What's Stolen in Vegas, Stays in Vegas

After babysitting my cousin's kids, we met up with Troy in Vegas for a baby product convention. Many of you may know that my mom has been involved in the production of the Baby Banana Brush - a silicone toothbrush for babies. Troy recently helped design the Baby Banana Brush Teether. We went to the convention to help out at my mom's booth and to promote the new product.

It was awesome to see thousands of baby/toddler items in one room. I wanted to buy everything for Erica. It was a pretty successful show and our booth sold over a thousand items. We even got to put Erica on the new package. Beforehand, we did about 10 different photo shoots and thousands of pictures before we came up with something good enough to be photoshopped. This is not the final package picture, but gives you an idea.

Since Erica was with us, we would switch off in the day. Troy would go to the convention in the morning while I played with Erica and then I would work the convention in the afternoon. My brother was there with his wife and kids who did the same thing. It worked out well. Between the two of us, we got to swim, go to the shark exhibit at Mandalay Bay (thanks Wyatt) and go to the M&M chocolate factory.

One night, my mom even babysat after being at the convention all day. We really appreciated it. We took a taxi to the Luxor, grabbed a bit to eat and then went to The Bodies Exhibit. This was such a cool exhibit. I had heard a lot of great things about it and was excited to go. My favorite room was looking at all the fetuses. It is amazing how they were able to save such small fetuses, even as young as 8 weeks. Crazy.

It had been a great night, until we were getting ready to leave and my wallet was not in my bag. Everything else was there and I had my wallet when we got there because I paid for the taxi, but it was definitely not there now. We retraced our steps, checked with security, looked in trash cans, etc. Nothing. I was even allowed to walk back through through The Bodies Exhibit all alone after it closed to look for my wallet. That was very creepy to be with all these bodies, in the dark and alone. I almost didn't even want to look for my wallet.

Well, of course, nothing materialized. I lost cash, gift cards, had to cancel credit cards, lost my license, my social security card (I know, I know), insurance cards, library card, zoo card (why do I keep all of this in my wallet?). It has been a big pain. I am still in the process of replacing everything and trying to protect my identity. I hate thieves.

Jumproping

Erica Turned Two

Erica just turned two!!! Yeah!!! I am loving this age. It is seriously so much better than the newborn stage. I love that she can communicate better, she is more independent, she likes to go do things, etc. I know I am in the minority, but I love to see her grow up. Maybe I'll feel differently in a few more years. Of course, along with the good, there has come a new surge of independence and stubborness, but I like dealing with this so much better than uncontrollable or inexplicable fussing.

I spent the week of Erica's birthday watching my cousin's three kids. They are elementary school aged and I didn't have Troy with me. Thank goodness these kids are amazing and it was actually a pretty easy week. They were great with Erica and they were gone to school all day. I did gain an appreciation for this stage of my life because I still have so much flexibility with Erica. Between school, activities, music lessons and homework, these kids were busy all day long. It was a great week, but I was tired by the end. We miss these guys.




We didn't do too much for her birthday, except have a Dora cake and open a few gifts. The youngest girl helped decorate Erica's cake. If anyone knows of my struggling artistic talent (Troy will admit to this), they will know that this cake looks much better than anything I could have done.


She was a little cleaner this year in eating her cake. We definitely have a lefty.


Troy joined us online through Skype for the festivities. Notice him in the background on the computer.


She loved her Barney doll, some Hannah Montana musical instruments and chapstick from her Grandma Tutu.

Before we left on our babysitting adventure, our neighbor brought over a bagful of birthday goodies for Erica. She was very excited about the bows and Panda movie.

Five things that happened in August

1. Troy finished the wall. Yay!!!!


2. The fake grass arrived and it took a couple of guys to move the 700+ pound grass to the back yard. More pictures coming of the installation. We are SOOOO happy to have grass, especially Erica. She loves to run around on it barefoot. Can't blame her - it is better than rocks.


3. Troy took a much needed break and went to California for the weekend to surf with his brother. While he was gone, Erica and I visited my brother's family and their new home in Surprise. We had a wonderful time and we are glad they are so close.

4. While in the Phoenix area, we visited the Rainforest Cafe. Erica LOVED her cousin Lincoln and the restaurant. We still talk about all the animals.


5. Also in Phoenix, Erica had her first professional haircut. It was badly needed. I was very worried about how she would do, but it went okay. We talked about it A LOT before hand, they let her sit in an airplane, she got to watch Nemo and they gave her a sucker. Who wouldn't love it? I wish they had a place like this in Tucson.

Wise Beyond Her Time

"I realized that if I remained in the White House all the time I would lose touch with the rest of the world...I would begin to think that my life in Washington was representative of the rest of the country and that is a dangerous point of view." Eleanor Roosevelt

Used Car

Our 1995 green Saturn is finally dying. We lost the air conditioning yesterday and I told Troy I refuse to drive it anymore in Arizona. At least until the weather drops below 80 degrees.


We've started discussing the possibility of getting another car. What do you think of this:


Yeah, right!! I would rather have food on the table for the next few years. Instead, we are looking at used small cars or minivans. I'm a little overwhelmed at trying to decide what in the world to buy. Anyone want to sell us their car? Really though, what kind of car do you recommend?