Visiting New Mexico

As a family, we haven't taken many family vacations. But, we wanted to go somewhere this year. Jordan has a good friend that lives in Texas and we decided that it would be fun to do something together as the two families. We decided to meet in New Mexico where Kevin (Jordan's friend) grew up. There was a lot of out door stuff and activities to do which all the boys would enjoy.

One afternoon, we took everyone out to go shooting. We had a ton of guns and targets and everyone went crazy. Here are some pictures of the activity.

Lucas taking some shots and actually hit some of the targets.

Danny (one of Kevin's girls) taking some shots.

Mason and Breanne (Kevin's sister) watching everyone shooting. I love those neon earplugs in Mason's ear.

This was the highlight of Jordan's year. Nothing can make Jordan happier than when he has a gun in his hand.

Mason and Breanne taking a little walk in the desert.

Kevin shooting his targets.

Trying to hit a target. I tried several times but I didn't hit one thing.

Dylan concentrating on the target.

Dylan spent a lot of time picking up ammo shells. He was excited about how many shells he could pick up.

Kristi (Kevin's wife) taking some shots.

One of the other activities we did on vacation was buy sling shots and have the boys go hit some things. They got pretty good and had a ton of fun.

Here is the Peterson family.

Mason out in the desert.

Mason trying to do the sling shot. He struggled, but if the rock went anywhere he was excited.

Jordan getting serious about his sling shot. One of the fond memories that Jordan has as a boy was getting a sling shot on a vacation and using it the whole time. It really took him back and made him happy.

One of the other things we did was stop at a little outdoor museum. Here is a jeep that was made out of license plates. Jordan thought this was cool.

The boys next to an elephant statue.

Luke on a stone crocodile.

"Four"

The boys next to some animal statues.

Overall, we had a good time in New Mexico and enjoyed ourselves.

Luke's First Diorama

I remember hating doing homework as a kid. Little did I know that once you have kids you have to do school work all over again, including reports. As a kid and teenager, I remember stressing out about reports and not being able to enjoy myself until the report was over. I always procrastinated doing homework and/or reports until the last minute and having to stay up real late the night before it was due trying to get it done on time. Hopefully, I will be able to get my kids to be a little more proactive but the feeling of stress is still the same today.

Luke came home and showed me that he had a report to do on the profession of a Doctor. He had to write a report, give an oral report and create a diorama.

We got it done and here is the final project. This is a doctor's exam room.

Luke got a good grade and was very proud of what he accomplished. One down and hundreds more to go!!!

Going to Vegas

For Christmas, I got Jordan a weeks vacation in Las Vegas. To be honest, the only time that I really see Jordan really happy is when he gets a new tool, gets a new gun or is in a casino. So, I thought I would brighten up his world and take him on a trip to Vegas.

At first I thought, what are we going to do for a week in Vegas? But, we did a lot of fun stuff and had a good time.

Some of the things we did were:

Went to the "O" at the Bellagio - very good!

Went to an improv comedy show - really funny!

Saw "The Lion King" - good!

Went to the movie Avatar in 3D - surprisingly good!

Went on a hike in Red Rock Canyon - beautiful!

Went to Hoover Dam - amazing!

Went to a Time Share Presentation - boring but we got a couple of good gifts and money.

Took Naps - wonderful!

Went to Buffets - probably shouldn't have but you can't go to Vegas without going to one.

Went Shopping - got some good deals!

Went to different casinos - won some money and lost some, overall we broke even.

Went to the "Price is Right" live show - not even close to the real thing, but it was fun.

We had a really good time and enjoyed getting away. I really didn't take my camera to several of the places while we were in Vegas. But, I did take it when we went to Hoover Dam and on our hike. Here are some of the pictures that I took.

Jordan under a statue at Hoover Dam. This was a tribute to all the people that died making Hoover Dam a reality.

This is a bridge they are making at Hoover Dam. It is amazing to look at this structure in person.

When we went on a hike, we saw some really cool rocks that I had to take a picture of.

Hoover Dam

Red Rock Canyon

Jordan out in nature

It was a good trip that we both really needed. We both feel blessed to be able to have opportunities to take a vacation and reconnect with each other and take a step out of the daily grind.

Mason loves Deseret Industries

Periodically we go to Deseret Industries and let the boys pick out a toy if they have done something good during the week. This trip to Deseret Industries, Mason picked out a red car. Mason loves cars, but for whatever reason he played with this car for weeks and wouldn't let it out of his sight. Here are a couple of pictures of Mason playing with his car.

Jordan build a ramp for the boys to use. Mason loved it!!

He kept playing with this ramp and got really excited every time the car went down.

Thank heaven for Deseret Industries!!!

The Best Christmas present ever!!!

For Christmas we got the boys some electric scooters. They were in heaven! Even though it was cold outside but they were outside riding those scooters all over the place.

Here are some pictures of them riding their scooters.

Dylan was born to ride these things. He doesn't have any fear.

They made a little ramp for the scooters. Here is Luke jumping off the ramp.

Uncle Pat was outside playing with the boys and their scooters.

Riding one scooter isn't enough for Dylan anymore. He is trying to ride two.

The rule is if they want to ride a scooter they have to wear a helmet. Here is Luke playing by the rules.

Murder Mystery Party - The Class of '54

My sister Lindsay gave me a murder mystery game for my birthday over 7 years ago and I never have done it. Finally, this year my friends and I decided to do it for New Years Eve. I was really excited to do it and tried my best to get Jordan and myself looking the part.

The theme of the party was the Class of "54.

Here is a description of our role:

Jordan:

Calvin Q. Layder:

The son of prominent Roley City insurance salesman, C.U. Layder "Cal" is a certified genius. While at many schools a science wizard would have no chance of joining the "in" crowd. Cal was a social success during high school largely because he was a terrific practical joker. His jokes, often directed at school administration and occasionally at city officials, earned him such high standing among the students at Roley High that he was a welcome member of any group.

Jodi:

Penelope Lofer

Penolope is the former Penny Roley. Rock N. Roley twin sister. She and Rock grew up in a wealthy family that lived in a big white mansion called "Roley House". During her youth, Penny made sure the house was filled with constant teen-age activity. Today, Penny is a hometown girl who married her high school boyfriend and lives in a pretty house not far from her former home.

It was a fun night playing these characters and getting to find out who killed Rock N Roley. It turns out that Jordan (Cal) was the one who killed Rock N Roley because he was heart broken because the girl he was in love with was killed in High School and Cal felt it was Rock N Roley fault.

We are excited to do another party with a different theme and feel it was a fun activity to play with some good friends.