Jacob was invited to his first tea party! My stepmother gave him a fancy suit for Christmas and guess where he was going to wear it?! There was no coaxing or convincing, my star wars obsessed boy was really excited to go! Katie went ALL out, and had tons of fun snacks, including crust less peanut butter honey, chocolate covered cookies, and my favorite pizza bites! Jacob's favorite thing however, were the sugar cubes! If you've read Kerry's post she's not kidding about Alex, poor poor Alex! I swear I saw him laugh and have fun but geez! He had it tough! I'm sure it built character or something! I love all of my son's friends and watching them twirl and bounce on the trampoline was MY favorite for the day! Jacob's favorite thing about the tea party was "seeing my friends". Thanks Kerry, Katie, and most of all Alex!

Saturday morning, we realized that Williams, AZ was 60 miles from the Southern Rim of the Grand Canyon. Instead of heading back to Vegas right away, we made the side trip. Of course it was worth it! Freezing cold and windy, but beautiful and inspiring. I couldn't feel my toes, but it's not like I was going to walk very far to the railing! I tried my hardest to not say "Jacob, come here! Jacob stay close! Jacob don't go over there!" But, really? There's a sign in the visitor's center saying that 'Yes, people do fall off BUT they don't survive after the first 300 ft!' Are you kidding me? It took every last ounce of Love and Logic in me to not hold his hand the WHOLE TIME! I really did enjoy the view after a bit (when he was holding his dad's hand!) and am glad I was able to check this off my life to do list. Enjoy the pics!

Two amazing snow days this week, and if that wasn't enough we top it off with a trip to the North Pole! We drove down to Williams, AZ and boarded the Polar Express train to see Santa! It was by far the cutest thing we've done as a family! Dressed in our P.J.'s and robes, (thanks for the last minute reminder Michelle!) we snuggled on the train, drank hot cocoa, and read the story that started it all. After the story we picked up the big man himself! Santa Claus! Super nice Santa looked Jake in the eyes and whispered Merry Christmas as he handed him his bell! Ok, I was all choked up! We sang carols and ate cookies and headed back to AZ. Dinner that night was fun and we joined everyone else in the restaurant still in P.J.'s! It looked like a giant slumber party! The next morning we let Jacob play in MORE snow and headed for our next adventure to the Grand Canyon! P.S., the pictures are in reverse order! Sheesh!

Pictures do a much better job of telling you about our day. It started as a drizzle and we ended our day sipping Mexican hot chocolate on the couch. Jacob and I made a snowman in the back yard, snow angels, and had a snow ball fight! No pictures of that, I needed BOTH hands! *sigh* It was an afternoon I will never forget with him, I'm glad I was home and able to enjoy it!

I will be crazy busy this weekend trying to finish up shopping, wrapping, and working! I wanted to vent about my Eco life for a sec! Arghhhh! It's not easy! Here are some of the Eco-Friendly things I'm trying....

• I borrowed a tree from a friend (we aren't home for Christmas this year)
• I'm not buying wrapping paper, using the Sunday comics, decorated brown paper bags, and re-using some of last years bags. The gifts actually are lookin' pretty cute...
• I'm almost obsessive about not using plastic bags, I forgot a bag the other day and had to walk out carrying all my purchases. The looks I got!!
• Trying not to order online, when I have to I ship ground VS air
• Making my own gift cards with what I have (which is a lot)
• Thanks to the Co-op I've got great ideas for homemade stocking stuffers using recyled bottles....
  
• Maximizing and planning out my shopping trips, to save gas!

Ok, are you guys dizzy yet? I am! Here's the kicker...I've been driving my hubby crazy of course!, so the other night I'm sitting on the couch under blankets nice and cozy with the heater on and he decides to point out to me that it's not very energy efficient to have the heater at 78. I guess I'm supposed to have it at 68! I'm cold! I wasn't going to let him win.....It's been 3 days at 68. I'm still cold and wearing a scarf in the morning....I really am stubborn, but if I'm going to try to live green I need to put up or shut up, RIGHT?

Jacob went on a class field trip to the Magical Forest. We slid down the super slide, rode the train, and got our Santa photos! The photos do look a bit awkward...I think I was groped by Santa! I shared my story with another mommy that went the next day and she was pretty sure the guy was too touchy feely! Ewww! Aside from that...we had a great time and Jacob is SUPER excited about x-mas!

I am going to borrow this blog idea from another mommy (thanks Michelle!), and share with everyone what was in my kiddo's backpack yesterday. I don't usually get a good look into what he brings home, however Jake mentioned muddy shoes and I needed to take a peak. There were 3 letters from girls! in his class, a birthday invitation, crumpled up homework, gross shoes and socks, and some doodles from classmates. Hidden in the front pocket were two little rocks that he brought home for his rock garden. I love this picture and I'm sure he'll laugh about it when he's older and gets to look back! I'm thankful for... Co-op Kindergarten!

A few weeks back I won tickets to the Backstreet Boys concert for this past Saturday night. I'd seen New Kids on the Block and Justin Timberlake so I figured *shrug* why not complete the set? My tickets were general admission on the floor and although free, they made me work for it! Holy cow the lines, the pushing, the screaming OMG the concert didn't even start for another hour! Once we were corralled in and in our spot!, the people watching began! There was a 62 year old grandma a few bodies over! A spoiled new jersey Barbie to my right and feuding couple to my left! I kept getting hit in the face by the ponytail in front of me so I quickly lost my patience and called general admission quits! Yes, I was about 6 feet from the stage, where the BSB would be, and MAYBE I could have touched Nick's hand BUT REALLY? REALLY? I am 27 and a frequent concert goer who has done her 'floor/ mosh pit' time and all I kept looking at were the cozy seats behind me! I worked my magic on the box office ladies and traded my tix in for some comfy seats front and center! Behind general admission, BUT still very close! Close enough to see the damage done by all those years of partying like rock stars! I went to sing along to my favorite high school ballads, remember who I was dancing with at the prom to their songs, and to enjoy a night out on the town! I think I'm done with boy bands for now...well at least until January when Boys II Men come by!

I am just now recovered from our 5 day trip to Disneyland! Jacob is at a great age to appreciate the fantasy and magic of the park. It was a great family trip with lots of fun memories for all of us. I can't tell you how many times I looked down at Jake while on a ride and had that cheesy moment where I remembered being his age having the same smile and probably thinking the same thing! Some highlights include:

• Being among the first guests to ride Pirates of the Caribbean on our Magic Morning (got to get in an hour earlier than most)
  
• Jacob taking pictures of Mom and Dad every 5 seconds!
  
• His mom making him ride the Tower of Terror! (In my defense I had never been on it and really didn't think it was so bad! I was oh so very very wrong!)
  
• Jacob scaring Captain Hook (a few years ago the Captain scared the crap out of Jake, this time he was ready for him with a VERY loud 'Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock'), 
  
• Watching the Jedi battle Lord Vader and Darth Moll!
  
• Searching for Dave's perfect ears! (Nope, never found the right ones!)
  
• Almost throwing up on those damn teacups!
  
• Watching Jacob pick out souvenirs (this was a HUGE part of the trip! The Disneyland piggy bank ended up adding up to $96! That's a whole lot for a 5 year old to spend! It started out small with a churro, a pretzel, and then he got a sword, a buzz light year zapper, and even lollipops for his whole class! There is even some left for next trip!)

We did visit some of my family while in California and I noticed how weird it was driving around town (I'm from Orange County) officially a tourist! I am happy to live in Vegas where traffic is not an issue for me, I won't be taxed on soda or a new washer and dryer, and where I work because I choose to, not because I have to! I think this town has grown on me!

Jacob, the VIP, has shared a cube block, a barrel full of monkeys, and a stuffed zebra! He really has no method to choosing the items for show and tell, which cracks me up in the morning!, watching him look around frantically for anything nearby! He gets to ring the bell after 'recess' and walks around giving everyone a personal bell toll! He was excited to talk about the pictures of his family on the board but was surprised when everyone already knew everyone in his family, including his grandma! He loves being called "Mr. VIP" by his teacher and even the class gets in on it and calls him different versions of that. He built a hot tub with his friend Katie, and then helped Logan out with his muddy trench! It's always fun to be in the class with him, his classmates crack me up! I wanted to share the pictures of the kids doing cartwheels. It was the first time i'd seen any of them play this way. The girls were teaching the boys and as you can tell it didn't come so easy to them! I remember my recess time, lots of twirling on bars, cartwheels, and of course the boys stealing our sweaters! It was such a beautiful day for playing outside, our kids did not waste a minute of it!

Jacob is VIP this week! Woohoo! A very big deal at our house! Jake has patiently waited for his turn and is looking forward to a week of show and tell, ringing the bell, and being the center of attention! We kicked off the week with his choice of restaurant, BJ's Pizzeria, while waiting for a table he got a sample slice of pizza, then he chose to NOT order dinner and save room for a cookies and cream pazookie! Things I learned about my VIP.. His favorite food is chocolate, no wait all candy! His favorite color right now is Black. His favorite super hero is Batman (news to all of us that see him dress up as Superman EVERYDAY!) His favorite day of the week is Friday! (TGIF! It's actually because all the cool stuff happens that day in Kindergarten). This week is going to be a lot of fun for him and us! He's growing up so fast!

Thanks to Kidshine we've been hearing all month that "...ghosts and goblins will appear! Oooooo!" Jacob is notorious for changing his mind at the last minute and switching his costume choice! However, this year he stuck to Indiana Jones! Thursday night, we went to a Halloween party with my hubby's co-workers as Mr. Incredible, a Desperate Housewife (switched to kitty cat on Friday), and Indiana Jones! We had a great time and part of my costume was a tray of homemade Jello shots! Yum! I made Margaritas, Lemon Drops, and Cherry Coke! The latter had a nice mix of Amaretto and Rum! Took me back to college days! Friday we enjoyed our wonderful Nevada Day by sleeping in, a big burrito breakfast, and watching T.V. all day! I know, I know, we are a bunch of couch potatoes! It was nice to not drive anywhere or have errands to run! We were just home! After carving pumpkins, Jake was in NO RUSH to trick-or-treat! How funny that I actually had to psych him up for trick or treating! "Jacob, you can't come home until your bucket is full!" Dad and him were out for about an hour and Jacob was satisfied with his bucket full of candy! Ok, I usually LOVE to take Jake out BUT I am hooked on book #2 of the Twighlight series and wanted to stay back to hand out candy and READ! (see pumpkin below!) Great night for vampires and werewolves! We all had fun this year and are now counting down to turkey day!

I've really got the hang of this blog thing huh? Today I love, love, love, living in Vegas! First, It's 90 degrees and sunny with a cool breeze in October! Second, I got to meet my culinary hero today! After giving birth to Jacob, I was kinda in a rut, not wanting to cook and actually not wanting to do much of anything! I started watching the food network (who didn't watch that channel while breast feeding!)and fell in love with Giada de Laurentiis! Her smile and laugh, and yes, the forehead too! Dave bought me her book and the first thing I made was her Basic Marinara and then her bean dip, and then her grilled summer veggies, and well, you get the idea! Even Jacob would get all excited and crawl up to the couch when her show was on! So today I waited patiently in line and my dream came true! (THANK YOU JOAN! I OWE YOU DINNER!) Plus!, I was standing in line right in front of the store's back door and was of the first to greet her as she was getting out of the limo! "See you inside!" she said. Wow! I'm a nerd I know! Sooooo inside she was so gracious and purty, she signed my books, said hello to Jacob (like really looked at him, said hi and commented on how cute he is!)and he got all shy!, and said thank you to us and happy cooking! I am on cloud nine! No pictures were allowed so this pic is my proof! She is gorgeous in person and the whole experience was not a let down at all, as so many times meeting a celebrity is! Oh yeah, and the third reason I love Las Vegas....well more about that on my next blog! I'm off to see Justin Timberlake at Planet Hollywood tonight!!!!

Yes! They are back! What started out as a secret night out, I am now proud to share! The concert was AWESOME! The energy of the fans, women who just like me would lie on their beds staring at posters of their favorite New Kid, listening to Jordan sing.."I'll be loving you...forever...". *sigh* It took me back! High School was a miserable time for me, but 6th grade...I remember liking a boy and every slow song was about us, about me wanting to talk to that boy! It's hilarious! The guys look great, Donny is still full of himself and cheezy! Joey was my favorite New Kid. He's the one closest to my age and I've always had a thing for blue eyes! He sang all my favorites, including "Please don't go girrrrllll, " . I won't leave out, for all you Jordan Knight fans, his solo to "I'll be loving you..." in a white dress shirt, unbuttoned, with the fan blowing, and six pack abs out for all us screaming girls to see! Danny and Jonathan are still in the background, not doing much and looking exactly the same! It was a really great night with lots of screaming, memories, and good friends! The second encore sealed the deal, their hit "Hangin' Tough" complete with old school moves and waving arms! You better believe I did it too! (note: I did drink at least 3 glasses of wine....)

Lunch Bunch is one of the most fun parts of my day! Yes it's hot, and LOUD, and smack in the middle of my day (can't get too much done, before it's time to get back to school!) BUT, I am loving it! For example, take the first picture ....Skye had 4 hard boiled eggs to Jacob's one. He was having trouble peeling it so I suggested he ask her for some tips! The lesson that took place after was priceless! Their grins are now a sweet memory! Now, the next picture I was VERY lucky to catch! In doing a head count, I noticed the boys off in a shaded corner...Hmmm... "What are you guys doing" I ask. "Nothing!" 2 of them say. Jacob knowing that I don't usually take that for an answer tells me, "Plotting a trap for the girls!" OMG I didn't even know that he knew the word plotting! "Carry on!" I say. I hid behind an apple tree and watched! They cracked me up! I feel so lucky to be around for little moments like those. I think about ALL the things my mom missed and never knew about me and my day and I couldn't imagine the same for my kiddo. Ok, I get that there's a line I shouldn't cross (like climbing through a window to rock my adult child to sleep!) but at the co-op....I can hide behind apple trees!