VIVA LAS VEGAS!!

A couple of months ago we decided that we could use a little family weekend get away. We had the perfect opportunity when my cousin got married. He and his family live in Las Vegas, about a 5 hour drive for us, so we decided lets go.  It was also a great opportunity to see a lot of my side of the family.  My Mom, sister, cousins, and Grandparents were all coming so we thought it would be a nice 3 day trip for our family, and a great opportunity to see everyone.
This was going to be our first big trip anywhere since Wylie had been potty trained, so I was a little bit nervous at first. We decided to bring along her little potty so that if at any time she needed to go to the bathroom we could pull over, and she could go potty comfortably. That ended up being a life saver. There was only 2 different times we pulled over for her to go potty. Once on the way to Vegas, and once on the way back. She thought it was great though.
So we set out to Vegas for the weekend to see some family, and to enjoy some time with our little family as well. The drive there went great. I am so grateful that we have such great kids that travel so well. We had our snacks, activities, movies and of course music to keep all of us entertained. The drive was about 5 hours driving time, and we made it in great time. Especially with 2 kids. ;-) Somehow we arrived at the exact same time my Mom and sister arrived as well from Utah. There is no way we could have planned that any better. My kids were so excited to see their Nana and Aunt C.G. that and get out of the car and run around.
The first night we got there a little bit late so we let the kids play for a little, and then put them down for bed. The rest of us stayed up catching up and of course watching the Olympics. :-) The next day was the wedding reception, and frankly pretty chaotic. In the morning we all woke up and ate breakfast, and went swimming for a little while. Nana loves to go swimming, and so do my kids so of course that was a blast! We swam for a little while, ate, showered, and decided since we were in Vegas we would head over to the strip and see the M&M and Coke A Cola Factories. That was SO not worth it. I think once you have been to the strip you only need to go once, and I have been to the stip many times in my life, and definitely don't need to go again. It is so sad how evil and "dirty" our world has become. The worst part was walking up on the strip and people, drunk people, dressed up as characters like Elmo, Hello Kitty etc. and they would go up to your kids and give them five, breathe their alcoholic breath on them and then tell you to give them money for giving your child five. Of course we said no thank you and they would yell and scream that you are a horrible person yadda yadda yadda. It is just really sad to see where the world is going, and that they will use children. So needless to say we will not be going to the strip again.
While we were at the strip my mom went to go and pick up my Grandparents who had just flown in on my Uncle's plane. After they had all been picked up we all got ready and headed to the reception. It was so great to be able to see so many of our family members. My cousin and his new wife had a beautiful reception. The next day was Sunday, and we were all headed back home. It was a short trip, but we all really enjoyed it. We decided before we left we would go and see the Las Vegas Temple. I love that my kids enjoy going to visit the temples. Occasionally when we ask Wylie what she wants to do she will say "go see the temple." Moments like that makes a mom feel like they are doing something right. :-) So we all decided to go see the temple. We walked around the temple for about a half hour or so. We took pictures and just enjoyed spending time with one another. Wylie was sad that the temple was closed. She kept pulling on the temple doors trying so hard to get them to open. We told her that some day she will be able to walk through those doors, that seemed to be satisfying enough for her at the time.
After saying our goodbyes it was back on the road again to head home. It had been a short, but a great weekend. It was great to be able to spend time with family, and to be able to get away for a little while. It had been a while since we had some time with our own little family. The trip back went well... towards the very end the kids started to get a little bit antsy to be home, but luckily a lot of silly songs kept them occupied enough to make it home. Both Wylie and Easton were excited to get to sleep in their own beds again. As soon as we got home we were all pretty worn out so we basically went straight to bed. It was a fun trip, but it is always good to be home again.