My top NINE take aways from conference in no particular order:

1. Boyd K. Packard: “Do alot of forgiving and a little repenting.” Which in turn will give you the companionship of the Spirit and you will be blessed.

2. Richard Maynes: Family prayer, family scripture study, and family home evening will oversome the false traditions of the world and offer power and protection.

3. Cecil O. Samuelson, Jr.: Being hard on oneself when having sinned can be just as destructive as being casual in repentence.

4. Dallin H. Oaks: Desire leads to Priorities, which leads to Choices, which leads to Actions, which leads to what we Become.

5. Also DHO: We can override our basic desires for the welfare of others. (In my case, override my desire to sleep for the welfare of Grant and other future babies I have)

6. M. Russell Ballard: Treat others as you would like to be treated (so cliche and true. Yet many people overlook this or don’t practice it...include myself sometimes.)

7. MRS: If we don’t serve others there is little purpose in our lives.

8. Deiter F. Uchdorf: Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary use words. Lol. Love it! Aka be an example! :) People will wonder why you are happy and at peace and then you will share the reason... The gospel!

9. Have picture of the temple in every bedroom in the home.

You probably loved conference. I know I did!

Blogging slump.

So I'm having one of those months where my blogging goal is in a slump. Partly because I haven't found my camera and my favorite part about blogging is posting pictures and videos. I also haven't actually put forth much effort in finding the camera... so the faults on me of course. But whatever. I don't feel like blogging but I will tell you some things Grant has been doing. He is teething. He is doing ring around the rosie. He is "running". He said "Jesus" at church the other day. He takes one, long, glorious nap a day. He doesn't like to be in his high chair too long, but is still hungry when we take him out... ugh. He reads books to himself. So cute! And he is walking backwards lol. His newest sign is baby.

In other news, Perry and I had our anniversary a couple days ago. It was so nice! I am probably forgetful but it was probably the best one yet! I blend together anniversaries and birthdays so I can never remember what I did or what he did for past ones specific to the dates. Anyway but it was great. Here is an excerpt from the letter I will be sending Megan today. I feel really redundant when I blog something and tell her something so enjoy!

"In the morning Perry took Grant when he woke up and let me sleep in. The he brought me a simple breakfast in bed (eggs, toast, frozen strawberries and blueberries, juice, and orange slices/quarters), then be gave me a colorful assortment of roses: pinks, whites, and oranges. Then when I got up up he brought me a bouquet of daffodils. Then he did a treasure hunt that made for him where he ended up in the bathroom to find a watch with a faux leather band (The theme was leather for third year of marriage presents). Then he brought out my present which were some cute conservative 2 inch heals...Also he got me a reversible black/brown leather belt from the DI. After we put Grant down we went to Anthem View Restaurant for lunch. We had a 2/1 coupon and I was already planning on taking him there before I got the coupon. It is romantic, cheap, and overlooking the valley.  After that we took a nap together. For dinner he took me to the Excalibur hotel/casino and we saw The Tournament of the Kings, which is like Dixie Stampede in Branson but more showy cuz its Vegas you know. So that was great fun yelling and eating and what not. Afterwards we got Uswirl and watched 24. Then right before bed Perry showed me the most sweetest thing ever, which you probably already saw before, but the music video that Perry made called “Where You Are”, he showed me it and it made me cry. So sweet. I loved it! So basically the best anniversary ever."

So I have got to brag. He is the best husband ever (Am I biased?)

Also to finish up, I must tell you.... Perry is going out of town to Provo, UT to look for work. I am a very dependent in the clingy sort of the word and ever since we have been married I want to spend every moment I can with him. But I have an inkling when it comes to having children. I think children make you less dependent and more independent and that is probably what has happened. A couple years ago Perry was going to go to CA to visit family for a weekend (well a friend's wedding was the main reason). I had to work (we had no baby), and last minute I joined them on the trip. Of course its different now. I thought about surprising Perry with coming but I really don't want to go. Traveling with a baby is less than ideal. I avoid distressing, frustrating situations. Also the weather there is also less than ideal. I mean who in their right mind would willingly leave 80 degree weather to go to a colder climate. I think not. I am so attached to sunshine I will not leave unless I am moving... which may be soon, if Perry gets a job.  So alas, I have some good quality time with Grant ahead. I am excited to see how it goes. This gives me much hope for future where Perry really will be gone all day for his career and sometimes not able to attend to children as he prepares lessons and whatever he does for his career. I will be able to handle it and it will be empowering!

So I'm late...

I know this is a later post than intended.  I know. Its because I can't find my camera and there are some cute videos of him doing some cute things... like sliding down the slide by himself! As well as climbing up to slide by himself.  He is also doing a lot of cute things that I can't remember what they were because they are on the camera. But I also can't remember some things he has done because we didn't get it on camera because I can't find it! Ah! But I do remember this: We went to the Barry Manilow concert here in Vegas at the Paris hotel and casino. They are right too. It is a romantic hotel disregarding the smoke that is. However the hotel didn't have as much smoke as most of the other casinos. We had a blast! He did some really fun things like show a record when he was four, singing Nature Boy by Nat King Cole. Now that would be a hard song to sing as a four year old. Another cool thing he did was do a duet with a video clip he did on the "Midnight Special" back in the 70s! Thanks to Chameleon for the tickets. He is so awesome and thoughtful to think of us and invite us! That is all I can remember for the week... but hopefully I can find my camera so I can actually show some cute stuff! Ugh!

Here is the song, done Moulin Rouge style:

Here is a VERY short video of Grant chillin' on a chair:

Bubbles and Kicks

So there isn't much to report for the week. But once I say that I always find something to ramble on about lol. Well here are the Grant updates. We enjoyed the spa this week and when Perry was with Grant, he slipped from a step and got dunked lol. He had some food in his mouth so I think that is what helped him hold his breath. He didn't even seem phased by the experience, like it never happened. Since we went in the spa and did some swimming exercises with him like teaching him how to kick and blow bubbles he now practices sometimes while in the bath tub! He lies on his tummy and kicks and kicks. It is so adorable seeing him learn and connect the dots with everything.

 Currently he has a cold. Bleh. I have a minor cold. I'm really pushing the fluids, vitamin C, echinacea, and garlic pills. We also like to juice carrots, apples, oranges, strawberries, and cabbage and drink that to give our bodies a boost during sickness. It actually tastes pretty good and thats coming from a really picky eater here.  I'm sure my mom is glad to hear that I'm getting more in to the raw foods things however I will stand by my ice cream and chocolate and my meat protein no matter what.

I believe Grant will be a great piano player someday. He loves playing it.  He dances to music a lot and clicks his tongue while dancing (something weird his grandma taught him lol). Grant has a unique way of getting into things. He will open a drawer and either transfer the contents to a different drawer or put new things in the drawer like toys and silverware.  He still loves being outside.  I will be taking him to the humane society soon to see all the animals. As a sick baby there is usually only one night where he gets me up once in the night. And the rest of the nights he does great! He loves cheese. Loves cars, balls, and vacuums.

 As far as the parents, Perry and I have watched a lot of redbox movies this last week, and eaten a lot of ice cream. We sent Megan a bunch of packages and mail over the weekend. She will be one happy missionary! I got her some candy I had never heard of... she loves to try new candy.  I also got her some tic tacs and googly eyed stickers. Perry and I went on a date to Haagen-dazs and it was located at the MGM grand hotel/casino. We parked, got our free haagen-dazs (courtesy of Haagen-dazs facebook page, offer expires 24th), which was pretty big and actually worth like 8 bucks. Then we walked back to the parking lot and got into the elevator to find our floor and decided to just enjoy our ice cream while playing in the elevator. We did that silly thing where you press all the buttons in the elevator so it takes forever to go up or down, Good thing nobody came on during that whole time. And now that I think of it I hate elevator rides because get motion sick very easily. I'm surprised I never felt nauseaus. We went to the top and thought it was romantic (due to being able to see the city) for a split second until we realized there was NOBODY up there and then got the chills thinking about "I am Legend" so we left after that thought lol. It was a fun little date. Just paying for the gas to get there.

New Discovery!

Loungin'

So this week was full of fun outings. We discovered that in Vegas there is a cheap theater. It costs $1.50 for regular admisssions and a dollar for matinees and Tuesdays!! So excited. So After scouts, which went well by the way (I think the boys like me), we went to see Tron. I recommend it if you like sci fi action and clean entertainment. I also got a little candy. Now I can't remember what days each things happened. Here are a few other things we did this week:  We went to a networking party for local wedding photographers, DJs, and singers, etc.. and enjoyed the 80s theme and music and food. We also enjoyed listening to wonderful pianist play their stuff. We also went out to dinner with some family which was a lot of fun. They are on Perry's side of the fam. I'm glad we are getting to know them too. I love my in laws! We went out to dinner to an awesome Bbq grill called Lucilles. Mmmm mmm!

Remember that family outing to the strip: The following are a few pictures from that trip (Bellagio Glassblown  lights)

My new niece Hailey

Another night Perry and I got some Josie's frozen yogurt (I liked it better than Uswirl!) and then we went to a plane landing viewing spot and told each other jokes and read some Dave Ramsay. Now that I think about it, we probably could have listened to his radio show also if we wanted to. By the flight landing area you can also tune your station to the pilots speaking to the tower. It was pretty neat. I really want to bring Grant there. He has really noticed planes in the sky lately so it would be cool to show him planes up close and loud!

Bellagio fountains area

We also went to see a show called DAO at the Riviera Casino, courtesy of our good friend Chameleon. It was very entertaining, funny, and impressive. Afterwards we walked around the city around the Bellagio and the Flamingo hotels. Perry serenaded us (me, Chameleon, and his date) and then we walked back. Chameleon showed us this amazing pianist who is probably known world wide but has a job playing in a nice bar/restaurant in one of the casinos. The only damper was traffic when leaving the Bellagio. I swear we were trying to get out of the parking lot and it took us a half hour! The GPS said we would get home at 11:30pm but we didn't get home until 12:15am which was really 1:15am due to day light savings. Ugh. So I'm tired but we did manage to attend the whole block at church! I think God is blessing me with strength because we went to church because as soon as I got ready or got up from bed, but not before, I have felt great. Really like a brick hit me in the face when I woke up, but awesome once I got up! lol. I love blessings!

MGM Grand lion viewing area.

Notice the Flamingos :) Poor Grant didn't get a nap until 6pm

So we are really having a great time exploring Vegas and going on double dates and being young! If it wasn't for our friend we wouldn't nearly be having as much fun. I really want to visit the M&M shop and a couple other stores on the strip. Anyway, Grant. He is such a good calm baby. We love him so much. But we are also looking forward to putting him in nursery! He is just the light of my life, other than Perry and I have so much fun with him everyday playing with him and going to the park and the warm weather really brightens my mood a ton! Happy Saint Patrick's Week! Don't forget to eat the traditional meal of Corned beef and cabbage, with potatoes and carrots in a crockpot. Its a super yummy and easy dish! Its tradition!

Bellagio chocolate fountain. Mmmmm.

Shout out to Megan! This is at the Bellagio Gardens. 

Also for Megan. She loves horses!

Oh the joys of youth!

He loves his smoothies!

Walkin the stroller.

What a goof ball!

So its time for a new post for the week. I feel like I'm a teenager again or childless individual except I'm not a teenager and I have a baby.... scratch that! Toddler! He toddles.. walks. Anyway he is such a big boy to me. He has become increasingly picky lately in his food this week but eats like 6 times a day! He is still sleeping through the night (8ish to 7ish) and I am never going back.. of course until another baby comes along. Grant throws tantrums and drinks from a cup by himself. He also blows bubbles in his bath water and loves to go to the park. I love him so much and I don't think I will wean him until indefinitely two years old. It is just so much easier than bottles and temperatures etc... So back to the first statement. Now that Perry and I have younger friends we are living it up hanging out and enjoying ourselves and sometimes that means staying up way past our bedtime. The latest thing we did was go to Fremont street which is like the old strip. There are entertainers and music and of course the city never sleeps. I think that is why I never got tired. Everybody was just so awake like it wasn't midnight. So we stayed out until 2. It was a blast. Perry also got to play an impromptu gig at a cafe called Elixir. He played a couple of his songs and the aforementioned Chameleon's sister sang a couple of her songs while Perry played guitar. She has a deep soulful voice and I have one of her songs stuck in my head. She wants me to sing back up and I'm timid about the whole thing because of my lost voice issue. But I may be brave enough to sing... maybe. Earlier in the week Perry and I also saw the movie The Eagle with Chameleon and a date. I think my favorite part though was staying home with Perry after getting some USwirl and cuddling up on the couch to watch Smallville. Mmmm mm! Anyway life is good. The weather is warm. We run while Grant is in the stroller and Grant is getting cuter everyday. I can't wait until he is like a real real toddler and talking more. That will be so fun!

What a week!

Eating a very healthy breakfast: Fresh juice, strawberries, and eggs.

****Warning: Very long post!****

     What a fun week we had. I don't want this blog to be all about just what we did but possibly some more thought put into it with ideas and such. However, for now I don't have anything like that. Soon though. So Monday was great! Perry helped move someone's stuff with a new friend we will call "The Chamelion". He chose the name and didn't want to use his real name for privacy purposes. So Chamelion is like the nicest person we have ever met. He for one is giving Perry work through tutoring but also the moving jobs. Also when Perry tutors him, Chamelion always buys Perry something to eat (Which of course is the way to Perry's heart lol). But then we were invited to see "Recycled Percussion" which was the top finalist in America's Got Talent. They were sooo good and loud and definitely a young people type of show but there were some older people in the audience. We were a tad late because we were given like an hours notice and Grant doesn't go to bed very early but he went to bed at 7pm that night. I was shocked because he had had a 4 hour nap that day and usually when I'm trying to get ready for a date he doesn't  seem to cooperate and go to bed when I try to get him down. So anyway perfect scenario. After the show I got to know Chamelion's sister and his date. We went to a mexican restaurant down the road and ordered dessert. But to tell you the truth I think I enjoyed this interaction the most. We were laughing and talking and just having blast. Perry and I don't know anyone our age here in Vegas due to the area we are living. A lot of retired rich individuals and we are the poor helpless free loaders. Anyway things will change soon on that front. Back to the story: We just loved hanging out with those people. Chamelion's sister was so funny and Chamelion is just such a thoughtful individual. A great people person, and I perceive a very intellectual person inside his noggin. I feel like I want to know this guy forever and Perry and him, before I met him were like insta-friends. He also reminds me of a guy I used to know back in Redding, CA. This old friend and I could talk for hours and we were also friends immediately. I'm assuming he is going to read this blog but I didn't write all these nice things because of it. This is just how I feel and he is for real.
     Anyway, enough! Enough! So Tuesday we got a much needed oil change because our car is older it needs to be well taken care of. Well every car does but things go wrong much faster on older cars. I had cubscouts that evening and we were making decorations for the blue and gold dinner coming up this week. I am over the Bears but somehow I was put over the Webelos. It was pretty fun for a change.

    Wednesday Perry, Grant, and I went to Grant's WIC appointment. Grant had great fun playing with all the new toys there. He was weighed: 19.10 lbs (almost big enough for a forward facing carseat....Ours requires 22lbs.) Measured: Don't remember. And we learned he is average in height and the lowest line on the chart for weight. She said he was very small but we obviously know our boy and he can eat. He eats 3 big meals a day and 3 big snacks a day. I don't think he is lacking in nutrients. Now that he is a year though I will no longer we on the WIC and we will just have him. Due to that change he gets whole milk which the woman said should strengthen his body as he gains fat from the milk as well. Now I'm not the biggest fan when it comes to cow's milk. Its not exactly made for humans. It is acidic to the body. However I'm okay using it unless Grant has like a reaction. So far he hasn't had a reaction. But he isn't crazy about it either. It will take a while for him to actually drink it all the time. He really likes to drink freshly juiced apples, carrots, and greens. He also gets a smoothie every day. I think is just fine but moving on. Grant also got his big toe poked to check his iron levels. They were nice and high and I was so nervous about you know him not liking the poke, but he didn't even seem to notice.  After that appointment we went to the Health District to get his due shots (immunizations). I was less nervous here. But we knew he was in need of a lot of shots. I had to hold him and he got one shot in his left arm and one in his left thigh. Then we turned him the other way and he got THREE in the other arm. Poor baby. So sore. He cried and cried and cried. But he got a total of 7 immunizations in FIVE shots. Ah!!! I just have to keep thinking that it is for the best. After the appointment we noticed he had a hematoma in his mouth. Look it up. It is supposed to go away in a week. It is basically gone now but that explains why he has been so crabby even after having teethed a tooth.  He got a fever the night after the immunizations were given.

    Finally I went to the other DI this week. I had dreamt about going for like 3 nights in a row but in my dream I kept ending up at the other DI! So frustrating! I had to go! I bought a bunch of blouses, a couple skirts, a dress, and some other cute items. Perry worked all day on Saturday and we had stake conference. It was like a tribute to Joseph and Emma Smith. Very nice; a lot of musical numbers. I had a hard time paying attention because my mind was racing about other things but I tried.
  Among other things Grant has started to become so darn cute. I mean he has always been cute but seeing him learn is awesome. He does the book sign when he wants to read a book and then picks one out and holds it out to me with the biggest smile ever. Then when he is done he will throw it on the ground and then get another book to read. Every once in a while he will try to put it back where he found it. He also signs the food sign when he is hungry and goes into the kitchen. He used to always sign the milk sign when he was hungry but now it has transitioned! Grant has also started throwing tantrums regularly which causes him to accidentally bonk his head on the ground. Ouch!

Anyway those are the updates. Love it or leave it!
See you next week!