It's THAT Time of the Year!

I did this to myself last year, too. I seem to always have so much going on this time of the year that I end up falling behind posting pictures.

Last Thursday Crista, one of my best friends, flew into Vegas for a work convention. I am not sure if this makes sense, but it was wonderful and horrible at the same time. I found that I did NOT like sharing her with her work buddies. My parents have been in this same position before, so I completely understood. I don't have to like it though!

Nevada became a state on October 31, so every year we get the last Friday of the month off in observation. I took Leigha to the eye doctor with me. I accidentally snapped my glasses in half A MONTH AGO! This was the earliest I could get it to get new ones. I ended up being there for 2.5 hours. Leigha was GREAT! I couldn't have asked for her to behave any better. She made a few friends in the waiting room and she even helped veto a few pairs of frames for me. Unlike Lens Crafters, I have to wait at least a week for them to be finished. I am looking forward to being lazy and not wearing my contacts daily!

Leigha and I headed over to Crista's hotel to meet her for lunch. Crista only had 50 minutes to hang out with us so I picked up lunch for Leigha at McDonald's and we had lunch in their conference room. Leigha loved the big fancy tables. She loves hanging out with Crista even more (than Mom). Leigha has loved hotels ever since we started doing our cross country drives each summer. This time was different, it was a hotel and not a motel! I told her not to get used to it.

Crista and Leigha


Leigha was a great photographer! Cathy and Crista


It's fun to have someone to be silly with!


Cathy and Leigha


Around 9 p.m. my niece came over to watch Leigha (the boys were sleeping) so I could meet Crista and some of her friends at the strip. I typically do NOT go to the strip unless I have out of town visitors. I had a great time though! We walked along the strip and popped in and out of casinos. It was the weekend before Halloween so it was a great night to people watch. Crista and I were having a blast making fun of the outfits people were wearing, both Halloween and the ones that were just awful for no reason.

Saturday afternoon I had a visit from one of my other best friends, Sharon. Sharon and I grew up skating together and ended up in Vegas because of Disney on Ice. We don't see each other very often, but it's great when we can get together! She is now 24 weeks pregnant with her first baby (but she is a GRANDMA already). It was so fun to see her!

The boys had fun with her. Robert was liking her sunglasses!


Sharon at 24 weeks pregnant with her future princess.


On Saturday my niece was supposed to come over to watch the kids again. She had promised Leigha she would help her make the Fun Dough cookies. I was so relieved. I had absolutely NO desire to make those again. The last time we made them, it took forever. Unfortunately, Crista was too exhausted from all of her meetings and staying out the night before. She decided she wasn't going to do anything, which meant I had to cancel my niece. It was no big deal UNTIL I realized that meant that I had to make the cookies with Leigha. UGH! We made cookies for about 2.5 to 3 hours. I smartened up this time. Instead of trying to make flowers and other designs, I just made round cookies and let Leigha decorate them. Then I had another brilliant idea. I just grabbed handfuls of each color and made swirl cookies. I wasn't mad at Crista for TOO long!



On Sunday Crista came over to hang out with us for a few hours. She had finished her meetings and was headed to a strip hotel to be closer to the airport. It was the first time she could just sit down and relax with the kids. Wait, that doesn't sound right. I don't think it's possible to sit AND relax with MY kids! The kids loved having her there and so did I! It was sad saying goodbye. We won't see her again until we drive out to the east coast next summer.

I think it's getting harder for Crista to get a picture with all four of my kids!




Crista quickly learned how to get Matthew to use his walker. He LOVES his Big Bird Book.


Matthew loves his "baibow" pages.


We barely fit on the couch this year.


Even though we only had a few hours to spend together, we were texting each other all of the time. I am still new to this (only got it because of her) but I am getting faster! Just wait until the spring when I am eligible for a new phone and I can get one that has the entire key pad. I will be FASTER then!