Adrenaline Rush

I used the excuse that my friend Jen needed a fun girls day out so I could get out of the house without the kids or Jeremy. My friend Deanna is visiting us from Utah for the weekend so the three of us went to the Stratosphere to go on those crazy rides about 1000 feet up in the air.

The first ride we went on is called the Xscream. You sit in a roller coaster car on a 50 foot rail that hangs over the edge of the tower. When it tilts like a seesaw, the roller coaster car shoots forward to the edge of the rail and you are hanging over the strip with nothing beneath you. Here is a video of the ride. We aren't on the video but you can see how the ride works.




The second ride is called the Insanity. When they built it I remember saying that I would never go on it. I am glad I did. It was SO much fun. You basically are sitting on a swing positioned in a circle, facing the other riders. The arm that it is all attached to then swings out over the edge of the tower and starts spinning you. The G forces cause the swings to fly out so you are looking straight down.

AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Ok, so I post the adoption link yesterday and go onto facebook this morning and see that Duane and Meka were shocked the other day by their social worker. They were told a few days ago that there was a baby girl born on Valentines Day and the birth mother had signed the papers the next day. Their new little girls is absolutely beautiful. Welcome Eden Irene Hilton! Can't wait to meet you.

(Due to these new circumstances the adpotion blog is now private...my link will no longer work)

Adoption

My friends Duane and Meka have recently started the adoption process. I know many of my friends and some family have been personally affected by either adopting a child, being an adopted child themselves or giving up their own baby for adoption. You know what a blessing and what a heart ache this opportunity means for them.
I just wanted to ask everyone and anyone that reads my blog to link to their adoption page and spread the word. It's hard to "market yourself" to birth mothers on your own. Let me just tell you that this couple is amazing. They are very kind and compassionate and are incredible with kids. (Jay can't get enough of them...he wants to go over to play with them, Charlie and the rats all the time) Both are on the shy side but are very smart and fun people. The will be amazing parents some day (hopefully soon).
If anyone knows of a girl making the horrific yet selfless decision to give up her baby, please let them know that there are wonderful people out there that desperately want to give their child the best life possible.


Duane and Meka, I have been meaning to do this post for a while and feel like a punk for not doing it long ago. Sorry guys for being such a slacker. This really is important to me and as a friend that loves you I want to support you in anyway I can.

Jay Stuff

I seem to have a lot of posts about Alyssa, more so than Jay anyway. I promise I don't have a favorite kid (well, actually I have two). I just thought I would post an update on Jay since he is getting smarter, cuter and more mischievous every day.

1. He counted to 109 for me today. Twice!
2. He actually likes to do his chores (emptying the dishwasher, taking out the garbage and separating laundry) but getting him to clean his room is nearly impossible. Any suggestions?
3. His reading is getting better everyday. He has Green Eggs and Ham memorized but will read each word when I point to them out of order. He also has reading worksheets for homework and can do them by himself. (Read the sentence then circle the picture that goes along with it)
4. He LOVES to create works of art with construction paper, scissors and glue. His specialty is jack-o-lanterns but also makes hearts, snowflakes, masks, and much much more.
5. He draws some pretty funny pictures and has a great imagination. We have had many family portraits of us on a rocket or pirate ship.
6. I have to find another storage system for our extra bedding and throw blankets. They were all in storage bins under his bed but he took them ALL out and built a massive fort in his room. I really don't want to clean that up again.
7. Unfortunately he inherited my ability to lose his shoes on a daily basis. Now I know why my parents were always so frustrated with me.

Funny Jay Story:
The other night Jeremy and I were talking about things we need to do while we still live in Vegas. Things like visiting the Hoover Dam, riding the crazy rides on top of the Stratosphere, or spending a night on the strip with out the kids. Jeremy said something like "I guess we really should see our back yard before we move." Jay piped up and said "Daddy! We don't HAVE a back yard. Duh!"I suppose he is as sick of condo living as I am.

Personal Day

I thought those were a thing of the past when I stopped working outside of our home. Today, I reclaimed some "me time". I took a friend out to lunch then went to see a movie. I got some much needed time away from home and scored bonus points by paying for my friends lunch and movie ticket. That allows us some free babysitting on Valentines Day. Wahoo.
Now all I have to do is figure out how to get these on a regular basis.