Weekend in Vegas

This last weekend we had the opportunity to visit Uncle Austin and Aunt Michelle in Las Vegas. Since this is one of the only chances we will have for a while to live so close to family we are taking all we can get.  We had the amazing experience to see the Cirque Du Soleil show Zarkana thanks to Austin who works for Zarkana.  He controls the winches and pulleys during the show and maintains them.  The girls absolutely loved the show.  Since Nathan could not attend Rosalyn and I went to the first showing and Elizabeth and Andrew went to the second.  It made for a very long night but it was so worth it.  Rosalyn's favorite part were the clowns and Elizabeth's was the people that rolled around and did tricks in huge metal rings.  All the acts were very impressive like most Cirque shows.   Of course I didn't get any pictures with my sweet Valentines day date but we have the memory.  If I remember I can try to upload a picture from Andrew's phone of him and Elizabeth on their date.

The next day we went to an amazing place in Vegas called the Container Park.  Vegas is not just for adults anymore.  The whole block is made out of shipping containers.  I only took pictures of the play structure in the middle of a big circle of shops and little restaurants that are made out of the same containers.  I am so impressed with what so many cities are doing these days.  This one tops my list of favorites and I think the kids would agree.  They even had a little treasure hunt of little things hidden that the girls loved doing.

At the entrance of the park is giant praying mantis that an aerospace engineer made for his wife for their 15 year wedding anniversary. Every night at 5:00 it is woken up by a drum circle and it shoots fire from its antennas.  Made for a perfect ending to the day at the container park.  The girls had so much fun beating on the drums.  Nathan loved the drums but wasn't so sure on the fire...it was a bit hot.  

Thank you Austin and Michelle for a wonderful weekend.

Sweet Elizabeth

Love my sweet Elizabeth!!

Girl Scout Camp

This last weekend Liz and I had the opportunity to go to Girl Scout camp together.  It was much needed time for just the two of us to spend together.  She has been going through a rough time lately of not acting like herself and being mean to her siblings.  I almost canceled going since she has been acting so horrible but really I think the weekend together is just what she needed.  As a parent I sometimes forget that kids have feelings too and they aren't perfect all the time.  There are other issues and struggles that kids go through and we are here to guide them and show them how to deal with those issues and hard moments in life.  I often times have to remind myself the same things.  When I am feeling irritated and stressed I often take my feeling out on those closest to me, Andrew and the kids, and I often need to listen to my own lectures that I give the girls.

Here are a few pictures of our wonderful weekend together.

The path to our cabin.

The girls working in small groups preparing a skit on conflict and resolution.

It was a bit chilly but a beautiful weekend to spend in the woods.

The girls performing their skit.

Working on her story stick.  All the girls sticks were put together to make a story quilt.

The weekend was all about girls making their own stories in life and taking them back into the world to share with others.

Playing the game froggy.  Elizabeth's new favorite game.

 We both had a great weekend meeting new friends and spending time with each other. Now that she is getting older we wont have as many opportunities to go to camp just the two of us so I enjoyed the time as much as possible.  The best part was no cell service and technology and spending the weekend in the mountains with just Elizabeth.  

Rules

My little Rosalyn can be a little sneaky at times and I am pretty sure she will always be my child that Andrew and I will have to keep an eye on and today she proved it.   Actually I think she and Nathan will be in cahoots together as they grow up.

 Elizabeth on the other hand is my rule follower.  I will never have to worry about her getting into trouble.  For example at lunch time the kids can talk until the last 5 minutes and then it is quiet time so that they can finish their food and go on with the day.  We join her for lunch on occasion and she will under no circumstance make any noise or talk during that 5 minutes.  Just one of the many examples of her rule following.   Thank goodness she is my oldest and will always keep me updated on what the little ones are doing and if they are not following the rules.

Rosalyn however loves to bend the rules and she also loves technology which we don't do much of.  Occasionally I will let her play one of the three games on the iPad or, her favorite, watch a show on it.  The other night Andrew and I couldn't find the iPad.  We didn't think much of it since we didn't really need it and just figured we set it down somewhere.  The next day I put Nathan down for his nap and finished reading with Rosalyn and she very willingly stayed in her room and said, "If you need me I will be in my closet." Now we are in the phase of just quiet time and sometimes she will nap but she always tries to work up a deal to not have quiet time.  This was out of the ordinary.  Yes she snuck the iPad into her closet the night before so she would have it during quiet time.  She wasn't being very sneaky this time but she has once before spent a good couple hours on the iPad during quite time while I thought she was sleeping.  My little Rosalyn will always have me on my toes I am sure.  As for now she is so darn cute when being devious and often very clever making it hard to get angry.  It only took two times but now I always make sure I know where the iPad is before quiet time.