Spring Break '09

So, I'm finally getting around to posting our Spring Break pictures. And there are a lot, so hopefully this makes up for the fact I haven't posted in a month. So our Spring Break journey started the very day the kids got out of school. We first headed to Saratoga Springs where my sister Teri lives and stayed in a near-by hotel and let the kids swim all night with their cousins and ate pizza. The following day we swam some more, went to the movies and let the kids play with their cousins. The next morning we left for St. George to visit my grandparents and other family. It was great to see everybody.
Next stop, Las Vegas! We originally were going with some friends of ours, but they couldn't make it last second. We were bummed, but we managed to still have a great time. We did a lot of sight-seeing (during the day to minimize as much yuckiness as possible).
On this windy day, you can almost make out the "Statue of Liberty" behind the kids.
A big giant Spongebob was the highlight of this afternoon.

One of our first stops was The Secret Garden of Siegfried & Roy to see the dolphins and white tigers. This was definetly a highlight for the kids.






Riley's favorite spot of the day.
White tiger drinking from the waterfall.

The next stop M&M World. Here you can find any color of M&M you can think of and any sort of M&M souvineer you can imagine. There were 4 floors of M&M Madness! Yes, it was a bit difficult with 4 kids all wanting everything, but we managed to make a few compromises without breaking the bank. They also had a cute 3-D movie that the kids really enjoyed. And it was nice to have a brief moment to sit!

The kids in the Las Vegas lights.

We also found this really great park close to our hotel that had rock climbing and all sorts of toys our kids have never seen at a park.

But a good majority of our time was spent at the pool at our hotel. We used our friends time share at Tahiti Village and it was great. We were very close to the pool which was huge with a sandy beach area (which the kids loved), a kiddy pool, and a lazy river. The weather was perfect, warm, but not too hot.
Katelyn in the hot tub. This was her spot of choice, it's where all the young adults hung out. She thinks she's 16.
Mason was humilated to have to wear his sister's flower arm floaties this day. We were lucky to find a more boy suited floatation device the next day.
Riley just hangin' pool side.
A rare glimpse of Emma OUT of the water. She's our little fish.

Me & Riley lounging by the pool.

All in all we had a great vacation with the kids. When it was time to pack and go, Josh and the kids dropped me off at the airport and I flew to California while Josh and the kids drove home. I was going home to visit my family, in particular my mom who was diagnosed with breast cancer a couple of months ago. She has since had a lumpectomy and it appears that all of the cancer is gone now. But it was a very aggresive kind, so she has been undergoing radiation and chemotherapy and has recently lost all her hair and been very sick. I wanted to be with her after her 2nd round of chemo to help her out as much as I could. All things considered she is doing well. I am very lucky to have Josh be so supportive of my leaving for 5 days to be with my mom, as he journeyed back to Idaho alone with the kids. But we are all under one roof again, and it is good to be home. Things have been crazy this past week, even finding the time to make this post has been hard. But we are all happy and healthy and looking forward to a great Easter weekend!