Vegas, and Remodel Part 2

The remodel continued during and after our weekend in Arches, with walls being framed and drywalled, windows moved or installed, and a closet built.

Our Awesome Closet Plans

  
We spent more time picking out stuff like cabinets and tile.  Not my favorite thing to do, but I think it turned out pretty well.
   

      

During all this, Evan earned the final stripe on his preschool taekwondo belt, which made him eligible to be promoted to the "big kid" white belt class.  His teachers decided to give him an extra few weeks in the younger class to practice paying attention, though.  I thought that was an excellent idea.  Not to be outdone, Elise made a beautiful and extra sturdy mud dome in the backyard.
    

Whenever possible, Ryan still goes on his Midnight Rides the last Friday of every month.  They normally center around downtown Los Angeles and the West Side.
  

  
To celebrate Ryan's and my 15th anniversary, we planned a fabulous Las Vegas getaway.  We would have preferred a cruise, but my pregnant condition made almost all cruise destinations too dangerous due to the Zika outbreak, so we decided Vegas was the answer.  First, though, I had to drive the kids up to stay with their cousins in Orem (thanks Kyle and Kelli!)  We stopped at Grandma and Grandpa's house for a short visit, where Corinne got her first taste of fry sauce.  She still talks about it.
    

Cousins Week!

I spent the night with the Murrays, then drove back south to our hotel.  Ryan flew in to join me a couple of hours later.  We stayed at the V'Dara, which was pretty great, especially since it's one of the only hotels in Vegas that's entirely nonsmoking and not a casino.  We had a great view of the strip, including the Bellagio fountains.
    

On day two, I got a pedicure, we went to the Las Vegas temple, then we had a great dinner at what's supposedly the fanciest buffet in town.
   

  
Day 3 was our tour of the Hoover Dam, which is way more complicated than I thought.  On the way back into town, we stopped at Nana and Al's old house, just for fun.
  

That night we ate at a super fancy restaurant whose name I've already forgotten.  Joe's Seafood, maybe?  We had stone crab, bone-in ribeye, and a bunch of expensive veggies.  It was probably my favorite meal.  After that was our first big show - we had tickets to see the Blue Man Group.  It was noisy and fun, but apparently too much for Ryan.  We had remarked a week or two earlier how lucky it was that he had escaped the stomach flu that got the kids and I.  Right during the show's finale, with loud music, flashing lights, and all kinds of streamers and confetti, he barfed all over the floor.  So sad.  Luckily, with all the craziness and paper mess, nobody else noticed.  I did stand guard after the show, though, to make sure the disaster didn't get stepped in.  
  

The next day was obviously pretty low-key.  Ryan stayed in the hotel, sipping Gatorade, while I explored a bit by myself.  I had to send him a picture of the amazing crepe I had for breakfast, to cheer him up....or maybe just to brag?  By late evening he was feeling well enough to go to Cirque de Soleil (the 'O' production.)  That show was definitely my favorite.  I'm sure it was Ryan's, too.
    

The next morning was the end of the trip, but Ryan was determined to have the french toast advertised at the Brasserie next door.  They had this awesome accordion player wandering from table to table, and he did the greatest rendition of the theme from "The Godfather" for us.
  

  

We then drove north and met Kyle, who was bringing our kids down to meet us, at a gas station in Parowan.  Somewhere between there and St. George, we stopped and played in the Virgin river for awhile.  Places like this are so different from Los Angeles - I wish my kids had more chances to skip rocks!

   

The next morning, just west of Las Vegas, we explored Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.  I had never known there was nature in Las Vegas, but it was really quite beautiful!
  

Corinne had run out of clean clothes, so she used Evan's.

  
The visitor's center helped me figure out what this cool plant was.  I thought it was cool, anyway.  After hiking and driving the scenic loop, we left for home.
    

 

Arches

In the middle of April, we joined some friends for a campout at Arches National Park.  Except we didn't camp.  I couldn't rationalize packing all that stuff in order to drive for two days and camp for one night.  Still, I really wanted my kids to see the place where I spent so much time when I was younger.  We left after co-op on Friday, stayed in St. George, and made it to Moab by late afternoon on Saturday.  When we found our friends at the campground, we were glad we'd decided to motel it - it was windy and unbelievably cold.  One of the tents had collapsed during the night, so we convinced that friend and her kids to join us in our coddled indoor lifestyle for the second night.  Before we left the campground, the kids climbed on rocks until their lips turned blue, and we hurried to roast marshmallows before the majority of families broke camp. (The dads had to do the roasting, because the wind kept blowing the flames directly at people.)
   

  

The next morning was a little warmer.  We started with the visitors' center, then went on a couple of short test hikes to various arches.  Corinne refused to ride in the backpack, claiming she wanted to walk, but then was much more interested in playing with the sand, so she and I fell farther and farther behind.
  

Corinne and I, stuck down on the trail.

Landscape Arch

Since the weather was holding, we got ambitious and decided to hike Delicate Arch with all the kids.  Connor had a hard time at first, and we had to require Corinne to stay in the backpack, but we all made it!  I was really proud of the kids.  While we rested and admired the view, I overheard some strangers talking about how "that kid over there is really freaking me out."  I looked across the way and saw Connor rolling around on his side, as if he was going to tumble down the slickrock grassy-hill style.  It wasn't really dangerous, but I still went over and asked him to please stop terrifying the other hikers.
   

  

  

Everyone ate well that night.

 
Monday morning, Ryan went on his own to bike part of the Slickrock Trail.  We waited for him at a nearby campground, where the kids climbed on yet more rocks.
  

On the way home, we stopped at Dead Horse Point.  I can remember this being one of my favorite views in the world, but it just wasn't the same with kids.  I couldn't settle down enough to enjoy it much, it was too nerve-wracking.
   

Later that day, as we got nearer to I-15, we surprised the kids by stopping and having dinner with Grandma and Grandpa!  I didn't manage to get a picture, but we had a great visit before continuing on our drive home.  So many hours in the car made the kids even crazier than usual...