VEGAS SNOW!!!!

On Saturday when I was getting off from work Grant (the little boy I watch that is 8) told me that he just knew it was going to snow sometime over the weekend. I told him not to get his hopes up, "it never snows here," I reminded him. Grant was very persistent that it would snow, because his music teacher told him all about it and he knows everything! So I laughed and told him I hoped it snowed so his teacher wouldn't be wrong.

Then on Monday, Palmer and I were driving to Hawthorne and on our way out of town sure enough, it was snowing in North LV. I was as surprised as anyone. Now it wasn't very much snow but enough for everyone to start driving like complete idiots.
But the real surprise came in the last three hours... It is actually snowing! REAL SNOW!! So far there is about 2 inches and the snow just keeps on coming. I got out my coat and everything to take Tootsy out for her first snow. She doesn't know what to think; she was sliding all over the sidewalk and eating all the snow off the ground.

Its amazing how many people absolutely hate that is snowing here. I went to the bank and Barnes Noble and both places were full of people complaining that its snowing. "I moved to Vegas to get away from the snow," is what everyone says. Well it probably won't snow again for two years so I'm the person outside taking pictures and making snowballs!

TOOTSY!

Yesterday Palmer and I picked up our new puppy! We just decided that her name is TOOTSY, like Tootsie Roll. She is a gorgeous pup! She is 8 weeks old and loving her new home with us. She has only been with us two days and is already doing great with the house training. Skin and Bones are adjusting well. They have given her a few good swats but she does not seemed phased. Don't be surprised if you see her in the next Dog Show on TV.

Trust Me Its still too HOT!

Finally the Las Vegas miserable heat has began to lower a few degrees or so. Honestly its still blistering hot here. Nevertheless, since the 1st day of Autumn, when I arrive at UNLV and make my treacherous walk across miles of asphalt to my first class I've noticed people wearing winter attire. I realize that so many people are just so anxious to pull out their fall wardrobes. I walk by these people in their scarfs, UGG boots and wool jackets and I want to trip them. OK that's a little brutal but I want to stop right in front of them rip out their iPod headphones and scream "STOP THE MADNESS!" I'm F*****G sweating my ass off and it only 8:00 am and these people are strutting around like its 30 below. Look I get it your fall outfit is just so great it cannot possibly sit in your closet any longer but please for the sake of the people still sweating it up put it back in the closet and wait for December! And just to let you know... IT was 89 degrees when I got in my car today at 3:00pm. Not UGG boots weather by any means.

The Rebels vs the Pack

This last weekend my Parents and my brother Andrew came down to Vegas to check out our new apartment and to watch the UNLV vs. UNR football game. My parents arrived two hours later than they had originally told us but we are used to that. Punctuality isn't really there thing when it comes to travelling. By the time they pulled in from the 5 hour trip it was time to go to dinner. We met the the Beckers minus Steven at METRO PIZZA. If ever in Vegas go to this restaurant... its amazing! Grant, the oldest boy I watch, was eager to interrogate Rob after he found out he was a cop. The dinner was quiet exciting. My family got a small taste of the wildness I'm apart of four days a week.

The next day I took my Mom to the outlet mall on the Vegas strip. She had forgotten what driving in Vegas is like. We were harassed at a stop sign because my mom apparently didn't drive away fast enough. The whole ordeal was quiet amusing. I always forget how ridiculously huge the outlet mall is. By the time we were finished there our feet were aching and we were dying of thirst.

While we were at the mall Palmer and Mike took Andrew frisbee golfing. There is a frisbee golf course at Sunset Park which is less than 10 minutes from our apartment. Frisbee golf has become Palmer and Mike's new favorite pastime. I dont mind it but its still a bit hot for me to be wandering after a frisbee in the afternoon heat. And Im not too good at throwing the frisbee disk yet. Andrew seemed to enjoy game except he got his frisbee stuck in a tree and luckily a kid with a basketball got it down for him.

We all met back at the apartment to get in our UNLV gear well except Andrew who sadly represents the PACK. Finally it was time to head to the game! Not sure how much I want to mention about the game since it ended tragically. But the first half was exciting to watch. Andrew was in his glory!! I waited a while to buy the tickets so the ones I finally bought were right next to the UNR student section. So Andrew fit right in. Mike was regretting that he didn't come with us he would have also been in his glory sporting his FUNLV shirt. After the game we made our way through the crazy after game traffic all the way to BUFFALO WILD WINGS. Palmer devoured 2o wings I believe. We got back to the apartment around midnight.

On Sunday we couldn't let my family leave until we took them to the Original Pancake House so that they could leave with disgustingly full stomachs. The weekend was a blast except for UNLV's loss. :)

The score board when UNLV was looking glorious! Sadly it ended after the first half.

Thank God for INSURANCE and seat belts!

Last Thursday night I was in a car accident on my way home from work. It was a nightmare. To make a long story short... on St. Rose highway there is a lot of construction going on. A person two cars ahead of me had to swerve into my lane to avoid those dreaded orange cones. The woman in front of me had to slam on her brakes and I had to do the same. I obviously did not avoid crashing into her. I hit her at about 45-50 mph which completely destroyed my Saturn. As for the woman I hit, her Jetta wagon has minimal damage. Thankfully no one was seriously hurt; I only suffered an airbag to the face and some seat belt burns and bruises. The woman I hit broke her pinky nail.

Here's What's left of my Saturn

4961 Lunetto Ave

Here's the house! We will probably be moving in mid-August. It's a 3 bedroom 2 bath with a decent sized backyard which is hard to find in Vegas. The process is so much longer than I expected. Between home inspections and Palmer having to go sign and approve more papers it is taking forever for it all to be done. But move in day will be here soon and we can't wait!

Front View of the house

KitchenLiving/ Dinning Room

Master Bedroom

I have been in Ohio since the 27th of June with the Beckers, the people I nanny for, we are staying in Columbus and Akron. We have been staying with Christina's sister's famliy, the Howards, in Hudson, a suburb of Akron. The Howards' house is on a huge chunck of land and their backyard is all forest. With the Forest comes lots of animal, but with all the critters in the backyard the boys and I were most interested in the frogs and toads. The frogs constantly fall into the window wells around the basement windows so every couple of days the Howard boys have to climb down and free all the frogs. The first time that we pulled a few frogs out of the window well the Becker boys were freaked out. The frogs were too slimy and gross for them. It was very amusing to see the difference in the way the Ohio boys and Las Vegas boys reacted to the frogs. Grant and Bryce have grown up in Las Vegas so they didn't have the slightest idea how to react to nature, but after a few days of observing the Howard boys they caught on that if you don't catch them with your hands you won't catch very many. Today all the boys went out determined to break their own record of the most frogs caught at one time. They were all in the window wells catching frogs while Chase and I played with the frogs and toads on the grass. We were also in charge of making sure that the frogs didn't get out of the bowl, which was quite the task. It was really fun to watch the boys scream "AHHH I got one," everytime they had caught more to add to the bowl. The two older Becker boys have gotten over their fear of actually touching the frogs which made catching the frogs much easier for them. I dont think we broke their record of 31 frogs but we came awfully close at around 25 or so. Runaway Toad

Chase chasing a toad we were supposed to have in the bowl! Bryce, Cade and Grant counting the frogs... Bryce carrying the toad VERY carefully. The smallest frog. He was just set free from the window well. Wanted to know if he would turn into Prince Charming. Sorry Palmer, I had to try.

A days worth of frogs right before we let them go...

He's Home!!

To my surprise, Palmer was able to pick up our new kitten a day early! So he is home now with Palmer. I guess Palmer has already decided that he doesn't like the name Bump so he wants to change it already but we'll have to see.

The Countdown For Bump!

Palmer and I have been waiting anxiously since April for our Sphynx kitten. The women we are getting him from wouldn't let us take him home until he was 10 weeks old! So Palmer has been counting the weeks til the pick up date. Well finally on Friday morning Palmer gets to pick up our new guy, Bump, (it's a Sopranos thing.) I actually don't get to see him until I get home from Ohio next week but I don't think Palmer is going to wait a second longer. Here he is all naked and wrinkled...