Movies

On Saturday, we had a little work to do. We had to take the "big" stuff over to the storage shed. The kids had a primary activity that day, so we were able to take all the seats out of the van and carry most of that over there. But when the kids were done, I told Dave I wanted to have another fun family day. We have been trying to bank as many of those as possible while he is still here. So, we took the kids to see Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. I really like that book, so I figured we would go see it. We LOVED it. The kids loved it, I loved it and Dave said "it was pretty good". Which means, it was good for a kid movie. So... if you are wondering if you should see it... DO. It is over the top cheesy, but oh so funny.

Then we had a friend that offered to watch the kids so we could go on a date. Of course, we took her up on it, and the kids were so excited to go play with her kids. So, Dave and I headed back to the movies to see Love Happens. I have mixed reviews on this one. It was a good movie, but I thought it was going to be a romantic comedy and it totally was NOT. It was really sad drama journey movie. About the journey people take through the loss of a loved one. There is about 5 minutes of romance right in the end lol. So, it is a good movie, but NOT if you are expecting a romantic comedy.
After the movie, we headed to Old Navy to buy Dave some clothes that he needed for his deployment. (Yes to all my friends in Italy, Surprise! He doesn't wear a uniform lol). And then headed back to pick up the kids. It was another great family fun day.

Northwest Trek

Make a Smilebox slideshow

So for the summer reading program at the library, the kids got free tickets to either, Northwest Trek or the zoo. We chose Northwest Trek. It is a wildlife reserve, so has different animals than the zoo has. As part of the ticket, they gave us a free bus tour of their free roaming animals. It was AWESOME! So while Dave still had a few days left on his leave, we went out there. Hope you enjoy the journey through the wildlife reserve!

Photo Shoot

One day after vacation, the kids were bored and decided to get ahold of the camera and make some fun. They were being silly. This is what they came up with!

I think they are totally cute... and getting pretty good with the camera now lol... at least all the faces made it in the picture.

More Vegas

So the next day we spent the morning at the pool. Then after lunch, Dave, Haylee, Trent and I went to the Titanic exhibit. It was AWESOME! KEvin had gone the day before so him and the two littles ones went to take a nap. After naps, we headed out to tour the strip. We wanted to see the Treasure Island show, so we started that direction. Before hand, we stopped in Excalibur and let the kids each pick a toy. Laycee of course picked some "prettys" in the form of braclets. Haylee picked some princess body glitter that Laycee wanted too.

Logan and Trent each got a sword
So CUTE!

Kevin hangin out.

Haylee posing.

One of the rare smiles this day. See, we decided to head out about 430 for the show. It was supposed to start at 730. It was hotter than we expected and we only brought one bottle of water.

The kids sword fought while we waited.

More waiting.

Finally, the Billagio water show. It was supposed to be every 15 minutes according to the front desk, but we waited over 30 minutes for it. Then we headed on again. We thought it would fun to see the aquarium at Mirage. Little did I realize that the Mirage was not as close as it looked lol.

We wanted to see the volcano show too, but it didn't start until 830.

The kids LOVED seeing the fish. We stopped to pee and got some more water. Then we headed over to Treasure Island for the 730 show. Well... when we got there, the show was in progress and didn't start again until 830. We were tired, hungry, and hot... so we decided to head back.

I don't know why I can't think of what it is called today. But instead of walking the whole way back, we spent the money for the monerail to drop us at MGM Grand instead.

Kevin and Haylee were being silly to work off some of their frustration.

We made it back to the hotel for the buffet at 930. Ate a late dinner and headed back to the room for the night.

I guess I stopped taking pictures at this point lol. But the next day we went to see Bodies the exhibit that Luxor had going on. It was educational and informative. I would have liked it better if I was able to spend more time reading instead of chasing kids though. After that, we headed back on the road towards AZ. The 6 hour drive was long and the Grand Canyon was ridiculous to get through. We spent the next few days lovin our families. Hanging out, playing games, and catching up. Dave wanted to keep it a secret because we weren't really sure we were going to make it to AZ. So he swore his dad to secrecy. When we showed up on their door step to say hi, his mom was floored! We stopped next door to Brian and Tina's for cake and ice cream (it just happened to be Jarom's birthday lol). Then headed out to moms house. We stayed 5 days there just getting as much game playing in as possible. On wednesday, we attended the funeral for Lindsay's twins Ammon and Aaron who died in utero and then drove the 22 hrs straight through home. It was a great trip, but we were glad Dave had an additional few days of leave for us to relax and recover.

Vegas Day 3 of trip

So this was the first full day in Vegas. We started the morning off by playing at Game Works. We were waiting on Amy and Devin to meet up with us. So when they arrived we met them at MGM Grand where they were staying. Here are 4 of us.

Kevin pimpin at 54

We stopped to see the Lions.

While Devin was checking in, we went over to the M&M factory. Kevin is puking on the 18 car.

The kids gather around

Haylee missed the before picture, so her and Contessa got another one. This time we went to see the 3D movie that they had. It was cute. Not a perfect setup but something new to see.

Then we drove up the road some ways to visit the Las Vegas History Museum. There was a fun kids section.

Followed by hairy men... or monkeys, who knows?

Kevin and Laycee

Some of the bones.

That night Kevin took all the kids (yes thats 8) and watched them so the 4 adults could go to dinner. We ate at Tender in Luxor. It was very good! Then Dave and I went to see Cris Angel's Believe. It was ok. It was fun to get out as adults and it was fun to see a show even if the show wasn't that great.

Block Leave Day 2

Day 2 of the trip was spent in Ely. We stayed and hung out with the family for a while. Then about 3 we headed off for Vegas. It is a 4 hr drive and we had to pick up Kevin that night from the airport. So we were off for some more driving. The kids were really good because this drive is BORING!

We arrived at the hotel. We were staying at the Luxor this time.
Logans first response was "my castle"!

The checkin line was really long and the kids were hungry, so we stopped by starbuck and got a drink and cookie while Dave stood in the checkin line. Bonus... bathroom right across the hall.

We went to check into the room. We had a room in the pyramid and it was HUGE! It was the biggest Vegas room I have tried so far. We actually booked two rooms to account for Kevin coming in, but in reality, there was more than enough room for the kids air matress sleeping bags. We didn't need two rooms at all.

This is the inside of Luxor

Vegas night view as we head off to the airport to pick up Kevin.

Our Trip Day 1

For block leave, we were heading on a road trip. Our first destination was Ely, NV to visit Amy and Devin. We wanted to see them before Dave deployed. So, we started our trip and midnight on Monday and drove for 14 hrs to their house. Of course as the sun came up, the kids woke up and we stopped for breakfast at this amazing diner. It was so cute. They had a train that ran on a track through the diner. The waitress was nice and sat us right next to a major intersection so the kids had something to do all through breakfast.

It was definately a highlight of the trip down there. The kids absolutely LOVED the train.

September 11 is filled with Hope

I found this video today and absolutely loved it. I didn't live through 9/11 but we are still fighting a war that was triggered by this event. It will forever be remembered in history and the day can forever be filled with Hope.

Dinner

Before Dennis and Lynda left, we planned for an adult evening. So, Lynda and I made some sushi, put together a nice table, and ate. It was so good. Then after dinner, we played some games. What is our new favorite? Clue: Secrets and Spies. Totally not a clue game at all and we LOVED it!

Charlie Safari

Our last day before Dennis and Lynda left, we decided to go to a children's family fun place since it was raining outside and ruined out other plans. It was a great place, but very expensive. However, we enjoyed hours of arcade fun.

Followed by put put golf... and more put put golf.

Had to stop for a few drinks

Lastly, a couple rounds of Lazer Tag.

It was amazing to have them here with us. We enjoyed every minute of it and can't wait for the next time we have the opportunity to meet up.