Vegas Part Deux

The next day we drove to Red Rock Canyon and decided to do a little hiking and exploring. It was the perfect day to go for a hike. The kids love to explore nature and see what new things they can discover.

Here we are, exploring the lizard in the Nature Center:

Hiking pretty high up the mountain:Just some fun pictures on this cool little foot bridge:

There was this cool little nature hike to a waterfall that we decided to do. Jacob is so into waterfalls and fountains that he couldn't wait to get there. He walked the whole way which was about a mile or so. Here we are behind the waterfall: It was just a tiny little waterfall. We came at a great time of year because the waterfall is not there towards the end of summer. This is just the melting snow coming down from the top of the mountain. Once the snow is all melted, then no more waterfall.

Here's Mia and Daddy:

It was a pretty fun day. It was starting to get pretty warm so then we went back to our hotel and swam. The kids loved to get in the big bathtub after going swimming every day:

That evening we decided to check out the volcano at the Mirage and, of course, the fountains at the Bellagio. This is the volcano show:They were working on it the last time we were here, so it was fun to finally see it. It was very cool (or very hot, I should say!) and the kids really enjoyed that. Then it was on to the fountains. They are always a good show. Jacob wanted to just stay there and watch them all night!

Then it was off to bed. The next day we went to the Ethel M. Chocolate Factory. We were so excited to see Willie Wonka and the Oompa Loompas, but alas, there were none to be found! It was kinda lame because we got there right when they were starting their lunch break, so nothing cool was going on. We got a free sample and then had to buy some sweet little morsels for ourselves. They were yummy! Priya even said it was as good as the German chocolate back home. Here's Mia enjoying a chocolate gummy worm:

Mmmmm, the evidence is all over his face!They had a cactus garden that we explored:

Then it was off to Chuck E. Cheese for dinner. This was our first time going to such a wonderous kids' heaven! The kids wanted to stay there all night! Even today, Jacob says he wants to go to Chuck E. Cheeses'! Here he is on his favorite ride. It was a big monster truck that moved all around. It was Mia's least favorite!

Mmmmm pizza!

Mia got to have her very own pop. She thought that was the greatest!

After playing a billion games and earning a billion tickets, Ethan was ready to redeem his tickets and get...... a package of 99 cent face paints! It's crazy what little things you can get with a billion tickets! So he decided to paint everyones' faces and be scary monsters.

And lastly, this is the game that Ethan and his daddy liked the most. I can't remember what it was called, but you basically just had to shoot the bad guys. Pretty intense!

Ok, I think I'll be able to finish our vacation with just one more post, hopefully! So much to write about still, but I've been working on this post all day and now it's time for bed. Later!

Vegas Baby, Ya!

For spring break we decided to get out of cold Idaho and head south to Las Vegas for some much needed warmth and sunshine. I guess it snowed here most of the time we were gone so it was a good week to be away. We enjoyed temps in the 70's and 80's while we were in Vegas! It was awesome! It feels like we have had the longest winter EVER around here! Next year we have to go somewhere warm again. Hmmmm, I feel a cruise coming on...

Anyway, we left for Vegas Saturday morning and got there about 8ish. We got to take our neighbors' exchange student, Priya with us. She's from Germany, but she's Indian. She can speak Indian, German, and English very fluently. She's so smart and such a wonderful girl. She wanted to go to Las Vegas so bad so she got to come with us. In exchange she was willing to babysit for us. I think it was a pretty good deal! Plus, she's very fun to hang out with!

The drive wasn't too bad with the kids. Ethan, Asia, and Jacob like to watch movies so they were very good the whole way, just glued to the movie. Mia, on the other hand, is not such a good traveller and developed this high-pitched, nails on chalkboard, want to pull your hair out scream that drove everyone NUTS! She only did this a few times, but man, it was a few times too many!

We tried to stop every 2 hours or so to stretch our legs, go potty, and take care of the "numb bumb." But we had to get going to make the John Mayer concert. I have never been to a "real" concert before with someone famous. Sure, I saw Donny Osmond in Rexburg a few years ago and even touched his hand, but come on. John Mayer was amazing! So cute and cool. I don't know if you've ever seen him perform, but it is quite comical the way his face becomes distorted when he tries to hit certain notes or he wants to tweak a note. I'm sure it's on youtube somewhere. You should check it out, it's quite comical! We had some killer seats too, given to us because of the "nowhere to park" situation. Note to self: NEVER try and drive on Las Vegas Boulevard on a Saturday night and NEVER try and park anywhere. We seriously either should've taken a taxi or even just walked. We would've been there sooner and would not have had the headache of driving 2 miles an hour and stopping every 2 feet! It's so crazy how busy it is there ALL OF THE TIME!!

Anyway, here are some shots we took of John:

See his funny face:

The next day we decided to ride on a train. It's the track that carried supplies and materials from Boulder City to the Hoover Dam. The kids thought it was pretty cool to ride on a train.

Here's Asia and Mia waiting to board the train:

The whole fam damily:

Waiting for the train to get moving:

Trying on the conductor's hat:

After the train ride we went and looked at all of the older steam engines in the yard. Jacob kept calling this one Thomas and he wanted to ride it. He was so frustrated that it didn't move or do anything.

Then we had a little picnic lunch in the sunshine and played on a dirt hill chasing lizards:

It was getting so hot there that we decided it was time to go back to our hotel and go swimming.

It was a really nice, big pool with a couple of shallow ends for Jacob and Mia to play in and it even had a little sandy beach area. Too bad it closed at 6 everyday though. I guess they don't want you swimming at night, they want you gambling and drinking and spending money. Oh well. We just found other things to do like watch movies on the home theatre system in our room! Our room was awesome! We stayed at the Planet Holleywood/Westgate towers, right on the strip. I didn't get any pictures of it, but I think Priya did. I need to get some from her. She wanted to make it her own little apartment. It was a suite so it had one bedroom with a jetted hot tub in it, a full kitchen, and windows from floor to ceiling with awesome views of the strip and the mountains. It was fun to stay there. I'll post more later. Right now it's time for beddy bye!

St. Patrick's Day, 5K, and Rocket Derby, Oh My!

Lots to catch up on once again! I love writing about the things that happen in our family, but I hate finding the time to do it! So, here we go again; a monster post.

First of all, we had a fun time celebrating St. Patrick's Day. The kids didn't want to wear all green shirts, just shirts that had a little bit of green on them so their friends would have to search for the green. Silly kids. So we started the day off with green pancakes, green eggs, and green milk. YUMMY!

Then I made corned beef and cabbage for the first time. It actually turned out super yummy! The kids didn't like the cabbage very much, but at least they tried it. This may have to become a tradition in our family, except I'll have to find a new cabbage recipe.

Then we made cute little leprechaun hats for dessert. So fun! They started out like this:

and ended up like this:

The kids had fun decorating their little hats and delivering them to our neighbors.

Now onto my first 5k. My friend, Jill, decided it would be a fun thing to sign us up to run a 10k in May. So I thought that I would like to at least run a 5k first, just to see if I could even do it and to see if I liked it. It turned out to be very fun and I ran it in 24 minutes! I just kept trying to beat the person in front of me until I was almost at the front of the line.

5K

Here's me and another friend, Janiece before the race:

Jill and I before the race:

And just me, getting a bit nervous:

It was pretty chilly that morning, but it was nice when we got started running and getting sweaty! Here I am coming in at the finish line. It doesn't even look like I'm running! Slacker!

I made it! I'm such a dork!

Here comes Jill:

Jill and I being dorks:

Number 37 and number 56 baby!

It was pretty fun! Now I have to see how I do in the 10k coming up...

Rocket Derby

This year our ward did a rocket derby. I guess our ward hasn't done one of these in a while so things were a bit rusty. Ethan got his packet of stuff about 2 months before the race and he couldn't wait to get started on it. He designed, shaped and painted the rocket so he was pretty proud of it.

He also got to post the colors for the first time at pack meeting.

Then it was time for the races:

It was quite the contraption. Ethan's rocket didn't do so well. He didn't win any races. I think it was because he didn't wind up his propeller enough. Here's his disappointed face :(

So for his last race, I decided to help him and wind it up for him. I guess I wound it up too much because the whole thing broke! I guess I don't know my own strength! Oh well. At least we got astronaut pudding for dessert! Here's Jacob enjoying that part:

Mmmm good stuff! We're still trying to get into this scouting thing. Ethan has already lost his wolf book and I have no idea what I'm doing! I hope we get the hang of it before he gets his Eagle! (if we make it that far...) :)