Las Vegas. My Frenemy.

I love Las Vegas.  I hate Las Vegas.  Some parts are ritzy and magical, and other parts are scuzzy and lonely.

The same was true for my trip to Vegas.  Not the scuzzy part.  Some moments were fantastic and others were...well let's just say everyone was crying.  Jack was crying because Blaik yelled in his face.  I was crying because Jack was crying.  Mandi was crying because we were hopelessly lost.  Blaik was crying because his "Mater" fell.  And Blair was crying because...well probably something food related.  It was a tear fest.  Mandi and I might have argued in there too.  I'm kind-of glad though, that after all these years Mandi and I can still fight.  We are still those little girls with bowl cuts in our 101 Dalmatian outfits, duking it out.  I'm glad that just because we've grown up, doesn't mean we've grown so far apart we can't hash it out like two runny nosed little girls.  Which in that moment, and with all the crying, we really were.

I guess I should have started by saying that earlier this summer I flew out with Jack to Las Vegas.  Mandi was there with her family so Ben could go to a Seminary Conference.  So we decided we would take this opportunity to spend the week together.

It started out rough. Jack took a swan dive out of his car seat and into a chair at the airport.  Then he crawled off the bed later that day.  So I was on concussion look out.  Then Mandi and I spent hours (no exaggeration) looking for a place for Jack and I to stay.  We just dragged 3 kids and 2 massive suitcases all over Vegas.  But everything worked out.  Jack wasn't concussed.  We found a room that didn't "smell of cigarettes and sin".  And we got down to enjoying ourselves.

Top 5 Things of Note from the trip.

1. Never place your baby unstrapped in his car seat, on top of your luggage on the luggage trolley.  This may sound obvious but when you've got a crap load of luggage and nowhere to put your baby...you get desperate.

2.  I just loved the ritzy parts of Vegas.  I liked pretending I was filthy rich when I went into all of the designer stores.

3.  Rooms on the strip are butt cheap for a reason.  And that reason is probably because they smell like a butt. 

4.  Despite what it may sound like, Mandi and I had a great time.  I always filter what I say with people.  I have to remind myself to leave out obscure Seven Brides For Seven Brothers references.  I have to remember that not everyone spent their childhood obsessing over things like, The Mighty Ducks, Star Trek: Voyager, and Newsies.  But when I get with Mandi, I can just let it all hang out.  She'll know what I'm talking about when I say, "For any real ice cream lover there is only one flavor.  Va-nil-la."  Or if I randomly break out in hill clicks, she won't judge, she'll just try to jump higher.  I just love having someone around who has almost the exact same childhood I do.  When I'm with Mandi I feel like I'm with all of myself again. 

5.  To this day Blaik will proudly remark, "I scare Jack", when referring to the times he would scream in Jack's face and the little thing would start to bawl.  Don't worry though, I'm sure Jack is going to get Blaik back by being that annoying little cousin who won't leave him alone.

  

Mandi with her spirit clown.

Jack and I by the fountain in Caesar's Palace.

Mini-Ben and Mandi.

Caesar's Palace.

Jack dressed like a cowboy at the Children's Museum. 

I LOVED seeing Jack in this little king/jester outfit.

Hence the reason for...

...three pictures.

The little Man and I.

Mandi as a knight.  She really does have supreme control of her nostrils.

I couldn't get over seeing Jack in these curved mirrors at the museum.  Guys, this is what Jack would look like if he had gotten Chris's ears and a normal shaped head.

Jack as a piece of luggage at the museum.

Biggest box of Nerds I had ever seen.

And these GORGEOUS dresses in the window of some mask shop in the Venetian, 

All I ever wanted is to wear this dress.

And this one, for when the weather is overcast.

Ben and I spent quite a bit of time trying to get a gallery worthy picture of these coins in a fountain.  Key word being tried.

Blaik with his "Mater".  He lost his first one down the elevator shaft at his hotel.  This is one the front desk people went out and bought him as a replacement.  BEST hotel service EVER.

Jack in his makeshift crib.

And lastly, a picture of Mandi.  For those of you who didn't know, she's part Hipster these days.

A Bunch of Randoms

Random photos that is. 

Here is Chirs impersonating Jack when he tries to eat the laundry basket. 

Jack in Chris's old sweat suit.  Look at that little ball of early 90's joy.

No pastel sweatsuit would be complete without a peeking little bear. 

While at Bass Pro Shop, I found the biggest frying pan of my lifestyle. 

So, naturally, we pretended to cook Jack in it.

Apparently the Little Thing was playing on the floor one night, and stopped making noise.  Chris went over and found him thus.  Asleep and cuddling with the last toy he had been playing with, my yoga pants.

This is how the little stares at us sometimes.

This little nugget is just so cute.

Whilst visiting Kari in San Jose, we went to this Japanese?...Chinese?...somewhere in Asia, gardens.

It was be-u-tiful.

Look at the giant fish in the pond.

Allie and Kayci accompanied us.

They found this "wittle baby Tuwtle", as Allie called it, just roaming about.

And Jack's favorite thing to do that day.  Eat Allies stuffed Unicorn. 

End of Random Picture Post. 

Yosemite, but I call it Yo-sa-mite.

Chris and I are trying to be more adventurous these days.  Instead of just playing the, "What do you want to do? I don't know, what do you want to do?" game, we are trying to go out and see the world. Sometimes planning trips can be complicated.  Coordinating with people, packing, finding time and just getting people to want to go.  We have decided to just make things happen.  We'll only be there for a day? Let's go anyway.  Packing is about as enjoyable as getting pants on an overly squirmy nine month old?  Pack anyways.  No one else seems interested in sharing in our adventure or can come (maybe because we planned it 2 hours ago)?  Go anyway.  It has really made our lives more exciting.

Chris has also gotten really good at pulling the car over and going someplace that I mention I've wanted to go to.  I'm used to just letting places pass by and thinking, "Well I'll go there sometime."  Chris has started making those sometimes happen right then.  I love it.

One of our adventures this summer was going to Yosemite.  Or as the locals call it...Yo-sa-mite.  Just kidding, the locals don't call it that.  In fact, if you do call it that, people promptly correct your pronunciation and assume you are stupid.  But it's worth it. 

We spent the day exploring Yosemite and then spent the night at one of the park's campgrounds.

Top 6 Things of Note from the Trip:

1.  This was the first time I had used a bear box while camping.  Visions of people being dragged from their tents by rabid bears because they left a scented Kleenex in their sleeping bag, kept running through my head.  I scoured our car for any stray tampon or napkin that might have any sort of perfume and locked it up tight in that bear box.

2.  Yosemite is really beautiful.  All the shear canyon walls and huge waterfalls are amazing!

3.  Sometimes I felt like we were at an amusement park, because it was so busy there.  Instead of waiting in line for rides, we were waiting in line to get our picture taken in front of some waterfall.

4.  Pine cones work really well as kindling.  Those things go up in flames.  We saved a few pine cones for your collection Momma Kaylee.  But then we burned them...because it was that fun...and they were covered in sticky sap...you choose.

5.  At one point we zipped up Little man in the tent so that he could roll around on the blow up mattress and play with toys.  But then he rolled a little too far and ended up wedged between the mattress and the zipped up tent door.  We could see his little face squished through the mesh fabric.  I ran over to help out the poor little thing and hurridley unzipped the door.  And then PLOP, the little man fell out and landed on the forest floor.  When I picked him he had a face full of dirt.  It was so cutely pathetic. 

6.  I learned that people are very generous.  We met a few people at church and within a few moments of meeting them, Chris was asking if we could borrow camping supplies.  They all agreed and we made a couple friends in the process. 

Jack in his little carrier and bucket hat.

Jack and I taking a rest.

Jack liked to use Chris's ears as handles.  And who can blame him.  It's almost like Chris's ears were made for just such a thing.  But, sometimes he dug in too hard.

Selfies in front of Yosemite Falls.  The tallest waterfall in North America.  Look at Jack's little eye poking over.

I should make a post dedicated to all of the strange places Jack has had his diaper changed.

On our way to one of the falls we found this log that people had carved their names into.

I found this rock that looked like a turtle.

Chris's turtle face.

Yosemite Falls.

All of these people wanted pictures of this buck.  They kept creeping closer and closer to him to get a better picture.  I was just waiting for the buck to ram one of them with his horns.

Ta da!

I'm pretty sure I was being mocked in this picture.

The little and I.

These next few pictures I like to call...the downward spiral of Jack's journey in the baby carrier.

I just loved that Yo-sa-mite and hope to return again someday.