Keepin' Busy...

The best way to get your life back to normal is to stay busy, so we have been trying to keep ourselves very busy down here in Vegas. I love how it gets warm and you can start going to the pool early in the year here. I don't miss hibernating inside until June.
I did go and pick up my mom from Utah a few weeks ago and we went to the tulip gardens at Thanksgiving Point for an Angel Watch Event. Angel Watch is the group of families that gets together that have had a baby die. It's a really great support group and I get to meet and talk to a lot of moms that went through a similiar experience as us. Jake couldn't come to Utah with me because of work but Mom and Liz came to the Angel Watch Event! They read aloud the names of all the babies who we were honoring that day. And although it was hard and there were a lot of tears, anything in memory and in honor of Samuel always makes me happy.
Here are pictures we took in the gardens afterward...






Look who came... JOE!!!

Liz was actually holding Manoa... she is very talented!



On Mother's Day I went to visit Samuel's grave for the first time. I was very nervous for all the sad feelings to rush back like they usually do but surprisingly it turned out to be a very peaceful and sweet place to be. I was thankful for that.


Thanks Liz for all your support! I love you so so much!!


This was an Easter egg hunt we did with a bunch of friends here in Vegas (trying to catch up on some older pictures since I haven't blogged in awhile). Manoa would find an egg and open it and eat some candy before he put it into his basket a few times.

Pretty sure his mouth was stuffed with candy in this one...


And last we had our backyard re-done. When we moved in, it was landscaped but there was no rhyme or reason to it. It was mostly rocks with a small patio and a two trees, one of which had completely fallen over. And there were just random desert plants stuck anywhere. Well, there isn't a whole lot of grass down here in Nevada and I wanted somewhere Manoa could ride his bike and play basketball so this is what we did...

BEFORE...



AFTER...


Now I finally have my string lights put up so we can go out at night and have dessert or just hangout!

Manoa loves "Wizzy"

My friend Liz came down to Vegas to visit me for the weekend. We had so much fun and I tried to convince her to never leave. Manoa had no problems remembering his "wizzy". He loves her so much he couldn't get enough of her...

Action Movie

Manoa is a little stuntman. I'm so glad he keeps me laughing all the time

Christmas and more

Jake and I had so much fun this christmas just watching Manoa open his presents. It was great to spend our first christmas in our first home. Manoa got a lot of fun presents and Jake, myself and Manoa ended up playing with his presents for most of the morning. He got a new bike a few weeks earlier from my parents and he was dying to get a helmet to go with it. The helmet didn't come off all day.

Some new kicks. I love those pursed lips!

Manoa is gearing up for golf so he will be ready to go when Grandpa comes home from Italy

Our good friends The Rattos came down to Las Vegas a few days after Christmas and we were able to hangout with them for a day and go see different things on the strip. Even though we live down here now, Nick and Suzie are Vegas professionals so they were more of a host to us.


We went and checked out The Cosmopolitan which is the newest casino on the strip. It just opened up about 3 weeks ago.


This was actually before Christmas but my friend Lisa introduced me to the Bass Pro Shop down here in Vegas which is pretty cool. We took our boys and they had a blast. This is definitely the place to take your boys. They can have fun for hours.
Manoa and Ezra racing cars

boys and their guns

The boys are impressed with Lisa's sharpshooting skills

The shooting range

This huge aquarium has all kinds of fish, string rays, and shark in it. And a mermaid comes out and swims with the fish and entertains the kids. She is legit... she has a fin, the cover up shells and all!

Why my heart will break this Christmas...

Today is December 22. Samuel would be 3 months old. I usually love Christmas and I still do but this year is especially difficult. My little boy is always on my mind.

On another note, Manoa decorated our tree this year which means only the bottom third got decorated. He did a great job but after he went to bed I of course, rearranged it all.

Manoa is such a good boy. I am so thankful for him in my life. Especially now when I am having a hard time I just say to him, "mama needs a hug," and he gives me a huge bear hug.

Jake and I are also really missing Jake's parents at this time. Christmas won't be the same without them. At the same time are thankful for their service in Italy. I am sure those missionaries now know how lucky they are. With all of these voids in our hearts we remember to focus on our Savior and The Atonement this Christmas.

Mom & Dad

My parents came out to visit us for 10 days. They have been around a lot. I really LOVE having them around and I appreciate how much time they have spent with us this year. We decided to explore Las Vegas a little bit differently than what most people are used to. We discovered Red Rock Canyon and went to check it out. It was amazing. You wouldn't think anything like this is so close to the strip. There are all kinds of trails to hike and rocks to climb. It's a great place to enjoy the outdoors.

Manoa is teaching monkey how to climb a rock.... or maybe eat a rock.





Manoa climbed all the way to the top of this mountain with Jake and my dad. I was kind of freaking out at the bottom as I was watching them go higher and higher. I kept yelling out.. "don't let go of him!!" That little dot on the moutain in this picture is actually Manoa and Jake.

Jake, Manoa and Abuelo hiking the mountain's crest.

After Red Rock we took my parents to the Bellagio to see their annual Christmas decorations. Seriously, I know this is lame but it is like magical in the Bellagio during the holidays! haha



Polar Bear made from flowers wearing a sequined scarf.



And of course we couldn't leave without watching the famous Bellagio watershow. This time the water fountains were in sync with Johnny Mathis' classic Sleigh Ride song.

And lastly we ventured out once again to the Hoover Dam but this time to walk over the new O'Callaghan-Tillman Memorial Bridge which is crazy high and I have to admit that I felt a little sick looking down.



Good times with mom and dad. Thank you. Love you both so much!!