Vegas Vacation.

Gary and I, on a whim decided to go down to Las Vegas for a weekend. Papa Reyza has been asking us to come down for a while now, so we finally decided to make the trip. The drive down went really well, with only 1 bout of crying from Jonah towards the end. When we got there we realized "oh yeah, Las Vegas isn't really the ideal place for kids" Ha ha! Ryker said " There's no games for kids mom." But between the smoke filled casinos and me shielding my children's eyes from the Thunder Down Under billboards there were some great moments shining through. These photos show those moments.

Finally arriving at the Hotel after the 7 hour drive

 Seeing the dolphins at The Mirage Hotel. It's a cheaper version of Seaworld. :)

 They had two new baby boy dolphins.

This is one of them giving my kids the eye. They were adorable, and so active!

 Jonah with a smiling dolphin.

 Violet LOVED the dolphins. She could have watched them all day.

 The Mirage's big cats exhibit was pretty neat.

All the cats were really active and alot of them would swim in the water.

It was fun watching them wrestle and play.

 Mandalay Bay's shark reef aquarium

 The kids loved looking at all of the different types of fish, sharks, and other sea critters.

 They have an awesome tunnel that is completely clear

so you can go underneath all of the fish and sharks swimming. Pretty neat.

 Vi and the stingray.

 Their jellyfish exhibit was awesome.

 The jellies

 The M&M factory. Ryker was the only one that would dare get near the M&M guy.

 The best part of the factory was that the kids got to choose whatever color M&M's they wanted.

 The coca-cola factory was right next to the M&M's factory,

so we headed over and got to see the coca-cola polar bear.

 There were so many funny people dressed up on the street working for tips. Violet and Jonah were too scared to get near these characters. Elmo must have been hard up for cash. He pretty much forced Ryker to get his picture taken with him. Ha ha!

 Ryker was pretty excited to get his pic taken with Captain Jack. This guy was actually a pretty good impersonator. He even had the Captain Jack accent.

 Superhero pic. This cracks me up!

 We got to do lots of swimming at the hotel and Papa Reyza's condo.

The kids love the water. Jonah was an animal, he was having so much fun swimming with his Dad.

 Sweet Vi

 Ryker is a fish. He could swim all day if we let him.

 Papa Rey and Jonah man.

We are glad that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

We were so glad to get back to our quiet little neighborhood in Utah! But it was good to see Papa Reyza's house and the family friendly stuff in Vegas.

Occasions to remember.

  Ryker's last soccer game.

 It was so much fun to watch the kids run through this

banner and receive their trophies with their names on them.

 This kid is turning into an active boy. He no longer plays with toys or super heroes. I have had a basket in his room full of toys and he rarely touches them I guess it's time to move them downstairs. SAD I miss the days hearing him play buzz lightyear and Woody in his room. He used to get so into it, he wouldn't even notice when I peeked in on him. Now, he spends his days with friends catching snakes in our backyard and riding bikes. He will be 7 in a few days. I can't believe it! I love him so much. I know he was sent to me for a reason and he made me into a better person.

 Violet and I had a princess day. My sister Annie is runnning for Miss Syracuse and they held this, "day for a princess" for one of their fundraisers. We invited some neighbor friends. The girls got to meet the fairy godmother (below), they got treats, made wands, decorated magic mirrors, got their hair done, and wore their princess dresses. They loved it!

 Vi also had her very first haircut. I was just holding on to that baby hair! I am so glad we cut it, it looks so much better. My cousin Harmony did a great job and Violet and I had a fun girl night getting our hair done together!

 I love these bangs Harmony cut on her. They frame her cute face so well.

 Oh Jonah, he is such a cute little man. He makes me laugh all of the time these days and he can be quite a handful. He loves wearing his sister's princess shoes around the house.

 Jonah's janitorial services are amazing, Ha! Not really he just loves the broom though. It is one of the few things that will entertain him for more than 60 seconds.

 He looks like a baby cherub angel when he sleeps.

 He has learned many new words. Some of my favorites are: WOW! and Thank You! He says these words so animated. It is super cute.

Lastly, but not least, Poppa Bill got baptized. Gary was able to baptize him. It was the first person he ever baptized so it was a pretty neat experience. Poppa Bill is a great Grandpa and always has been, we are lucky to have him!