Sunny Get-Away

For weeks we have been planning a UEA weekend trip to Jackson, Wyoming; a place we all love so much. Unfortunately, a snowy forcast forced us to change plans. Instead, we ended up in sunny Las Vegas; the polar opposite of Jackson. In Jackson we planned to drive through beautiful, scenic Yellowstone park looking for elk, bison and maybe a bear or wolf. Instead we drove down the Las Vegas strip, gawking at the tall buildings covered with bright lights and the "interesting" people. Instead of shooting geysers and bubbling hot-pots, we saw man-made volcanoes, palm trees, and Elvis impersonators. Instead of stuffed elk-heads mounted on a wall over a roaring fire, we saw a golden lion in the MGM lobby. We are a family of paradox!

On our way to Vegas, we spent the night at the St. George house with the Ashby and Cook families. It was fun and noisy! None of the kids wanted to stop playing and go to sleep, Rosie finally got cute Macy to bed and I had to lay down with Coleman before he fell asleep. Rosie was so proud of herself and demanded a dollar for her services, which Laura was happy to pay, but noone offered to pay me. The cousins played for a while the next morning and then we hit the road.

We started out at my favorite Los Vegas hotspot; the outlet mall. They have all my favorite shops and we shopped at every one, even with three kids in tow. After, we went to the mall for more shopping fun. Then, we checked in our hotel and the kids went swimming. Later we ate a delicious prime rib dinner at our favorite place, The Cortez Room. Our food server raised her eyebrows when we ordered all the meat to be prepared rare. Our kids don't even know that most people don't eat their meat "red and juicy". We ate everything served us, we love to eat good food!

Back at the hotel, everyone was exhausted and during our family prayer Coleman said, "I'm too tired to fold my arms." The kids fell right to sleep, and I read a book in a hot bath while Jono roamed the casino. He likes to watch other people gamble.

In the morning we ordered room service and the kids enjoyed eating pancakes and waffles in their pj's. Afterwards, we rode the monorail train around the city. Coleman loved riding in the train and he talked the entire time. When he gets started, he can talk and talk and talk. We then said good-bye to Las Vegas and headed home. The kids were great travelers and they had a fun weekend trip!

We did see a little bit of nature,

this adorable lion cub in the MGM lion habitat!

Hopefully, we'll be back for the MW tourney in March.