To Las Vegas Again

My sister Molly and her husband Bruce went on a 2 week cruise and left their kids with my mom to take care of. Molly was worried that Lissa and Timmy wouldn’t get enough attention and that my mom may get a bit overwhelemed and behind in all she always has to do. So I went there for a week to help with the kids. I had a good time, but it was a lot of work and was tiring. But they are cute kids so it was okay. I didn’t see any of my friends while I was there, and really didn’t spend that much time with most of my family. I really mostly just stayed at my parent’s house and took care of kids – which was what I went there for. But my first day there Mindy’s daughter and son, Ellie and Ethan, were over and Lissa and they had a “birthday party” for me, which was so cute and sweet. The next day all my sisters in town came over for Taco Thursday, which is always fun – I love just hanging out with my family, I wish I could do it more often. Another day I went with Mindy’s family, my dad, and Molly’s son Adam to a cub scout picnic where they did an egg drop (my dad and Adam had built an egg drop contraption together). One night I went with my parent’s to a movie. Jenny and Cam and their kids came on Friday – and it was fun to have them. Once they were there Lissa had play-mates, so she took a little less time. Saturday was Michaelanne’s senior prom so we all went over to help/watch her get ready. It was fun to be there for that – she looked really pretty. Monday we went to CJ and Mike’s track meet – which was fun. They did great. My mom made me rolled tacos for a birthday dinner for me (my favorite) and my dad got Cheesecake Factory cheesecakes (cheesecake is my favorite) and Emily’s and Mindy’s families came over to celebrate my birthday – which made me happy. It is the first time that my family has celebrated my birthday in about 10 years – so that was fun. And then the next day I flew out.

The birthday party Ellie, Ethan, and Lissa had for me - too cute.

When Jesse first came to visit Timmy was very curious so he had to take a look.

Lissa, already to go to her princess party.

Okay, look at that smile and tell me you are not completely in-love with him, so adorable!

The tasty cheesecake my dad got me for my birthday - yum!

Amanda Has Entered the 30s Club

Well – it has happened – I’m now 30 (good-bye 20s) and I am fine with it. I had 3 days of fun-filled celebrations (1 for every 10 years of my life). I lucked out and my birthday was on a weekend this year. Friday Ryan invited a bunch of our friends from the ward to join us for dinner at a restaurant we like (Big Tony’s) and it was just fun to spend time with them all. And then we had them over for dessert which was also super fun. They were so nice and gave me gifts even though Ryan told them not to. I have great friends.

Dinner with our friends, the Poyfairs, the Bartons, The Alexanders, Us, and The Binghams


Saturday was my actual birthday. I had initially planned to take the day of from the temple so we could do something super exciting – but then I decided there would be no better way to spend it than in the Lord’s House, and I am glad I made this decision. We started the day out by having brunch at Blue Mesa Grill – it was amazing, I highly recommend it. If you become a member of their Chili Heads Club they will send you a coupon for a free brunch for your birthday – so we only had to pay for Ryan. Even though it is kind of expensive, it is so delicious it is worth it.

This was my first plate of food - I think I probably had 5 more - AMAZING!


We then went and did our shift at the temple, which was great. After the temple we headed to Ennis for the bluebonnet festival. We didn’t actually attend any festival events or even go into town, just went to see the bluebonnets. We didn’t have time to see all the bluebonnets I would have liked to, but we saw quite a few – probably the best ones, and had a good time. We even got to have a yummy picnic in a field of wild flowers, which was nice. It had been raining at the beginning of the day so we were worried it would mess up our flower experience, but it was sunny by the time we were done with the temple and the ground wasn’t even muddy, so it was nice.

Our fantastic picnic.

After our bluebonnet viewing we went to the drive-in movie. Once we parked our car to reserve our spot, we played some miniature golf – which was fun. I came closer to beating Ryan than I ever have (his thumb was broken so he wasn’t playing as well as usual since he couldn’t hold the club right) but I had a couple bad holes and lost my lead – dang it.

Super awesome miniature golf course - right?

I don’t like the way the Honda Fit looks – it is a hatch-back and I have never been a fan of hatch-backs. But it was nice having it for the drive-in. We laid the back seats down (they lay completely flat) and made a bed in the back and then left the back door open – it was awesome. After 2 movies (17 Again and The Fast and the Furious - not great movies but drive-ins are just fun) we headed back to Burleson, very tired.

How we viewed the movie screen from lying down in the back of the Fit - it was better than it looks from this picture - promise.

Sunday afternoon (after we got our naps in) Ryan’s parents and his sister Heather (Sheri was on her way back from a conference in San Diego) came over for dinner. They made Panini’s – they were very good. We had a good time. It was a perfect 30th birthday.

Yummy pound cake Ryan's family brought me for my birthday.

A New Car

A week and a half ago Ryan called me at work and told me his car was making some funny noises and not driving very well, so he took it in to an auto shop. A few hours later they called and told him the clutch is out. His Prizm is a 98 so a little old I suppose, but I had planned on us having it for several more years, or at least a couple more years. But Ryan had the feeling that it would just become a money pit for us if we were to try and keep it as we are not very hand with cars. So we decided it was time for us to buy a new car. He told me it was no big deal since he already knew what car he wanted - a Honda Fit. I was surprised, especially since I had never heard of a Fit and we had never discussed what we would get for our next car. We spent the next Saturday car shopping, I think we went to about 6 dealerships and drove cars on each one. I was leaning towards a Hyundai Elantra of another Toyota Corolla (I really like mine), and I struggled with the Fit. It is a hatch back, I think all hatch backs are ugly. But I figured Ryan would be driving it so it would be up to him more than me what we got, and he wanted a Fit. So this weekend we went ahead, and after checking prices at all the dealers, bought a Fit. (It wasn't really that easy - it was several hours of negotiating and such - what a headache.) But we are now new car owners. What has made me like this car a bit, despite it's ugliness, is its functionallity. the back seat lie down completely flat so there is actually about the same amount of room in the back as a CR-V has. Also, the actual seats of the back row can fold up, leaving a really tall floor space. Ryan sold me on this functionallity by saying it would be great for a dog - we'll see how soon I can get a dog to go with the car.