The Vegas Leg...

Let's finish this story.

Tuesday was July 1st. We stayed at Jenn and Dawson's all day and enjoyed being able to just chill. The kids swam in the pool and Lincoln and Dawson went golfing in the afternoon. It was great to watch all the kids play happily together and enjoy one an other's company. That evening we cooked out and my cousin Jessica and her family came over to eat and swim with us. It was so fun to finally see her. Jess and I have always been close. We're the same age and incredibly cute- two peas in a pod!


We've traveled across the country together a few times and lived together in Salt Lake for a while. The last 5 trips I've made across the nation have involved her in some way- either I've traveled with her '94 and '95, or to her '00, '02, '08. It's always fun when we get together.

Tuesday night Lincoln and Dawson went to a midnight movie. It's an enduring tradition of theirs. Meanwhile Jenn and I try to stay up late talking but our eyelids get heavy and we give up and go to bed right about the time the guys are probably picking their seats at the show. We all have our traditions...

Wednesday we kept pretty close to home again, though Jenn and I ventured out on a shopping trip. I needed a new dress for a night on the town we had planned for Wednesday night. In the process Jenn convinced me to buy a new bra that I love! No more droopy boobs for me! Seriously, I NEVER buy myself bras. I just take hand-me-downs. I don't have much up top so it never seemed worth the money. But boy do I love this bra. AND it only cost me $7.50 on sale! Well worth it. Did I mention I love it?

Wednesday night we left our kids with Dawson's parents and went to the Rio to catch a show. It was fun to be out- just the adults, Me, Lincoln, Jenn, Dawson, Jess, and Erik.





We went to Tony and Tina's Wedding. It's a fun audience participation show. Basically it's just like going to a spicy Italian wedding. You get dinner at the reception, there's some dancing, some drama, lots of laughs, and the actors are all over the place all the time just like actual wedding party members. Admittedly, and as you would expect, some of the humor was a bit on the crude side. It wouldn't have bothered me as much if our table mates hadn't brought their kids with them. ("Hey! I think I got that one!" Oh good. Glad you have been exposed to that information! They were probably 12 and 15.) Anyway, we had a good time. Jess caught the bouquet and Dawson got to be the cowboy during YMCA.




After the show we went to the Bellagio to see the fountains- my favorite thing to do in Vegas- and the flowers inside.



Aren't Lincoln and Erik cute in their matching outfits? They weren't as amused but they good-naturedly let me take a picture.


The hot chicas.


Thursday was our day to say good-bye to Jenn and Dawson and make the move over to Jess and Erik's house for the remainder of our stay. We met them not too far from Circus Circus and had lunch with them before going to the Adventuredome at Circus Circus. Adventuredome is an inside amusement park. We spent most of the day there running from ride to ride. The kids had a great time. It was the first time our big girls got to go on rides made for big kids. They loved it. Julia had no fear whatsoever. The only one Kennedy backed out on was The Inverter. Jess and I discovered we're getting old. That didn't stop us from riding everything, but it did leave us feeling lousy! Renie and Bridger and Devon really enjoyed the little kid rides. Most of them were pretty impressive for little tykes and they grinned and giggled through them all.




When we got back to Jess and Erik's everybody was pretty wiped out- bedtime is easy when they fall asleep instantly.

Friday was the Fourth of July. We took the kids to the rec center to swim for an hour or two. It was so hot we couldn't even walk across the light colored concrete surface without burning our feet. They have a huge kiddie splash pool there and 2 decent size water slides. The kids had fun cooling off for a while. After swimming Lincoln and Erik took the big kids shopping (our girls had money burning holes in their pockets) while Jess and I took the little ones home and started cooking. We had a yummy Fourth of July cookout and then took the kids to Sunset Station to see fireworks after dark.






When we came home the big kids played Wii until much too late and then we hit the hay.

Saturday morning was departure time. We loaded up and hit the road by about 8:30. We drove a couple hours before we had to stop for gas. We got out of the car and any thoughts that Jenn and Dawson and Jess and Erik had put in our heads about moving to Vegas instantly evaporated when we stepped out into the 20 degree cooler air with a nice breeze. Suddenly I could breathe again for the first time in days. So Las Vegas is fun to visit, but we'll never move there.





We ended up driving straight through on the way home- 27 hours. We decided we would like to move to Colorado, however, so maybe we;ll see you there!

So here's the recap-
Our kids are fantastic travelers.
Our friends and family are the best ever.
This country is absolutely beautiful. Traveling abroad sounds nice, but there's A LOT to see right here at home.
I love roadtrips.
Camping is the way to go.
Can't wait for next time.

Now- who's going to come visit us?!