California Wrap Up

Life is finally settling down after our move to Las Vegas.  I now have a minute or two, during nap time, to catch up on my blogs.  Here are some of the last things we did in California before we moved.

Jessica discovered the joy of wrapping a towel on her head after a shower.

Here's a video.

Heavy Towel Head

Jessica had a strange sore on her neck and we were prepared for the worst.  We were so relieved when it turned out to be an irritated wart.  That made perfect sense too, I had more warts than I could count when I was younger and my little clone appears to have my skin as well, poor baby.  But, we managed to have a good time at the dermatologist anyway.

At the Dermatologist

 We went to Book Family Farm with our Chico Mom's group.  The girls really got to see the life cycle of the chicken and we all got to hang out with our friends one last time.

Girls Posing

Baby Chicks

Feeding Chickens

Allison getting an egg

Jess getting an egg

 The girls are very busy educating daddy on all things MLP and Frozen.

In addition to Elsa and Princess Luna, Jessica also likes to play Rapunzel and Merida.

Merida Wig

 We went to the Chico Mall to meet the Easter Bunny.

 Allison pushed the Easter bunny away.

 She wasn't sure about that giant bunny.

I don't know how I managed to get an decent picture.

Here's a video of the shenanigans. 

Trying to get an Easter Bunny Picture

 The Oak Meadows apartments hosted an Easter party.  They had face painting.

Here are some videos of the Easter Egg hunt.

Egg Hunt

Egg Hunt 2

With their blood sugar spiked, the girls played out the scene in the beginning of frozen where Anna wakes up Elsa, they play in the snow and then Elsa accidentally strikes Anna.  See the video.

Elsa and Anna scene

 We finally made it out to the Thursday Night Farmers' Market in downtown Chico (two days before we left!).

Here's a video of Jessica going down the bouncy slide yelling, "blast off!"

Allison went down the slide also but I wasn't quick enough to get a video.

Blast Off!

This last video is going to make Meema and Grandad sad.  This was the last time we played in Meema and Grandad's back yard.

Last play time at the ranch (meema and grandad's)

The Playground and Pool

Here is a video of the pool and playground at our new house.

playground and pool


Also, we found it was economical for us to rent a luxury apartment in Las Vegas during the time we were waiting for our house to be built than to stay on base for those three months.  So here is the link to the apartments we will be living in.  There are two pools (one of them is heated), a playground for the girls and it's gated.

http://www.thepreserveapts.com/gallery/

New House!

Shopping for a home in Las Vegas was a bit of a culture shock for Joe and I.  All the homes in the nice areas of town are from the same builders and they look very "cookie cutter" with very little yards and usually no grass. They are all really close together too.  Once we drove through base housing we knew we had to rent or buy off base, base housing was depressing.  I looked through a ton of houses and showed Joe the best of the best.  A new home was the best fit for us in the end.  Neither of us liked the idea of having to stay in temporary housing on the base with the girls so I am going to look for a nice apartment for us to live in for three months while our house is being built. Yep, it won't be ready until mid July... but here it is:

The address will be 9037 Magnetic Ct, Las Vegas NV 89149  in the "Gardens at Tapestry" subdivision.

Here are some pictures of the model home and a home that is already built.

Here's a view from the kitchen looking toward the dining room and front door.

 Front door, kitchen island and staircase.

 view of kitchen from living room

 view of kitchen and living room from front door

 view looking toward the front door from the patio doors in the living room.

 view of living room and patio doors from kitchen

 front door and garage and stair case

 view from front door

 girls bathroom

 top of the staircase looking at guest room and master bdrm

 the smallest bedroom has a small walkin closet. Laundry is upstairs.

 view of upstairs hallway from the master bedroom

 master bedroom

 master bdrm and bathroom

 master bathroom

 model house from outside

 separate garages

 view of mountains from the neighborhood

 entry to our subdivision

 house already built

 view from the street, house is in far right corner (guests would have to park on the main street)

 backyard, we would have to put our own awning up if we wanted one

 floor plans- first floor

 floor plans- second floor

We would live right across the street from a nice park with a great playground and a pool.  The girls would go to a five star school and there is lots of shopping nearby.  Joe's commute to work is 30 minutes.


Here's a video of our homesite and the park/pool right across the street.

homesite

Snow Much Fun!

We've had a pretty fun week so far.  On Sunday, my dad came up for a visit and we played all morning at Bille Park in Paradise.  I found an opportunity for a group selfie...

And a silly selfie.

 The girls had a good nap on Sunday.

The week started off pretty warm.  In fact, it was swimming weather on Monday so we went to the park and played in the creek.

Playing at the Creek

 By Wednesday a cold front had rolled in and covered Mt. Lassen with a fresh layer of powder which worked out perfect for our trip to Grandpa's cabin.  There wasn't snow at the cabin but it was only a 30 min drive for us to find it.  I decided the best sleeping arrangement would be a tent on the floor, no falls and no escaping.  It worked well for us.

Snack at the Cabin

 Jessica turned out to be a little snow bunny.  Allison wasn't very fond of the snow, it hampered her mobility,  so I ended up holding her most of the time.

 A snow selfie.

Snow Much Fun

Snow Much Fun 2

Sled

Sled 2

In the double sled video it's pretty obvious that Allison fell off the sled on purpose, she didn't like the fact that the sled was going the opposite direction of mommy.

Double Sled

 I built an "Olaf", the snowman from "Frozen", and Jessica didn't want to smash it but, hey, that's part of the fun of building a snowman.

 I feel bad that Jessica was so distraught over the smashing of Olaf but check out Allison in this video for a good chuckle.

Olaf Smashing

I think Allison enjoyed the hot chocolate much more than the snow.

Hot Chocolate

Three More Wonderful Weeks

It's been almost three weeks since we had to say goodbye to daddy and we're all aching to be near him again.  Luckily we only have to wait three more weeks until we're all together again.  Here's what we've been passing the time with. 

 Uncle Eric got a new puppy he named Sachmo.  He's part Chihuahua but he looks like a miniature deer to me.

Breakfast with Sachmo

 I snuck in a quick visit with Steph and her little girls before we leave.

 Time goes by fast and I know Hannah and Madison will be so different the next time I see them.

Hannah and Madison

 Grandpa took us to Funderland and the girls rode the carousel for about an hour, I lost track of how many times it was.

 Allison demanded to go on the teacups but didn't enjoy it very much.  She chose an orange teacup for daddy.

 Jessica got a Fluttershy MLP on her cheek.

 Allison go a Rainbow Dash MLP.

 Jessica rode the airplanes by herself but freaked out on the little girl in front of her because the little girl wouldn't let her lower the plane.

 We took advantage of some strong winds and flew kites at DeGarmo Park.  I was proud of Jessica flying the kite all by herself and not letting go.  Allison  was content to help Aunt Lindsay with her Dragon Kite.

Jessica's First Kite Flying

Kite Flying

 Aunt Lindsay took us to feed the ducks and geese at California Park.  Allison thought the pigeons were baby ducks.

California Park Ducks

California Park Ducks 2

 Allison always drags her pillow and blanket onto the kitchen floor in the morning. I am usually in there putting away dishes or something.  My mom has pictures of my sister doing that when she was Allison's age.  Jessica got in on it this morning.  Here's a video too.

Kitchen Floor Campers

 Sisters are so sweet.  Lady made them these sparkly skirts and they're a big hit.

Silly Swingers

 Here's our "days left for our family reunion" chain.

 Jessica has learned to write her name, well some of it, in the short time since Joe was here.

Singing Frozen