Family. . . . . . .

A happy family is but an earlier heaven.
-- John Bowring

So far our family has lived in Las Vegas for one month and I have to tell you, WE LOVE IT!! Now don’t get me wrong, I am sure I will have my moments where I don’t love it so much, but moving here has made such a wonderful impact on my children and my relationship with Tyson . Just having my husband home every night to cuddle up to and to be there to hold me if I have a bad dream and to play catch with Kai and to console Ashtyn when she is sad, (not to mention me and Kai) has just been such a joy to see happen right before our eyes. I would never dream of going back to life before this move. Which consisted of Tyson leaving for Las Vegas every Sunday morning at 4 a.m. and stay in Vegas for three and four days at a time just to come home to his family (2 hour drive each way, twice a week) and be exhausted from working so much and driving so much. By the time he would get home, we were all anxious to see him and attack him when he got home and all he wanted to do and needed to do was rest. I was pretty much a single mother for half of the week without friends or family to support us. ( I have a new found respect for single mothers) My kids were also very lonely, it was so hard for them to make friends in St. George.

NOW, it’s so completely different, one of those changes in life that bring you the things that a lot of us take for granted. We have the luxury of living very close to Tyson’s co-workers that have become very good friends to us and they have young kids Kai’s and Ashtyn’s age and they all became quick friends, and so begins the endless cycle of birthday parties!! To Which we enjoy thoroughly. I love to see the smiles on my childrens’ faces to have friends to play with and so much to do here. I also wanted to say publicly on this blog how much I truly adore and unconditionally love m husband, Tyson. Every day he amazes me at his commitment to his family. He truly is a family man and is not afraid to show it. He loves his kids and is wonderful to them and is the most loving, loyal, self-less, supportive and beautiful human being I have ever known. I am a very lucky woman to have Tyson and my kids, Kai & Ashtyn in my life and I cherish and value ever second.

Fun at butterfly park!

These pics were taken a few days ago, I took the kids to butterfly park before Kai had to get to school. It was a beautiful day and the park wasn't too crowded. I met a group of Army wives there also that take their kids every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday since these mornings are the best and least crowded. I made quick friends with them and am looking forward to meeting with them during the first of the week. Here are the cute pics, Kai and Ash had a BLAST!!

Kai is 6 years old!!

Yesterday was a BIG day in the Schrader family!! Kai turned 6!! It seems so insignificant, but of course not for our family!! Kai started school a few weeks ago and I remember dropping him off at the gate in front of the kindergarten yard. There were about 20+ other parents there dropping their kids off also. I gave Kai a kiss and told him to have a good day. He ran up to the gate and before going inside, he turned around and said,
" I Love you mom, are you going to be okay without me for a few hours?" and with tears in my eyes, I said, "yes, Kai, but I'll miss ya."
With that Kai came back and gave me and Ashtyn a big hug and kiss (in front of all these other parents) and ran back into the gate.
My heart literally melted and I immediatley got into the truck with Ash and cried. It was so bittersweet. I was so proud of Kai for starting school, also scared for him and also so full of joy that he was more than happy to show how much he loves his family in front of all those parents. (I know that might change as he gets older)
I called Tyson and told him how sweet it was and I feel like life goes by so fast, we need to cherish every second we have with each other.
Kai's first day of school

Quirks

The Rules:-Link the Person who Tagged you-Mention rules on your blog-Tell about 6 quirks of yours-Tag 6 fellow bloggers to do the same-Leave a comment to let them know.

Quirk #1... Anytime the television is on or the radio I have to set the volume on an EVEN number. But for some reason 15 and 21 are okay, but no other odd numbers!! Tyson gets a kick out of it and changes the volume to an odd number when I'm not looking and I get all irritated about it. He gets a good laugh every time.

Quirk #2... Anytime I say anything that is going good, I absolutley have to say, "Knock on Wood." and find the closest thing that contains wood as soon as possible to knock on it!!

Quirk #3... When Tyson is gone late at night and I hear a noise or get spooked for any reason, I sing "I am a child of God" really loud so the "bad guy" can hear me. Afterwards, I turn on the Golden Girls or Mad About You and watch it, only then do I feel better and am able to sleep.

Quirk #4... I like to read magazines backwards. I start at the last page and work my way to the front. I think its better that way.

Quirk #5... I have to lock the doors at night in order. Garage door, sliding glass door, then the front door. If I did it out of order for some reason, I go back and do it all over again. Then I check the doors 5 minutes later and peek out the windows to make sure we're safe. (maybe a little OCD)

Quirk #6... Every time I lose an eyelash, I put it on the tip of my finger, close my eyes, make a wish and blow it off my finger. I feel like my wish will for sure come true!!

Butterfly Park

We are in Las Vegas right now getting our house ready to move into and we are staying with our wonderful friends, The Seniors. While the guys (Jared and Tyson) were at work today, Belinda and I and our 5 kids all together, decided to go to this park called Butterfly Park. It is very close to our new home and since Ashtyn LOVES butterflies, I thought it would be a great idea. I have never been to this park before today, but when we arrived I thought it was the coolest park I'd ever seen!! Below are the pics I took today, Ashtyn was in Butterfly Heaven. I am so happy to be moving here, it's going to be WONDERFUL!! Let me know what you all think!!

Kylie-ism

Okay, so Tyson told me I had to post this. A few weeks ago I called Tyson at work and I was frantic. Here's how the conversation went.....

Me: "Tyson, are you watching the news?"
Ty: "No, why?"
Me: "because Russia invaded Georgia!! I told you something like the movie Red Dawn could happen here!"
Ty: (laughing hysterically) "Wrong Georgia Kylie."

Apparently I was confused and thought Russia had invaded the state of Georgia. Yeah, not my brightest moment.

I'm sure somewhere in Hollywood, Jessica Simpson was thinking that SAME THING!! lol

Kai's trip to the E.R.

Don't worry, Kai is fine. Yesterday, Kai was playing in the front room and he tripped on the phone book and hit his head on the coffee table. I put some ice on it and I noticed it was bleeding a little, not wanting to take any chances, I took him to the E.R. just incase he needed a stitch ot two and to check for a concussion. When he was being registered he was chatting with the nurse (more like flirting) and he asked her, "Is it going to hurt?" and to that the nurse replied, "Is what going to hurt?" and Kai said, "Well, am I going to need a new head?." I was laughing so hard that Kai was so serious about this question. She made sure to tell him that they don't have extra heads at the hospital and he wouldn't need a new one. Kai ended up not even needing a single stitch. But, Kai really wanted to get his head wrapped up, so the doctor humored him and used a whole roll of gauze and a roll of blue double sided hospital tape and wrapped his head completely. I have pictures of this and they are great. I will post them as soon as I can.

Kai is growin up!

Growing up we are all told that time goes by too fast. I didn't realize how fast until I became a mother almost 6 years ago. Kai starts kindergarten this year. I was really nervous about him being in the Las Vegas school system, but after looking at this schools' website I feel a lot better. Here are some pics of the school Kai will be attending its called
Marshall C. Darnell Elementary School. And better yet, they're the DARNELL SUPERSTARS!! Kai will love that!! Since he is going to be a businessman/rockstar when he grows up (his words exactly)

Feelin HOT HOT HOT!!!

So, yesterday around noon I noticed that it was feeling a little warmer than usual in my house. I checked the Air Conditioner and it read 80 degrees. This has happened a few times before where all we have to do it reset the A/C and it will fix itself. Well, I tried it 4 times and to no avail. It was now 89 degrees INSIDE our house and Ashtyn and I were extremely hot! I don't know about all of you, but I am REALLY cranky when I am hot. Its not worth it for us to pay to get the A/C fixed since we'll be moving in a little over a week. Well, we made it through the night and today it was even more hot than yesterday and Tyson stopped and got two 20 inch fans for the house to see if it would help any. Ashtyn thought these fans were amazing and she decided to talk into them and have a Star Wars moment. She was saying over and over again "Mommy, I am your daughter." and "Daddy, I am your daughter" Here is a picture of her doing this.