Red Rock Lanes

Place: Red Rock Lanes
http://www.redrocklanes.com/
Located at Red Rock Resort and Casino

We checked out Red Rock Lanes as a meetup for Tiny Tots and Toddlers with a Twist (so much to share about the moms group coming in a post soon- but on a short side note it is going FANTASTIC!)

Cost: A big plus here!  The cost of a game is $2.50 per person.  Shoe rental sizes begin at a toddler size 10 so those who have smaller feet bowl in the shoes they have.

Hours: Monday through Thursday 8am - 2am and Friday 8 am through Sunday open 24 hours

Best for kids age: 2.5 and older

On the plus side: The place is huge!  No enormous, with 72 lanes.  (Okay I know nothing about standard bowling alleys but it certainly seemed large to me).  I believe it opened two years ago and appears to be very well kept.   Typically bowling alleys are dark, smoky places where I leave feeling desperate for a shower, but not at all the case at Red Rock. (Although this may be different in the evening versus 10am)  And activities causing happy dances are of course a plus!

On the down side: There are no bowling ramps here.  So Jocelyn and her little friend Evie who is just a couple weeks older had to bail on bowling.

Suggestions: BOWLING RAMPS-- I know they probably don't want lots of little kids around but we went on a Friday morning and there was an abundance of open lanes.  I think a few bowling ramps for the little kids would be great!
Rating (on a scale of 1-5 stars) 4 stars
Time Allotted? haha!  It ended up being Charlie and two of his buddies, Finnley and Rory bowling.  It took the three of them about an hour and 15 minutes to bowl one game.

Go again? Most definitely!  This is such a cheap, outside of the house playdate.  It will be great for days when the playground is too hot or too cold.

My old frienemy (Part 2)

Dear 26.2,

     I told you I would conquer you AND I DID!  Enduring each and every one of your grueling miles, was my pleasure, because despite the pain you caused when my toes raced across the finish line my heart filled with such joy.  And in that moment I felt no pain just a sensation of pure bliss.

   Post race, my sister-in-law looked at my brother-in-law and I, and said something along the lines of... "I don't get it.  As I look at how exhausted the two of you are, I just don't think I would ever want to do that."
 
    My response, running marathons is a sick addiction.

     This being my third and already searching for the next tells me I'm hooked.  Crossing the finish line after 26.2 miles is one of the more gratifying feelings I have experienced in life.  Somewhere between .1% and 2% of the world's population can say they have completed a marathon.  This elite group is something I am proud to be a part of.
    I love the crowds at marathons and all those cheering both on the sidelines and in the race themselves.   The build-up of one long race as the culmination of weeks in training provides a drive within in me to keep on moving.  My old frienemy there is much to love about you.
   Additionally there is always inspiration to be found within the race itself....
Often, when I run and I get tired and I honestly think "God gave me these legs and I'm going to use them."    At approximately mile 17 of the marathon, I saw a man pushing a girl named Erin in a wheel chair.  I think every single runner passing by them cheered them on.  Runner's spirit is so contagious and filling.  And while I do love competitive sports, what I love even more than competition is the heart that lies in running; it's overflowing with camaraderie as each runner wants every other runner to cross the finish line. For the next few miles after seeing Erin and the man push her, I kept thinking... "God gave me these legs and I am lucky to be able to use them"!
 
     Since completing the race, I was able to do a little research.  First I came across this article where I learned the man pushing Erin is named Peter Kline
http://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/las-vegas-mother-turns-running-family-affair
I was surprised to find out this was not his daughter and even more surprised to find out this is not the first time he has pushed someone in a marathon.  Upon discovering his name I found this blog and learned more about his story.  Make sure you read the next two posts, Marathon of Love Part 2 and Finishing Strong- End of the Marathon.
http://living-perspectives.org/2012/12/httpwww-8newsnow-comstory17796838teens-courageous-battle-after-devastating-accident/
As I soak in this awe-inspiring story, my heart tells me to keep running.  It's a gift I am lucky to have!

Thank you 26.2 for another great race!
A runner

Running on the Las Vegas strip was pretty amazing

A few minutes before the start

People in Elvis costumes- another reason to love the Las Vegas Marathon

Amazing cheering squads- another reason to love running!

 

My old frienemy

Dear 26.2,

     My old frienemy.... we meet again!  The weekend is quickly approaching and I am prepared for each and every grueling mile of your torture.  While I am thoroughly aware the damage you are about to unleash on my body will far exceed the pain you have caused in the past, you should know that never before have I been more proud to conquer you.  And I WILL conquer you!   For the past twenty weeks I have strictly followed a training regime requiring me to regularly wake by 5am and often 4:30am.  All the while, maintaining enough energy to fully devote myself to bring smiles to the faces of my little loves each day.  For twenty weeks you have robbed me of Friday nights with my husband so the rhythmic beating of my feet could wake the sun each Saturday morning.  For a couple of weeks your training brought consistent anguish to my knee forcing me to use my days off as days to strengthen other muscles.  I worried you had gotten the better of me and this long awaited day would arrive with tears of sadness while sitting on the sidelines.  With gritted teeth, I fought through the pain and pressed on to better days.
     The light at the end of the tunnel is faint but growing daily.  On Sunday the rays will burst through as I cross the finish line.  The smiling faces of my family greeting me with cheers.  They have sacrificed as well and maintained constant support on this journey.  I will be cheering right along with them knowing I never could have done it without them by my side.
     And still, I must give you thanks.  Thank you for giving me something to own, something just for me!  Thank you for encouraging me to roll out of bed in the morning so I could witness skies painted all the shades of the rainbow.  Thank you for helping kick my butt in gear!  Thank you for the opportunity to explore many a street in Las Vegas.  Thank you for my first coyote spotting and subsequently an education on what to do if they attack.   Thank you for the quiet, so I could hear the thoughts in my head.  These days that kind of peacefulness can be very hard to come by, as any mom knows.  Thank you for the time to reflect on how blessed I am to be exactly where I am in life.
     So while I despise you for the fury you will soon unleash, the joy of conquering you and the training miles that comes along with it is sure to have me back for more.

                                                                          See you Sunday,
                                                                             A Runner!

Wannabe Photographer??

One of my favorite hobbies is taking photographs.  I am not professionally trained and can't compare to the caliber of photographers we have had the great fortune of working with.  However, I really want to work at getting better at photography and this past weekend I had the privilege of photographing the Reed family.  This adorable family of four is bursting with LOVE!

I am sure a professional photographer would cringe at all the shadows in this photo.  Despite the shadows, I love it! While I love the beautiful photos with everyone smiling right at the camera, you can't feel the love in them like you can in a picture of a family just playing.

One of the things that draws me to photography is being able to capture the wide array of expressions on the faces of little loves.  They are so dynamic, full of life, and free to be just who they are.  Just check out the roar of Baby Boy Reed.  Catching moments like this makes me want to take more and more and more photographs!

Little Man Reed is about the same age as Charlie.  I know it is said way too often but they just grow too fast.  When I look at this photo and the sweet innocence in Little Man Reed's face it reminds me to take in all the cuteness of my own little loves.

I have so much to learn about photography.  I made it a point to try and shoot photos with the sun at different angles and of course in the shade as well.  The rays illuminating these beautiful smiles has an effect that I find to be gorgeous.

One of my absolute favorite photos from the session came totally unexpected.  This was taken probably 45 minutes into the shoot and I think Little Man Reed was sick of the camera in his face but I couldn't help but capture his cuteness while basking in the sun.

I think it's fair to ask what my goal is with all this photography and the truth is I have NO idea.  For now I'm just hoping to have the opportunity to find more families to practice taking pictures with as well as take better pictures of my own little loves since really they are my inspiration for learning how to do this well. 

One thing I think any photographer would love about Las Vegas is rarely having to worry about rain.  To be honest, I couldn't even tell you the last time it rained here. (It's been well over a month)  And you never have to worry about being too cold in the winter.  I guess the flip side of that would be never getting any of those breathtaking pictures in the snow.  All in all, I find my growing passion for photography is helping me learn to love Las Vegas just a little bit more.

I created a website as a place to host the photos I take.  Feel free to check it out.  And to my lovely friends and family reading this if you notice any spelling mistakes, errors etc. on the website please let me know.  It would be much appreciated!

http://littlelovesphotography.smugmug.com/

All Things Halloween

A day in which college age girls (myself included at one point-UGH!) think it is acceptable to wear completely inappropriate attire.  A holiday in which people prance around in hideous costumes attempting to send chills down your back.  A celebration surely to rot your teeth out. Am I painting a clear picture...

Halloween has never been my favorite holiday but this year it brought tremendous joy to our little family! While it certainly doesn't come close to topping my chart of favorite holidays,  I have a new appreciation for a holiday otherwise built on scares and sugar!

I discovered this year that the true bonus to Halloween is that it falls at a time with perfect weather for festivals .

On the Friday before Halloween we went to a small hot air balloon festival only about 15 minutes from our house.  One of Kirby's colleague's and his family joined us for the fun.  They have two kids as well but they are in high school and middle school.  I must say it was awesome to see their whole family having fun together.  And to top it off their kids were nothing but sweet to my two little loves.

Apparently shoes are more interesting than hot air balloons

Charlie and Kirby, on the other hand, were mesmerized by the hot air balloons.

Carnival Rides and All

The day after the Balloon Festival we went to a Fall Festival.  I stumbled upon people setting up for the event while on my morning run and was excited for us all to check it out.

Master Plan fees were something completely new to us moving to Las Vegas.  For those thinking this must be something similar to HOA fees.  It's not-- we pay those too : (   We live in a community called Mountain's Edge.  Our Master Plan fee covers the upkeep of landscaping outside the neighborhoods, our parks and playgrounds, and our new discovery-festivals!

The Fall Festival was free for all residents of Mountain's Edge.  It included trick or treating, one free pumpkin for each child, and a few other fun activities.

My perfect pumpkin picking her perfect pumpkin.

He nailed it after a few swings!

Because they LOVE him!

She is such a Daddy's girl

Then we finished off our weekend of festival by going to the Haunted Harvest Festival at Springs Preserve on Sunday night.  Which leads me to..

Best Mommy Moment: (yep- it's been a while since I've done one of these)  There is no denying my pride in Charlie and Jocelyn's costumes.  I'm sure next year Charlie will request to be Batman or a wrestler or something else I am not a huge fan of but since he made no request this year, I took the opportunity to live it up!

Attempting to get a quality photo of the two of them-- didn't work out so well!

My ketchup and mustard got many compliments on their costumes and I was one proud momma.  The Springs Preserve Haunted Harvest Festival was super busy but the kids had a blast.  They really enjoyed checking out the decorations and seeing the animals in the petting zoo.

That may have concluded are weekend of festivals but it was the beginning of our Halloween fun!


The kids really enjoyed decorating for Halloween (makes me even more excited about Christmas decorations).  It's too bad we didn't do it sooner. Nanny sent window clings that Charlie put up while Jocelyn kept tearing down.

 She also sent some Halloween foam shapes.  I had Halloween foam stickers and googly eyes which we used to create spooky designs.  Then while they napped I strung them up to hang in the doorway.

In my longest post ever, the festivities continued with pumpkin carving!  Charlie "the official scooper" was thrilled to get his hands in the gooey seeds.  And Jocelyn kept trying to sneak the seeds.  We ended up with four pumpkins total from all the festivals we attended.  Charlie picked a design for Kirby to carve in one.  Another pumpkin we drilled holes in to make it look like a lantern.  Charlie turned one pumpkin into a Mr. Potato Head Dog with pieces my mom had given him.  And finally I carved Jocelyn's handprints and footprints into a pumpkin.  My mom's friend, Mrs. Rudiger, sent me the idea on facebook and it was by far our best pumpkin!

v

sneaking seeds

Almost there folks!  We've finally made it to Halloween!!

After all the practice runs during the festivals, Charlie had this trick or treat thing MASTERED!  

Jocelyn just enjoyed waving Hello to everyone!

What is this face about?!?!?!

Daddy letting the kids chow down on candy!  

Truly my little loves had more fun passing out candy than getting it.  Charlie would stand at the end of the driveway and yell "Kiiiidddsss come here.  I'm Ketchup!  And I have candy for you!"
Halloween, you have a new place in my heart

If you ask me I will say that I refuse to be the Momma who goes out and spends $40 on a costume.  However I think I am slightly guilty of this.  If I can create a costume with reusable parts than I feel better about the money spent!

Charlie has been wearing his chef's hat when he plays kitchen and more recently wore it when we were making cookies.
The rest of his costume has now become pajamas!

I admit Jocelyn has not worn the hat again.  She does not like to wear anything on her head-hats, bows, headbands etc. so this came as NO surprise

I would feel guilty about spending $35 on her dress if she was only going to wear it once but I LOVE the dress and it's the reason I didn't iron the label right on to her dress.  Here it is with new tights and headband- most likely to be her Thanksgiving outfit.

I don't think I have ever put a plug on this blog for something but I am going to for this dress.  The designer is LeoandLola on Etsy.  It is such a comfy cotton and the cut of the dress is PERFECT!  If she made it for women I'd buy one for myself.