Vegas Baby!

So life's been a bit crazy for the last little bit.  I'll tell you about the wild summer we've had, but first a bit of fun.

A couple of weeks ago we got to take a trip to Las Vegas and time out from our regular life was a relaxing break.

We stayed in a condo a couple of miles away from the strip (which was wonderful because we don't particularly love the mess there).  The resort was great, the weather was HOT (like REALLY hot), but we had a fabulous time.  It was really nice to be out of our regular routine and to be able to focus on family instead of all the clutter and stress of normal life.

Here's some of our highlights from the week.

Life in the condo:

Josh does a ton of cooking for our family and I'm really grateful for him.

Red Spring Boardwalk Trail, Calico Basin:

Container Park on Freemont Street:

Kids got to build cool things with giant foam blocks.

Yes, that is a gigantic praying mantis in the background.  He breathes fire at night.  There you go.

Old Mormon Fort:

Rockin' Jump Trampoline Park:

Here you can see Me, Bryce, Parker and Gavin on the climbing wall.  One of us didn't quite make it to the top.  One of us got to the top twice before the rest of us got there once, and one of us is was a sores sweaty mess by the time we finished.  I'll leave you to guess which was which.

Nielsen's Frozen Custard (a favorite from Utah that we discovered in Vegas):

Clark County Museum (GREAT place and inexpensive):

Children's Discovery Museum (really fun but really pricey):

Even the big kids had a good time

Ethel M. Chocolate Factory and Cactus Gardens:

Pinball Hall of Fame (sooooo fun...except for the part where Aubrey's wallet got stolen):

Machine that ranks for romance said it is "harmless."  At least is wasn't "clammy."

Swimming in the condo pools every day (because it was freakin' HOT in Vegas):

Historic Railroad Tunnel Trail:

Apparently our hike was a little more ominous than we thought...but we brought tons of water and managed to survive.

As we walked through one tunnel Logan started jangling the change in his pocket
which apparently sounds like bat chat because the tunnel had been quiet but when he
jingled his money the bats starting screeching like mad.  We never did see any, but we could
hear them in the center of that one tunnel.

And then we came home.  He did go to an indoor swap meet one day which was REALLY fun, the kids loved seeing all the treasures there.  We also attended the sweetest ward on Sunday.  When we sat down a member of the bishopric came over the meet us and asked if we were new.  We said no.  He said, "Would you like to be?  We'd love to have you."  It was a very welcoming place (plus Bryce got stared at by a girl the ENTIRE meeting...he didn't notice, but the rest of us did).

All in all, it was a really great adventure.

But now it is back to real life which is a little more harried, but still good.