Swimming in February

The weather in Las Vegas has been amazing, mid to upper 80's.  Our pool has been getting warmer, in fact I have seen it as high as 71!  I will not swim in anything less than 85 (for the water temp) but my crazy kids decided that 71 was plenty warm enough for them.  Did I mention how crazy my girls are?  They swam for about 20 minutes and they were in and out a lot.  I was surprised that they weren't shivering or that their lips weren't blue but you can clearly see that they look like they really enjoyed the water.  Luckily my brother is so sweet and was willing to get in with them.  Actually he was probably just as excited (if not more) as they were.

My New Juke

Last wednesday Kris and I drove to the Nissan dealer to test drive a Juke.

Wait, let's back it up a bit .... I decided a month or two ago that I was going to get a new car.  I wasn't sure what kind, initially I wanted a car that sat 7+.  I do not like cars and I do not like to drive.  I can't even tell the difference between most cars unless I can see the emblem and only if the emblem is something I can recognize.  I could not tell you if a car is expensive or cheap.  Cars = not me.  Anyway I wanted something bigger, or so I thought.  After I looked at my options I decided a few things: I prefer to spend less and I would rather save gas, and I do not like mini vans.  In fact I don't like the look of cars either, so we started looking at medium size SUV's like my current Ford Escape.  Did you know I had a 2003 Ford Escape before my 2006 Ford Escape?  I traded it in because I thought I needed new brakes /sigh.

Here is my car history.

My mom gave me her white car when I was old enough to drive, I don't even remember what it was :o/
Then I bought some small red car and I also don't remember what it was.
Then I leased a brand new green Ford F150 pickup.
After my divorce I got a small red Dodge Neon (I think that is what it was).
I gave that car to my mom and got a brand new red Mitsubishi Eclipse.
Got tired of the standard and bought a brand new red Ford Escape.
After having it 3 years I traded it in for another brand new gray Ford Escape.
and now I have a brand new red Nissan Juke.

We looked at several different type of cars, we went to the Suzuki dealership (I think ...), then the Ford dealership where I decided I didn't like the new Escapes, we went to Chevy and I didn't like whatever their midsize SUV was, then we went to Toyota (I think haha) and I also didn't like whatever they had.  I kinda like Jeeps, so we went to Jeep Dodge Chrysler and after determining that Jeeps are a bit too high and un-functional for the girls we decided no jeep, but I did kinda like the Dodge Journey.  Then we went to Nissan to look at their medium size SUV's and sitting on the lot was this beautiful sport looking car.  I asked what it was and Kris said it was a Juke and was really small but I looked at it anyway and I really liked it!  We walked around Nissan and I saw another car I liked but it was also a Juke.  We kept walking around and there was another car I liked but it was also a Juke, so I obviously really liked the Jukes!  Plus they are so CHEAP and I like cheap.  It is a crossover car/suv but it looks so nice, and it is really roomy for being a small car, the only thing I lost was some trunk space, I have just as much room for car seats in the back.  So the day before Valentine's day I bought a new Juke!

It is so sporty, and red again, apparently I like red cars.  Now I need a cool name for the license plate, any ideas?

Wetlands Park

Another place we have never been while living in Las Vegas is the Clark County Wetlands Park.  I have heard about it and seen pictures but never gone until today.  From the pictures I saw the nature exhibits inside the visitor center are amazing, however we never went inside because after we finished the longish walk around the park we were exhausted and hungry - so if you do go, make sure you check those out first!  The outside areas are pretty neat, very wetland and marshy.  The walk was maybe a mile, a little too long for my girls and the weather was on the hotter side (around 80) today, so we were all baking a little bit.  But we did see some neat things, some birds, lizards, a fish, eh, it was ok.  I guess the best parts, it was free, and it is very close to our house, right inside Las Vegas.  Here are a few pictures, can you believe this stuff is in this city?!?

Valley of Fire

This morning Kris got up and wanted to go ride somewhere.  After looking on the internet he decided the Valley of Fire was close, so two hours later we headed to the Valley of Fire.  I am kinda surprised that we have lived in Las Vegas since 2001 and have never gone because it is only about an hour away and it is pretty cool.  Kris rode his bike and I took my new car.  We stopped and had lunch and spend about 2 hours exploring the reddish rocks.

My Littlest Valentine

I haven't blogged in forever, wow!  Oh well, busy I guess :o)

I am getting ready for Valentine's Day, Pepper was my model and tester, how did she do?