My name is Nathaniel...and I like to dance!

These dancing kids are hilarious. My favorite is Nathaniel. I like to say "My name is Nathaniel and I like to dance!" and then do funny little dances. I thought I'd share with everyone...

7 Weird or Random Things About Me

I was tagged on Julene's blog to do a post with 7 weird or random things about myself, so here it is:

1. When I was a baby I would sit up and use my feet to scoot myself across the floor instead of crawling and instead of sucking my thumb, I would suck on my first two fingers with my palm turned outward (probably the cause of my overbite).

2. I hate the texture of potato skins. I'm cringing a little just thinking about it. David has to do most of the potato-washing and peeling in our house.

3. I'm really weird about things matching. That's probably why I like black-there aren't a lot of different shades, so it's easier to match with.

4. I really like reality tv shows like The Amazing Race, The Biggest Loser, and Top Chef. Maybe it's the psychology aspect of it and that I like watching how people interact with each other.

5. I get really nervous if a bird (someone's pet or otherwise) flies anywhere near my head. I get this image of it getting tangled in my hair and flapping violently to try to get free.

6. I am envious of creative people. I'm very un-creative...I usually just end up copying other people's ideas.

7. I have recurring dreams of driving and not being able to stop the car when I need to. Also, of flying, but it's a little different than "normal" flying dreams. I make myself hover by pumping my arms up and down and then control how high I go with my arms. I also have recurring dreams where I can rollerblade or ice skate really well and gracefully, which in real life is far from true.

Ok, there are my 7 things...now I'm going to tag Erica, Amy, Misty, Laura, Stacie, and Allison to do their own list.

Buying a house!

So after about 2 months of looking, 45 houses looked at (17 in one day!) and 8 different offers put in, we got our offer accepted on this house. We should be closing tomorrow after our final walk-through and will probably have the keys by the 30th. Although I'm not excited about the packing and moving part, I am excited that we will soon have our own house in a nice newer area and be away from our noisy neighbors here.



The house will be in the Southwest part of Las Vegas. We're almost as far west as we can be-we're pretty close to the mountains on that side and near the Red Rock Conservation area.
The house was built in 2006, has 3 bd and 2 1/2
ba, and a lot of nice upgrades. Downstairs, it is all slate tile flooring, the kitchen has granite countertops and nice cabinets with crown molding, and there are wooden plantation shutters on all the windows (except the big ones by the stairs).



The house is at the end of a street, and there is a little park area right next to it with a picnic table, bbq, and horseshoe area. There is also a small walking trail one house behind ours. We would love to have visitors after we're all moved in, so if you're planning a trip anytime soon, you can always come stay with us. Here's a link to some more pictures if you'd like to check them out:

http://picasaweb.google.com/schmelode/House?authkey=KgVUyDjOZ5c#

Hopefully I'll get some more pics up once we're unpacked and I've decorated a little, but knowing me, that might be a while. :)

Red Rock Canyon

David's parents were in town for a couple of days, and we all went to Red Rock Canyon. David and I hadn't been there before, and it was a really nice day. We went to the visitor's center where we learned some interesting things and then went on the 13 mile scenic drive. There were a lot of cool rock formations to see and we even saw two coyotes or foxes, we're not sure which.
Here's a link to more pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/schmelode/RedRockCanyon?authkey=oxk9QnHrkpM#

Funny Story

So David and I were eating at Macaroni Grill the other day, and after a little while a couple came in and were seated at the table right behind us. The man proceeded to say, "I'll have your ribs." The waiter replied, "I'm sorry sir we don't serve ribs here." "You're kidding me!" said the man. "Perhaps you're thinking of another restaurant, sir" suggested the waiter. "Well, this is Tony Roma's, isn't it?" the man asked.
Once they found out it wasn't Tony Roma's, they left the restaurant. Tony Roma's is right next to Macaroni Grill, but the exteriors and interiors look very different. You'd also think he'd notice the Italian opera music playing in Macaroni Grill. Ah, well-made us laugh, anyway.

California trip and friends!

A couple of weeks ago we took a vacation to California with some friends and family. On Wednesday afternoon, David's sister Laura and her husband Mason flew into Las Vegas. They did some Vegas-y things during the day while I worked and then the next morning we drove to California. We rented a house in Anaheim and after we got there we met up with Dadoo (Andrew), Mandy and Lowe (Nate). While we were waiting for everyone, we went to Huntington Beach for a quick visit. The house had a nice backyard with a grill and table and chairs, so when everyone was back we grilled up steaks for dinner.

David's brother Michael drove up from San Diego the next morning and we all went to Disneyland and California Adventure. I had never been to California Adventure and I liked Tower of Terror, the rapids ride, the roller coaster, and the new Toy Story arcade ride. Disneyland was a lot of fun too. I went on all my favorite rides and we saw the fireworks show at night.

On Saturday we went to Universal Studios. There weren't as many rides to go on there, but I liked the Simpson's ride and the Jurassic Park and Mummy rides.

Michael, Laura and Mason left that night to go back to San Diego and the rest of us headed back to Las Vegas on Sunday afternoon. Before we left, we went to L.A.'s farmer's market where David and I had some really good crepes. We also stopped in Olvera St. which is like an old Mexican town. We had some taquitos and churros filled with caramel there.

As we were driving back, we stopped in Baker, CA for gas and went to a Greek restaurant there and also saw the giant thermometer.
On Monday, Mandy and I went to the spa to relax for a while. For dinner we ate at the Carnegie Deli in Mirage. They have giant sandwiches, as you can see below.
That night we all went to see the show Le Reve at the Wynn. It's a water show done on a circular stage and there are acrobatic and aerial elements, diving, synchronized swimming, and ballroom dancing. It was a pretty cool show-I even caught a swimming cap someone in the show threw out at the end (well, not so much caught as got hit by).
The rest of the time our friends were here in Vegas was mostly centered on food. We ate at David's favorite pizza place and got a stuffed pizza and we went to a buffet and had lots of crab legs. At that buffet, they would saute the crab legs in your choice of butter, garlic, onions, cilantro, tomatoes, or hot peppers. I got mine done with butter and garlic-they were good.
It was a fun vacation and it was good to be able to hang out with our friends and family.

Here are some links to more pictures:
Disney and California Adventure:
http://picasaweb.google.com/schmelode/DisneyCaliforniaAdventure?authkey=kyR9gjdIHGk#
Universal:
http://picasaweb.google.com/schmelode/Universal?authkey=fZcHhVU_S9Y#
Other CA pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/schmelode/OtherCaliforniaPics?authkey=2FQzu8fwHhc#
Vegas pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/schmelode/Vegaspics?authkey=JK9iQzHnuRk#