Las Vegas pt.2

The day we arrived, the backyard was covered in snow. And then the VERY NEXT DAY...

This last picture is awful photography but just so representative of Ethan & Rychen's time together. ("Ethan took my toy! Waah!")

Here are the 3 boys in the backseat together.

And now for some heart-warming Grandpa pictures...

(Emily was trying to get a shot for a particular gift)

I don't remember if this was games, crafts, lunch, or everything all at once. Yeah, that pretty much sums up the dinning room of my childhood, that continues to this day.

On Christmas Eve, the men played Risk while the women & kids went to visit and carol to a widow in the ward.

(Andrew, Jon, Erick, & Rychen)

And here are my sexy sisters...

To be concluded...

Lots of pictures comin atcha

"Christmas in Las Vegas 2008"

Here we are with our friends from BYU, the Christensens. We're both from out of town but happened to be visiting family for the holidays. We met up on the strip and toured for a little while.

Aquarium @ Caesar's Palace. A man was cleaning the tank in scuba wear. This aquarium is awesome, there are several rays, including a huge Manta Ray like the guy on Finding Nemo :)

In the forum shops' big toy store. These stuffed animals together cost $9,000. You aren't worthy to even view this photograph.

In the garden @ Bellagio.

My own photography :) - A beautiful day!! (Indeed, 3 years ago we went swimming in January there)

..Then Carter got Rychen some tickets to the Bowl Game. So he got a date with his Father-in-law! Male bonding time.


to be continued....

Reduce waste!

This year I challenge you to reduce waste! Now that we're in our own home, we have a yard waste bin, which I use to throw out my food peels and cores. Salem also provides a HUGE mixed recycling container, and your choice of garbage can size. We got the smallest garbage can - the woman was surprised at this, and said it's usually for single-person households, as it only holds one tall bag of trash. I said that is fine, most of our waste is food scraps so it will go in the Yard waste bin. The next biggest thing is papers, which we can make an effort to put in the recycling. We don't throw away diapers, and we only have minimal plastic food packaging, since we don't eat processed food. Shopping at Costco is awesome because most of their produce containers are recyclable plastics, or cardboard for the shelf foods.

 

So under our sink we have 3 containers - recycling (a brown bag), a trash can, and a compost/yard waste can. We have not taken the trash out yet! But I take the yard waste out DAILY and the recycling probably 2x a week. 

 

I challenge you all to make an effort to RECYCLE your papers, tin cans, plastic containers, etc. and when you go shopping, use re-usable bags! Your plastic bags can be used as trash bags for bathroom garbages, or recycle them at Fred Meyer.

 

Minimize your trash!  

Gremlich family photos and news

This is Annalise's family, minus Peter who is serving a mission in Texas. From top-left: Joe, Andrew, Erick, Mom & Dad, Jon (Laura's husband), Rychen, Annalise with Elisabeth and Rychen Parker, Laura holding Millie, Emily, Melan (Erick's wife) holding Ethan, and Evan.

(For those who don't know my family, Erick is the oldest and Evan is the youngest. There is a 17 year span. I am the 3rd child of 8. There are four grandkids. The rest live in Utah.)

My parents will be moving to Albuquerque soon! My dad got a new job there (he's a civil engineer). Hooray, what a good Christmas gift! Joe will be expecting a mission call next summer, and Peter returns in September. I love my big family so much, and we're so thankful for all of you. Hope you had a wonderful holiday!

Testimony

I have been reading a lot of the conference Ensign this week while Elisabeth nurses/naps.  I have just loved it! I have gotten into it like a great novel that you just can't put down. It's so comforting and inspiring. Our leaders are so inspired.  I was touched from a number of things I read today, and here is one thought I had. Non-members sometimes are curious, "You have a PROPHET? What does he say? What has he prophesied about??"  Well he doesn't say earth-shattering stuff, but he reminds us of the simple, subtle truths we need to hear over and over--and yes, that is very inspired, that is JUST what we need to hear, that is the direct truth from GOD.  For example, Pres. Monson spoke of enjoying our children, and how no other project is more important than just enjoying our kids in the here and now. I thought that was so profound, and just what I needed to hear. Just like he says, these things will be gone before you know it, and soon you will miss those messes, handprints, and piles of laundry! I bear my testimony that Pres. Monson is a prophet of God, and these are truly inspired words from God. I know our lives will be blessed with joy and meaning as we follow the prophets' counsel. I love hearing these truths, as my testimony is confirmed over and over again. The gospel is so true. It just makes perfect sense, and isn't life so wonderful when everything makes sense? :)  In church today, visiting my home ward, I had the thought, "Wow, look at all these kids who grew up, and they are still active in the church!" Almost amazed, as I realized, this is another entire generation who can testify of the Savior, who have found their own testimonies and once given free reign of their own lives,  they still choose the good path their parents showed them. A boy several years younger than me is now going on a mission to Japan. His testimony was so strong and powerful! And this is before he goes out! What a strong young man, servant of Christ, and what a great missionary he will be! Makes me so excited to be part of a united church, full of people who just love God and are willing to make so many sacrifices for Him. I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, and Thanks to Him we are able to have earth life, a necessary step in our spiritual progression. We grow more and more each day as we follow in his footsteps, and follow the counsel of His servants. Thanks to Him, we can return to our Father, and live in Glory with him and our families, forever.

We need more uplifting, inspiring blogs!! I challenge you guys to bear your testimonies on your blogs, and share scriptures or talks that have lifted you up or brought meaning to you. Even respond to this post with your favorite conference talk! Even if you're not LDS, what is your favorite bible verse that gets you through your tough times? Let's bear each other up. Thanks for your strength and Merry Christmas!

Snow in Vegas

The kids and I are in Las Vegas, where it is snowing more than it ever did when I lived here. Here are some cute photos from today.

Cloth diapering

I've noticed a couple cloth diaper advantages recently:

 

(1) I don't need wipes. The poop sticks to the diaper, not to the skin. Wouldn't that be handy in the disposable world?

(2) We have never had a blow-out or leak, period.

(3) Never have diaper rash. But that could also have to do with EC (because it gives time to air out the bum) or frequent changing.

(4) And of course, it's a whole lot CHEAPER.

 

Disadvantage: having to change it during the night. Sometimes we use a disposable so she can sleep longer without feeling wet.

Nap differences

Rychen P. and Elisabeth are very different babies, especially when it comes to nursing and napping. Rychen would always nurse to sleep and always fall asleep while nursing. Elisabeth does neither. With Rychen I could reliably nurse him and have him fall asleep with no trouble. Then I would roll away and he'd sleep on the bed for 2 hours, like clockwork. But I would have to lay down and nurse him wherever he would nap - he would NOT transfer well at all. With Elisabeth, she nurses only when hungry (healthy habit but a bit inconvenient). She prefers to nurse upon waking and will not nurse when she is fussy. When she is tired, she is too fidgity and will not concentrate on nursing. So we bounce to sleep. A lot of times she sleeps in the sling, on me, with a blanket covering for darkness (my back is getting strong, trust me). Or she will sleep in the baby swing but needs darkness and white noise. Very inconvenient!! But an easy public sleeper (nursing to sleep in public, not as easy). The good thing with her is that lately I can bounce her and then lay her in the swing, don't even have to wait 20 minutes - she will sleep through the transfer. I haven't tried putting her in bed yet, we'll see how that goes.