Las Vegas

We drove down to Las Vegas the very first day that Ryan had finished school.  We decided after a year of switching roles, me working and Ryan as Mr. Mom (and student) that we deserved a vacation to celebrate this strange chapter in our lives.  This trip made the whole year totally worth it!  Which, p.s.  let me just say that last year reeeeeeeally wasn't all that hard. We loved driving along the Utah highway, nothing like passing a highway patrol going 85 and he doesn't even flash his lights.

 On the drive to Las Vegas there is a corner on the highway that you turn and see the city laid out in front of you.  I wish this photo could have captured the sequels of delight from the girls when they saw that we had finally arrived.

We checked in at our most favorite resort ever, Tahiti Village.  We have been here four times now.  This is our second time with our favorite family friends, the Wimmers.  They are ALWAYS up for whatever adventure we throw their way.  It was so great seeing them again.  They drove up from California and met us.  We first went to the Silverton Casino to let the girls check out a real, live, mermaid. 

 After the mermaid show we had a fantastic dinner at Outback.  Then tucked the kids and dads in while Brit and I did a week's worth of grocery shopping to keep from spending all of our budget on eating out.  The evening ended with "Who Dat!" and "Better get yo weave right."  A story that is already a classic. 

The next day we had some serious pool time.  The girls loved being in the water and hadn't skipped a beat in their friendship. 

Last time we came to Vegas Lydia and Sailor were both babies, at only 1 year's old.  Now they were one month from their fourth birthdays, much more fun this go round. 

The days were completely pleasant.  Not quite warm enough that we felt we needed to get in and cool off, but we all loved sitting on the sandy shore and relaxing.  Poor Landon was in a cast the whole time and a complete champ with his attitude. One more thing, check out Brit's hair, I am so jealous.  Notice it in all the upcoming photos, to die for!!  

These little girls are as close as can be. They play so well together and are truly best friends. 

Monday night we were thrilled to have our friends the Sullivans join us for a BBQ.  We first met the Wimmers when we hooked up with them to go to Oklahoma and do summer sales.  While we were out there we met the Sullivans who were also having their first summer with Vivint and provided the only kids Emma's age to play with.  We became great friends and have since kept up the connection.  

 We had a BBQ dinner every night out on the pavillion, definitely one of the best features of the resort. 

 Finished the night with s'mores over the grill.

This is Bill.  A character like I've never known.  He's the ultimate example of being confident in yourself.  In fact he has a popeye tattoo that says "I am who I am." It's stayed with me and I try to remember that moto. 

The next day we all went to Sigfried and Roy's Dolphin Habitat and Secret Garden at the Mirage. 

 You can't really see it in this photo, but they're looking at a white tiger.  Shortly after this photo was taken the tiger sprayed his urine through the fence and nearly soaked the group, that would have left a damper (literally) on the whole experience.

 The only group photo we have of the girls.  There's that hair again.  She just hopped out of the shower and let it air dry, say whaaaaaaaat!

Okay.  Let's discuss.  Isn't this the CUTEST little boy ever?  Doesn't our family look adorable with three kids, and one of them being a boy?  Maybe we should give it a try.

We let the girls save their money and pick out a stuffed animal from the gift shop.  They were all rather delighted with the gift shop, I think they loved their stuffed animals more than the actual live dolphins, kids!

We couldn't leave the casino without them ripping us off and taking our money.  So instead of losing it to slot machines, we lost it to candy, and paid a ridiculous price for some chocolate covered gummy bears.  However, they sure did hit the spot after a long morning adventure. 

We both took turns having date night while we were here.  Unfortunately, both of ours had some serious dead ends, but we were able to still make a great memory out of it.  While the Wimmers were gone Sailor snuggled with Ryan and was happy to watch the food network with him while I took the girls on a night adventure on the resort grounds. 

Ry and I attempted to see the Bodies Exhibit but got their one minute too late, shocker.  So we settled for a walk down the strip to the Belagio for a water show and garden tour.  We stuck out like sore thumbs on the sin city strip, but we had a great time being alone together.  

The next morning we took our girls for an adventure out to Red Rock Canyon, our favorite family activity.  This year was Lydia's first year being old enough to hike the boulders all by herself.  Emma has been a champion hiker since she was 2, but Lydia is just coming in that phase and we're so excited to have this activity that we can ALL do as a family.

Last time we came with the Wimmers we stayed two nights, and just HAD to extend for a third.  So this time we thought that four nights would be plenty.  Well, that fourth night rolled around and NOBODY was ready to go home.  Soooooooo, we extended one more night, best decision ever.  I think no matter how long we stay at this resort, we're never quite ready to go home. 

This little boy!  We wanted to take Riggs home with us, but apparently they're pretty crazy about him too, so that wasn't going to happen :(  When have I ever been crazy about someone else's baby besides my own?  Especially when that baby is a boy!  It's never happened.....until now.

 

 The guys stayed in the shade most of the time, chatting and reading their books, while we enjoyed laying out and watching the kids swim/almost drown at times, but mostly swim. 

I was thrilled on the last day when we wrapped Landon's cast up so he could get some family time in the water and take a few laps around the lazy river.  It was just so sad to see such an engaged and involved father have to just watch from the sidelines. 

We are in-love with our friends the Wimmers.  We're so thankful to have such great friends who are always upbeat, game for anything, and who we have such great energy with.  We've decided to make this a tradition every two years, we better stick to it!!  Next time we need to just stay for a week :)