Vegas Vacation!

ben has a first cousin on his mom's side that would come up from las vegas almost every year for thanksgiving or family events. ben has wanted to visit them in the past, but we've never made it. this weekend we did...with all the kiddos and our traveling companions, brad, jill, and heston. we loaded down the excursion and took off thursday nite thru the middle of nevada, arriving at mike and janene's around 6 in the morning. everyone faired pretty well. heston and emerson couldn't quite get drifted off to dreamland, but it wasn't too horrible.

we were able to stay at mike's aunt's house. she was out of town and only her elderly mother, who needed care, was home. we never met the aunt, but it was super nice of her and really made the stay more enjoyable! we tried her pool friday morning, but it was ice cold and bridon decided to jump in himself. he kept saying later, "i died." we were trying to get him to understand the bad choice he had made...don't think it worked. bridon actually ended up being the best traveler of all the kids. he was trying to make amends, i'm sure, for past travel experiences! :) we also found his 3rd pair of flip flops of the summer...they were available in the sweltering heat of vegas. that afternoon, we ventured down to the strip. i had been there in my college days and must say i don't care if i ever see it again; not much has changed...smoke, smut, and sleeze. we let the kids look at mgm's lion habitat display and toured the m&m store. that was the bulk of what we wanted to handle with little kids and a zillion people. that nite we helped decorate the church for the 2 reasons we had come...zac's wedding (mike's oldest boy). he married kayla, a girl he taught the gospel to on his mission to massachusetts. her family all came and they were so nice! the boys played cards that nite and us girls were treated to a french manicure by janene's sister, denise. haven't had my nails touched since my own wedding. my kiddos slept like rocks that nite!

saturday was the wedding in the las vegas temple. it is very beautiful inside and out. the grounds are really neat. by this time, spencer and michele and kathy and natalie had flown into town. we enjoyed a luncheon at the olive garden and then the reception that nite where several of ben's cousins and family attended. spencer and michele stayed in the house with us...so we even had 2 more in the car. we were loaded down! it was a great day. the dancing was fun and the red velvet cupcakes were delicious!

on sunday we got up early to hear tim (mike's next boy) give his farewell talk. he leaves this wednesday to go to south dakota. he is such a polite person; i was really impressed with him and know he'll do a great job on his mission. unfortunately, i forgot to take a picture with him (it is a little crazy with 3 kids and all the people and places to go!) afterward, we had an authentic mexican meal. bentley is the one who will remember the trip the most. he enjoyed swimming in the pool, having another friend in the car (heston), and for some reason, really loved following janene around wherever she went. that afternoon, ben and i took the kids to take a look at the hoover dam. i did not know it was such a tourist trap...took forever to get down in there, but luckily the kids were sleeping. it is amazing! only 107 degrees down in there with a stiff, hot wind. ben almost had a heat stroke! actually one of the coolest things about it was the highway they are building over the top, i'm assuming it's for all the tourist use since there is only kingman, az beyond (enlighten me if i'm wrong). it was massive!

that nite we started the journey back and all went well. we went back thru utah so that ben and brad could demo the infamous 'dew' machine we've been hearing about forever. we got a hotel in cedar city and got to take a look at it right there on the way home at the guy's farm. next stop was ogden at jill's grandma's house. her and heston ended the trip there...i think h was more than happy to! gma berg made us dinner and provided us a great pitstop to run around and play in the yard. thx a ton! plus, i didn't have to get in another conversation about the downfalls of fast food!!!:) we made it home here a little after midnite, after being literally gassed by brad. apparently his flax/craisen/birdseed bar did not sit well! it was a nice trip, not relaxing with all the kiddos, but i'm glad we could go and that brad and jill came. it made it more fun! the kids crashed tuesday afternoon after we got home and i pressed on with the mountain of laundry. it was so nice hanging all of it out in 70-80 degree weather. perfect! even i don't think i could handle the burning heat we experienced down there and i prefer warm.

some of the highlights of the trip to remember were all the airplanes and helicopters flying around. my boys always tell me when they see them here and down there, it was one about every minute! i do believe the drivers seat made you lose your sense of direction, even with the gps :), bridon yelling 'diesel, diesel' reminding us to fill up and that we were going to the temple every time we got in, the stench we looked for in the back (i.e. blown out diaper) that was really coming from a big boy up front! and bridon holding it all the way to gma berg's because he didn't want to 'fall off' the toilet. oh, and what about that delicious breakfast at the best western? oh my, that was horrible! good times! till next time vegas. i don't think i'd ever visit you again if it weren't for family or perhaps the nfr someday!