Mad about Cupcakes

With all of the wedding planning comes bakery hopping. Torri wants cupcakes at her wedding so we have been test-tasting all the yummy cupcakes in town. Check these cupcakes out...

You are looking at a Chocolate Chip cookie Cupcake...and one of our favorites, Cotton Candy Cupcake. It's amazing how much yummy goodness there is in this world!

Here are a few others and if I remember right...here is Butterscotch & Blueberry Cheesecake along with two others but I cannot remember their names.

Happy Birthday #2 Rowdy

Things have been so crazy this weekend, I forgot to post a Happy Birthday to my favorite little toddler Rowdy! It's hard to believe he turned TWO!  Wyatt and Tasha threw a party for him on Saturday and he had a Dinosaur cake. He called us on Sunday and he talks so good.  He says, "I love you Titi (Torri), Tate (Kate), Yoe (Joe) and Testy (Westy). We miss him soooo much!  We sent him a big package full of books, clothes and a nap sack for his Birthday. Can't wait to see you in April little Roo!

Spring has sprung

I can hardly believe that March is almost over. It has been a crazy month! I always hold my breath through April...so I can't say I'm looking forward to April.  Russ has kept me supplied with spring flowers and I LOVE them and him!

Sunday Afternoon

My cousin Clint blessed his new baby Hyrum Porter today. We attended his ward with him and other family and friends. My kids wanted to go to our wards YM/YW one last time before they split the wards tonight. However, on the way back to our ward after the baby blessing all the kids moaned and complained so much...we finally relented and didn't make them go back. Later, Russ BBQ'd hamburgers and then we settled in front of the TV to watch Frog Princess. It didn't take long for me to realize Westy and I were the only ones awake. I decided to take blackmail pictures...hey, it's part of the deal. I've told my kids a thousand times that if you fall asleep somewhere besides your bed in this house, I'm gonna take a picture!

St Rose DeLima closes Labor & Delivery

St. Rose DeLima was purchased for $1.00 from the United States Government in 1947 by 7 nuns. It was the first of three St. Rose hospitals in Henderson, Nevada. It has a long, rich history. I was drawn to DeLima because of the mission statement and the desire to serve the under privileged.

Yesterday a mandatory meeting was called again for everyone on the Maternal/Child unit. The CEO dropped the BOMB that they planned to shut our unit down on May 1, 2010. It was a horrible kick in the stomach after the roller-coaster ride we have been through since the first meeting in January. We were told less than a month ago that they were keeping us open so we were all SHOCKED to find out they had changed their minds. Maybe we have been lied to the entire time...regardless, they have made their decision now. There are over 60 nurses that will be displaced. Some will be placed into the other two St. Rose hospitals. Many of us who have only worked there a short time will be LAID OFF!

I can't help but stop and re-evaluate my life and my priorities. I know beyond any shout of a doubt that I was supposed to go to school to be a nurse however, I can't help but wonder what path I should take now. I have lots of crazy mixed emotions today. I know life will go on...but I feel sad for all the lives this will turn upside down.

Movie/Date night

It seems like all I blog about lately is wedding stuff and movies. This seems funny to me since all the movies coming out on dvd lately came out during the holidays and we didn't manage to see any of them!  There were plenty of good ones too (Frog Princess, Blind Side) these are just two examples of several I'm still waiting to see.  Even though things are just as busy now as they were during the holidays, we must have our priorities messed up because there is more movie hopping than ever before.

We were supposed to meet up with some of Russell's friends and their wives on Friday night for dinner. I guess they decided we were too boring (just kidding).  They did end up cancelling on us, so we met up with Torri to go to PF Changs for dinner.  Bryce had to work late so he missed dinner but met us just before the movie.  Here are some silly pictures of Bryce and Torri outside Green Valley Station theater. We went to see Bounty Hunter (the late show at 10:20). It was a funny movie but it was a little too late that night to be going to a movie since we had all been up since 5:00 am that morning.

I need to teach Torri how to use my camera because none of the FOUR pictures she took of Russ and I turned out. It's probably a good thing, since we would rather look at the love birds anyway.

Wedding Update continued

We have locked down a few more details.  Torri has decided on Plan A-The garden reception.  Its a beautiful outdoor location and we will pray that the weather cooperates.  Regardless, it is booked and in stone.  The music people are booked too.  Because of the new location, Torri decided against the Dj and went with a completely different plan.  She has still not decided on the food & drinks.  She knows what  she wants but no one seems to agree with her...me included.  The food is ending up being much more complicated than we originally anticipated.  Maybe we are making it harder than it needs to be.  On a happy note,Torri & Bryce had their engagement pictures taken yesterday.  They should be back next week.  We have set a date and theme for the Las Vegas bridal shower.  Some days things seem to be going smooth and other days I feel like freaking out...today is a smooth day. 

Kate's Concert

Last night was Kate's choir concert. Russ, Torri & Bryce went since Joe & Westy had scouts and I wasn't feeling well. This spring, Kate will be busy with several concerts.  She will also be performing at festival and then her choir is taking a trip to California to compete in Knott's Berry Farm. I spent the morning online making reservations so we can go to California with her. We've decided to make a family trip of it and maybe we'll stop by Disneyland too since we'll be in the neighborhood. 

Torri turns 24

Today is TorriLyn's Birthday so we celebrated last night with a little party after church. Torri, Bryce and Jamie came over and we had a yummy Mexican dinner (Torri's choice) of Chicken Enchiladas, Spanish rice and chips & guacamole. Russ had to work but Tyler called to talk to everyone during the party.  For some reason I keep forgetting to take pictures lately. Here are a few I took of Torri blowing out the candles and Jamie reading the kids a story. Its hard to believe my little girl is all grown up.  It seems like just yesterday she was starting kindergarten. Happy Birthday TorriLyn!

Wedding Sneak Peak

With less than 12 weeks until the wedding, my house is beginning to transform into a wedding wonderland. I have put my foot down and I insist Torri try to keep the chaos to the guest bedroom only. Right now there is no method to her madness. We have started piling bags inside the room as we purchase them...the room is filling up fast! I promise to take pictures as the chaos continues to grow.


This week on the agenda:
1. Lock down reception location (we have 3 possibilities and have made reservations for one) then Torri changed her mind.
A. Garden reception
B. Outdoor gazebo
C. Church Cultural Hall
2. Decide on Food/treats/drinks, order candy.
3. Engagement pictures to be taken on Wednesday
4. Order invitations
5. Order Cake
6. Pick-up dress from alterations
7. Dillards Wedding Show on Saturday
8. Schedule Las Vegas Bridal Shower
9. Try not to freak out!

Shopping in St. George

One of our favorite things to do is drive to St. George to go shopping. Saturday morning the girls and I made the hour and a half drive to shop til' we drop. We were able to cross several things off our wedding "TO DO" list. Here are the only few pictures we took on our adventure.

New haircut

I decided to get brave and go for a new haircut...yikes! 12 weeks before the wedding and I go and do a crazy thing like this. I hope I can learn to style it like my hairdresser.

SNOW in Henderson Nevada

It snowed at my house yesterday! It is March...not December and I thought we lived in the desert. It was only a little bit but the temperature stayed in the 40's all day. Usually by now we are in the 70's & 80's...is this part of that global warming they keep talking about? I'm fine with the 40's if we can bypass the 115 degree temps in the summer.

Computer geek at work

The Xbox died! The boys in my house were not happy campers and Jordan would not accept defeat. He got on his lap top and decided to figure out how to fix it. I was not a happy camper when I came home and there were tools & video hardware all over my kitchen table. Jordan worked on it for several hours but he he couldn't quite fix it.  The GPU died...the guys with have to start their 12 step recovery process tomorrow because their addiction to this machine is unnatural.  Jordan says I don't understand because I'm just a mom.  I'm not sure what that means but it doesn't sound good.

Boys and their toys

February 27, Russ and Jordan went with the Boy Scouts to do some target practicing. It was cold and rainy that day but that didn't stop the guys from having a good time.  Jordan got first place in the shooting game and he wanted me to add that.

Alice in Wonderland

We have patiently been waiting for Alice in Wonderland to come out in theaters ever since our family dressed as the characters for Halloween. KateLyn had a Birthday party last night and she was lucky enough to get to see it at the party. My cousin Jan and her family had invited us to go to a matinee but that didn't work out either. So, Torri and I decided to take the guys for date night tonight. Many of the theaters around us were sold out. We were lucky enough to find tickets online and we made it to the 9:45 showing. To be honest, I was scared to death of the cartoon version as a child. In fact, I have never bought it for my kids because it freaked me out. However, as curiosity would have it...I wanted to see this new version. It is very bizarre and a bit scary for kids and the fact that its PG was a little strange. However, it was very entertaining and worth going to see. Johnny Depp never ceases to amaze me and he doesn't disappoint as the Mad Hatter. If you get the chance, go see it but remind your little ones that it is indeed all fantasy.

Frantic Friday

Friday was busy from the word GO! I had a meeting at 8:00 am that morning that lasted almost 3 hours. Next I met some of my college friends (Cecily & Kristine) for lunch at California Pizza Kitchen in Town Square. Afterwards, I met my cousin Jan for pedicures and shopping. We shopped a little too long picking up table cloths for the wedding and I missed my 4:00 work meeting. Oops! I found out later that our unit (L&D and NICU) will stay open. We have all been on edge since our first meeting in January when they told us they might close us down. Surprisingly, births are down nationwide. Thank heavens we will all keep our jobs! What a relief for me since I have a wedding and graduation to pay for in June.

Later that night we met Bryce's parents along with Torri & Bryce at Claim Jumper for dinner. We talked about wedding plans and it was fun getting to know them. Unfortunately, I left my camera home the entire day...darn!

March has arrived!

Wow, time is flying this year just like it did last year. I guess its a true sign of getting old. When I typed in March in Picasa all the pictures from last year came up. Remembering how much fun we had in Disneyland with my older brother Lonnie brought a flood of emotions. We have had so many changes in just a short year, some good and some bad. Here are some pictures of our trip last year. I think I may have a touch of spring fever because I am ready to go to Disneyland again!

On a different note, wedding plans are in full swing with Torri. She has booked the location, the decorator, caterer & photographer. She has her engagement pictures scheduled. We've picked out the flower girl dresses and the little boys suits. We've even decided on her flowers. She has forbidden me to post pictures...ugh! It's killing me, you know how I am with pictures. We are still debating on cake ideas and what color of ties the guys will wear with their tuxedos but surprisingly things are moving right along. For Torri and Bryce, June cannot seem to get here fast enough.

We had visitors this past Sunday. Russell's brother Jim and his wife spent the night. They are looking at moving to Las Vegas this summer. They were surprised that we are just like any other big city. Once you move to the outskirts of the city, everyone is relatively normal in typical neighborhoods. Most people somehow think that Las Vegans live down on the strip...this notion has always made me chuckle.

I love springtime, it is my favorite time of the year. It is a new beginning...