January 2012

Happy New Year! We spent a few days in Sugar Land, and Mom Moore's New Year's Eve party was the highlight.  The house was full and fun was had by all.  I was surprised that Becca slept through all the raucous laughter during the games, much less the fireworks!  The Brothers Moore made a pretty sweet sparkler bomb.   I got my New Year's kiss from a Devinishly handsome man. :)

It was good to be with the family.  Besides the New Year's Eve party, all we really did was laze around, but it was still nice.  Alaire was really happy that we brought her niece to see her while she was home from BYU-Hawaii.  And her big brother, whom she adores.  She even has matching pajama pants with him.

For me, though, the best part of our stay was that Becca learned how to say "Mama"!  I was beyond thrilled when she first said it - I've been waiting to hear it!  She is such a wonderful baby, and I love being her mother.

These are some random pictures that Devin took during our visit:

Tuesday the 3rd came, and that meant that our vacation time was over.  We drove up to College Station with Devin's childhood friend, Andrew.  He helped us start loading the moving truck and cleaning the house, and we were soon joined by Mom and Alaire, and a host of friends from church.  With all the extra hands, the work was quickly done.  We were ready to move!  Jeremy and Brittany Beus had us over for dinner, which was so nice of them.  We finished all the last minute to-dos before we went to bed, and then woke up early to begin our long trek to Las Vegas, Nevada.

That first day, we drove about 14 hours to Albuquerque.  The next day, we went about 9 hours to Las Vegas.  We towed our car behind the moving truck, so that Becca and I could be in the cab with Devin.  I think the trip was much easier that way than it would've been; Becca was a really good traveler, but she needed a lot of entertaining to keep her happy with sitting for so long.  Devin and I had a good time singing to Becca - our favorite was our long competition to see who could add another verse to "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" (my best was probably Old MacDonald's wife).  I read "The Jungle Book" to Devin while Becca was sleeping.  And we tried to make a spontaneous stop at Meteor Crater National Landmark, but ended up just stretching our legs and changing Becca's diaper in their parking lot when we discovered their extortionist fee of $15 per person.  To see a hole in the ground.  Sheesh.  When we arrived in Las Vegas, we went to dinner at the house of an old Nebraska "cousin" of mine, Emily used-to-be-James.  She was so hospitable, and gave us lots of tips from a local's viewpoint.  We left our truck with them and went to Circus-Circus to spend the night.

The next day was Friday, and we started off with breakfast at local place - quite blue, quite yummy. 

After that, we spent the entire day checking out apartments.  We had a list and we were organized - by late afternoon we had it narrowed down to two choices.  We stopped in a McDonald's parking lot to use their free Wifi, and to discuss and then pray about it.  Our choice was the less expensive one (to help save for a house!), closer to Devin's work - it's in Henderson, just outside of Las Vegas.  We really like our new place - I'll have to give a video tour, but I'll do that later.  After we made our decision, we picked up our moving truck and went right there to sign papers and move in!  One of Devin's new co-workers came to help us unload the truck, and the four of us (Becca was helping me carry boxes) got it done in an hour.  How's that for a low-key approach to moving?

This is Becca's last Friday Video, taken that night after we moved in.  Please note her saying "Mama"!

Saturday, January 7th - Becca's 1st Birthday!  We took her to IHOP and spoiled her with her own meal of Five Silver Dollar Pancakes, plus a bunch of our food, PLUS all the hot chocolate she wanted.  She was cackling with delight, it was great.  I wish I had taken the camera - she made such a mess (sorry IHOP table busser!).  She exhausted herself with all the pigging out and fun, so much so that she slept through us carrying her inside and through her whole diaper change (never happened previously!) before we laid her down.  

Well, it was a good thing that we pampered her some in the morning, because the rest of the day was not much of a birthday celebration: unpacking, cleaning, and two trips to the store.  Even her birthday dinner was not exciting - tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches - it's a good thing she won't remember this birthday.

However, we did have a good little party for her that night.  She got new clothes and some bubbles - hooray!  She was so cute - we can't believe she is one year old already!

Since we couldn't use the oven (more on that later), we had to settle with some store-bought cupcakes, but I tried to make her a special birthday "cake" anyway.

We had been trying to teach her for a couple weeks how to blow out candles, with minimal success, but she surprised us and did it on her own:

Watching Becca devour her cake with joyfully reckless abandon was AWESOME.  We laughed so hard - she got filthy, but we didn't care.  She was very good about sharing too, which was sweet. 

The aftermath of the destruction:

Happy Birthday, Becca! We love you so much and are so grateful to be your parents.  It's been a wonderful year!

Sunday we went to our new ward - South Valley Ranch.  The ward was recently split and was TINY that first Sunday we went, but everyone seemed nice. We both bore our testimonies and that kind of introduced us to more people.  Backing up, getting ready for church was a frigid experience - we had only electricity, no gas.  That meant no heating or air conditioning (which didn't hardly bother us - winter in Las Vegas is nice weather), no stove/oven (we had to be creative with meals!), and worst of all, NO HOT WATER.  I tried to warm up a bowl of water in the microwave, so I could at least not suffer through washing my hair - it worked alright.  It took them four more days to come flip a switch (or whatever they do).  I only took two showers during that time, don't tell.  Poor Devin had to shower every day, since he was going to work.

Speaking of which, here is Kimley-Horn & Associates' newest employee, as he went out the door bright and early Monday morning!  (I was practicing for those first day of school pictures with our kids)  Devin works longer on Monday-Thursday and gets a half day on Friday.  He's really enjoying his new job.  Things were slow the first couple of weeks, but the pace picked up towards the end of the month, thankfully.  Devin needs the car to get to work, but he takes the bus once a week so Becca and I can get groceries and run other errands.  

Some silly undressing pictures of Becca:

On January 11th, Becca decided she'd like to really start walking - we were surprised at how well she suddenly walked, comparatively!  We are delighted - it's so fun to watch her.

Just a little photo shoot with some new Christmas presents - clothes and headband. Thanks, Aunt Sharlee. 

Devin had fun styling Becca's hair in a mohawk, and like a boy's:

The next Saturday, Devin was invited to go play football with a bunch of guys, and then he went to help clean the church building afterwards.  I had been apprised of a free national parks day, so I sprung the idea when he got home of going to Lake Mead recreational area.  I felt so spontaneous (I usually like to plan things like that in advance).  Of course, Devin was game for it (because "Spontaneous" is his third middle name, after  "Val" and "Romantic"), so we dropped everything (everything being further unpacking, which could actually be why I was spurred on to being spontaneous like that) and packed a lunch - off we went!

[Oh, but before we went, Devin was extended a calling via the phone - he's going to be an Elders Quorum instructor, teaching just once a month.  He's excited, because he loves to teach.]

We decided to just do a hike (which would be free anyway, oh well), and chose one that goes along the edge of Lake Mead - nice view.  It used to be the railroad line that carried the supplies from Boulder City to the Hoover Dam construction site, so it's pretty level and easy.  There are five tunnels that the Hoover Dam workers had to blast through the mountain, and that was cool.  It was such a nice day, and so fun to be out hiking that we just kept going further and further along the trail, til we decided to just go the whole way - four miles to the Hoover Dam, as we later discovered.  It was fun to see that and the new bridge, since we had gone there on our honeymoon.  But, we were pretty tired and starting to get sore already, mostly from carrying Becca in her Baby Bjorn (which she is too big for now, we need a baby carrier that goes on the back).  Becca had a great time - I think her favorite part was the beginning, watching the helicopter go back and forth as they gave people rides out over the lake.  She slept almost the whole way back (during my shift to carry her).  We're excited that there are mountains and cool places to be outdoors nearby us here in our new home!

Devin and I got guitar stands for Christmas, so Becca has been learning to play guitar.  Well, at least to gently smack the strings.  

Becca fell asleep one morning as I was cleaning up after breakfast.  I love to look at her sleeping cherub face.

Our new Bishop, Bishop Barlow, and the Elder's Quorum President, Michael Lee, came to visit us in our home and officially welcome us into the ward.  It was a really nice gesture from them.  We're looking forward to making friends in this ward.

I was trying to find a suitable outfit for Becca's year old photo (late, I know), and then I got excited about summer clothes since the temperatures are rising already.  Becca was more interested in her toys than in posing for her photo shoot, but I had a good time.

Devin got to go to a KHA regional conference in Phoenix.  They all left on a Thursday after work, and got back late in the evening the next Friday - so it wasn't too long of a trip (happy for me!). He enjoyed networking and meeting new people, and learning more about KHA. He stayed up way too late watching tv in his hotel room (it's just so tempting, since we don't have a tv at home), so by the time he got home, he wasn't feeling too well.  We went out for Cafe Rio (yay for Cafe Rio being in Las Vegas!) and went to bed early.

Devin's been researching all the free places to do fun things here, and the Saturday after he got back, he took Becca and me to an aquarium at the Silverton.  We got to watch a diver go in and feed the sting rays and sharks - they have a sound system set up so the diver talks to you and you can ask questions, so it was interesting and educational.  Becca liked looking at all the fish too.  They even had a live mermaid!

Also inside the Silverton, next to the aquarium, is the Bass Pro Shop.  It is HUMONGOUS, and we couldn't resist wandering through the entire place to take pictures with the stuffed animals.  We love the outdoors, and being in a place like that always makes us want to do more camping and hiking, etc. I think Becca liked all the stuffed animals even more than the fish - she got to practice her animal noises. 

The next Friday, Devin had more free adventures planned - we went to Ethel M's Chocolate Factory and Cactus Gardens.  That's right, they're together - Ethel M likes chocolate and cactus, I guess. The cactus part was alright; our favorite was the saguaro cacti - did you know it takes them 40 years just to start growing one of those arms?  Becca's favorite was toddling about in the sunny outdoors - she even accidentally started running by herself (down a hill, she couldn't stop herself, but I caught her before she could fall on a cactus).

But, of course, the chocolate part was the best!  It's a self-guided tour, with scrumptious free chocolate samples at the end.  We gave ourselves a tour twice, just so we could have another sample. Ha ha! Although the workers were on a lunch break for most of our tour, it was interesting to see all the machinery and learn about chocolate and the processes it has to go through.  Oh man, I love chocolate!  Since all the chocolate they were selling was too expensive for us, Devin treated me to Baskin Robbins instead.  I love that man!  I love how he still puts so much effort in to dating me (even if we usually take Becca with us, I count them as dates).  I couldn't help but share my ice cream  with Becca (my favorite: Peanut Butter and Chocolate - Devin's is Love Potion #31, which they don't always have, but he got it this time!), and I really should've taken pictures of her - she was very happy and very sticky.

The day was not done, however; we dropped Becca off at the Bloods' (family in our ward that loves Becca already! She likes them and mooches food off of them all the time - and pretty much everyone else too... embarrassing!) and went to the Las Vegas temple!  Hooray!  I'm so grateful to live close to a temple again.  This was our second time at the LV temple - the first was on our honeymoon. It was good to go again together.  After picking up Becca (who was still eating), we treated ourselves to Jack-in-the-Box.  Becca ate some more...and after nursing her, she threw up plentifully...her eyes were WAY too big for her stomach.

Saturday, we had our first guests in our new home - the missionaries came over for dinner.  It's always good to have missionaries in our home, bringing more of the Spirit.  

Devin and I both spoke in church the last Sunday of January.  My talk was centered on missionary work, around Elder Perry's last General Conference talk, and Devin's was on Elder Cornish's talk on prayer.  Both of our talks went well, although Devin didn't get much time... In preparing for this talk, I finally started working on one of my New Year's goals to more seriously study the scriptures each day.  Doing this has made a big difference - I feel more happy and relaxed and organized and peaceful when I start my day off this way. 

Speaking of New Year's goals, Devin and I have also been taking advantage of the 24/7 fitness center in our apartment complex - we're both working on getting in better shape.  I made a schedule for a different type of work out every day and that helped keep me motivated.  

We finished reading "The Jungle Book" and started on "Pride and Prejudice" again - Devin won't watch the movie with me until we read the book.  It's not his favorite, and I have to do all the reading and most of the encouraging for book time, but I think he's gaining a better appreciation for Austen. 

Well, by the end of January, although not 100% unpacked, we were all feeling pretty settled and comfortable with our new schedule.  So far, we don't have many responsibilities or much of a social life, so we're having a great time being together as a family more and discovering Las Vegas.