Spring Break in Vegas and my Moms Visit

In Post Falls the school districts really know how to do Spring Break well!  I am not sure who decided to meld Spring Break and the end of the semester together, but the result is just 2 days shy of a TWO week vacation.  I had been racking my brain to figure out something fun that we could do as a family.  The problem?  I had an interpreting job on the first weekend and the second weekend was General Conference (basically a weekend full of church for most of our extended family) which did not mesh well with a visit. I was on the phone with  my sister, Marissa, when we decided that it would be a great idea to come and visit her!  Two days later I had the kids packed up in the van and we were off!

What good is a long road trip without visiting people along the way? I had it covered. On Sunday we planned to go to Rexburg and spend the night there visiting with Haley, Matt, their cute family, and Grandma and Grandpa Hazard.  Plans changed half way to Rexburg when I received a call and multiple updates about sweet Kennedy.  She got a flu bug and was not doing well at all.  Normally I am pretty chill about these things, but I was a bit overwhelmed by the idea of driving 16 hours with any kind of flu bug... Sadly, we decided to bypass Rexburg and head straight to Sandy for the night.

We were lucky to find that Grandma and Grandpa Great (Barb and Don) were available to hang out on Monday morning.  We enjoyed a good visit with them and I met Cherry (Donny's wife) and got to know her a bit better.  Later that day I went out to lunch with Shannon (my sister) and dinner with Brandon (my brother)! Family time is the best! Thanks, Mom for watching the kids! We knew our time would soon come to hang out together.

On Tuesday we set out for Las Vegas.  I want to take a minute and mention that I LOVE traveling with our kids.  They are pretty awesome in the car and can entertain themselves and each other very well.  I would take a road trip with them any day!

Funny car story:
We were nearing Sandy after our ten hours in the car and the kids began to get a bit grumpy.  I pulled out a little package of die cast cars that I purchased at the dollar store the previous day.  I wasn't sure how the kids would respond, but I passed them out to see what would happen.  The kids all got the one they wanted (a miracle!) and were instantly pulled into an amazing world of make believe.  The cars became fast friends and the instant plot lines kept me pretty entertained in the front seat.  About 45 minutes into the game I heard racking sobs and saw crocodile tears coming from Adalie in the back seat. I asked what had happened and she had a difficult time pulling herself together to respond.  I had to stifle a smile as she responded, "We decided to pretend that the car fell off of a cliff and got dented.  He had to go to the shop to get repairs." (deep heaving sigh!) "Don't you realize that for a car that would be the same as a human breaking both arms or both legs!" At the end of her statement fresh tears sprang to her eyes to which Maren responded, "Maybe we should pretend that something else happened." The other kids quickly agreed and play continued.  Miss Adalie has quite a big and loving heart!

Every day of this trip made me happier and happier that I decided to go.  Being at Marissa and Wesley's house was so much fun! I loved spending time just "doing life" together, and Marissa was the perfect hostess.  An added bonus came a few days later! Shannon and Nathan decided to come down for the weekend and hang out with us as well! We spent a lot of time talking about kids and life in general, and we also enjoyed the activities we had planned for every day.  It was the perfect balance of relaxation and activity. Thanks for having us come so last minute!  We all loved it and the kids are already talking about when they can visit Marissa and Wesley again in Las Vegas.

I think the best way to share is through pictures.  Here are some of the adventures we had together.

A chocolate factory tour? Yes, please!

We visited the Cactus Gardens

we had our own little parade down The Strip. The kids all did awesome.

One of my favorite activities was taking the kids to the Las Vegas strip.  We went to the gardens and glass ceiling art at the Bellagio followed by the fountains display.  Then, we walked around The Strip and finished our evening off with deliciousness from Ghiardelli Ice Cream Shoppe. 

We took an awesome tour of a gold mine nearby.  We got an earful about the murderers and intrigue that seemed to always be present back when the mines were running. The stories were accompanied by skeletal corpses posed in the mine. Surprise! 

Well. It looks like the adults went on a hike! 

Swim Suit weather! There was plenty of cousin time with Nathan, Oliver, and Kaylee.

Easter party at the park! Who remembers when we actually "hunted" for eggs? This new system definitely rewards the ruthless and elicits tears from the slow or timid children. Our kids were somewhere in between. 

Easter is always better with a lot of kids!  The fact that it was April Fools day made it even better. A fake egg hunt and green milk were the order of the day. Note- Adalie is NOT fond of being tricked!

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On our way home we picked up my Mom and she drove the rest of the way with us.  It just so happened that her Spring Break was starting and she was already planning to fly up to us on that day.  It worked out perfectly that she could cancel her airplane tickets and accompany me for the rest of the long drive.  Here are some of the things we have done together this week.

Grandma's magnetic blocks were a hit!

A little rain can't get in the way of a good hike!

My mom and I went out to breakfast at The Old European on a kid-free morning and followed it up with a hike at black bay park.

Grandma celebrated her birthday with us!

The kids worked together to create a birthday breakfast to celebrate.

The Children's museum with Grandma

The adults went out to celebrate with dinner at Ambrosia Bistro and we saw the play Dial "M" for Murder.

These two weeks were filled with family and plenty of activity.  I loved every minute and can not wait to get together again!  Time to get back to our fun and exciting lives.  Until next time! 

Have a good week!