Vegas, Baby!

Well, it was hot and I did get sick...AGAIN! So way to go LV, you win!
We got in late Tuesday night and Doug had to be at the Mandalay Bay Wednesday, Thursday and part of Friday. The kids and I stayed close to the pool,but I still got too much of that "dry heat" on Day 1 and ended up with a massive migraine.

 So, I kept a bit more inside on Thursday and all was well. We stayed at Doug's brother's house that they bought when the real estate bubble burst so they bought for investment and retirement. Nice for us!!

Kian's room

I LOVE this canopy bed!

I took some pictures inside because I love the colors and style!

So Friday, Doug came to the house and then the girls and I got ready for our "Phantom of the Opera" experience at The Venetian hotel.  It was an abridged show and I didn't love the actor playing the Phantom...he was a Tony-award winning, slightly pigeon-toed, short person and I was rooting for Raoul all the way! But the sets and the actual staging were fantastic!!


Then when Doug came to get us we took a walk up to the "canal" and palazzo.

 Saturday, we went to a huge outlet mall and had a great time...we only went to about a third of the stores and we were DONE! Then on to see Brave...it was SO good, I loved it :o)
http://youtu.be/TEHWDA_6e3M
It was a long, fun day and the temperature was kind to me, only 100*

Sunday, the girls went to church, I got to SLEEP (finally) and then Kian and I went out to the pool again while Doug went our with his old friend, Joel. For the life of me, I don't know why I didn't think to take any pictures of the two of them!

I loved the outside of their house. It is stucco and has the details that are reminiscent of the Spanish missions of California.

Oh, and also Kian got to play pool which he absolutely loved! He played every chance he got and he would yell out what numbers went into the pockets.

On Monday, while we were waiting for the sheets and towels to wash and dry, we went to lunch and then to Home Goods to buy a vase that got broken and Doug went to Big 5 Sports and then surprised me with this blinged-out Minnie Mouse watch!

On the way home we had the BEST chocolate cake (the Coca-cola Chocolate cake) in the entire world at Cracker Barrel in St. George, Utah. I think a good time was had by all and I hope I don't get into too much trouble for telling you about what happened in Vegas! :o)

Camp Jeremiah Johnson

Kian got to go to his first Cub Scout camp today! I am surprised at how excited he is about Scouts. I have never really gotten into it and we have never been a family that thought it was the Be ALL End ALL. Kian has a short attention span and didn't last over a year in Karate, but he loves scouting.

The camp is only 20-30 minutes from home but when we arrived that morning it was FREEZING!!
Truman, Gavin, Adam, Oliver, Campbell, Seth and Kian.

The day warmed up and we had a great time!! Kian said he loved the Opening Ceremony the best because of the anticipation :o)

 We panned for "gold".

 We pulled a hand cart. That was tough coming down the hill!

  Gavin and Kian, I love this picture!!

This is where Kian was yelling, "I can't do it Mom!!" But he did :o)

 They got to paddle a barge and try to fish balls out of the water and throw them into the other barge's bucket. Thankfully, they all followed the rules and no one fell in.

They made a Native American game that is kind of like throwing dice.

The Queen's Jubilee

I must admit to wanting to be a Princess at some point in my life. For some reason my desires never grew to being the Queen, just a Princess. I have a fascination with England and Scotland and old castles. So I find the Queen's Jubilee to be an exciting celebration! I have borrowed some commentary from a friend in the U.K. 

Over here this weekend Saturday, Sunday, Monday and tomorrow we are celebrating the Queens "Diamond Jubilee" of her Coronation, and today and tomorrow are public holidays. Yesterday we had a wonderful show of all kinds of boats on the Thames, from rowing boats leading the procession to Narrow boats to small cruisers, brought up by a massive boat built for the Queen and her family, and although I'm not a great Royalist I have to say it was really impressive. And although the day was wet and quite cold I was amazed by the way The Queen actually stood for all the almost 4 hours of the procession on her boat at the age of 86, and the Duke of Edinburgh also stood the whole way at almost 91 years old.  There were orchestras, and choirs on separate boats and all in the open in the pouring rain. Today there is a huge open air concert in front of Buckingham Palace, with many top stars including Sir Cliff Richard , Sir Tom Jones, and one of my heroes Stevie Wonder .. I think it's going to last over three hours, so will be glued to the TV this evening.

I don't think I would have made a good Queen as I have never seen her carry a Coach handbag, but living in a castle and being called Her Majesty would be the bomb!

Congratulations to the woman who should have been my Mum :o)
http://www.thediamondjubilee.org/