Monday, May 30, 2016

Lewis' Bday, Vegas and End of School!

Excuse the fact that this post has a million pictures.  Just trying to cram them all into 1! Anway, on May 22 Lewis had a birthday!! We were driving to Las Vegas on his actual birthday so we had cake and ice cream the night before.  
 I think he was pretty pleased with his cake!
 Especially because he could play with it!
The next day he woke up to presents on the table and
 balloons in his room.  I think he was a little bit overwhelmed.
 We had cinnamon roll cake for breakfast
And let him play with his new toys a little before church.
 After church we loaded up the car and headed to Las Vegas.  I think he was a little tired.  And I promise he's still buckled!! He just always takes off his top buckles.
 We made it there Sunday night and were finally able to swim the next day (and did a lot more during the week!)
 I can not get enough of the back of this little head.  I just love it!
 Some of us prefer to do a little downward dog by the pool...
 The first day were were there we explored a few of the hotels on the strip.  The conservatory at the Bellagio never disappoints! Doug's conference was at this hotel and we were supposed to stay there but didn't feel like we could with our kids.  Maybe we will one day without them!
 There was a live aquarium with this display.  Pretty impressive!
 We also needed a picture with the mermaid and her peacock feather tail!
 We went to look at a few other things in this one and of course had to stop and see the chocolate fountain.  We were all pretty impressed!
 Before heading into Caesars Palace we stopped for a frozen hot chocolate from Serendipity.  It was delicious!
 We stopped for the water and fire show at Caesars before heading on to more hotels.
 We also took a seat in these cool face chair things too.
 Then we headed to the Venetian for a lobster tail at Carlo's Bake Shop.  So delicious as well!! Good thing I had so many little mouths to share treats with and that we were doing so much walking!
 We walked around the Venetian a little and saw the living statues.  My girls really wanted to ride the gondolas but we couldn't justify $100 for a 15 min ride for all of us...
 After that we met Doug at the end of his meetings for the day and headed to the Coke factory to try the tray from around the world.  It's one of our favorite things to do in Vegas.
 Then we went to the M&M world where we of course had to see the 3D movie
 And then stopped at the Hershey world before heading back to our hotel for the night.  The next day I took the kids to the Container Park in old Las Vegas. It was the coolest park!! Everything (the playground, shops. restaurants, etc) were all made out of old box cars.  It was pretty cool!
 The playground had this cool playground with huge slides.  My kids loved it!
 There was also a fun area to play with big legos
 and a chalkboard wall to draw on.
Here's one of the huge slides they had.  You had to be a certain height to ride down it and so Mabel and Lewis couldn't ride.  Lilly and Sophia loved it though!
 This is the entrance to the park.  Pretty crazy!
 After that we went to see the old mormon fort a few blocks away.  It was pretty cool to find out a little more about how Las Vegas was started and the church's involvement in it!
 Then we went to the Natural History Museum that was right next door. It was such a cool museum! We got there right in time for the shark feeding.  It was pretty cool to see!
 We also did a little goofing around with a whale tale
 and sting ray.
 This was my favorite little fish in Finding Nemo!
 There was also a dinosaur exhibit which made this guy excited and a little bit nervous...
They had a cool Egypt exhibit with a real mummy that freaked my kids out. Sophia liked this guy though!
 After that we tried to hurry and see the mermaids at the Silverton only to discover they're only there on the weekends. At least the fish are cool!!
 Then we picked up Doug and went to Ethel M factory and cactus gardens.  It was so fun to see the cacti in bloom.  They were beautiful!
 Sophia needed a picture with a saguaro to go along with her Arizona brochure.
 The next day we went to the Clark County Wetlands. It was a super fun place too!! And free!! They had a bunch of big animals for kids to climb on
 There was also this fun station set up with activities set up at each table for kids to play with.  We seriously spent at least an hour in this whole area.  My kids loved it.
 When I was finally able to pull them away we went on a little walk to this pond to see some fish and turtles!
 After a little bit of a walk in the hot hot sun (we may have gotten a little grouchy) we headed to a park to meet a few of my friends who live down there.
 It was sure to see them again!! And meet sweet baby James!
 We then went to pick up Doug and finally got to see the Bellagio fountains for this trip (from the car).  We had been waiting to see them the whole time we were there and were glad we finally got a chance!
 This little guy enjoyed his icee drink we got for the ride home.
 We made it home late Wednesday and got up bright and early on Thursday to go to field day at school.  I got to help with the hula hoop station and was more than happy to be there with these cute hula hoopers!
Mabel enjoyed a few days with no school before her sisters finished and did a lot of writing.  She sounded out my name and was so proud of herself.  I loved it!
 Finally the last day of school came!! These girls were excited and a little bit sad.
 Sophia's teacher was an intern this year and will be at a different school next year.  There were some tears shed when they day ended!
 this one came home with the Smarties award! Sure proud of her!
We've been watching a lot of NBA playoffs games lately and apparently some of them have gone pretty late.  This little one pooped out during one of them the other night.
 Mabel made this game to be like one she played in Primary.  Her little creations make me smile.
 And finally, these girls love to cheer on the Warriors with their dad!