Phineas and Ferb

Our household can't get enough of the Disney cartoon, Phineas and Ferb. Yes, Keith and I can admit to humming and singing Wiggles, Blues Clues, and Dora tunes, however the songs from Phineas and Ferb are by far the BEST from a children's show. Sorry, Elmo. How can you not be curious about song titles like, S.I.M.P(Squirrels in my pants), Backyard Beach, Disco Miniature Golfing Queen, and our FAVE, Gitchee Gitchee Goo?!? This leads me to this really grainy video clip of Mackenzie and Mason gettin' their groove on to our favorite Phineas and Ferb song. Check out Mason's moves. He has more rhythm than anyone in the Lay Family!!!

Mackenzie's Holiday Program

Keith and I were able to spend time with Mackenzie in her classroom the last day before she went on Track Break. Mackenzie in on Track 5 which means she has the entire month of December off! We made turkey hands and the class sang a few songs. Track 5 also had a Holiday Program which we attended. Of course, the Kindergarten class did the BEST!

October

October was a very eventful month for the Lay Family. Between, Keith being in Utah for 8 days for work, me losing my gall bladder and trying to fit in Halloween festivities, I think I can say we are all glad to finally be in the month of November. Thank you everyone for your well wishes during my gall bladder surgery. I am healing well and will hopefully have relief from the ongoing pain I once was having. Here is a glimpse of the month...no, you won't see any xrays, ultrasounds, or gall bladder pics(Debbie!).


We were able to go fishing before Keith left for Utah. We were just about to leave and what do you know, we caught something, a catfish.

Mason enjoys a Chocolate Halloween cupcake made by my coworker, Carmen. She is a fantastic baker!
We visited The Farm, a local farm in North Las Vegas. It was quite small, but was just enough for the kids. There were chickens, peacocks, turkeys, ponies, and of course, pumpkins. Mackenzie was on the hunt for the "right" pumpkin to take to school.

Mason followed the chicken around the pumkpin patch. He wasn't quite sure what to make of it! Hmmm...dinner?

I was able to volunteer in Mackenzie's classroom for Pumpkin Math. The students had a fun time observing, measuring, and squishing! Kindergarten is so much fun!


Our lil' firefighter and Tinkerbell get ready for some treats.

Mason enjoys his first treat of the evening. See the sticky drool?

Mackenzie is a KINDERGARTENER!

Ready for her first day of school, Mackenzie was packing her Tinkerbell backpack a good 20 minutes before we left the house. She couldn't wait for her First Day of Kindergarten!

Mackenzie and Daddy walk a whole 50 steps to school! Mackenzie is attending the elementary school around the corner from our house. She is enrolled in an All-day Kindergarten class. I also taught 5th grade at this school 3 years ago when we moved to Vegas. It is comforting to know that she will be with a wonderful and caring staff. I know my friends/colleagues will take good care of her!

Mackenzie stops in front of the Kindergarten playground. She can't wait to play at recess with her new friends. She's been eyeing the playground all summer!

Mrs. Kennedy is Mackenzie's teacher.

Mackenzie gets ready for Circle Time. She's ready for a fun-filled day of Kindergarten!

Our Little Mermaid

Mackenzie's first swim lesson of the year was on Saturday. She had a total of 20 last year and will probably have at least 10 this year. She remembers a lot of what she learned 9 months ago and even surprised me with her confidence this last weekend. Her swim instructor, Sophia is an incredible teacher! We are so proud of Mackenzie. As she improves, so does my heart rate each and every time she gets in the pool. Take a peek...

MmmmM...Sushi

The Lam Family, Jeff, Lisa, Brandon, and Danika, plus Danika's friend Michelle came over yesterday afternoon to hang out and to have dinner. Danika and Michelle braved our very COLD pool. I have been meaning to buy a new thermometer to check the temperature. It must have been no warmer than 60 degrees, maybe 50! Brrrrrr...




After the swimming festivities and a few loads of laundry(hehe), we headed to dinner. Of course, we went to our fave spot Tachi. Can't go wrong with sushi! Thanks for stopping by Lam Family. See you next month???

Happy Easter!

The Kroftas Visit

As soon as we returned from the Bay Area on Tuesday, we had visitors arriving. Julie, Sierra, and Olivia Krofta from So. Cal came to visit for a few days. Ron wasn't able to come, so we had a great "girl" bonding time(with the addition of Mason the only boy). There was a lot to do since Sierra had never been to Las Vegas before. She was prepared with her own camera in hand. She knew exactly what she wanted to see on the Strip and her camera got a good workout! I didn't notice I didn't get any pictures of her, probably because she was too busy taking pictures of her own. We headed to MGM Grand to check out the Lion Habitat. Afterwards, we had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe and then walked to M&M World. I think Olivia and Mason had just as much fun hanging out in their strollers people watching and eating raisins.


We sure enjoyed their visit and hope they come back soon, maybe with Ron and the newest addition to their family in 4 more months! CONGRATS Krofta Family. We can't wait to meet the new lil' one!

Back in The Bay Area

We went to the Bay Area to honor the Ching Ming Holiday last weekend. Ching Ming is also known as Grave-Sweeping Day, observed on and around April 5. The date is indicated on the Chinese calendar with the two characters: ching, meaning pure or clean, and ming, meaning brightness. Combined together, Ching Ming means clean and just. Every year, Keith's family returns back to Oakland to honor his fathers' gravesite. It's a chance for everyone to remember him and to thank him.




We were also able to spend some time with family and friends. It was a quick 4 day trip, however we crunched in as many visits as we could while keeping our sanity!


My parents were spending their last few days in San Leandro before heading back to good ole' Burns, Oregon. Mackenzie and Mason were so happy to see them!

I was also able to spend some quality time with my god-daughter Jazmyne and Jadon. Jazmyne isn't quite as tall as me...yet! She also gave me a tutorial on my new phone. Thanks Jaz! I love you and Jadon and miss you terribly already!


We were so excited to meet Tony's little sister Rachel! She had so much fun playing with all the kids. We are so happy about the new addition to Ike, Dena, Tony, and Blue's family. Congratulations and much love Aboubzou-Tom Family!

Even the Yee Family from So. Cal was in the Bay! Here is Brandon and Jaz checking out all the pics from the evening.


Keith LOVES giving all the kids squeezy hugs! It looks like Tony is enjoying it! We were disappointed that we weren't able to see more of our friends during our short trip, however we are hoping to make it back to the Bay soon. If not, everyone is always welcome to visit us in Vegas!!! Come on down!

Mason takes a walk with a couple of friends...

his milk and blankie.

Like Mother...Like Daughter

I'm a MAC...(user)

Visiting with Ontie Tammy at the MGM Grand

Ontie Tammy is in Vegas for a trade show at the MGM Grand and we had a chance to spend the afternoon with her yesterday. We hit up the M&M store where everyone got a few pink, purple, blue, orange, and white M&M goodies. We also stopped at the Adidas store and everyone(except me) got a new pair of kicks! For dinner, Keith met us at the Rainforest Cafe. Mason got lots of smooooches from his Ontie and from big sister. He was lovin' every minute of it!

Fishin' fer Nuthin'

The entry title explains it all...

Mason takes over Mackenzie's fishing pole.

"I'm gonna catch a BIG one!"


"No fish, but we have plenty of smiles!"

Mason Turns One!

A glimpse of the birthday festivities...phew! Thank you everyone for helping Mason celebrate his first birthday. We are very grateful to have such great family and friends.

Mason takes a pre-birthday party nap.

My co-worker and friend, Carmen baked Mason his very own birthday cupcake. He was quite amazed by the candle and also by the amount of frosting on the cupcake. Thanks Carmen for being so thoughtful and making Mason's First Birthday Cup"cake".

This is a group picture of the kids who came to help Mason celebrate. Starting from the left bottom: Noah, Jaxen, Brandon, Mackenzie, Birthday Boy Mason, Angie, Melanie. The top left: Giovani, Daniel, Adonn, and Bobbi. Not pictured: Emily, Jonas, and Josh

Mason enjoyed his cupcake very much. Initially, we let him dig into his personally cupcake, however he wasn't getting anywhere so we switched it to a "normal" sized cupcake. He eventually figured it out and grabbed the cupcake with both hands.

"MMmmmm...may I have some more please?"

Mason followed Leticia everywhere yesterday. He just can't get enough of his favorite caregiver!