Las Vegas between Christmas 2015 and New Years 2016

We vacationed in Vegas at the end of last year. Jaylee's favorite thing was walking on the overpasses and seeing the cars go under us.  To the right is a view from our Marriott Towers window (thank you anita for letting us use the time share!)

I think the beds were big enough...

Since I got sick one of our first days there, Griffin took Jaylee for some good Daddy daughter time. Daddy knew exactly where to take Jaylee...the M&M store. We are STILL working on eating the huge bag of M&M's they hand picked.Each night we enjoyed some family time playing games.

Vegas is known for the amazing buffets and after an hour and 45 minute wait it better be good. It fulfilled all of  Griffin's dreams. And Jaylee got her first ice cream cone!!!

More games at night!

But by far the thing Jaylee remembers most as being fun is going to Circus Circus! We took Jaylee on their tracks for fun and then walked the rest of the way to Circus Circus. 

Jaylee could have stayed on these rides forever! But in order to get home in time for bed we had to leave far too soon for her liking. Griffin pushed me and Jaylee in the wheelchair to conserve my energy so I wouldn't get migraines. Thank you Griffin.

We also took time to go to the Flamingo Hotel where they have a beautiful garden with flamingos and birds and fish and more!
My favorite picture from Vegas is this one right here where Jaylee is trying to imitate the flamingos.

Another favorite for Jaylee was the giant jet tub. We started with having a family bath since all of us could fit! lol. And with a little help from some make shift  toys, Jaylee was entertained for about 45 minutes after. :)Here are some of the treats Daddy and Jaylee picked up at the M&M store

After the festivities in Vegas we drove home New Years Eve and stayed the night in Bakersfield, where I spotted this beautiful sign. I couldn't resist taking a picture in honor of my dear friend Ming Shen. :)

A Gift from Grandpa Charlie

Happy St. Patricks Day! In Griffin's family, there is a lot of Irish blood. Griffin is 25% Irish, 25% English and 50% latin. His Grandmother was 100% Irish I believe and so they celebrated fully the whole Irish meal and festivities during Griffin's early childhood. Anita got used to those traditions while married to Griffin's Dad, Charlie. Anita prepared a wonderful dinner including corn beef, potatoes, cabbage, carrots, and the much needed IRISH SODA BREAD! I had never had this before meeting Anita. I found out that not all Irish Soda breads are created equal. She knows how to pick em. Someday we'll get adventurous and actually try to make Griffin's Grandma's recipe...someday. ha.

Besides the food, Jaylee and I had fun making our own St. Patrick's Day crafts. We made two of the rainbow chains over the pots of gold...one for our next door elderly neighbor. 

The most special part of St. Patrick's Day for me was when Griffin pulled out the St. Patrick's Day dog we've been saving for Jaylee from Griffin's Dad. It was originally a gift for Griffin, but due to limited space we weren't able to keep many things from Griffin's Dad, Charlie, when he passed in July 2012. Griffin explained said to Jaylee, "Grandpa Charlie would  have wanted you to have this." It's wonderful having something in our home to remind us of Griffin's Dad, especially since Jaylee held it and immediately said to it, "I love you." The second best part was the name Jaylee gave the dog, "Jiggy". (we explained later how that was a total Irish thing!) Very special day.

Our Pea Seed

Back in the early Fall, one of Jaylee's Joy School lessons was about seeds. She was given a variety of seeds to put in a plastic, ziplock bag accompanied by a wet napkin. We were instructed to blow air into it daily and keep it by a sunny window for 1-2 weeks until it started to germinate (i think that's the right word?). As you can tell, this was a very new process for me. As a child I never grew anything from a seed to maturity by myself. So let's just say I spent a few days making trips to Dales to get their tips and insights on how to help a seed grow. (I even called Grandpa Ken a couple times to get more details I forgot to ask at Dales) :)

So here's our process...
We bought potting soil, coconut pots, plant food and off we were in mid October...

After they had grown the little things coming off the seed while in the bags (as you can see in Jaylee's hands here)


then we put them in the potting soil about an inch down


Then we put them in the window. It's funny, I forgot we had 2 seeds that sprouted until I went back to find these pictures!


But this happened quite a few times...and probably was main reason seedling #2 never grew. :(


Beginning of January and look!



Middle of January

Beginning February


A week later we transplanted outside, trying to get it to cling onto fishing wire we attached to the rain gutter close to the roof. It's pretty much as tall as Jaylee here!


Within a few days it grew its first pea pod!!! (the size of my fingernail). It was so cool to be part of CREATION!


And by the end of the month of February, a cold, windy frost came in and the entire plant died! :(
But not before Jaylee could pick off 1 pea pod to eat! :)



Here's the video of Jaylee eating it! :) I was so proud of us for actually doing it!