Viva Las Vegas!!!

Justin's 30th birthday was on Thursday so to celebrate we went to Vegas with my sister & Travis. We had an early flight to catch on Friday morning so on Thursday night we stayed by the airport in Seattle. We had birthday dinner at 13 Coins (one of our favorite restaurants!) then headed to the hotel. We woke up at 5am to Travis yelling "VIVA LAS VEGAS!!!" Anyone that knows Travis knows that there is nothing quiet about him, even at 5am! :) When we got to the airport our step-brother, Zack, was there flying to Yakima for mom & Jim to pick him up. We were able to get him from his gate, take him to breakfast & visit with him until we had to catch our flight. He lives in Montana so we don't get to see him very often - it was great to be able to see him!!

When we got to Vegas on Friday we walked around & looked at everything that was on The Strip. Justin LOVED that we could buy beer & drink it while we were walking around outside or in the mall! We had dinner at Cheesburger in Paradise then needless to say, after drinking & some crazy cab rides we were all exhausted so we called it an early night & headed to bed.

Saturday we were up early, ate breakfast at the buffet at out hotel then headed out to The Strip again. While we were walking through the casino at Ceasar's Palace we saw Lori from Real Housewives of Orange County! Travis was SO excited (I don't think he has missed an episode!) & asked if he could take a picture with her! HAHA - he was so star-struck!!! She was very nice & excited that Travis watches the show.

We did more walking around & ended up at a piano bar inside Harrah's. We were hanging out there when Travis spotted John from Deadliest Catch (captain of the Time Bandit). He pulled a table & chairs to his table & asked us to join him! Travis couldn't believe it - first Lori, now John!! We stayed there for a couple of hours then we all headed to Toby Keith's bar upstairs where we stayed for the rest of our night.

Christmas Day...

I can't believe how much anticipation & excitment goes into Christmas & then it is over so fast! Our Christmas Day started out at our home then we went to my mom's. Christmas morning is always such a big thing at Mom's still because of Logan & Landon - they love every minute of it!! Our 'big gift' this year was a trip to California in August with my mom, Jim, Logan, Landon, Sis & Travis. We will be staying at a resort near Disneyland for a week & we can't wait! Disneyland will be much more exciting to Dailey the 2nd time around :)

When we were done at my mom's house we headed to Justin's mom & dad's. We exchanged gifts then had 'snacks'. Justin made it VERY clear at Thanksgiving that he didn't want a meal for Christmas, he just wanted snacks so that is what we all did. When we were done eating we played games & just relaxed.


This is Dailey opening her new Build-A-Bear Monkey that Justin & I got for her. The picture didn't turn out great because I had my finger over the flash but she loves her new little monkey!!

Christmas Eve...

Christmas Eve started out by my cousin Reba coming over to cut/color my hair & cut Dailey's bangs. Once again, Dailey screamed while Reba was cutting them but it was over quickly.

When we were done my sister & I had a few last minute things that we needed to get for Christmas so we headed to Fred Meyer & it was a MAD HOUSE!! I think we saw every person that we have ever known in our entire lives. When we were done & had bought every thing that Fred Meyer had left we finally left & came home to finish a few things before we headed to Mom's for dinner. Dinner was a blast & we all had a great time! We had a white elephant gift exchange...one of the gifts was a pinata & the kids loved it! We weren't planning on having a pinata so we didn't have much to hang it from or hit it with so we used Mom's broom stick to hang it from & the vacuum tube thing to hit it with. All the big kids were blind-folded & had a turn then Dailey had a turn - she was so cute!! She grabbed the vacuum tube & started hitting away. She laughed & thought she was so funny the whole time!

Hat Island...

Wow - what a busy week!! Our Christmas started last Friday when we left for my dad's house on Hat Island. We had a nice, relaxing 3 days with my dad, Suzanne, Solstice & Hildy (their dogs), my sister & Travis. We got to the Island about noon on Friday and spent the rest of the day relaxing, having a few drinks, eating a good dinner & watching a movie. It was SO nice to just relax & enjoy spending time as a family. On Saturday we relaxed more, golfed, opened Christmas presents & had a great steak & halibut dinner. The crab eaters even got to have a few fresh crabs!! It was beautiful on Saturday night so we got to sit on the deck & look out over the water for awhile. Sunday morning we got up, packed up our stuff & headed home. We were able to do a little shopping in Bellevue on our way home then we started the trek over the pass. My cousin Jennifer was home from Phoenix so we got to visit with her, her parents & her brother for a few hours at my Grandma's house when we got back on Sunday night.

Little Santa...

Dailey loves to wear her Santa hat & I must say that she looks pretty cute in it!! :) If you ask her what Santa says she says "ho ho" I can't believe how many things she is saying & how quickly she is growing up!

Farmers Christmas Party...

Last night was the Farmers Insurance Christmas party at Whistlin' Jacks Lodge on Chinook Pass. Travis was in Florida so it was sister, Justin & I that went. We had a great prime rib dinner then partied & danced the night away!! We are all paying for it today but we had a great time!

Bird houses...

Also on Saturday, Logan & Landon got to build bird houses at Knudson's. They had a great time & were so proud when they were done! They are giving them as Christmas gifts :)

Santa...

Yesterday we took Dailey to see Santa at Knudson's. To say the least - she didn't like it!

Christmas pictures...

I should have known better than to think that I could have taken good, quality pictures of Dailey by myself. I had big plans of getting her in her Christmas outfits (yes, plural) and sitting her by the tree - as you can see NOTHING went as planned. I don't know why I thought she would just sit & smile at me - she doesn't hold still for 1/2 a second!! :)

Plowing snow...

Here is a picture of Dailey helping Justin plow snow. She had so much fun & refused to get off. Justin finally made me take her when she fell asleep while he was plowing! :) She loves to do anything as long as she is with her dada.

Clean baby...

Dailey LOVES to take a bath & to have her teeth brushed...here are a few recent pictures...

First snow...

When we went to Tyler & Mel's cabin a few weeks ago Dailey got to touch snow for the first time. She was sleeping when we got to the cabin so she didn't see it but when we left she was awake. She wanted to touch it, eat it & feed it to everyone! :)

Updates...

Here are a few recent pictures of Dailey. Yes - she is walking!! :)

1st birthday!!!

I can't believe Dailey is already a year old, it has gone by so fast! Last Saturday we had her birthday party at Jack & Mary's house & we had a really good time. She LOVED to open her presents & she got so many great toys!

Hunting Camp...

Last Sunday Dailey & I had our first trip to Hunting Camp. We went up on Sunday morning to get all of Jack's stuff because while he was hunting on Saturday morning he broke his ankle. He had surgery on Tuesday & is healing well. He will be down for a few more weeks & for those of you that know Jack, you know that won't be fun! He is always doing something & rarely is in the house.

When we were driving out of the hills we were driving right below the windmills & it was really neat! It's amazing how big they are!!

First Haircut

The day before Dailey's birthday she got her first haircut!! My cousin, Reba, trimmed her bangs. She was a little crabby because it was nap time, but she needed them trimmed so bad because they were always in her eyes & bothering her.

She was so cute - she sat in the chair with the little robe on while Reba combed her hair. When it came time to start cutting it was a different story! :) She did not want the scissors coming close to her head! We were able to get her to hold still long enough to get the job done & she looks so cute! It took a few days for me to get used to her looking so big.

Disneyland!!

2 weeks ago Dailey had her first plane ride & she was so good! She was sleeping before we were even in the air & slept for most of the ride. On Friday we watch a late model race at Irwindale Speedway, Saturday my sister & I went shopping while Justin was at the track with Travis, then we all watched Eric race on Saturday night. Sunday we got up early & headed to Disneyland!! Dailey didn't know what to think about all of the people & the wind blowing so hard but she had a good time! She is SO cute with her little mouse ears on! :)

On Monday morning Sis & Travis flew home but the 3 of us stayed for a few more days. I had a 2 1/2 day class in L.A. for work so Justin & Dailey hung out at the hotel & drove around to look at the fires while I was in class.

Pumpkin Patch...

So...I know I have been horrible about updating our blog lately but our laptop took 20+ minutes just do upload a simple picture so I gave up until we got our new computer. We just got everything set up today so I'm on a mission to get lots of pictures on here for everyone to see!! As you can see, we've had a lot going on in the last 3 weeks.

3 weekends ago we took Dailey to the pumpkin patch. At first she wasn't too into the pumpkins because they were wet & cold but it didn't take her long & she realized that she could pick up the small ones!!

Catching up...

Wow - 3 1/2 weeks since I've posted a new blog!

2 weekends ago we went to the annual pig roast at Tyler & Mel's house. We took Jack & Mary's motorhome so that we could stay the night & we had a great time. When we finally got up in the morning (Dailey let us sleep until 8:30!!) we had breakfast & then the girls played for a little while. Dailey doesn't realize that she is a lot bigger than little McKinley & she can't just poke her nose & eyes! :) I can't wait until they are a little older & will be able to really play together. Justin & Tyler have been friends since grade school and Mel & I have been friends since we were really little so hopefully the girls will be too. After we left Tyler & Mel's on Sunday morning we went to Yakima to watch Travis race. It was his last race of the year & he did great.

Last Saturday we took Dailey to the pumpkin patch. The pumpkins were wet & cold so she wasn't too into touching them at first but she got over that quickly. Pretty soon she was trying to pick them up, chew on them & throw them. She was content sitting on the ground with the pumpkins so I could get some pretty cute pictures of her!

Can you believe she is almost 1 already?? Next Saturday is the big day. This has definately been the BEST year of our lives!! We have had so many great & exciting things that have happened to us...new baby, kidney transplant & a wedding - I don't think we will be able to beat this year ever again!!

I can't get any pictures to upload tonight...I'll try to post them tomorrow. I hope everyone has a great week! :)

Show & Tell

Today Dailey & I went to Logan's classroom for show & tell - he was showing Dailey! :) He was so proud & she had a blast! She was giggling & looking at the kids the whole time. Logan told a little bit about her, what she likes, what he likes to do with her & then showed all of his friends how she can walk while he holds her hands. It made me realize how big & mature he is getting. When we were done he walked us out & told me how much fun it was to have us there & how thankful he was. He is such a neat kid & he makes me so proud!

Dailey is still getting close to walking but isn't quite there, she gets into everything though! :) This morning she was 'helping' me fold laundry but she wasn't such a big help. She unfolded & tore through the piles faster than I could fold. She thought it was really funny!

Justin has planned a night away for us tonight & I can't wait. Dailey is staying with my sister while Justin & I stay at the Westin in Bellevue, it will be fun to have a night to ourselves. We are going to dinner tonight then going birthday shopping for Dailey tomorrow - we only have 5 weeks until her first birthday!! I have a hard time believing that a whole year has already passed!!

Great-Great Aunt Clara

Sorry it's been a whole week since I posted our last blog. Dailey FINALLY cut her 6th tooth & I'm so glad she's done with that! She has the cutest little smile that shows all of her teeth :) She is walking all around the house behind anything that she can push & getting her little hands into everything she can, she even figured out how to flush the toilet! She hasn't started walking by herself yet, but she is so close.

Yesterday Dailey got to meet her great-great-aunt Clara for the first time at Clara's 88th birthday party. Clara didn't know that anyone was going to be there & was so suprised when we all showed up. She told us it was the best birthday she has had in a long time & she will remember it for many years to come :)

This weekend we are just hanging out at home. Dailey & I have been doing laundry & cleaning the house while Justin is putting in a garbage disposale. My dad & Suzanne just called - they finished their first Half Marathon! It took them just over 2 hours - I think that is awesome & I hope to do one with them someday.

Pickles & Cupboards...

Dailey has found her 2 new favorite things - pickles & cupboards!! Yesterday afternoon for a 'snack' she ate 3 pickles, she loves them! Then this morning after breakfast she was standing at the fridge when I had it open, she spotted the pickles & started yelling & reaching for them. I gave one to her & she sat on the kitchen floor & chowed it down :)

This morning she discovered that not only can she use the cupboard doors to pull herself up on, but they open she she pulls on them. Great!! She was so excited & I now I can't keep her out of them. We have safety latches on the ones that have cleaners & anything she can hurt herself with. I was standing in front of one, cooking her breakfast, & she was pounding it into my shin so I finally gave in & let her open it - only to save my shins! :)

Pony ride

I'm a few days late posting this one...

Justin & I took Dailey to the fair again on Monday & she had her first pony ride. She literally laughed the entire time she was riding & had so much fun!! Her daddy also took her the the animal barns to see the goats. While we were looking at them we saw Sam Tracey so he showed us his steers. Sam was so nice & said that she could touch them, she had no interest in touching them with her hands but reached out with her feet a couple to times to touch them, the whole time she was holding onto Justin's arm very tight!