"Reno, NV......part 3"

Are we there yet?! Headed to Reno.....staying at the Peppermill Hotel. Can't wait to get there and eat some dinner. Tired of being in the car! Road to seemingly nowhere!!!! We have covered alot of scenery/countryside/uninhabited desert!

And the closer we get to Reno (about 8 miles out)..................the weather turns into a blizzard!!!! What the heck! We just left sunny, warm Vegas and it's snowing! So hard we can't see and missed our exit..................Once again our little friend GPS saved the day and got us safely to our destination...........

Ahhhhhh..................finally we made it. Rooms were so nice!

We really wanted to lay by the pool....................but it was a little snowy....................

Nicole took full advantage of the amazing fitness facility.................Me????? Not so much! I took magazines and sat on the couch and watched her run. lol. I really wanted to take my wine with me but thought they may frown on that?

Next day was sunny but COLD! Crazy people out there swimming. Pools were heated but you still had to get out!

Tyler lost a tooth while eating wheat thins at the hotel........................so I gave him his "tooth fairy" money $1. hahaha. So I told him to go spend it at the arcade. He had some money still to spend and Nicole and I were down in the fitness room. LeRoy texted me and told me he had won a PSP player out of a game/machine!!!!! I was so happy for him! Those run about $180 and he had spent about $25 to get it!!! Yay Tyler! And on the way home.......................I realized I forgot his tooth................in the hotel........................hahhaaaa...............I'm sure the maid was like "WTF"?

We ended up extending our stay one night due to the snow. Day we were to leave was blizzard again. Pass was requiring chains and others were closed. Didn't want to take the chance of getting up there and having to turn around and come back. Especially when I had a comfortable hotel. I was ok staying an extra night and extending our vacation a day. If we went home I would still have to do laundry, and finish my taxes and get back to reality! Plus I wanted to sleep in. Haven't had much sleep at all this trip. Go, go, go. So we stayed an extra night. Next day......slept in.........................breakfast in bed................boys went down to arcade and Nicole and I stayed in bed and read.......had a great view of the city...................relaxed!!!!

Finally got out of Reno a day later......Sierra-Nevada mountain pass was BAD!!! So much snow. About 12 feet on sides of road. Slow movin' home. That was the longest 10 hours of my life.

Tired of being in the car. Tired of sitting. Just want to get home to my comforts of my house. LeRoy got us home safely. Home never looked so good!

Tyler pretty much watched movies the entire time in the car. Thanks goodness for DVD player. He probably watched about 30 movies! Had a great trip. Lots of family time. (Nicole was over it by the last leg of the trip. hahah). Lots of great memories for us. I'm sure we looked like the Griswolds......................

Griswold Spring Break Family Road trip 2011.................................

"sadie hawkins dance....and a fashion emergency!"

Finally!!!! The Sadie Hawkins Dance was rescheduled! (was cancelled due to our little snow storm a few weeks ago.)
It was Friday night and Nicole had school...........and then softball practice in the rain! So we were very short on time to get her ready. Once she got home she jumped in the shower. I needed time to do her hair (including hair extentions, and polish her nails) and she said she could handle her own make up. I don't know why I always like to take goofy before pics while she is getting ready.

We were doing great on time. Her hair was turning out fabulous...............

Time to get dressed................7:45....................Jason would be here any second to pick her up. As was grandma and Jason's mom to take pictures.

Put on the dress................had a hard time with the zipper..................

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Zipper was faulty and split.......................OMG...........what do I do????

Fashion Emergency!!!

I panicked for a minute. Asked Nicole if she had a backup dress? "Mom, I'm wearing this dress, she says calmly.........and my nails are already painted blue to match my dress, and my shoes are blue and I want to wear this dress." Ok................................So I pinned it so I could think......told her to sit down and don't move. DON'T BREATHE! LeRoy pipes up from the other room and says "why don't ya just sew the dress on her?" BRILLIANT!!!

Needle and thread and sew, sew, sew and double reinforce! VOILA! Problem solved! And so glad it happened before she left.....or got in the car......or god forbid was at the dance gettin' down and her dress busted open!!!!!

Goldie-Locks............

Hair turned out amazing!!!!!!!

Jason made it. Remembered the flowers. Everyone got pics and they were off to the dance.

ha ha......I accidentally posted this pic twice................there were lots of shinnagins and silly......those are the pics I like.........

Gorgeous...... (and still had all her birthday festivities up!)

I always love the pic of the corsage with her dress. I started that tradition last year and have been doing it for every dance. (she has the tiny-ist waistline ever!!!!!)

They didn't want to go out to a restaurant.....................as usual asked me to cook.......healthy.

As per their request.............homemade vegie soup, crusty wheat bread, strawberries and lowfat cupcakes............

When she got home I literally had to CUT her out of the dress!!! I think they had fun...........haven't had much time to talk to her! We have all been so busy. Her and I both worked Saturday and she ditched me last night to stay with a friend.

And since it was Sadie Hawkins dance............ girls ask boys......................
Nicole pulled off a good one! All by herself (well, help of some friends, and clearance from the teacher. I didn't know anything about it!)

One of her friends works at the same pizza place as Jason. Nicole had her make a heart shaped pizza and deliver it to Jason in his 4th period class at school! And had written on the outside and inside of the box asking if he would go to the dance with her. HOW CUTE IT THAT? I'm sure that classroom smelled good and everyone was a little envious. And Jason asked where Nicole was and she was hiding outside the classroom, peaking around the corner............and he made her come in, in front of the ENTIRE class so he could give his answer! She said she wanted to DIE. So embarrased! I told her SHE should have been the pizza delivery girl! (this was all that was left of it by the time I saw it after school).

Glad the dance is over. On to the next thing. Today was my only day off this week. Weird day......power outage for a few hours...............silver lining in that was I was FORCED to get my tax stuff done! Have been putting if off. Was just enough light coming in the dining room window I got it done (with help from my hubs :) thanks Big Poppa... taxes make me CRANKY!) House got cleaned. And I told the family to get in the car cause we were goin' out for pizza! I'm not cooking. Daylight savings today so I'm not tired but need to get to bed. Working crazy long hours this week................

"sweet 16.....part 2!"

Well she was feelin' the love today :)
Got tons of balloons, flowers and money today!
I couldn't WAIT for her to get home from school/practice!
I was almost sitting at the front door like a little puppy waiting to see how her day was!
She got flowers from Aunt Donna, cousins Drake and Gunner delivered to school. Balloons, candy, stuffed animal from the boyfriends family delivered to school today, money from Gma and Gpa Mac and a card, money from Gma and Gpa Mary and a card, money from Mom and Dad and a card (good for gas money!) and various other fun stuff! And I made her an awesome cake! She had softball practice....................in the rain..............so she was a hot mess when she got home! I just told her to get dressed cause we were goin' to dinner and it really didn't matter. So she went with her hair all crazy and Jason went with us and we met Gma and Gpa Mary at Corino's. Had to get some pics before we went. Not sure what's up with Tyler's "popeye" face! ahhahahaha

Nicole and "the boy".

She had a great day and was a little hyper!

We had a great dinner. Food and company was GREAT! Had a few glasses of wine to get me thru the rest of the day............I have a 16 year old now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"sweet 16............"

Today my baby girl turns 16!
I have very mixed emotions about that!
She is more independent..I am older. She is older. She doesnt need me as much anymore and wants to do more for herself. All part of growing up but I really didn't think that time would get here so quickly....

I always have the table decorated on the morning of my kids birthdays so they already feel special when they get up in the morning.

Usually I always cook them birthday breakfast but we had bigger things to take care of this morning!!

Scheduled her driving test for her license at 9:00 am.

On our way.............

She was really nervous and kept asking me "do you think I'm going to pass mom?" Of coarse I kept reassuring her she would do GREAT! and just to use common sense.

So the DMV was packed when we got there. That is a very scary place........

We filled out all the paperwork and it was time to drive......................

I sat in the DMV lobby with a sick feeling (not that she wouldn't pass, but that my little girl was about to have a new independence in life that didn't include me).......Her and the instructor walk back in the door with huge smiles. He announced in front of everyone that she passed with 100%.......and said she was an excellent driver and thanked ME for her being so prepared and being such a good driver (she is such an overacheiver!).....ahhhhh......warms my heart......she passed her written and now just needed her pic taken.

After she needed money to pay for it.......hahhaahahaa......(I guess they always will need us for something!!). She was so excited and grinning from ear to ear.

So we went back home so she could round up her softball gear for practice.......and needed $5 to buy a parking permit for school.......and a note to exuse her for being late......

And then it hit me..........................she will be getting in her car......................by herself..........driving to school........................alone.............................

She couldn't get out of here soon enough!!

And off she goes.................

So weird for her to drive away. I got a little emotional...................
I needed a minute..........so bittersweet..............and I asked her to text me when she got to school safely...........and she did...........

I texted LeRoy and told him I was a little sad and he said he was too.......Our little girl is growing up............faster then we would like...........

Tonight we are celebrating and going out to dinner and I'm making her a cake.

So far life has been pretty good in the presence of a teenage girl...........

"old school pic.........."

Donna!!!!! I found another one! At your graduation from high school (I was a sophmore......same age as Nicole is now!)
We rocked the big hair. And this is the birthday cake I am making for Nicole on Wednesday. YUM!

I will get that done in my spare time...........

I've been up since 5:30 am. Nicole had to be to school by 6:00 am for softball practice.....REALLY? What the **** is the coach thinking? Morning practice and practice again after school? From 3:00-5:30? IT'S HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS SOFTBALL!!!!! A little ridiculous.......and most of these girls don't drive! I'm not real happy about it...............

Worked today..............grocery shopped.............picked up Tyler at school..........went BACK to work to cut his hair.......and LeRoys too............picked up Nicole from practice..........might as well cut her hair too.....and I did!!!!...............made dinner................went to the gym.............Just got home. AT 9:30 PM.................

I think it's time for bed......as soon as I switch the laundry and make sure lunches are made.....and I have tons of texts on my phone I need to repond too! sorry people!

And I get to start again tomorrow!