It certainly has been a while...

I know I've been slacking in my blogging. I really don't have a good excuse either. So we'll start from Thanksgiving.

For Thanksgiving we went to my in laws. Matt's family, minus Doug and June, all came out to Vegas for all sorts of fun. We went out Thursday to have Thanksgiving dinner around 3pm. Great food, great company, and lots of play time. Can life be better? I submit that it can NOT! Friday we went out to Springs Preserve to have family play time and get family pictures taken. Thanks Christy for doing that for us! We had lots of fun at the Preserve.

Christmas is next. Tyson and Janae came out from DC to spend it with us. We had a blast while they were here. We played games, jumped in the bounce house, celebrated Eve's birthday, and even had time to have Christmas. It was an enjoyable one. Lots of cool stuff. Our big present for the girls this year was a Kinect for the Xbox. It's been so much fun. My parents got us a new kitchen table. I absolutely love it!!! Matt's parents got us a fire pit. It's been so much fun going outside and being around a fire. It's so relaxing. The girls had a lot of fun I hope.

New Years Eve was pretty fun too. We went up on the roof to watch the fireworks on the strip. It was pretty good this year. We had a bunch of friends over just to hang out and play.

Carter's birthday was some great fun. We jumped in the bounce house, had cake and ice cream and opened presents. What kid wouldn't love that?

Vance's birthday was some great fun too. We went over to Kimber's house in the morning to play in the bounce house and my mom brought us lunch. That night we had the family over for presents, cake and ice cream. Vance had so much fun!

Kenzi's birthday was great fun as well. While Natalie and Kylie were at school, I let Kenzi do whatever she wanted. Anything she wanted to do she did. I asked her what she wanted to do and she only said, "Play a game and on the computer without asking?" I love my child. That night after dinner we had the family come over for cake, ice cream and presents. She got spoiled. We got her a bike and Tif got her skates! She's been having a blast with both.

That's really all the goings on around here. I will post pictures of each event when I get on my computer with the pictures.

Updates...

These past couple of months have been really hard on me. First my grandpa dies, then my best friends grandpa dies, and then Bailey's great grandma dies.

When I went to my grandpa's viewing I was trying so hard to be strong. Not just for myself but for my mom too. It's been hard for me. It was hard for me when my grandma died and its hard this time with my grandpa.

My family knows I have a tattoo on my leg but I don't know if they know why I got it. No, I didn't get it because I wanted to be rebellious. I got it because I was having such a hard time with grandma dying. After 8 years with her gone it was too hard for me. So my way of dealing with the pain was getting a tattoo. It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to get. But after get it I felt so much better. I felt like she was telling me that it was alright. I felt some kind of closure. As weird as it sounds I felt better.

I wanted so bad to go up to Delta, UT for Lindsay's grandpa's funeral but other events were planned and I wouldn't have been back to take my girls to school. And I really would rather not drive by myself.

Bailey's great grandma's funeral is tomorrow and the only reason I am going is to be there for Bailey. She has been through enough heartache that I just need to be there for her. To show her that I will be there for her no matter what the situation. Yes, I know I'm not her biological mother but I need to be there for her.

On the up side, Natalie won her soccer game on Saturday. She is now playing in the championship game this coming Saturday. I don't know what time but it is at Desert Breeze Park. She has done so good this year we signed her up for next year. She seems to love it a lot. I hope this new found love of soccer lasts til at least high school.

Kylie is doing really good in school. She was having some problems with writing but I've worked with her at home and she's starting to write clearer. Now we need to teach her that not ever work is capitalized. She loves to read. I'm so happy for that. I have to fight with Natalie almost every night just to get her to read. We haven't quite found what Kylie really loves to do. Perhaps I should take her to gymnastics. That could be really fun for her.

Kenzi is so excited to start school next fall. Almost every morning she has asked me if Kylie is in second grade yet. She knows that when Kylie is in second grade than she'll be in Kindergarten. Ever since Natalie started school we've worked with Kylie and Kenzi with their letters and numbers. And when Kylie went to school I got to work more with Kenzi. She knows all her letters and sounds. She knows how to write them all. She knows how to write her name. She knows how to write her numbers and recognizes them. She is reading some of the Dr. Suess books. She is a really smart girl. Maybe too smart for her own good. She did tell me that she wanted to play soccer when she got in school. I'm not sure how well that will work out though. Especially if she gets hurt. We shall see when she actually starts school.

We've had some hard times lately but have gotten through them. Some faster than others but we get by. I'm still working on it. Thanks to my family for all the love and support. It really means a lot. I'm always here for you guys too.

Thinking...

I've been thinking a lot about my grandpa lately and one of the major things I'm going to miss is whenever he came over to visit, I'd open my arms and yell, "GRANDPA!!!" I got so excited everytime he'd come over. I'm going to miss that so much. I'm going to miss that whenever he saw me he'd ask, "How do you get so pretty?" or "You get prettier every time I see you." I'm going to miss how happy he was to see me. He was always so proud of me, no matter what I had done wrong. He always made me feel proud.

I am proud. I am so proud to be his granddaughter. I couldn't have asked for a better grandpa. He was one of a kind.

Grandpa, I am going to miss you so much. I wish I could have seen you one last time. But I know how much pain you were in. Every time I saw you, I saw and thought of grandma. I know how much you miss her and love her. But I know that you are with her again. That thought makes me so happy. She probably looks so beautiful and it must be amazing to be able to see her again. I know you are happy and are no longer in pain. I love you so much Grandpa and Grandma!

Grandpa Zobrist

I've been trying to come up with the perfect blog for my grandpa and I can't seem to put anything into words. I feel like I do need to talk about it though. So, I'll start from the beginning...

Last Tuesday I felt really sick all day and didn't really want to do anything. So being a lazy day as it was, I didn't do anything except cook dinner.

Wednesday started out normal. I still didn't feel all that well, so I took my girls to school and when we came back I laid down in bed and asked Kenzi if she was going to be ok if I slept a little longer since I didn't feel very good. She asked if I was ok and I told her I felt like puking so my good little girl got me a trash can and put it by the bed. She said, "Just in case Mom." Thanks Kenzi, I've taught you well. So she decided to put on a movie and let me sleep a little longer. I got up probably around 10 or 11, just before lunch. Of course still feeling really sick. I came and sat at the computer and checked emails and facebook and stuff like that. Then I got a call from my sister. She said that grandpa just died. I had no idea what to say. She said he went into the hospital Tuesday and the doctors ran some tests and thought they found pneumonia in his lungs. But also said everything would be fine and he'd recover. Wednesday morning he just died. All of a sudden was gone. After I had gotten off the phone with my sister I called Matt to let him know. He was working at the time with someone so he couldn't really talk but he said he'd talk to me when he got home.

When my grandma died, I was 12 maybe 13 so I didn't quite get the concept of death yet. (At least didn't want to accept it) I didn't cry right away and I didn't really understand yet. I kept thinking about it and just saying to myself, "I won't be able to see her again." It was really hard to accept for me. At her viewing, I went into the building and sat down on the couch. I didn't want to see her. I was too scared that reality would hit me all at once and I wouldn't be able to handle it. Finally my Uncle David sat with me and convinced me to go see her. Just like I was afraid, reality hit me. It hit me HARD! It was weird seeing her how she was. It somehow didn't feel like it was her anymore.

Anyway, back to grandpa. Thursday through Sunday afternoon was just a waiting game. I didn't know where or when the funeral was and we couldn't find my Uncle David or couldn't get a hold of him. So then Saturday night my mom calls and lets me know when the funeral and everything was going to be. Sunday night was the viewing and then Monday was the funeral.

Sunday night when I arrived, I was almost tempted to do the same thing at my grandma's viewing and just sit on the couch. I couldn't do that. Not this time. I walked with my mom inside and there he was. Grandpa was there up front looking so peaceful. He looked so good. But just like my grandma, you could tell it was just his body there. An empty shell. But I knew, from the moment I saw him laying there, I knew he was home with my grandma. After 12 long, painful years he was were he needed and wanted to be.

Monday was just as hard. Some of the most amazing people in my grandpa's life spoke and said nothing but great things about him. There really was nothing bad to say about my grandpa. He was such an amazing person. After that we went to the grave site and buried him right next to grandma. We stayed until they had lowered him into the ground.

The day I heard he had died I was sad but also happy since I knew he was with grandma. He wasn't in any pain anymore and he is happy. He will always watch over me just like I know my grandma has been. I know I can be happy now since both of them are together again. But I will miss them both so much.

I love you Grandma and Grandpa!

It's an old picture but I don't have an recent pictures of them. So this one will have to do until I get some from my mom.

First day of school...

This year the first day of school happened to land right on my birthday. The reason for it? All Clark County schools switched to 9 month. I was especially excited about this. For Natalie's Kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grades we experienced year round schools. Not fun! At least not for me. The breaks were nice but Natalie would forget a lot of the things she learned. So switching to 9 month will be especially good for her. Kylie really didn't have as much of an issue as Natalie did. Kylie picked up on reading a lot faster than Natalie and loves it more than Natalie does.

This year Natalie started 3rd grade. Can you believe that?? I can't! It's still a shock to have them all grown up.

It is, however, quite nice that they can get their own breakfasts and can get themselves ready on their own. When Kenzi starts school I'm afraid I'm going to be the one getting her ready. That will change though. =)

Kylie started 1st grade! I can't believe that either. They are growing up so quick. She seems to love school. Which I'm happy for. I don't think Natalie likes it as much as Kylie does.

I just have a feeling that Kenzi will be just like me when it comes to school. If you know how I was than you know what I'm talking about. I hated school. From the first moment I went, I hated it. But I am trying to get Kenzi to like it. We do worksheets almost everyday. She knows how to do a lot but after a while she doesn't want to do them anymore. I especially like the days when she brings her work pages to me and says we have to do school now.

The rest of us are doing great. Although this past weekend one of our toilets decided to explode. So we went down to Home Depot and picked out a new toilet. It is one of those duel flush technology ones. It took us at least half the day to put it in, and at least 5 trips back to Home Depot for something we forgot. Let me tell you....NOT fun! But we finally got everything together and we didn't need to go anywhere else...or so I thought.

It was getting close to dinner so I started to cook the meat and all I had were the instant potatoes (which are pretty good) but I needed milk for them. I had just run out of milk that morning and I was thinking, "I can do without it." Rolling my eyes I said to myself, "It's gonna taste so much better with it, FINE! I'll go to the store." So, yet another trip to the store. Luckily it wasn't to Home Depot. When I got home from getting milk I told Matt, "I am not going anywhere else tonight. Anything else we need will have to wait for tomorrow!!"

Other than the many trips to Home Depot and the one trip to Smiths, it was a pretty good day. Unfortunately it wasn't relaxing like I was hoping it'd be. But we got what we needed done.

Slip 'n Slide Fun...

I had gone to Target a few times to try and get a Slip 'N Slide, but had no such luck. I just told myself that I would wait. I am sure glad I did wait since I got it for only $6!! Amazing deal and everyone has had their fun on it so far.

Even Jared had his fun!

Carter Boy tried it...

...and didn't like it. Poor Carter Boy!

Vance ran right into the tunnel and knocked it over.

Sometimes he'd even run the entire thing instead of sliding.

Carter Boy loved the squirt guns I brought much better than the slide.

Vance had an issue with getting as far as he wanted to. So Grandma helped him get all the way to the end. He was having such a blast with it too.

If you can't tell who this is...It's Kenzi. She's had the same issue as Vance and couldn't quite get as far as she wanted. She still had the best time trying.

I never once got a picture of Natalie with her eyes open. But she always got to the end.

Kylie was the funniest to take pictures of. She would always turn her head away from the water so she wouldn't get water in her eyes.

Vance just being Vance.

I think this was the perfect gift for my kids and my sister's kids. Next time I go to my mom's house to swim I will be bringing the Slip 'N Slide. Thanks mom for letting us soak your grass. =)

Updates...

There has been a lot of stuff going on around here. First off, Natalie is going to be playing soccer this year. She is SO excited. I'm still waiting for a call from her coach letting me know when her practices are. All I know right now is her first game is September 11th. Natalie and Kylie will finally get out of school on August 5th. I cannot wait for that day. They will probably have about 2 weeks off and then have to go back. The awesome thing is that Pat Diskin, and all Clark County schools, are switching to nine month!!! YAY!!!! I think I'm more excited about this than the kids are. I am still waiting for a list of school supplies I'll need to get them for next year.

Kenzi is absolutely ready for school. She knows how to write her name, numbers, alphabet, and some words. She is way ahead of some kids that are in Kylie's class. Fortunately for me, Kenzi is with me another year before she goes to school. I asked her whether she wanted to eat lunch at school or eat lunch at home with me and I tell you there was no hesitation, "AT SCHOOL!!!" She is so excited to get to eat at school, just like her sisters. It's going to be so awesome when she does get to go to school. I think she'll like it a lot.

Matt has been doing really good. His job is going great. The people he works with are even trying to get him working directly for Southwest Gas. It will be so awesome for us. Of course, he is still exhausted when he gets home but I can see that it is a very satisfying feeling for him. Especially when the kids come running up to him giving him a huge hug to welcome him home. I'm glad I get to watch that happen every day. It's even a great feeling for me.

This past weekend Bailey had her 15th birthday!! Can you believe that?!?! In about 6 months she'll be able to get her permit. That's crazy! She can't be that old already. She is very excited though. I have let her drive around the block a few times and she's been doing a lot better. But other than the driving thing, she has a new boyfriend and he seems to be a really nice kid. When we were over at her house for her party he got along with everyone and was really nice to my girls and very respectful. I have not gotten the pictures off my camera yet of her birthday but those will come later.

Everyone is doing really well, enjoying life and couldn't be happier! Life is awesome! Oh!! I almost forgot. My friend Mike is back from the army for a while. He had to have surgery and is back for a month so he can recover. He seems like he's doing really good though. Hopefully we get to see him again today.