beautiful Bellagio.

Wes' cousin's daughter (Raygan) stayed with us for 2 nights last weekend due to a layover from New Orleans to home in Boise, ID.

Wes was busy with Week of Hope on Sunday night so Raygan, Colton, and I went to the Bellagio, drove on the strip to see the sights, and then to the famous Las Vegas sign.

munching and people watching = happy boy!

Raygan & Colton.
Oldest great grandchild & youngest great grandchild.

he LOVED the fountains.

Raygan.

cuteness @ 16 months.

isn't he handsome??

just a night.

does a Mom's heart good to see her son loving books as much as she does!!
Colton was very quiet...so I snuck in to check on him--just to make sure, you know!--and this is how I found him.
In his book basket with his favorite counting book open on his lap.
LOVE.

Colton has been into playing in his closet or our closet a lot lately. He likes the small space...a perfect fit for him. On this evening he not only pulled all the blankets off the shelves, but he climbed on up to see what it was all about.

Scrunchy face!!
This is the face I get when I say..."Colton, smile for Mommy!!"
Silly little guy.
check out his left hand. freshly picked this off a kitchen cabinet door. i'm suprised there are any more little rubber stoppers to be found!!

his loot off the kitchen cabinet. :)

4:30 bathtime.

when it's 104* outside and your son begs for a bath at 4:30p.m. a mom thinks to herself, why not?!
*begs for a bath looks like this: walking by the guest bathroom, Colton points to the closed bathroom door and says "dadada" in the sweetest voice. So we go in. he then is practically jumping out of my arms to get into the tub. so i put him in. fully clothed, no water. he's happy. thus the bath so early. oh, and we filled up the tub 3 times cuz running water is his favorite. :)

love his serious face.
can't you just hear it now..."geez mom. i'm trying to take a bath. can you please put the camera down?"

car wash.

surprise face after dumping water over his head and face.

full of giggles he wipes the water from his eyes.

Week of Hope 2012



Week of Hope 2012 in Las Vegas started!!
week one = 35 campers w/ adults.
week two = 75 campers w/ adults.
week three =  no campers due to July 4th.
week four = 45 campers w/ adults.

Wes works all year long finding a lodging facility that will accomodate the campers, space for the evening program, tables for meals, and a kitchen. This year Week of Hope is at Oasis Baptist Church. It's a church plus a Christian school...with a huge gym for basketball! The facility fits our needs...minus the kitchen. We keep saying..."It's a mission trip people!" Doesn't have to be comfy-cushy with a full blown kitchen...although that'd be nice when doing dishes and preparing meals!! No indoor showers either...portable showers for all! :)

Wes also sets up community service partnerships in Las Vegas, Henderson, and Boulder City. He contacts, coordinates, contacts, and coordinates some more. He works so hard to make sure the community service projects that the students are going to be involved in for the week are meaningful for all.
The students (middle school & high school aged) are loving on people at:
Boulder City Senior Center
Club Christ
Family Promise
Las Vegas Rescue Mission
St. Jude's
Green Valley Library
Raised Arm Ministry
Women's Medical Resource Center
Del Mar Gardens

Sundays...Wes grills up dinner for the arriving campers.

Monday-Thursdays....the campers go to community project sites from 9am to 3pm

Tuesdays...the campers have the night off to hang out in Vegas. The summer staffers...Jamie and Alli come to our house to use a real shower and then they too have the evening to them selves.

Thusdays...we go for dinner at the camp, talk to the campers & leaders, get feedback and hear God Sightings. God Sightings is a time during the evening program where the campers share how they witnessed God working during the day at their site. It's pretty amazing to hear.

Fridays...the campers head home & the summer staffers have the night off and stay in a hotel room. Usually for Week of Hope they use Cysco to order food and supplies. Since we have 3 weeks this year it wasn't cost effective. So, I take the Jamie & Alli to Costco on Friday to stock up for the next week. The first week it took us 3 hours, 2 flat bed carts, and 1 cart w/basket (Colton was there too!). The second time we shopped for the group of 75 we took 1 hour, 2 flat carts and 1 basket cart (Colton is such a big helper!!). We got smart the second time around...splitting up the shopping list is wise!!

Saturdays...the girls come over to do laundry and end up hanging out with Colton and me. It's so much fun feeding these two college aged women and hearing their life stories. They are so grateful for the comforts of a home--who knew how lovely a shower & laundry & homemade muffins could be?

during the week we stop by the camp to see how things are going...Wes sometimes fixes something...I chase Colton out of the food supplies...we chat with the girls about the week.

and then it's Sunday again and we go again!

It's such a blessing to us to bring Week of Hope to Las Vegas each summer.
Our prayer is that the students would leave changed. Changed in growing closer to God. Changed and ready to impact their community at home just like they impacted our community this summer.

Bob & Karen Holder.
The Holders live in Brigham City, Utah and came down to be Hospitality Team Members for the week. They served the campers as the campers were serving the community.
Wes and their son, Joel, have been buddies since school. So, it was nice to catch up with them as we popped in and out for the week!

Colton is helping do paperwork. He's a big help!!

Colton with his buddy, Alli.
She's from Pennsylvania and is working the Week of Hope camp with Jamie (not pictured yet).

Colton and Bob playing with the camp's cups.

beat the heat.

welcome to summer in Henderson, Nevada....where it's a lovely 106*.
we play outside early and late. lunch thru dinner time are indoors. thankfully Colton's taking a nap from 12 to 3 so that helps us beat the heat. we keep busy with indoor activities during the hottest hours. :)

hours of fun in Daddy's sock drawer

naps are sweet after hours in the backyard Sunday morning.
*see his item of the day?

play date!
Andrea (my teaching twin), her daugher Avery, and son Liam (not pictured)

Bellagio Conservatory on a Sunday night.

couponing after the grocery store with Mommy.

sooo handsome!
he lets me "do" his hair with gel.
we also brush our teeth (he has his own baby sized) together.
don't forget to lotion our legs & arms in the morning cuz it's a desert out there!

it's a red marker.

Rad Mom Moment...

Our little boy loves to take a book, block, remote control, spoon, really whatever is his "item in his hand" for the day to nap or bed. He's a belly sleeper, so he takes the item and puts it under his belly, curls his legs up so his bum is up in the air, squirms a bit to get comfy and falls asleep.



some of the funny items Colton has taken with him to naptime or bedtime.
any book that tickles his fancy.
a block. but only red and it must be a single, not double.
remote control. this one goes to dvd player...he also takes his "play" remote.
1 tbsp. had to rescue then wash before muffins!
baby q-tip. he pulls apart the ends and drops cotton all over the house...my very own little hansel.
the cover to a picture in his flip book...that he muscled off the page. :P

Recently he has wanted to carry around the house a red crayola marker. He found it in the garage as we were leaving for our walk on Monday night. He held onto it the entire time then used it as a digging tool in the front yard.

happily holding the marker...cap ON

Not a big deal...I thought when he wanted it off the counter last night. He's not taken the cap off....yet. So, this red crayola marker was his item of choice for bedtime.

I always go to check on Colton when his 20 minutes of music turns off.
I found a sweetly sleeping little boy covered in red marker.
It looked like a crime scene. Wes was still working so I texted him a warning so he wouldn't freak out. "It's marker. NOT blood."

His sheets were covered. His pajamas. His hands. And a bit of his face. 

He was quite the artist before he fell alseep!!

In the morning when I went to get him, he pointed to his sheets, "da" he said. He pointed to his shirt "da" again. He pointed to his hands "da da". I just nodded and smiled. :) 

a fork, spoon, fingers, & a straw.

southwest mac & cheese is yummy...and healthy!!
and sometimes it is SO yummy that the fork just isn't fast enough. :)

cucumber on a fork.
delish.
*someone hasn't liked veggies for a while...so we were stoked he ate these!! the fork helped make them fun & interesting!!*

homemade banana ice cream.
yummy!!

Mommy's energy drinks to keep up with a busy 16 month old!

iced coffee. yummy. some days i need an a.m. & a p.m. fix to make it to bedtime!
i started cold-brewing our iced coffee and it is so good! i make up a batch for the week and keep it in my nifty beverage dispenser Wes got me for Mother's day. here's the recipe. i only use half and half or creamer, not the fancy stuff the recipe says, to save a few calories.
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/06/perfect-iced-coffee/

green monster smoothie. packed with spinach, but you can't taste it cuz the banana covers it. yummy!!
i keep offereing the smoothie to Colton--he's not too sure about it. (he only drinks water & whole milk, no juice) but, he sees mommy enjoying it so he'll have a sip or two and be done. yet again looking for a way for him to get veggies!
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/01/skinny-green-monster-smoothie.html

most favorite food....strawberries!!!

Colton emptied the utensils drawer to pull out the measuring cup, chip clip, and a dish towel.
then he proceeded to move the goldfish from his snack container to the measuring cup and then to his mouth.
such a sweet, silly boy!!

Father's Day 2012

Wes.

loving. funny. silly. playful. cuddler. helpful. role-model. godly man. provider.

father is he.

Happy Father's Day to Wes!!

Someone's very interested in his own straw and lid.

cute as can be!!

Grillin' it up on Father's Day!

Who serves others on a day that should be all about him, celebrating what a wonderful father he is??
That's right, my amazing husband.
Week of Hope started today...so here we are cooking the 35 campers and adults dinner!  

climbing the stairs to the portable classrooms...where the campers slept.

playing in the dirt.

p.s. it was 106* today!!