Welcome to Las Vegas!

Valentine's Day and President's Day weekend in Las Vegas! After art classes in Sandy on Saturday, we drove in that night and were welcomed by Bekah and Cole and three excited kiddos - Jude, Noel and Otto. They gave us the master bedroom and bathroom, so there was plenty of room for all of us (kids on air mattresses). In the morning we woke up to some beautiful weather so we hopped on bikes and scooters and took a walk to play and run around at some of the parks by their house in Henderson.

Around lunchtime we drove across town to see one of Chandler's soccer games and hang out with Jon, Heather, Dylan, Grampa Mike, and Gramma T.  He is an amazing goalie!  The game was tied up at the end, so they played another one later in the afternoon.  This picture captured the fading light and pink clouds when the sun went behind the mountain and it dropped 10 degrees!  We had enjoyed almost 80 degree weather all day - so nice!

During the second game, no one scored so they had to do penalty kicks to determine the winner.  So exciting and tense to watch Chandler try and try to block them...in the end they lost.  We went to see him after the game and he was attempting to smile, but I'm sure he was crushed.  I'm glad we could go to support him, and hope to be able to enjoy his games over the next year.  He very well could get a scholarship to play in college!

We took the kids to go swim at the heated hotel pool afterward with Dylan, showered them and got a bite to eat (Subway, Chipotle AND Panda Express) before heading towards the LV strip to check out the night life.  We didn't get out of the car, but had fun looking at all the sights.  The kids were so out of it and exhausted by the time we got to Bekah's so it didn't take them as long to fall asleep that night!  The next morning we went with the Barnson's and met the Syretts at Circus Circus and the Adventuredome. There were several fun rides they went on together including Frog Hopper.  Avery wasn't sure about it the first time everyone else went so she went afterward with the twins.  She ended up liking it and it was very entertaining to watch the three-year-olds.  Noel didn't know whether to laugh or cry!  The swinging pirate ship was another one fun one they won't forget!

Here they are watching a clown perform for a few minutes before we left.

We stopped at McDonald's for lunch on the way to the Bellagio - here they are again lined up and smiling outside in the sunshine!

We found the largest glass sculpture in America in the lobby - Dale Chihuly's colored, blown glass work of art of the ceiling in the hotel.

They also had an amazing Chinese New Year exhibit in the flower garden - it was beautiful!

Here are the girls walking together on our way to the art gallery (Bekah and I decided to go check out the Faberge egg exhibit with the kids - because they were free).  Let's just say I would have enjoyed it 100x more if it had just been she and I!  We had some yummy gelato before heading outside to see the water show at the front of the hotel.  

We told the Barnson's goodbye and headed out, not before stopping at a souvenir shop though and also getting some emergency hook-ups for the kindles for the drive home.  We left a little too late to be realistic about getting home in time for a good night's sleep.  We didn't roll in until 1:30 so the kids went to bed in their clothes and slept until 10 the next morning.  Yes, they skipped school and relaxed at home that day!

Snow skiing!

I'll be honest, I was kind of dreading the thought of going skiing as a family.  I think most of the problem was all the work it took to feel like we were ready to go, and then renting the equipment, oh and then the uncertainty about whether each of them would do okay and be okay.  So here's how the day went...

We decided to go to Snow Basin, and we bought a package that included a 2 hour lesson for the kids and their equipment.  Aaron and I went and got our stuff the night before and then the next morning we managed to get in the car with all kids and stuff and leave by 8 am!  Pretty good, until we got there and saw the line to wait in for the equipment.  Should've left at 7, especially because it was Martin Luther King day.  So, after putting on boots and getting skis fitted and then running back in for helmets a couple of times, we left the kids with the instructor and went to see how many runs we could get in in about an hour and a half.  Turns out only three, but we had such a good time and were both pleasantly surprised how we quickly got into the groove of skiing again (it had probably been about 9 years for us).  It was a pretty warm day so I had no problems with cold fingers and toes and it was nice to sit and relax and talk a little on the lift rides without cold wind or snow whipping at your face.  

When we saw the kids again, no one was sad or grumpy and they all reported it had gone well - really?!  No one really even had any stories to tell at all!  We took the gaundola up to one of the lodges to have lunch - french fries and a pizza- before heading out again.  Oh, and we also figured out Avery and Presley had switched boot sizes, so Avery was a lot more comfortable after lunch! First, they showed us the standing walkway that takes you up and drops you off so you can practice going down a small slope. Then, we did the real bunny hill several times.  They did so well getting on and off the lift and it was so much fun to see them each go down the hill in their own way.  Caleb was pretty cautious, Avery fell a lot at first but then really got the hang of it by the end, and Presley liked to go fast and was a little out of control at times.  I think they all would've kept on going and going if they could have though and they all said on the way home that they loved it and want to go again.  So, we'll see...the next time the preparation part might not feel so daunting and we'll all know what to expect a little more.  Who knows, maybe we could become a skiing family after all!