Whew...

Well, we got a little good news...I'm not pregnant....yet another small miracle that has helped us so far this new year. (Never thought I would say I was glad to not be pregnant, but things change). The news was bittersweet, but for the best for now. We are starting to get some options from the job-front, but are still sweatin' it a little. I will post more when we have something more concrete.

On a lighter note.......my job is going great and I may be getting into a little ballroom dancing soon (courtesy of Tony Delgado of Delgado Dance, and their partnership with at risk schools like mine). Might be a fun new adventure, so we will see what develops.

Starting the new year off with a BANG......

...........and that is not a good bang. We got some bad news this week. Ike went in to work on Thursday and found out he was getting laid off with a few other guys. I guess the company lost a few contracts and needed to temporarily downsize until things picked up. It was a total shock and totaly weird because Ike had just gotten a raise. So, we have officially experienced the effects of this bad economy. Ike did get a little bit of extra pay, so we have a little time to get him another job, but we are not waiting. His company did tell him that he would be one of the first calls for rehire when the economy picks up, but who knows when that will be!

All I can say is THANK HEAVEN I have a full time job that pays fairly well. If I didn't have a degree and a descent job we would be up a creek right now. The ironic thing is that I just took Ike and Dane off of my employer's insurance policy (they were both going to be covered through Ike's job). Now they will have to be on cobra until we can price out another plan. Oh yeah, and did I mention we were in the process of trying to get pregnant?? Not good in this situation...so am I?? Well, we will have to wait and see during the next two weeks because this month's window of babymaking has come and gone...nothing we can do about it now.

So, what are we to do??? Well, we have been thinking the past few days about this and Ike has really wanted to go back and finish his teaching credential so he can coach/teach high school, so we are thinking this may just be the gentle push we needed to get that done before he gets any older. Right now, we are looking to find him a temporary job that can pay the bills until my school year is over. Then, we will likely move back to California so I can find a full time job while Ike goes back to finish his teaching credential. We have found intern programs there where you get hired by a school district for a slightly lower salary, then finish your schooling at the same time. We are looking at Cal State Fullerton's program and maybe a few others. Plus, it doesn't seem too expensive, so we may be able to do it without student loans. The good thing about going back to Cali to do this is that I can make 10-12K more a year teaching there, which is HUGE. With the cost of living about the same in Vegas and Cali right now, why wouldn't we go??

I guess the only thing that might change that is if I find out next week that I am pregnant...then we have to rethink the whole thing, but let's not think about that too much yet!

So we would appreciate your prayers to help us figure it all out. (or if anyone knows of any job possibilities, don't hold back) I know it will, it is just a matter of how it will work. We have alreay realized a few tiny miracles that have happened that have prepared us for this, but didn't know it until now (getting my better job, not buying a house, only renting until June, etc).

Anyway, this is way longer than I expected, but it has been a little stressfull this week and writing can be good therapy!

On a much lighter note....I LOVE Vegas in the winter time. We have had the most beautiful week! It has been in the 60s all week and it is supposed to continue like this next week as well. Today we took advantage and went to the park up the street. There were tons of people there, and one very peculiar person. If you look at the first pic below, you will see a strange person at the top of the slide. After a few glances (and hearing the voice) we realized it is a she-man! It was so funny. This man turned woman had breasts and a very manly jaw, adam's apple, and deeper voice. You could tell that people couldn't stop staring at him (i mean her) even though they tried! So, enjoy the laughs...you probably need it after this depressing post! (click on the picture to make it really big, then you will see the details I am talking about) Happy New Year!!

The long and merry Christmas Post!!

Before going to California for Christmas, we had a Christmas Party at Ike's cousin's house. We had a blast with Ike's aunt and uncle and cousins eating dinner, making gingerbread houses, playing games and playing carols with the bells. The picture of Duke is the game we played. I can't remember the name of it, but you have to roll the dice, and if you get a 1 or 6 you put socks on your hands and try to open a wrapped candy bar with a fork and knife. If you open it befor someone else rolls a 1 or 6, then you get to start eating it, but if not, you have to pass the candy bar, socks, and utensils to the next person who rolled the correct numbers.



Christmas Eve at the Baggley's house (I may have spelled their name wrong). They are part of our new extended family since Kathy (ike's mom) married Dave (Maryanne Baggley's Dad) about two years ago. We had so much fun and Maryanne made a fabulous dinner (kudos also to Debbie and everyone else who helped). We had a blast playing guitar hero (I sucked, so I stuck with playing the foot drum) and singing karaoke. The pajama party ideas was a hit and I love the new tradition for us!

Please help me convince Ike to get a hair cut!!! And for heavens sake...stand up straight! (I just realized how much he is hunched over....not flattering)


Dane's adorable cousin, Waiamea, trying to eat her orange from her stocking.....Geez Mandi...feed your kid!! (LOL) She was so cute to watch when she got her huge Mickey Mouse from santa. BTW, she turned one today...so Happy Birthday sweet girl!


There was the most beautiful rainbow outside on Christmas Morning. It rained the night before, so when we woke up we had an extra present! It was full, and I have a picture from both the front and back of Kathy's house to prove it.



Here are some of Dane's favorite toys. We didn't get a picture of his Kettcar that he got (think pedal go cart for toddlers) from Santa. We have some video, so maybe we can get that posted.



I love this classic Christmas face that Grandma Kathy had when she opened her I pod

We went to disneyland the day after Christmas, and only rode a few rides because it was so busy (we got passes for Christmas and had to get our pictures taken anyway, so we stayed a few hours). This is on the newly renovated Small World ride. I really liked how they changed it for the Christmas Season.

We didn't ride dumbo because the line was long (like all the other rides that day), so we just took a picture inside this stationary replica near the exit.

This is a picture of us on the Matterhorn ride. It was Dane's first time, and he got scared and didn't want to really ride anymore rides after that witout lots of "encouragement" from mom and dad. I tried to get a picture of his face during the ride.

SNOW in VEGAS!!

Yes, it's true.....SNOW IN VEGAS...and lots of it. Two snows in one week, to be exact! The first left an inch or two at the edge of town near the mountains, but this second one dumped on us good! These pics are of my niece and nephew at the park (and one of their street where they live). They got it worse than Ike and I did because they live about 15 minutes further south and the southern part of the valley got it bad! Today, though, it was warmer (in the 40s) and melted much of it. I did get a nice day off because they closed schools....so I say, bring it on again, so we don't have to go to school Friday as well! (Wishful thinking)

Thanksgiving in Washington

We spent Thanksgiving in Washington at Ike's Dad's house this year. It was a great trip, and we are glad to have had the chance to go visit again. The last time we were there was 4 years ago when I was about 10 weeks pregnant with Dane. Ike's Dad has moved out a little more into the country and has a few horses and some fun tractors and other animals that Dane loved. Ike's sister, Ginni, and her family were also there, so Dane got to see his cousin and best friend from when we lived in Utah...Pierce! They had a blast together. We split the trip up in the beginning into two days of driving (about 7 1/2 hours each). While we were there we visited with family, including Ike's Aunt Lynn that lives nearby and Ike's step brothers and sister. We had a bonfire one night, rode the tractors and horses (dane was too scared to get on the horse), and Ike played in his alumni game at his old Junior College where he went to school before transferring to BYU Hawaii. We also took Bo, and he was in heaven running around the property and chasing us in the tractor. I think he had a hard time with the colder temps though....I think living in Vegas the past 6 months has kept him from getting his winter coat that he usually got up in Utah this time of year. All in all, it was a great trip, and my only complaint is that we didn't have two days at the end of the weekend to drive home. The 15 hour drive in one day was insane, but we did it and we are now taking this week to wind down, do laundry, catch up on our favorite tv shows, and relax a little until our next trip to Cali at Christmas......thank heaven it is only a 3 hour drive!

6th Anniversary

Last weekend was our 6th anniversary (the 16th). The time goes by so fast. It seems like only yesterday I was getting married and getting ready to celebrate the big 25. Now, 6 years later and almost 31, I have never doubted the choice I made that day! Life just wouldn't be very fun or mean very much without Ike (and Dane)! Since our day fell on a Sunday, we celebrated Sat night by going to dinner at the Top of the World Restaurant at the top of the Stratosphere. It was a surprise, but when we pulled into the casino parking garage I, of course, knew where we were going. I have always wanted to go up to the top, but to have dinner up there was even better! The dining room of the restaurant rotates, so we got a panoramic view of the city of Lights! It was amazing...I even saw my school (it is only about a mile from the stratosphere). After dinner we went up to the observation deck where the totally insane can ride rides that hang off the sides of the structure (did I mention it is about 1000 ft in the air?). We stayed up there for a while to watch the crazies scream their heads off, then we played a few slots with about $20 and then headed home. It was a really fun night, and since we hadn't been on a date in a while, it was definitely a nice night away. I wish I could get videos to work on this thing, because I have a great video of one of the rides. Next time, maybe.

Air Show 2008

We went to the air show at Nellis Air Force Base on Saturday. It was Dane's first, and I haven't been since I was so young that I don't remember anyway. We got there right after the doors opened and I am so glad we did. THey bussed everyone from the Nascar parking lot to the base, and by the time we got on the bus the line looked like at least a 1/4 mile long. We were worried about the traffic, so we only stayed about two hours, but saw some really cool jets, stunt planes, parachute tricks, helicopters, and even a jet car that raced an airplane. I will definitely take a chair, some more sunscreen, a hat, and be prepared to stay longer next time....what a cool event....and it's FREE! Here are some pics..

Dane loved being able to climb on some of the airplanes



There was a huge military cargo plane on display that you would walk through.

Here is us walking up into the rear of the cargo plane...it was ginormous!

the Thunderbirds were impressive (although we left before their demonstration because, as you can see, Dane was out)