John was selected to present at the Teacher's Pay Teacher's Conference in Las Vegas. We spent a lot of time getting him ready for it. We decided to make it our family vacation for the year and take everyone.
We stopped in St. George the first night. We stayed at the Green Valley Spa. The accommodations were awesome! We had a pretty sweet suite there. lol
The kids all claimed their sleeping spots. It was nice that there were two bedrooms, bathrooms and a living room and kitchen. It was roomy!
The kids were fascinated with the peep holes. They were big enough you could see the gate in the courtyard out front.
You could even see someone at the gate from way off.
We took the kids swimming also. There were several pools to pick from. It was kind of hard to keep track of the kids, but they sure had fun!
Eli has no fear! He loved jumping into the pool.
The older kids found the pool with the diving board and had to give that a try.
Melinda even came with us which made traveling nice. We could split up kids if needed and she didn't have to travel alone.
That evening in St. George we went and saw The Little Mermaid at the Tuacahn Amphitheatre. It was AWESOME!! Lindey was in heaven! I've never had her sit so still before. Pretty impressive for a 3 year old!
The kids loved the water way coming down between the staircases.
They sure slept well that first night. :)
After everyone was up and fed, we traveled on to Vegas. The kids were impressed with the size of all the buildings and the view out the hotel windows. The conference was held at The Palazzo, so that is where our rooms were. We were able to have adjoining rooms since we had to book 2 of them. They were not cheap!
I had to take this picture of the bathroom with the glass shower doors. This one kind of freaked the kids out, especially the boys! They thought it was creepy that anyone could see you naked while you showered. We explained that that is why they make bathroom doors. lol Who was going to see them as long as the door stayed shut??
We took the kids for a walk down the strip and tried to get a picture of the kids in front of Sigfried and Roy and their tiger, but they all ended up covered in little ants. That was not appreciated. Lindey freaked out!
We had to show the kids the Fountains at the Belagio. This is one of our favorite things! The kids loved it as much as we do!
I was able to go watch John present, which was kind of fun. Being around teachers he collaborates with online but had never met was a lot of fun for him. It was funny to watch him be a celebrity of sorts with teachers who are fans of his products. That was fun for me. :)
Micah celebrated his 7th birthday while we were in Vegas. I asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday, and he answered, "Go swimming!"
So, while John was at the conference, I took the kids swimming.
We spent 4 or 5 hours at the pool and came back a bit crispy (ok, well Ian did since he refused to wear sunscreen), and the kids loved every second of it. That night we decided to walk to the end of the strip to the MGM for dessert at the Rainforest Café for Micah's birthday. We did not realize how long that one would take!
We stopped at Denny's to rest for a bit and get some dinner before continuing on.
Micah got separated from us while watching the rainforest animals. He didn't hear us say we were going to the bathroom across the room. One of the workers in the shop came and asked me if I'd lost a little boy, which I didn't think I had. I thought all the boys were in the bathroom with John. I decided to see if it was one of my boys, and found Micah sobbing in the gift shop. It was so sad! I felt horrible! What a way to feel on your birthday! :( So glad we found him and he had the sense enough to go find an adult! That could have been a lot worse.
If you stood just right it looked as if the snake had eaten the mannequin's head! Lol
The kids all loved looking at the tropical fish in the giant tanks.
Their favorite one? The unicorn fish, of course!
After about an hour wait to get in, Micah got his rainforest frog crown, and we ordered dessert.
I loved how the kid's all came up with their own crazy doodle from the wavy line. They are very creative!
Yummy dirt pudding!
Micah wasn't sure what to think about the waiters/waitresses singing to him.
So glad we ordered the 1/2 ice cream sandwich cake--it was HUGE! I can't even imagine what a full size one looked like.
After a very long and late trek back to the hotel, we opened presents.
A cool helicopter toy.
And excited about the M&Ms. Who wouldn't be?
Some new Skippyjon Jones books--Micah loves this series.
Love you too, buddy. :) I love that face as he read the card.
Opening Grandma and Grandpa Millett's card.
Wahoo! Money! :)
We left Vegas the next morning. On our way through Cedar City, we stopped at John's Dad's family reunion. We hadn't seen some of John's aunts and uncles for many years. It was fun to visit with everyone.
Morgan and Lindey got little Princess crowns for their hair. Lindey was so excited that they could match!
The long drive home was good. Crazy as we always are.
So glad we were able to go. It was a fun few days! :)
July 9th-12th, 2014
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