Happy Easter/Passover! !

  We have been so busy lately i haven't had a moment to catch up on our blog! Things are always so hectic when there are holidays involved but we love getting to spend so much time with everyone!

   First we had passover with the Holtzman fam, Sandy once again spent the better part of the day preparing quite the spread for our sadder. So often we get caught up in the hustle and bustle and forget the reasons why we celebrate the holidays. It nice to sit with the family and remember the struggles of our ancestors and how their sacrifices and the guidance of their faith pulled them through some of the most trying times. 

   A favorite tradition for the kids during passover is when the Matzah is hidden for them to find! Much like the tradition of Easter eggs the kids look and look all over the house for the piece of unleavened bread and once found a reward is given! Dylan is still a big too young but Caitlyn had blast and received five whole dollars in return for her find! 

   Last Thurday we went over to Eric and Nicoles to give the kids their Easter baskets from us and decorate Easter eggs!

   This quickly turned into the boys watching sports and the girls doing the all the decorating!Its so wonderful to see Caitlyn enjoying all of these new things! 

  Then we turned around at it was Easter Sunday! We woke up early watered the garden and headed to the Hall house! Diana worked so hard on the meal and it sure payed off! She even made this fabulous center piece! She's so creative!

We stuffed ourselves with lamb chops, scalloped potatoes and this amazing orange, blueberry, coconut cake!

  Then it we were on to the Parraguirres! We got there opened Easter baskets and we were off to Jack and Kathys for (can you believe it) more lamb chops and scalloped potatoes! It was quite the party and we got to spend some time with my Great Aunt Helen before she headed back to Missouri! 

   In gardening news things are growing more and more every day! Two days ago we even harvested our very first strawberry and it was good! We couldn't believe we actually grew something and it didn't taste like crap!

 

   The cucumbers have their first real leaves and the second set is coming up fast! This week we will be building the trellis for them to climb!

  The tomatoes plants have blooms on them and from what i understand those will soon be tomatoes..... Each of them has at least three flowers on it and we have five plants so thats already 15 potential tomatoes! Yay!

  The garlic is getting so tall we cant believe it! I am constantly out there shoving cloves in the ground wherever i can fit them! You can never have too much garlic!

All the herbs are filling in quite nicely and smell magnificent and we just love these containers we found! They are the perfect colors for the garden!

 The Jalapenos haven't done much since they sprouted... we will just have to see what happens there...
  Everything overall is growing in quite nicely and all of our roses in the front are blooming! We got the umbrella up this week and we are so happy with the way everything turned out... its the perfect place to sit outside and have dinner together.. we couldn't be happier!

 Well thats it for now. Hope everyone had a good Easter/Passover! love to all!

busy bees...

   Wow it has been a busy week for us! I feel like we have been all over the place so you will have to excuse the delay in updating our blog.
   My sister came to visit/work for a couple of days which was great! One night we went to dinner with Diana. It was a lot of fun to have a girls night and I'm sure Craig appreciated the quiet house... even if he wont admit it. Every time she comes I feel like its never for long enough, We always have so much fun! She brought her dog Sparky who is Ziggy's best friend ever! They played like maniacs which is always so entertaining and the two days of sleeping that follows their departure is always much appreciated. I don't know how that little dog has so much energy!
   Last Thursday was a very busy day for us! We needed to finish putting the garden together so we could plant our garlic and it was our nephews first birthday!
    Craig got home from work around one thirty and it wasn't long before we were in the car and headed to Plant World.

   For those of you who are lucky enough to have been to Plant World you know how awesomely cool it is! For those of you who have never been I feel sorry for you. Its defiantly a place you have to check out at least once. I remember always going there in the spring with my parents. They went to buy plants, I went to see all of the birds and bunnies and stuff! So neat!

   We kinda felt bad for watching... this seemed like it should have been a private moment.. so naturally I took a picture after a long list of inappropriate comments. We had a nice walk through the thousands of beautiful plants, we purchased our soil, stuffed it all into my tiny car and headed for home to try to get most of it done before dinner.
   Later that night to celebrate the little guys first birthday we all went to Eric and Nicole's for a fabulous home cooked meal! He is so big we just cant believe it. It seems like only yesterday we received the phone call telling us that he was here and now he sits at the end of the table enjoying his carrots and bread, babbling away in a language only he can understand. It so amazing how fast they go from being these quiet fragile little infants to being a personality filled wild man!

we couldn't find the candle so we made due with what we had! 

he really enjoyed his cake...

then uncle craig read The Hungry Caterpillar to Caitlyn before we headed home.

    This Sunday we decided to check out the Springs Preserve and see what all the fuss was about. It was well worth it and we even decided to go back with our niece next weekend! We still cant believe such an awesome place exists here! When you walk through the entrance you literally feel like you have left Las Vegas and traveled far far away to a place when green things grow. It was truly beautiful! We had so much fun checking out all of the interesting exhibits (especially Craig) and learning all kinds of new things! 

   Well thats all for now! We will just have to see what other exciting adventures await us this week!

One big happy family!

   Sandy and Phil (Craig's Parents) asked to host a dinner in which both of my large families would be guests in order for everyone to have the opportunity to meet one another. I told her she had no idea what she was getting herself into as my family is... well lets say 'larger than most'.
  We showed up to the Holtzman household at 5:00, the same time as my two families. Watching the families pile out of their vehicles I looked at my two sisters, four parents, and my wonderful grandmother and felt a deep sense of pride in them. So much of my life I have seen the difficulty in having two separate families, only now as an adult do I see the true blessing it is to my life.
   Sandy really outdid herself. There was so much food! I could tell she had been in the kitchen all day making sure everything was perfect and it was!

All the girls in the family! 

nicole, Diana, Caitlin, Sandy, Grammy, Me, Jilli, Mum, and Kat (just missing andrea... thats what photo shop is for.. .)

Craig with our Nephew

Auntie Cali teaching our niece the important lessons in life...... how to properly dip your marshmallows in the chocolate fountain.

we made a mess but it was fun. 

 Phil, Dad, Diana and my sister Kat

Kat, Eric, and Nicole

Sandy and My Mom

She loves to have her hair braided!

   It was a great evening and everyone really enjoyed themselves. I couldn't be happier to be joining our two... well three.. families. 

   In gardening news the cucumbers have sprouted and we are so excited! We were told they would take eight to ten days to sprout but it only took four! So far the jalapenos, spinach, and tomatillos have yet to show their green little faces but i know they're in there.  The raised bed in finished and tomorrow we are going to fill it and begin to prepare the soil.
   Pictures of the finished product to come soon... well as soon as we can fix my stupid camera. Luckily I received the pictures from dinner compliments of Phil and Sandy!
    

To the Hardware store!

   After spending most of last night researching the best methods for gardening in Las Vegas I decided we needed to build a raised garden bed. I watched tons of videos, read articles, and scanned forums and this is our best chance. 

  So a trip to the local hardware store was calling.  As we walk through the automatic doors of the store the smell instantly hits you. Its unmistakable and it will forever remind me of my Dad. I remember wondering the isles with him, picking up whatever loose nails, screws, and rubber bands i found along the way. The lumber stacks seemed to be miles high. I now walk these isles with the man that is soon to be my husband. What an interesting moment of deja vu.  

   After some well-guided instruction from the 'wood man' we were on track to have our garden! We bought our supplies and headed for home. 

  However, no trip to the hardware store is complete without a stop at the hot dog stand! I explained to Craig that this was a tradition my Dad and i had after a day at the hardware store and often times it was a bribe just to get me to go. Either way I so enjoyed those afternoons with my Dad and I feel good about the man I have chose to continue these traditions with.The mediocre dogs, bright green relish and stained white, plastic tables will always remind me of my childhood. Then I remembered that old saying.. 'some things never change.'  

   After about a million calories we headed home to begin our project. We got right to work! Well, Craig did. I prefer to watch, hold things, and direct.... Craig really enjoys the directing part especially considering my lack of knowledge on the subject matter of construction. I have to say I am so glad to have a man that is handy, I am the opposite of handy so it works out perfectly. I break things and he loves to fix things... Since he was using the power tools today he felt it best he handle it. I would have to agree. 

    Ziggy helped too.... we told him thats where the bad puppies go. He didnt like it. 

    We finished just in time to make it to Dad and Diana's house for a traditional Irish dinner! She slaved in the kitchen all day as she does every year and make us a fabulous meal! Unlike the vast majority of people living in Las Vegas we went home after dinner and are now about to watch a movie and go to bed! 

the simple life

     I found this amazing website thanks to my sister Andrea. Craig and I thought, what a great way to keep everyone updated on our adventures!
   The next adventure we are embarking on is planning our wedding and may i just say, wow.... what a lot of work it is! I have found myself glued to my computer screen, scanning thousands upon thousands of photos. There are simply too many options. Back when Grammy was married it was a miracle if the bride could afford a wedding dress.
   It is a very exciting time. As a young girl I often wondered what that moment would be like. The moment a man asked for my hand in marriage. What would he be like, how old would I be,  and more important than anything, would I say yes? I couldn't have imagined that Sunday morning on February 13th would be that day. The day i would have all of those answers. He is wonderful and kind, I am 25 years old, and it was the easiest decision I have ever made.
   After that moment everything took off at the speed of light! Within 3 hours all of the most important people in our life knew and within 5 i'm pretty sure everyone we had ever met knew. It was the happiest day of my life and we couldn't wait to share it with everyone!
   So as of today ( I say that because I change my mind all the time) we are looking at a great ranch in Bridgeport called, ironically,  the Bridgeport Ranch (bridgeportranch.com, pay no attention to their choice in decor) and a few places in the Reno/Tahoe area. Trips are planned for me to go at the end of May to try and narrow the search. Thats about as far as we are on the wedding planning..
   In other news, we finally planted some flowers and a tree in our prison style courtyard. We painted the walls in there a month or so ago to make in less cinderblock-ie. It actually helped a lot. So we took a trip to Lowes, bought some bright flowers and our Sunday was in motion. We spent the whole day putting in new soil and planting our beautiful fleurs.
   Later that night I was reading Andreas blog about her massive vegetable wonderland growing in her back yard when I was filled with insane jealous rage which i filtered into my internet search for having a garden in Las Vegas. A few minutes later I stumbled upon some information about container gardening, intrigued by its seemingly simple execution, I read more about my options for successful growing in Las Vegas. Not a whole lot... however we are going to try a few things and see what happens. Cucumbers and Jalepenos. We will see what happens there...

Craig would like me to point out that I would never have been able to put this photo on here if it wasn't for him, sadly, he's right. As I sat here frustrated yet determined, pointing and clicking angrily he calmly took over and made it happen... this is just one of the many reasons I love him.