Quaresma Family

Backstage Pass to the Raptor Show

2012-01-12T17:30:00.000-08:00

We recently went to Springs Preserve and did the backstage tour of the Raptor Show. As you can see all the kids got to hold birds. Dallas was overjoyed at the prospect of holding an owl. He told the owl what an honor it was to hold him and Brian enjoyed talking the falconer about his methods of training the birds. Lots of fun and absolutely something you should check out when you come to Vegas. http://www.springspreserve.org/

Christmas in Vegas

2011-12-31T19:33:00.000-08:00

Here is a pic of the kids at the Bellagio Christmas display. We had so much fun the day we went down to the strip to look at Christmas decorations. This polar bear was all made of carnations. The displays were really intricate and super neat, some were motorized some bejeweled.

Bianca at the park

2011-12-01T09:12:00.000-08:00

All ready for Christmas ,Bianca playing on the swings. I am so thankful for a preschool she loves and the friends we have made here in Las Vegas. This town is filled with possibilities and not just the cheesy gambling, hook up ones that initially come to mind. I am excited about all the upcoming events. This weekend there is a Santa Run at Town Square can't wait to see it. 10,000 santas on the run!

Holden turns 7

2011-10-16T11:36:00.000-07:00

Friday was Holden's 7th Birthday! We had an angry birds party after school complete with a home made angry bird pinata.( That ended up being a one hit wonder. It turns out 3 layers is not enough.) A sling shot game-where you shot red angry birds into a foam tower that housed pigs. Afterwards cake, swimming and pizza. It was a great day and I am so thankful for Holden, my happy man.

Best Pumpkins in the Patch

2011-10-09T13:28:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Gilcrease Orchard to pick our pumpkins. Here is a picture of each of the kids with their perfect pumpkins. Holden found his immediately and ran over to get it. Dallas was next, color and height were important for him because this year he is painting his pumpkin. Why you ask? Because he hates the goo and doesn't want to mess with it. Bianca was the last she made us go down several rows until she found her pumpkin then she exclaimed, "it's defintely it!" After selecting our pumpkins we enjoyed some home made cider and donuts and went back to our city life.

My Little Soccer Girl

2011-09-14T14:23:00.000-07:00

Here is Bianca in her soccer suit. Her team is called the Pink Dragons. She loved her soccer uniform so much. Her first game was last Saturday. They play 3 on 3 and she was super energetic.

1st Day of School 1st & 2nd Grade

2011-09-08T11:45:00.000-07:00

Here are the boys on their first day of school. Hooray for first days!

End of Summer Tea Party

2011-09-08T11:39:00.000-07:00

Here is Bianca at her end of summer tea party at school. She had so much fun and one of the Mom's was nice enough to make these hats. Adorable!

Dallas's Birthday

2011-08-15T12:47:00.000-07:00

Dallas turns 8! We had a great day. He had 8 friends over and they swam and played all afternoon. It was a Star Wars theme and he told me it was the best birthday ever!

On the road again

2011-08-15T12:35:00.000-07:00

This month I haven't posted much because we have been travelling. We went to Utah and California in the last 3 weeks and had lots of fun! Summer is rapidly coming to an end just two more weeks and we decided to pack in a couple road trips.

Basketball Summer League

2011-07-24T15:15:00.000-07:00

Boys are number 3 and 10. They are playing in a summer basketball league at the rec center, I really like their coaches. They have really improved and are both really enjoying it.

4th of July

2011-07-24T15:10:00.000-07:00

A couple pictures from 4th of July. A great day! A couple of friends and their families came over.

Birthdays

2011-07-11T20:18:00.000-07:00

Another Birthday in Oregon. Celebrating at the beach with kids and my good friend Jane Anne and her kiddos. It was a nice productive day capped with chocolate cake, red wine, a weird movie (Greenberg) and some great conversation. A great birthday!

Walker Lake, NV

2011-07-11T20:02:00.000-07:00

On the way to Reno we stopped at Walker Lake. It was so beautiful and unexpected after hours of driving to come across this beautiful desert lake. Indian legend says that when Lake Lohontan began to dry up, a pair of serpents were forced apart. The male made his way to what became Walker Lake, while the female burrowed north into the land, creating Sand Mountain. 600 feet high, the shifting sands sing: it’s said the music is simply the serpent whimpering for her beloved.
Supposedly there have been several sightings of Cecil the sea serpent. We were not lucky enough to see the monster the day we were there. But we did see a few lizards.

Holden's Kindergarten Graduation

2011-06-28T22:20:00.000-07:00

Here is picture of Holden with his Kindergarten teacher and him performing songs with his class. They were super cute! My favorite was when they sang, " I want to be a part of it 1st grade, 1st grade" to the tune of New York New York.

AWANAS

2011-06-28T22:14:00.000-07:00

End of year AWANAS party. Here are some pics of the kids all ready for the party.

Life has been busy

2011-06-25T22:05:00.000-07:00

Spent 10 days up in Oregon after school got out and have been so busy I have not been able to catch up on everything else yet. Will post pics from the trip, Holds end of year show etc.

Thumbs Down to Business Casual.

2011-05-27T16:07:00.000-07:00

I guess my cautioning about how there was this horrid development in nineties called business casual has paid off. It started on Fridays and slowly crept into everyday life and before you know it fast food workers were dressing better then engineers and teachers. Lately, Holden has taken to wearing a tie to school. This past week one of the Grandmothers who volunteers told me how much she liked the way he dressed. Go for it Holden maybe you can start Formal Fridays and bring it back (:

School Carnival

2011-05-27T15:14:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of the school carnival. The highlights were the hamster ball and the laser tag. All three kids wanted to get their face painted at the 1st grade painting booth. Dallas got a snake, Bianca a kitty and Holden a mustache. I didn't see any other kids with a mustache just my little Holdy. He likes what he likes and isn't afraid to show it- something I admire about him. The mustache kept reminding me of V for Vendetta.

Bianca's Graduation

2011-05-23T18:10:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from Bianca's preschool graduation. The caps and gowns were adorable! She is actually doing preschool again because of age, but there is no reason not to celebrate with her class. It was a fun half a year. I hope there will be many more graduations in her future!

Bodies Exhibit @ Luxor

2011-05-19T17:47:00.000-07:00

I took the boys to see the Bodies Exhibit with my parents. It is currently at the Luxor. Here is a summary from the BODIES website in case you have not heard of it, "In BODIES...The Exhibition, students will see real human bodies dissected and preserved to show the intricacies of each system of the body. The Exhibition showcases the effect that disease and unhealthy life choices have on the body- what happens to the lungs, for example, when people smoke. Students will also see how positively amazing the body is- how the pulleys, fulcrums and levers we know as muscles, joints and bones let us function continuously without even thinking about it. Pretty informative the highlight for the boys was holding a lung at the end. Dallas said it was interesting and creepy.

Climbing in Red Rock

2011-05-18T14:56:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from climbing at Red Rock last week.

Making Bread with Dad

2011-05-13T14:28:00.000-07:00

Their favorite part of making the bread is punching the dough. There are making Portuguese Easter Bread.

I love the desert.

2011-05-11T14:48:00.000-07:00

When I moved to Las Vegas people kept warning me that it was so brown and I would miss how green Oregon was. However I have found the desert to be just as beautiful.
Here are a couple of pictures of the gorgeous desert. This year we have had so much fun exploring the natural environment in Nevada and Arizona.

Bisbee, Arizona Mining Tour

2011-05-09T11:14:00.000-07:00

My favorite part of our trip was our visit to Bisbee and the Copper Mine. It was suggested to me by the lady at the booking of Kartchner Caverns. So glad I took her advice and booked the Bisbee Queen Mine Tour. Here we are all in our mining equipment. The Bisbee mine has been one of the greatest copper camps the world has ever known. In almost 100 years of continuous production before the Bisbee mines closed in 1975, the local mines produced metals valued at $6.1 billion. As a result of the wealth coming into the area an adorable town grew up around the mines. It is picturesque and has delicious food and great art galleries.

Tucson, Arizona

2011-05-04T12:34:00.000-07:00

Over spring break we spent several days in Tucson, Arizona. I had never been before and decided to go after a man who owned a vacation house offered to trade me days at his house in Tucson for ours in Lincoln City so in typical fashion I thought why the heck not? We stayed at the Santiago house. http://www.vrbo.com/232870 It was a great place as a home base and beautifully remodeled. Here are a couple sights around town. The first is the Cathedral of St. Augustine, the second is a bar near the University that the kids just loved to look at, and the last the street car which is how we got around Tucson. In a lot of ways staying in a house in a suburban area made me feel a lot more like a local. We used the kitchen, made a few meals at home it was interesting because I had never done this with the kids. I enjoyed having a backyard.
While we were there we had excellent Mexican, Greek and French food. The only downside was the unbelievably delicious tamale we had Molina's that we will be trying to replicate for the rest of our lives.

Wickenburg, Arizona

2011-05-03T12:15:00.000-07:00

The first stop on our vacation was a quick stop to Wickenburg. It was billed as one of the "last true western towns" and had a walking tour of metal statues through its downtown. The town was built in 1863 after Henry Wickenburg came to establish Vulture Gold Mines. I selected it because of its distance between Las Vegas and Tucson, thinking it would be a great place to stretch our legs and begin our tour of the wild west of Arizona. It was great! We had lunch at a little sandwich shop with live entertainment (a country crooner). We walked around and saw all the statues (pictured here is the rattlesnake) and stopped to look at the steam engine and eat homemade ice cream at the local ice cream parlor.

My reputation proceeds me.

2011-04-15T17:16:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of Dallas' Lima bean plant. He proudly handed it to me with the cautionary, " Mama don't kill it!" I see the knowledge of my black thumb proceeds me. I killed a cactus in college, a fern shortly after, and several lawns since but maybe it is time for me to turn over a new leaf so to speak since my 7 year old has now grown and kept alive 2 plants. Only time will tell.

My 1st Uniform

2011-04-15T16:58:00.000-07:00

Here is Bianca in her first uniform! This is the first time she is old enough to play soccer. She is super excited about it but tends to lose interest part way through. I'd like to say that the last game did not end with her picking up cones and putting them on her head but unfortunately I can not.

Easter Tree

2011-04-15T16:54:00.000-07:00

Here is Bianca decorating the Easter tree in our dining room. If you haven't been here in a while then notice no more New England wall paper on the wall! She took a lot of care decorating and was so proud of her tree she wanted me to let her put it in her room.

Lego Land

2011-04-05T16:06:00.000-07:00

We went to Lego land last week. We had lots of fun! Aunt Sarah gave us 3 free tickets so we could not pass it up. It was lots of fun! Bianca loved the cars and the X roller coaster was a big hit and only Holden was brave enough to do the robotic arm coaster.

Multigenerational Play Date

2011-04-01T13:29:00.000-07:00

Last week one of my best friends came with her daughter to have a play date with me and my daughter. I had fantasies of the Ya Ya sisterhood that our girls would be best friends and eventually go to college together. So far so good we had another successful play date. My daughter keeps asking when she will come again.

I really love my uniform

2011-03-21T17:20:00.000-07:00

This is Holden's first season of baseball. He is playing t-ball here are a few pics from opening day of him in his uniform. You can really tell how proud he is of it in the first picture chest all puffed out showing his Pirates logo. It was a freezing morning of wind storm here in Vegas. One of those times when you are reminded how much you love your children. If the event would have been for me or Brian I would have watched from the car of skipped it all together but Holden was so excited to parade around the bases in his suit- We couldn't miss it!

Sledding Vegas Style

2011-03-19T18:09:00.000-07:00

In some places they still have snow in March but in Vegas, this is not the case. Bianca has a new friend, whose mother grew up here. She said this was something they did and suggested we bring our sleds to the grass hills to sled. We did and just like a regular snow run we weren't the only ones there sledding. It was lots of fun! Snow to sled, who needs it? Not us.

New Bike!

2011-03-15T11:48:00.000-07:00

Bianca just got a new bike. She loved this bike because it had a seat for her baby. Here she is right after we built it.

Fishing In Florida

2011-03-15T11:44:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Holden's first time fishing. It was a great day, good weather and the fish were biting we caught six!

Holding an Alligator @ Madeira Beach

2011-03-02T08:24:00.000-08:00

Here is Holden at the Madeira Beach Alligator store holding an alligator and watching the babies in their pens get fed.

Busch Gardens Florida

2011-03-02T08:19:00.000-08:00

Last week Holden and I went to Florida to visit my Grandfather. Here are a few pics from Busch Gardens. Log Flume always a favorite, petting a tortoise and climbing inside the sculpture of a hippo.

Las Vegas according to Holden

2011-02-19T14:14:00.000-08:00

Here is Holden's picture of Las Vegas. I liked his perception of important places on the strip. The first is the iconic waving cowboy from downtown the second the M & M' s store and the third is a billboard of Penn and Teller where Penn holds Teller tied up upside down over fire. Every time he sees it he giggles- he thinks it is the funniest thing ever. It is several stories high on the side of the Rio I tried to find a pic but couldn't, and we see it if we take Flamingo down to the strip instead of the freeway.

Bianca's New School

2011-02-15T11:28:00.000-08:00

Bianca started her new school yesterday. There was a waiting list after we found that her first preschool was not a good fit so that is why she is starting in February. Her first day went well, she made a couple of friends and was excited to go back.

Lion is running. We're so fancy.

2011-02-14T14:21:00.000-08:00

Here is our lion fountain. Brian got it working this weekend. When we first saw it we thought it was super cheezy. I still think it is kind of cheezy, but I have to admit now that it is running I think it is sort of fancy.

Fancy Nancy goes to Ballet

2011-02-14T14:15:00.000-08:00

For dress up day at Bianca's dance class she went as Fancy Nancy. She loves these books and I love that she loves to be read too. She is starting to memorize her favorite ones. It was such a great class.

Conversations with the kids

2011-02-09T17:24:00.000-08:00

Today I was looking at the UNLV and thinking about possible certifications or degrees offered that might help me when I re-enter the workforce. I was staring at the screen intently and the kids ready to eat asked me what I was looking at. I explained I was thinking about getting a job in the future. Dallas asked me What job I would do? I told him I wasn't sure, What did he think would be a good job for me?
His response, " Driving an airplane. A pilot for sure."
Holden chimed in with, " You should write TV shows you're funny!"
Bianca disagreed she thought I'd make a great zoo keeper.

It made me laugh so hard and reminded what I love about staying home. Talking to these silly kids.

Year of the Rabbit!

2011-02-07T13:37:00.000-08:00

Several of the hotels on the strip did decorations for Chinese New Year. I especially enjoyed the gardening display pictured here at Bellagio. Super ornate and really fun. They also have a big parade. We did not make it down to the parade this year but hopefully next year. Dallas's class is also celebrating with a lunch made by Mr Lim from one of the local restaurants. Love that the kids are celebrating lots of new things.

Besties and their hubbies

2011-02-07T13:25:00.000-08:00

Here is a pic of me and my best friends. We do a trip every year this was the first time we brought husbands. It was lots of fun. We went to Chandilier bar and Sensei the first night. We are at Sensi in pic above. The second night we went to Vdara Bar, watched Jaberwokeez and ate at the Tapas restaraunt @ Aria. It was FANTASTIC!

Bianca's Butterfly Cookies

2011-01-31T14:16:00.000-08:00

Today Bianca made butterfly sugar cookies.

December Student of the Month

2011-01-31T07:41:00.000-08:00

Dallas was December Student of the Month for his class. Here he is with his trophy this week during lunch they get to eat on stage and have pizza and soda. Way to go Dallas!

Imaginary Friends

2011-01-30T17:58:00.000-08:00

Imaginary friends are just foolish, making fake friends out of balloons and throwing them a party however makes perfect sense, at least to Dallas. Here he is with Bobby Balloon playing in the back yard.

Bianca's Birthday!

2011-01-30T17:53:00.000-08:00

Bianca turns 4! It is a monkey birthday! We had a great time and went to the Las Vegas Mini Grand Prix.

Weekend in the Snow @ the Qs Cabin

2011-01-20T18:07:00.000-08:00

Over MLK weekend we went to Green Valley Lake and played in the snow. It was great weather 50s and 60s but still about a foot of snow on the ground. We spent all day sledding and building snow men. Here is a picture of Dallas standing on the sled as he goes down.

Butterfly Parade @ Art class

2011-01-13T12:21:00.000-08:00

Here is Bianca and her class at Alphabet Art. Today was A and B. Here the class with their coffee filter Butterflies. Here they are parading around the community center.

Lobsters Direct to Me

2011-01-08T20:02:00.000-08:00

Brian's friend Scott was nice enough to hand carry lobsters back from Boston when he came back from Christmas vacation. They got here and as promised were still alive. I had been sceptical that they would make the flight without water etc. I had read on the Internet that when lobsters were healthy they held their tails out so I mentioned this to Brian that curled up tails meant they were not doing as well. This distressed Holden so he started picking them all up so they would straighten their tails and be happy. It was definitely one of those farm kid moments where I reminded him, even if he made them happy we were just going to eat them.
There were six lobsters in all and most of them went into the boiling pot without incident. But, the one pictured was one of those shellfish that deserved to be called a MAJESTIC BEAST. First of all, after nearly 24 hours from fishmonger Boston dock to Las Vegas he was raring to go and trying to walk away as soon as we took him out of the cooler. Secondly, most of the Lobsters had one rubber band on each claw and he had two- clearly a fighter. When I went to put him in the pot head first, he turned on me trying to claw his way back out. It was pretty disturbing- like a bad B movie. I ended up cooking them all successfully and some friends came over to eat Lobster with us last night.

Snow Day January 3, 2011

2011-01-07T16:10:00.000-08:00

We woke up to Holden, yelling "It's snowing! It's Snowing!" Sure enough when we looked outside flurries and snow on the ground. Boys had a quick snow ball fight before school and made some small snowmen. I have no idea how often this happens or if it sticks but I thought the palm trees looked so cool covered in snow.

A Little Christmas

2011-01-07T14:54:00.000-08:00

Christmas was pretty low key this year. We had just moved into the house and I barely took any pictures! Too busy enjoying the kids and trying to find silverware so we could have dinner. I did it find it by the way. We ordered dinner from the honeybaked ham store and that was pretty good and really easy. After we opened presents we played, went in the spa and drove around looking at Christmas lights. A nice little Christmas.

Bass Pro Shop Santa Visit

2011-01-05T20:17:00.000-08:00

This year we went to see Santa at the Bass Pro Shop that is attached to the Silverton Casino. It was great in addition to free Santa pics they also had all kinds of shooting activities set up for the kids- cause nothing says Christmas like a good shooting! Here are some pics it was lots of fun!

Snow White Ballet

2011-01-05T20:12:00.000-08:00

Final show of the season was a Snow White Dance. Bianca had to go up 2 sizes in order to accomodate cast. It turned out to be on conferences day so both boys could attend. She was so proud. She kept doing her moves and then checking out the boys to make sure they saw. Here are a couple pics after the show.

Bianca's broken Arm

2011-01-01T08:29:00.000-08:00

Bianca broke her arm earlier in the month. She fell off the playground at the boys elementary school. The boys were really helpful as we rushed around to doctors.. She only had to have the cast for 4 weeks. So it will come off next week! She selected a pink cast and at first did not like the way it felt, but soon began enjoying the additional attention she was receiving. Her ballet class signed it as did the workers at pottery barn kids. Everywhere she went people wanted to sign it. Here she is at the pediatrician the day it happened.

Good News, Bad News

2010-12-27T13:27:00.000-08:00

The bad news was that because of the time of year and all the hold ups, we were not able to close before Christmas. The good news was that the owner let us take ownership on the 23rd so we went ahead and moved in. We had a great Christmas in our new house and I feel so thankful we were able to be in the house before Christmas. Pictures will follow when I find my cable (:

Ahhh Christmas, what a magical time

2010-12-20T14:37:00.000-08:00

Ahhh Christmas what a magical time when you make gingerbread houses and get voodoo dolls from your friends. Well that is at least what seems to be happening here in Vegas. Holden had a gingerbread making house party and here he is with his creation. Dallas who has made several friends was given this little ornament from one of the little girls. When I saw it - it totally freaked me out. I asked him where he got it? Then he replied with the girls name. My next question was of course does she like you, are you friends? "Yes" he said, " isn't it neat its a ninja." Lets hope so (:

Holden trying to learn to Juggle

2010-12-11T22:22:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of Holden trying to juggle. Holden loves all things magical and showy. When he saw these juggling balls at TJ Maxx he had to have them. Here is attempting to juggle. As of yet he hasn't really got the hang of it yet.

Nutcracker ballet

2010-12-11T22:19:00.000-08:00

Biancas class doing their version of the nutcracker. Very sweet in the frilly little night gowns.

The Bubble Man @ Gianna's reception

2010-12-10T20:47:00.000-08:00

After my friend Gianna's wedding we were fortunate enough to be invited to the reception her husband's parents threw. They had a lot of traditional features from Indonesian weddings as well as having entertainment and one of the entertainers was the Bubble man. This and the Lion dancers were my kids favorites. Here they all are as volunteers.

Why is Mary outside the manger?

2010-12-10T20:36:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of a proud Bianca setting up the nativity scene at my parents house. She played with it for a long time calling it her Jesus doll house. Then When she was happy with it she left it. My sister who arrived after it was set up and did not see Bianca setting it up, so her first question was, "Why is Mary outside the manger?" which I thought was really funny.

Awana Thanksgiving Feast

2010-12-09T22:45:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for AWANA friends.

Balloon Hats

2010-12-09T22:37:00.000-08:00

The kids in balloon hats from Jimmy Buffet restaurant.

Bianca as a flower girl.

2010-12-03T21:02:00.000-08:00

Bianca was a flower girl in my friend Gianna's wedding last weekend. It was so neat to be there. Gianna and I have been friends since we were 12. She had a beautiful wedding and Bianca served as her flower girl. Things went mostly as planned and Bianca looked beautiful thanks to Aunt Zanny and her hairstyling. Gianna also looked gorgeous, and it felt like the end of an era because she was last of my four good friends from childhood to get married. I hope Ruben and Gianna will be together forever!

Earth Day Tree gets a Makeover

2010-12-01T06:56:00.000-08:00

Last year on Earth Day. Dallas got a tree start from one of the farmers who had a child in his class. http://quaresmafamily.blogspot.com/2010/04/earth-day-2010.html When we moved he did not want to leave it so Brian drove it down. Last weekend he decorated it for Christmas.

Holiday Card Time

2010-11-21T20:15:00.000-08:00

It is that time of a year again. The time of year when I strive to get a picture good enough to embody everything that the year entailed. Its not easy to do this with just one photo or even three. I go to different locations and try to pose the kids coiffed in the perfect little outfits, bribing them with a treat if the pictures turn out as desired. I don't know why I feel like the cards are important, but for some reason I feel like they are this tangible symbol of our lives as a family. Here are a few of the ones I liked that I decided not to use. They are taken at the District at Green Valley.

I got my 1st Trophy and I'm awesome!

2010-11-20T19:29:00.000-08:00

Boulder City Halloween Train

2010-11-06T15:01:00.000-07:00

On Halloween Morning we went over to Boulder City and rode the Halloween train. It was fun and free for all kids under 12 who came in costume. Dallas as usual was the most excited. He is really my train guy, but everyone had a good time!

Pumpkin Carving

2010-11-05T21:00:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin carving was lots of fun! Everyone did their part emptying out the pumpkins. Although, you may notice Dallas's is the smallest because he wanted the least amount to clean out. He has never really enjoyed getting messy! Holden was there too - just didn't get a great pic of him (:

Halloween Costume Party @ Church

2010-11-05T20:53:00.000-07:00

The kids had fun at the Halloween party at church. Dallas is Luigi, Holden is Dracula, and Bianca is a cupcake princess.

Can do party

2010-11-01T20:28:00.000-07:00

Brian's work had a work party and can drive to benefit Clark county food bank. In exchange for five canned items you got into the event and all the rides and food were free. It was great! The boys rode the pully powered bull, got tattoos, participated in a dance contest, got balloon hat and swords and there was even an Elvis !

Madeleine Dance Class

2010-11-01T20:04:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from the Madeleine Dance Class. This was one of my favorite costumes yet. I just love this dance class. We both get so excited for it. She loves her ballet school and I love to see what adorable song and dance they will perform.

Holden is 6!

2010-10-27T10:09:00.000-07:00

Holden turned 6!
He had a great day. He woke up to balloons and a poster. Then Brian took him out to breakfast (donuts). We took Pokemon cupcakes to school. After school we went to the Las Vegas Mini Grand Prix with a couple of friends. We went there because Holden saw an ad on television that said they do all the work and you have all the fun. As advertised they did all the work and we had lots of fun! When we left I asked Holden if he had a good birthday? He told me NO he had an AWESOME birthday!
Yesterday he excitedly told me before his birthday when people asked him how old he was he only needed one hand and now he needs two. So make sure to ask him how old he is when you see him. Happy Birthday my Happy Man!

Halloween Jammies

2010-10-14T11:36:00.000-07:00

I love halloween! It is my favorite! I love the costumes and I love holiday pajamas. I always get the kids holiday jammies and here are this years. The skulls glow in the dark and are made of bats. SPOOKY! I had lots of fun trying to get the pictures!

Hello Kitty

2010-10-14T11:22:00.000-07:00

Here is Bianca at her ballet class as Hello Kitty! She loved this class, as Hello Kitty is one of her favorites! We are loving this class- I am so glad we found it!

Holden Lost his first tooth

2010-09-30T21:13:00.000-07:00

Holden lost his first tooth last week and was super excited since very few of the kindergartners have lost teeth. He was also excited that he lost it before he turned six. (Dallas was six)

So the night Holden lost his tooth my brother was in town and I went out with him so did not remember to have him put his tooth under his pillow. Luckily, the next morning my Dad called to ask how it went and Holden had not noticed yet. So I was able to slip the money into the tooth bag still on the dresser and get the tooth! Thank goodness otherwise this might have turned into one of those traumatising, disappointing moments.

Holden and his man

2010-09-30T20:29:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of Holden and his man. It was an icebreaker activity where you were supposed to decorate the man to look like you and have your interests.He was so proud of his little man. I was once again struck by how used to having stuff around we are. We are still living out of the 3 suitcases we brought with us and it is so hard to do all these class projects with virtually nothing on hand. I will try to never take for granted all the things we have, even the buttons, markers and pipe cleaners I never think about.

Bianca's 1st ballet Class

2010-09-22T21:06:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures from Biancas first ballet class. It was completely adorable. She had a great time and loved her teacher and the fact that the class was all girls. She can't wait to go back next week! In the last picture they are doing a dance to Mary Poppins.

Bianca gets ballet shoes!

2010-09-22T20:57:00.000-07:00

Bianca was so excited to get her ballet shoes! Here she is at the store. You can see the excitement on her face! I just love this picture of her!

In Escrow Again...

2010-09-21T21:24:00.000-07:00

We are back in escrow on a short sale. In love with the yard and house so hopefully it works out. We'll know in just 3 short months.... supposedly.

Soccer 2010

2010-09-19T17:47:00.000-07:00

The boys just started soccer. Holden is on the Red Rockets, he wanted to be called the Red Rocks or Red Rovers but Red Rockets won. Dallas is on the blue Dragons and has really come into his own this year. He is no longer afraid of the ball and so is super aggressive. Here are some pics of them out on the field. It is going to be a great season!

Darth Vader takes out my trash

2010-09-12T15:10:00.000-07:00

On of the things the kids love about the apartment is that I let them take out the trash. I know its a real thrill! I 'll let you take out my trash when you come visit too if you want to. For now, however I have a Star Wars super villian to do it.

Carousel at Green Valley

2010-09-12T15:05:00.000-07:00

The kids have always loved carousels and I have always loved malls. So the District at Green Valley is one of our favorite destinations. With its large walk ways, good stores, great coffee places and the carousel it is a great fit for our family. They also show movies on a big screen next to the carousel on Friday nights. last week we saw Walle. Lots of fun for the whole family!

No Yard, No problem

2010-09-03T11:58:00.000-07:00

It has been 6 weeks since we moved into our 3 bedroom apartment. With plans to offer on a house the day we moved in- we thought we would be out of here within weeks. Now the weeks have turned into months and may stretch out all the way until the New Year. We are doing our best to make the most of it- I just wish we'd brought more only one suitcase each of clothes and one of toys. The rest of our stuff is still in storage. Here are the boys playing with the rocks outside our patio.In this game there are Star Wars figures in the rocks that have been captured.

Hillbilly Extraction Method

2010-09-03T11:24:00.000-07:00

What is this method you ask? Well basically, as soon as we noticed Dallas's tooth was loose enough to go all the way forward we thought it would be neat to take goofy pics of him looking like he had only one tooth. So after a couple of pics his tooth popped out. Easy, painless and we got goofy pics too boot! The second picture is with the tooth gone. I just love his toothless smile it is way better than his snaggle tooth pics.

Monte Carlo with the cuz

2010-08-24T11:14:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago we went to the Monte Carlo mid week and played with the pool it is 10.00 a person with a Nevada license or free for hotel guests. On Thursday it was 40.00 a night with a AAA card. The kids and I went down and played in the pools for a couple days when their cousin came to visit from Washington D.C. It was a lot of fun and a great time. They have three pools. An adult pool, a lazy river, and the wave pool which was Bianca's favorite. I felt really smug when the other people were asking where we were vacationing from to say Las Vegas. For the first time I live in a city where I really would do a staycation. There is just so much to do!

Red Rock

2010-08-23T18:24:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the kids at Red Rock Interpretive Center. It was great! Nice scenic drive. Lots of short hikes that are easy for children. It was ten degrees cooler then our house too- so hot but not ridiculously so. I would recommend it to everyone who comes to Vegas if you like the outdoors. http://www.redrockcanyonlv.org/

Disrepair in Vegas

2010-08-20T09:24:00.000-07:00

We started our search for a house casually in February, by June I was searching on my computer every day. By mid July we thought we found the house and put in an offer a whole month later we had a signed agreement from the bank and opened escrow. The first thing we did was schedule an inspection. We knew there was lots of cosmetic work to be done and we hoped that would be all.
Yesterday, Bill from FYI inspections came to the house on Ocean port to inspect it and found something more horrible then we had imagined. There was mold from sewage between the floors. At some point in the past one of the toilets had backed up and overflowed through 2 bedrooms and into the sub floors. There was a slight smell but we had a assumed it was pets and would go away when we took out the carpet. I was so disappointed but happy that Bill had found this 25000 dollar problem that was definitely not something we could live with. Bill was so great he told us if we wanted to stop the inspection he wouldn't charge us and we should just call him when we found our next house.

Inspection Tomorrow

2010-08-18T22:40:00.000-07:00

We have our inspection tomorrow. Hopefully it goes well. We have done this many times on both sides of the inspection and always something gets unearthed. My hope is that it is all minor. I am hopeful.

Cesar's Palace & Ghiradelli

2010-08-12T12:18:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when I talk to someone about my move to Vegas. They ask in hushed tones, "Do you ever take the kids to the strip?" or the warning, "Make sure you live far from the strip." Well folks its true I take them down there throw them in day care or give some guy a ten to watch them and proceed to gamble all day. OK so I NEVER do that but I do take them down to the strip to see the sights and eat.
Last week, we went to Cesar's Palace we watched the Festival Fountain show,which basically uses lifelike animatronic figures of Bacchus, Venus, Apollo and Pluto that have a discussion as a laser light show unfolds . The kids thought it was one of the coolest and weirdest things they had seen when the statues came to life. I am going to have to agree with them it is completely ridiculous and that is what makes it great!
Then we took pictures in front of the fountains at Cesar's forum and watched the tourists pose as statues.
Afterward we went over to the Ghiradelli store at Harrah's to have sundaes. Yum! You can't beat their hot fudge!

Lied Children's Museum Las Vegas

2010-08-08T11:05:00.000-07:00

We went to the Lied children's museum on the target free day. It was crazy! When we pulled up about fifteen minutes before the museum opened there was already a hundred plus person line. It was super crowded inside, but we got to sample a few things and will defintely go back on a less popular day!

Skirball Center

2010-08-08T08:27:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of the kids at the Skirball center in Los Angeles. It was a great day and the kids had lots of fun in the Noah's ark area as well as the arts and crafts area in the basement. They had a bunch of tombs that look ancient and Dallas kept asking if they were Jesus's. When I told him this was a Jewish museum so there was no Jesus there.
He said "We should get some missionaries to tell them about Jesus". I told them I was pretty sure they already knew, and that blew his little mind.

Still having technical difficulties.....

2010-08-06T13:54:00.001-07:00

I ordered the cable for camera that I packed, but because shipping address did not match billing address etc. it did not get shipped July was an exciting month. With both Dallas's birthday and Brian's. I threw Brian a birthday party and Dallas's birthday was an extravaganza of 3 days with both sets of grandparents that included getting sung to 3 times as well as a trip to ride the train in Boulder City.I will try to get up more photos uploaded from card but here is a web album from Brian's parents.
http://picasaweb.google.com/dallas.quaresma/20100801?locked=true&feat=email#

Offers on houses

2010-07-31T22:15:00.000-07:00

So on our house in Lincoln City we got an offer - still not quite enough yet but we countered so we'll see if it comes together. In other news the bank finally accepted our agreement her in Las Vegas and sent over paper work to open escrow on Friday so here is the link to the house. The house is in the Lakes here is the entrance to the neighborhood.
It is a fixer so you have to use your imagination.Here is a link to the web album:http://picasaweb.google.com/bquaresma/Oceanport?authkey=Gv1sRgCNflyuKej-mt6QE&feat=email#Now fingers crossed that inspection goes OK.

Lunch with the girls

2010-07-25T13:36:00.000-07:00

Here is the picture I took at the beach when I went out with my three best friends from elementary school. We had a great time and it was so good to see everyone and catch up. Glad everyone is doing so well and so happy we will all be getting together again soon for Gianna's wedding.

Looking at houses.

2010-07-19T17:44:00.000-07:00

So we are still looking at houses but have narrowed it down to two main neighborhoods. The Lakes and Desert Shores. We put an offer on a house this week but like most things in Las Vegas right now the house is bank owned so we are waiting to hear from the bank. The waiting is horrible! Last week we took the kids to look at the house we are making an offer on. It is a fixer upper with a lot of square footage in a good neighborhood. They were horrified by how filthy it was.
Holden wanted to know " Why the people would live like this?"
Dallas wanted to know "Why we couldn't have a clean house without fish in the pool?"
and Bianca my little ray of sunshine pointed out there was one clean spot on the carpet where their bed used to be and she wanted everyone to come look at it.

I have no idea if we will get it but the good news is I don't think the kids will be devastated if we don't.

A visit to HGs and Gramps.

2010-07-14T07:58:00.000-07:00

As many of you know Brian and I are from the same home town. So we split time at our parents when we go to Mission Viejo. Our Kids call Brian's mom Honey Gram. They have since they could since they could talk not sure why. When Bianca was little sometimes it was just Honey. Here the kids are in front of the house the day we arrived and with Honey Gram and Gramps on 4th of July.

Holden Reading w/ Aunt Zanny

2010-07-14T07:50:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of Holden reading Smash Trash or Wheels to aunt Suzanne. He really has a special connection with her. He always wants to call when he learns to do something new and couldn't wait to read to her when she came over for a visit. I love how you can see his little mouth sounding out the words in this picture.