off to school tomorrow. It's going to be soo nice to have one child in school all day and then Mariah will go 1/2 day, but that's still leaves me with one at home for a couple of hours. All the fighting that I've had to endure through out summer will finally come to a stop. So excited I could do backhand springs right now. I think Mariah will be kind of bummed with Jazmin being gone all day and she won't start till the following Thursday but we will have fun.

7th Heaven.

Today Brandon and I are celebrating 7 years of wedded bliss! It's been a good 7 years that we have had together. Brandon has helped me become a better person and help change a few flaws that I have had. I enjoy that times that we get to have alone together and I am so thankful for all that he does for me and our little family. I love you Brandon and thanks for all that you do.

P.S. I will post later what we did for our anniversary.

1/2 Marathon

I finished my 1/2 marathon in 2hrs5mis! I reached my timed goal that I had for myself and I couldn't be any more prouder of myself. Hats off to me!

The morning started off with me getting up at 3:39 a.m. (I set my alarm for 3:30 but I must have pushed the snoozed button) to get up and get dressed. I got dressed and headed downstairs to eat a piece of toast and then sit on the good 'ol toilet. I gathered my iPod, watch, camel back,sweatshirt and kissed Brandon goodbye. I met my friend and her neighbors in her cul de sac and we were headed off to Provo. We parked and walked to catch the bus and it was so cold. There was a slight breeze which meant it was going to be a lot colder up in the canyon. We were all shivering and shaking and I was regretting wearing my running shorts. When we get to the spot we had to be there were tonz and tonz of people. I couldn't believe how many crazy people were up at this time in the morning running a race and I was one of them. It was 5 a.m. when we get to the riverwoods. After missing 4 buses we finally get on one and were off up the canyon to the start of the race. As we were driving up the canyon I couldn't help but realized that this was a long bus ride. I couldn't believe that I was actually going to run this far. What the heck was I thinking?! When we get to the starting point there were tonz and tonz of people already there and the buses still had another round to go. We got off and headed straight for the bathrooms only to realize there was a long long line. I'm talking about a long line that you would wait for at a new ride in Lagoon or Disneyland. It was long and I was about ready to go in the bushes. As we were trying to find the end of the line for the bathroom I found a lady that I knew and chatted for a tiny bit and I lost my group. I was so scared that I wouldn't be able to find them again. I walked around and searched and nothing. I decided that I would stand still and eventually I would find them. I stood still I moved a bit and I found them. Oh I was so glad because I would have never been able to find them in that crowd. The line was actually going pretty fast for the bathrooms and we stood and went. We were all a little disappointed when no of us but one went #2. I decided that I was going to take off my sweatshirt now because I didn't want to have to hassle with stopping to take off my camel back and then my shirt so I stuffed it in my friend's trash bag that they give you. When they started the race I was just amazed by how many people there were. My friend told me it looked like there were more here than the St. George marathon. Once we stepped across the chip start (starting line that starts your time) it was on. We were told to take it slow the start of the race because it was a steep downhill and they were right. As you run the trail it's kind of funny how you see people come out of bushes or off up a steep trail because they had to go to the bathroom and there wouldn't be another toilet for another 2 miles. There were water stations and toilets every 2 miles. I think it was between mile 6 and 7 I saw Brandon and the kids waiting for me. Brandon didn't even know it was me til I waved. I ended up passing my friend and one of her neighbors and one of my friend's neighbor passed me and I never could catch up to her. After going up this very long hill you come back down and I saw Brandon and the kids again. I don't think the kids saw me that time. When I had to run the 10 miles for training I felt fine so I thought I would be feeling fine after 10. I was so wrong! Between mile 11 and 12 I started to get tired. My feet were hurting and I had to go to the bathroom bad! I'm a little bit competitive and I hate stopping to walk for any reason so I just keep going. As many times as I've passed bathroom breaks I never once stopped and I was sure not going to stop now. I don't ever want to stop because there is always a long line for the toilets and I had a time that I wanted to make. I ate another shot block and kept on running. Once mile 12 came and we were headed to the riverwoods I got another burst of energy cause I only had one more mile to go. Seeing all those people lined up by the finished line pumped me up even more and I went a little faster. It's the best feeling strangers cheering you on clapping telling you good job was so awesome. I knew I was almost done. I finally see the "FINISH" line and from out of the blue some guy, who had a full one beard (Brandon saw him when he first saw me and calls him the transient) yells "Now is the time to pass her pass her now." I go ok, and pass like the girls into the finish line. I stopped my watch and my watch clocked me in at 2hr5mins but the finish line clock said 2hrs8mins. There was a 3 minute difference. I need to check the final results but I'm going with my watch. I was so tired after crossing that line. I got my chip clipped off, grab a cup of water, and a piece of cantaloupe and headed for the bathroom. I had to go so bad and there was a stinkin line (no pun intended). I was finally relieved when I went but now I had to find Brandon and the kids and I wasn't sure how I was going to do that. I couldn't see them along the finish line ropes and I didn't have my phone so I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I turned and there was my hubby and my wonderful kids looking for me with flowers in hand. Brandon asked where I was and I told him I had to go to the bathroom. He gave me the flowers and a card and took a picture of me and the kids with my flowers. After we headed to IHOP to grab some breakfast. I was so tired and pooped I wanted to sleep forever and thankfully Brock took a long nap for me and the girls were semi good while I slept. The only think that sucked was I ended up having to go to the bathroom constantly and I swear I lost like 10 pounds because of how much I had to go.

I am so proud of myself for running that much and it was just an amazing experience. To go and see all these people running was awesome! I have to give thanks for my husband who has given me nothing but the best support and praises. I honestly don't know if I would have done this if he didn't support me. I also have to give thanks to my kiddos. They have to get up early in the morning to be able cheer me on. I love it when I see them and they are cheering for me. Thank you guys. I love you!


Saying hi while getting a drink







Going up the hill



Coming down the hill





Heading towards the finish line



I'm in the blue shirt behind the girl in the orange



My girls



Kiddos and the tired mommy

It's finally here!

Well tomorrow is my 1/2 marathon and I'm a little bummed out. I wasn't feeling to good yesterday so all I did was lay around (tried). I was so tired and so achy I was getting a little nervous because what if I get really sick and can't run on Saturday. All that training down the tube. Well today I woke up feeling a lot better than I did yesterday but my throat is a little scratchy. I am going to load up on some vitamins here in a bit because I DO NOT want to get sick! I also found out that tomorrow is not going to be as hot as it has been the last couple of months. I was hoping for nice weather like it was last weekend but nope it's suppose to drop to 79 and have thunderstorms. I'm hoping it's not too cold because that means it going to be really cold in the canyon tomorrow at 5 a.m.! That's right 5 a.m.! We have to be there by 5:30 and I don't think the race starts til 7 a.m. Well at least I have 2 hours to make sure I go potty before the race starts. Wish me luck! I'm hoping that I don't get sicker by the end of the night.

Way Overdue!

It's been sooo long since I've last posted anything up. I have to admit it's just out of pure laziness. I just don't feel like posting anything up. So the last time I left we were headed up to Bear Lake to spend the last weekend with my sister. I felt bad because instead of hanging out with my sister and swimming with the kids I went fishing with Brandon. I totally regret it because it was a long boat ride and I caught nothing yet again. I'm starting to think that I just need to hang up my fishing pole because this year hasn't been a good fishing year for me. I have not caught one stinkin fish!! I usually get a couple but not this year. Anywho, I did have a fun weekend though. The next day we went to the park and had a BBQ. I did get to say a final goodbye to my sister though because she ended up staying at my house before they left the state of Utah and into Bullhead "Hell", Arizona. I am not kidding, people really do call it that because it can get up to 132 degrees. Yuck, I know. So we decided to take them to my favorite restaurant in Provo, Asuka, and the kids loved it. We enjoyed watching their faces when they started the hibachi grill it was hilarious. I was a very nice sister and aunt the next morning and got up at 4:30 a.m. and made breakfast for the kids and my sister and brother in law. Then I put together a little snack bag for my nieces and nephew so that my sister didn't have to stop and get treats at the gas station. They left my house on Wednesday July 29 at 5:30 a.m. for their 8 hour drive to Arizona. I cried a little because I am going to miss seeing my sister whenever we are up north visiting. I'm hoping next weekend I will be able to see her because Brandon and I are heading to Vegas for our 7 year anniversary. We will be married for 7 years on the 17th of Aug but wanted to get away for the weekend and enjoy having a little fun. I am so excited for 2 reasons 1)a weekend to ourselves with no kids, and 2)school starts 3 days after we get back! We will have fun. It may be hot but we will have fun.

This Saturday is my 1/2 marathon. I am so ready for it. I have been working so hard on the training part and I'm excited to run my 13.1 miles. I ran the last 10 miles on the course last Saturday and it wasn't too bad. I just can't believe how much I have enjoyed running and that I am actually running a 1/2 marathon. I would have never thought in my wildest dreams that I would love to run and enjoy running races. I am glad though because it helps me stay in shape and it's also a way to relive stress and my frazzle moments that I get.

Well I think I've caught up on all that has been happening. Not too much though, but I need to get working on getting pictures posted. That will soon be coming.