Christmas with the Ballards - 2008

Joseph, Allyse, Angelina and Joshua in front of the Christmas Tree.

Benjamin wouldn't sit for a group photo, preferring his solo shot on his new train.

Angelina loved anything that has to do with High School Musical.

Josh got a thrill out of the Indiana Jones Lego set.

Benjamin had fun climbing all over his siblings' gifts.

After the thrill of it all, Angelina just wanted some love from her new Care Bear.

The hit of Christmas for Benjamin was clearly the train.

Angelina posed with her Christmas haul.

Joseph was very pleased with his Lego set, swords and armor. If being a knight were still a job, I would expect him to be one when he grows up.

Allyse immediately changed into some new clothes she received. She was very happy with all of the pink gifts.

Josh had his presents organized for his picture. He seemed to really enjoy the fun things he received, especially the Legos and a Weird Science set.

Julene was very surprised with her new bicycle. She especially likes the color.

Since we don't buy sugary cereals but once a year, Angelina wanted Lucky Charms for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert and snacks.

Benjamin was a very happy boy.

Angelina loves having her picture taken.

Vegas Snow at Night

December 17, 2008 proved to be an unusual day, even by Las Vegas standards. At lunch, I was driving back to my office from UMC and noticed that there was snow mixed in with rain. By early in the afternoon, it had turned to mostly snow. By 3:00 p.m., the snow was coming down heavy, and although it was not yet sticking on the roads, the office was closed and we were sent home. Driving home was slow but otherwise uneventful.

It snowed intermittently for the remainder of the afternoon and evening. While it wasn't cold enough for the snow to stick on the roads nor for the snow to stay around for much more than a day, it was beautiful while it lasted. The following are pictures from around the neighborhood during a break in the snowfall.

Looking down San Esteban.

One of the better decorated homes in the neighborhood.

Another home with fun Christmas decorations.

Looking from the back of the house to the northwest.

Looking from the back of the house to the southwest.

Josh's Marshmallow Birthday Party

Joshua wanted a marshmallow party for his 12th birthday, so Julene put together a bunch of marshmallow activities for Josh and his friends. After building things out of marshmallows, they had a contest to see who could stuff the most marshmallows in his mouth. Instinctively, I knew going into it that the best photos would come from this contest.

Joseph gave it his best effort.

Josh's friend Devon has an innovative way of connecting the marshmallows into a large mass without actually having them in his mouth.

The undisputed largest mouth went to Josh's friend, T.J. Little wonder since he is nearly as large as me, and he is only 13.

The highlight of the party was making a playing with marshmallow guns. On the previous Saturday, I cut enough PVC to make about 15 guns. The kids assembled their guns, picked up bags of ammo and went outside for an old-fashioned shootout. The party might not have been very politically correct, but it was a lot of fun.

Ethan and Joshua looking for more marshmallows to shoot.

Joseph shooting Josh's friend at point blank.

Allyse joined the marshmallow mayhem.

Angelina was the only one who figured out that the real fun was in eating the ammo.

Another highlight was the S'mores cake that Julene made. I'm not quite sure what was in it but it was pretty good. Mixing chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers can only be good.

Happy Birthday, Joshua!

Accessorize

Even if she is just getting a banana before bedtime, Angelina is always stylish, accessorizing her pajamas with beads.

Specs

Allyse recently took after her father and was prescribed vision correction. I took her out to some stores and found her some frames. Allyse chose the above, which I think look rather smart.

Brad and Benjamin's Birthday Bash at the Mirage (The Full Story)

Earlier in the year, I won a birthday party for me and up to 25 guests at Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage Hotel. We decided to use it for Benjamin and my birthday and invite members of the family who have small children, as we thought the kids would really enjoy the animals.

First, we were given a private tour, one which included only members of our group. We started at the side of one of the pools where the dolphins live. Our guide told us a bunch of interesting facts about dolphins, but I would be hard-pressed to recite any of them now.

Next, we went below to a window where we could observe the dolphins as they swam around the pool.

Our guide told us more interesting facts about dolphins.

Then, we went to a private observation room. This was the best, because the dolphins kept coming up to the glass and smiling for the camera.

Angelina and her cousin, Nora, enjoyed seeing the dolphins up close.

The guides had the children sit down and they taught them more about dolphins.

To their credit, the children actually looked interested.

More dolphins up close.

Benjamin really loved the dolphins, and he laughed each time they came up to the glass.

After the observation room, we went to a separate pool that served as the nursery.

At the nursery, there were a couple of baby dolphins swimming with their moms.

After the dolphins, we went to the secret garden. If you have been to a regular zoo, the cool animals are always in hiding. Not in Vegas: they have to get out and perform. The white tigers didn't disappoint. This beast was the size of a small horse, and I'm not exaggerating.

They had a feeding of the tiger cubs while we were there. It was really funny to watch the "kittens" attack their bottles.

After the felines, we went back to the pools for some cake. The tiger cage was made of chocolate.

The two birthday boys.

Uncle Kris and Corbin had fun.

Cousins Aubrey and Lauren appear to have enjoyed the cake.

As usual, Angelina ate frosting first.

Joshua, Ethan and Jacob couldn't wait to eat the chocolate tiger cage.

Benjamin wasn't very excited about eating the cake with his grandmas.

The highlight of the birthday party was a family photo with the dolphin. Benjamin, who was squealing when he saw the dolphins in the pool, wasn't nearly as thrilled to see one out of the water and right next to us. At first, he looked a little unsettled, but by the time the photos were being snapped, he was certain that he did not like this. The rest of us were having a great time, as we had not previously touched a dolphin.