Sin City

Las Vegas was our next stop and they are not kidding when they call it Sin City. When I phoned Sam to let him know we had arrived I told him I was calling from either Sodom or Gomorrah I wasn't sure which. I've never been a fan of the whole Vegas thing, but being there with kids made me even more aware of all the craziness.

The kids were so cute and good to follow our direction to keep their heads down as we walked through the casino to check into our hotel room to avoid seeing the countless posters of scantily clad people.


We were quite the spectacle walking through New York New York with our troop of 7 children.




Thankfully, it was basically just a pit stop, getting in just in time for bed and leaving in the morning after a McDonald's breakfast smorgasbord. Tracey wanted to get room service, but the frugal in me couldn't bear it and offered to go get McDonald's for the whole crew. It worked out just fine, but Tracey did mention that with room service you get a table. She does have a point there. Oh well...the kids didn't seem to mind and hotel room floors are totally clean, right?

Besides breakfast, the kids found time to squeeze in scriptures and a quick game of "spies" before we checked out.


I'm not sure if this is a disguise or a hiding spot. (Don't worry that note is just part of their spy game.)


And always time for posing.


Ruby had to check herself out before we left. She looks mostly satisfied.



On our way out we stopped by the M&M factory (AKA a large store of M&M paraphernalia) where we watched a short M&M movie and bought some pricey M&Ms.




And then, since one chocolate factory is never enough, we also swung by (by which I mean we took a 1 hour detour to get to) Ethel M's Chocolate factory. At least this factory was actually a factory and we got watch as the delectable confections were created. It was neat to see. I do love a good factory tour. The tour was quick (so quick that I have NO pictures). Choosing the even pricier chocolate took a little longer.

Ruby and Issac mulling over which ONE piece they could afford.


Yep--they were in chocolate heaven.


Once we had met our factory limit for the day we finally headed out of the Vegas area, but not before swinging by Kmart and making the very wise purchase of a portable DVD player. Tracey's was missing a cord and since we don't have one I thought it would be an OK expenditure....and it was. The older kids were as good as gold, but this extra entertainment sure didn't hurt.


We still had a few moments like this...


And this. (Sorry Issac but your fit was the only one cute enough to photograph.)


And speaking of Issac...we also enjoyed about a million potty stops along the way. At least the views were nice from the side of the road.


Through it all we also had plenty of this...even without the movies.


Good bye Vegas---next stop Zion's!

I've gotta start somewhere

I hate it when I get this behind. The month of August really wiped me out. Our lives have been moving non-stop pretty much since our last post. I told Sam that we had not had one evening of true relaxation since we returned from our Anniversary trip--I know this is true because I've been looking forward to watching the season finale of our favorite TV show, White Collar, for almost a month. We finally watched it last night (well worth the wait) so now I am ready to move on to the bigger and better business of recording the craziness before it slips from my mind--which sadly it is already starting to do.

At the beginning of August the kids and I set out to California on a two-week adventure we had been planning for months. We had several plans for the two weeks; however, most of it was spent with my sister Tracey and her 4 children braving a road trip from California to Grand Junction, Colorado sans husbands in a 12-passenger van. In the planning process we were so excited and felt so adventurous, but by the end of each we were mostly just feeling really tired. It was hard, no doubt, and at times we were asking ourselves, "Did we actually plan this?" but in the end we had no regrets and were so happy to have had the experience for both ourselves and our kids.

The kids were ecstatic just to be in the big van with each other. I think we could have just driven around in circles for a while and they would have been thrilled.

A few of our happy passengers.

Ruby & Issac


Max & Luke


Our first stop was Calico Ghost Town in Baker, California. It was hot, hot, hot and after the large bus of Japanese tourists left, it lived up to its ghost town label.



We hit all of the main attractions starting with the mystery shack. I would give further description of what the mystery shack is, but I really don't know besides the fact that it is a house built on a strange incline that makes weird stuff possible.

Waiting for our tour.

A broom that can stand up by itself? A chair that Max can sit in, but is impossible for him to get out of. (I could really use one of these for a naughty seat!)

We panned for gold of course.

The kids were thrilled with their fools gold.

The Calico Town train ride.

Do they look hot??... 'cause they were.

Ruby was crazy about the train...until it starting moving, that is.

My dad joined us for this leg of the trip. It sure was great to have an extra set of hands.


My little jail bird.

We took a quick walk through the mine to remind me again how claustrophobic I am. I seriously could not get out there fast enough.

Future thieves?

I wish I knew what Max was staring at here. I love how pleased he looks.

After we had seen most of what there was to see we stopped into one of their little cafes and got some much needed slushies. We felt so close to heat exhaustion that they could have charged whatever they wanted to--and they pretty much did.

One good thing about the heat is that when we did leave, the kids were wiped out, leaving us to enjoy not only the van's air conditioning but also a nice quiet drive.

Please note that Reed is using Luke as a foot rest. I'm not sure how he worked that deal, but someone is definitely getting the short end of that one.

One stop done...lots more to come.