Saturday, May 29, 2010

Viva Las Vegas

Steve had a few days off work and school and he really wanted to go somewhere fun, warm, cheap, and away as a family. I really dragged my feet on this. Maile has acid reflux and every time we get in the car she throws up. Not only that, but Vegas, with kids, for a family vacation, what?? I finally agreed, we got everything together, got some dramamine for Maile, paid for the hotel, and then the kids got sick.

We debated wether we should go or not, and finally decided to chance it. I had to work, ran home to pack, and got on the road, only to turn around 5 minutes later with a car covered in puke. No big deal (really, at the time it seemed to be), we got out the carseats, washed them, washed out the car, and gave Maile a shower. We learned to give Maile dramamine with applesauce, and were back on the road in 1 1/2 hours.

After our late start, we decided to only stop in St. George for gas and food, then "on the road again..". We were almost there and Kiana either had a small flu bug or was carsick, still debateable. At least she can tell us, most of the time, so we can pull over. Needless to say, we got to Vegas pretty late.

Next it was my turn. I got very sick and didn't leave the hotel for two days. Throwing up and stuck in the bathroom. I don't know how many times, between all of us, that we had to call in room service to come and clean up. And over Mother's Day!!! What a Mother's Day. Isn't it how it always turns out?

While I was stuck in bed, Steve and the kids had a lot of fun. They went to Circus acts, played games, watched the Lions, went to shows, and drove around. Steve knew his way around and had so many fun activities (free) for them to do. I think they really enjoyed it. Finally I was feeling better by the end of Sunday and on Monday.

Here are a mountain of pictures:

The fish aquarium at the Silverton Lodge. It was pretty neat, and they have 3 kinds of stingrays. There are mermaids and scubba divers that also get in so that you can watch. There is a big store attached to the casino that is like cabella's. It was neat to walk around.




That face looks staged.
Kiana loved the mermaid and they would put their hands touching against the glass or blow kisses!


She was blowing bubbles at Kiana

In Circus Circus, where we stayed, they have amusement park rides. Kiana and Steve got to go to this 4D Sponge Bob ride. They move you up and done, tap you on the shoulder, and you smell pickles. I don't know if I would have liked it, but they did!

Maile stuck to the small rides, and yet she was still happy. You could pay a fortune here between rides and games, like Lagoon. Luckily with staying at Circus Circus they gave us some free tickets for both.






This is the erupting volcano on the strip. The girls didn't know if they should be scares or not.

Due to high winds, the Pirate show was canceled, so we just got pictures with the actors (Steve was more excited then the girls).

This is the Pirate ship at Treasure Island. I wish we could have seen the show. We went and stood there two nights, and both were canceled. Maybe next time.


These are some cute lions at the MGM. They have about 30 lions that rotate time spent in this area, and they all live on a farm away from the city. Steve took the girls one day and said the lions were huge males and they got to watch them get fed. Kiana loved that. When I came the next day, there were these cubs just playing, still cool, but not as cool. The girls used their money from their grandparents at a giftshop here to buy roaring lions! This area the lions play in has purified air and water and it is sound proof so they come up right to the glass and you can see them up close. Steve kept forgetting the camera when he took the girls around to places without me, so we didn't get a lot of the things he and the girls did.


Can you see them both lapping up water? It was so cute.

Also at MGM, there is the Rainforest Cafe. We decided to splurge, and see what it was like. I think the girls liked it. It was pretty pricey for food similar to Applebee's. The animals move and make lots of noises. Once again, Maile throw up everywhere, this happened everywhere we went. I felt bad for those cleaning up all the messes. She threw up about 60 times in 6 days and was quite difficult for everyone. We didn't know if we should go out to somewhere nice or just stay in and get something to go. Sadly, I think we need to get her on medication again. Amongst cleaning up, we were able to enjoy the littles shows and have fun together. I hope the girls enjoyed it.

I think Steve and I have become quite the team at cleaning up throw up. For the way home, Steve bought big containers to throw up in, and some stuff to clean it and make it smell better. It made for a better ride home ( on the way up, he lined the carseat in a garbage bag, it didn't work out so well).
Though, it wasn't all fun and games, I think the girls enjoyed the trip and we were able to make some good memories together. Las Vegas wasn't as bad a vacation as I thought it would be. Steve kept us all going with the shows available and we had a good time. Thanks sweetie for all you do to make things special, we love you.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Fun babysitting friends

We have some of the greatest neighbors, and thankfully they have some cute girls for our girls to play with. Sometimes I am lucky enough to watch them (aka my kids are occupied).
This is our cute neighbor girl that just moved. Her mom had had a baby and so we got to play with her. She is so funny. She always waves at me or spots me at church saying, "There's Sista Muwins!" I am sure going to miss this sweet family.
Maile also played really well with her. Here they are dressing up in their aprons.

Here is another family that just had a baby, and we got to spend lots of time with their girls. Imagine getting two girls ready for church, now try four! Yup, it was tons of fun. Four girls bathed, four girls dressed, four girls hair, and then my own on top of it. It was great. These cute girls are the same ages as mine, and they have so much fun together and laugh and laugh, we really couldn't get a picture where they were all looking.

Have you seen four cuter girls? We sure had a lot of fun. Congratulations for the new additions to these two families, we were happy to have the girls over.

Sideline Cheerleader

With Kiana's broken foot, she hasn't been able to play with her soccer team. We still felt it was important for her to learn to support her team. She was sad not to play, but we learned she makes an awesome cheerleader! "Go Bumblebees!" She would cheer and yell for each team player and loved sitting on the sidelines. Thankfully her foot is doing much better and the Doctor has given her the okay to play again!


It has also been hard for her to get around at the daycare where I work, so she enjoyed playing in the baby room. This is her tower she was so proud of. She sure has gotten creative lately.