Signed...

Lance and I signed yesterday on the sale of our Oregon home. It's official. I can't go back to Oregon... I kept telling Lance I could un-do the deal and just move back into my home. But, that fantasy is DEAD. This was a good house. It is where all my babies came home to us for the first time... *memories*.
We are still searching for the right home here in Vegas. I'm waiting for April 30th to pass so that the cash swooping will end. We have put in offers and had cash buyers swoop in and beat our deal. Hey, if I were selling a home (which I'm sooooo glad to be done doing) I'd take cash over financing too. So our search continues...

VSA #1 : M&M World!!!!

VSA : Vegas Strip Adventures...

Our "adventure" started a week ago. We planned to take the kids to M&M World and showed them pics of the place online to help 'sell' the idea of moving to Vegas. Our kids were focused and wanted to go the second we rolled into town. Fan-C even asked if we could unload the truck and then go to MMW... ummmm, NO!

We tried to take them last Tuesday and we got caught in an appointment to go check out houses and it got too late... so then we tried Thursday. We drove through downtown AT RUSH HOUR on the I-15 and finally got to a parking garage. The sign said $3 PAY IN ADVANCE. Oh, then in a different spot, CASH ONLY. So I scrounge around in my bag and pull out 2 $1 bills and ten dimes. Great! Pull up to the attendant and handed him the dollar bills first and then hold out the dimes and he says, "No Coins" and points to a sign on the booth. My kids are freakin' out... he stops traffic and makes me back up and LEAVE. The kids cried, I cried... ugh. Our VSAs were not starting off very well.

So, I went to the ATM this morning and secured CASH. I broke the bills so that I would have dollar bills... I wasn't giving this guy any room to refuse us again. We drove downtown, NOT on the freeway this time, much better and got to the parking garage. Handed him (the same lovely gentleman who obviously has NO children) the cash and he raised the gate... the kids all let out a yell and started saying "YES!!!". Victory! We made it through the parking gate.

I had Lance hold the girl's hands and I grabbed the Tank. I wanted Lance to have his "hands full" so that the lovely 'card flickers' couldn't shove anything into his already filled hands. I was waiting for one of them to approach Lance... mommaduck would have unloaded on them. None of them approached him. Thank you~~~

The following pics are of our adventure. Of course, they are out of order... but whatever.

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ONLY my kids would go to M&M World and walk out with Skittles. I know... it must be a Stanley thing cuz the Hopkins side would have loaded up with chocolate!

The Tank stood next to every M&M and wanted a pic...
Here he is cozying up to the Green...

Feeling the love from the Yellow...

This was his third try to get by a yellow.

Helping the RED advertise his NASCAR M&Ms....

Fan-C didn't want to pose... after she got her candy she wanted to leave so she could eat them.

I did get her pose for a second....

Here's Tiny-T with her Skittles... I mean the Ms. Green...

Lance posing with the kiddos outside the photo booth that they wanted $5 a pic for... ummmm, NO! Line up, I'll take my own...

We rode on escalators to each floor and down a couple floors too.

MMW is four stories tall ... on our last trip down, the Tank refused to use the escalator so we all piled into the elevator.

The Zoo Crew in front of the Wall o' M&Ms...

This was supposed to be my FIRST pic...

The Zoo Crew with the NASCAR... Fan-C missed the sign about not climbing up and I had to pull her off the car, twice!

Car minus the Zoo Crew...

So, there you have it... VSA #1 down in the books. The kids loved it. Going on a Monday was AWESOME. Hardly any traffic, not a lot of tourists and it made for a great FHE activity.

P.S. Yes, that would my kiddos in SHORTS on April 19th. This is the Spring attire for Vegas, it was 86 degrees today. Ahhhhh, crap!

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I had my eyes open for Reba and Carrie Underwood... they just had the CMAs last night... but no luck...

Adoption: Its about LOVE

Just wanted to share this video today...

It's all about LOVE...

(hoping to do it again... soon)

The Stars at Night are BIG and BRIGHT...

Deep in the Heart of VEGAS!

(yes there is a "hidden" message in the color...)

Yes, I sang the song correctly.

We were heading to Dallas. Had our home on the market since November and already packing and searching for homes in the DFW area of Dallas and then Lance and I got called in for a meeting. Lance was given a promotion and a job offer to run their Las Vegas office. He accepted. 6:30pm that night we had an offer in on our home (finally!) and less than two weeks later we were sitting in Vegas looking for a rental. Super crazy fast.

We drove to Vegas in ONE DAY! The Tank would have NEVER gotten back in the car for day two so we just buckled down and drove. Lance drove a moving truck, I drove our Expedition and my little brother, Charlie drove the F-150. We flew him back to Eugene the next morning. We were in a hotel room near Lance's work for three nights ... we found a rental on Monday, signed on Tuesday and within ten minutes of signing I was at the elementary school enrolling the two kiddos up to start school on Wednesday.

We unloaded the moving truck and returned it. Set up beds and settled in to live a week with beds and our clothes. Everything else is in the POD.

The POD delivers this morning but I won't be unpacking most of it. Living with the basics. We are looking for a home and need to keep things packed to ensure a quick move AGAIN. Hmmmm, once I find HOME. That is it!!!! This move has been tough on me physically. My right knee is done... between packing, loading, cleaning, driving for 16 HOURS and then our rental is two story... the knee is done and keeps telling me so.

Fan-C says she LOVES Vegas... it has M&M World (going tomorrow) and a new best friend, Elle.

The Tank wants to go "home" to Springfield... he misses his teacher, Ms. Ferrenburg and his cousin Autzen.

Tiny-T is oblivious to it all and loves to say "Las Vegas" all the time. She will hear "Las Vegas" or "Nevada" said on the radio and she will point out that they just said her home.

We miss Oregon so much. (I do... all this brown and desert is YUCKY)

We miss our family and ward.

We are grateful for this new opportunity for Lance to grow in the company and if that means being banished to the desert, then so be it.

Soooooo, if you wanna stop by and see us on your way to play the slots... give us a call.

Y'all are always welcome!!!!