Las Vegas '09: Part II

One day we took the kids to the Lied Children's Museum.  It was SO much fun and the kids loved it!  The museum had all kinds of fun hands on stuff for the kids to get into and it was a nice change to actually let them have at it.  This was easily one of my favorite parts of the whole trip.

There was a bubble section where the kids got to make bubbles of all sizes and even a giant bubble that you could stand inside.

A highlight for Preston was this little airplane.  He was so interested in it I literally had to pull him away from it when it was time to move on.  It seems I may have a little pilot on my hands:)

The kids got to experience what it feels like to be a firefighter and dress like one.  The jackets they're wearing are weighed down proportionally just like a real firefighter jacket.

The upstairs had even more fun stuff for the kids to explore.  In the wind tunnel we got to experience what a 70+ mile an hour wind feels like.  

Another BIG highlight, the Buffets!  You can't go to Vegas without eating at a buffet.  We actually went to two during our stay.  One, the Festival Buffet at the Fiesta Casino was one of the best I have ever been to.  Great food and lots of it too!  Another big highlight of the trip for me.  I let Evelyn pick out all her own food which was kind of fun.  She enjoyed it and ended up with pizza, spaghetti, and macaroni and cheese.  And the best part about it was the price.  It was only 10 bucks for me and the kids were both free!  I highly recommend that place and will most likely make that a regular place to visit in Vegas.

They kids couldn't get enough cousin time.  Evie and Preston had such a great time hanging out with their Mansius cousins.  Most of the trip they could barely be contained.

 Easily the VERY BEST part of the trip was simply spending time as a family.  This picture was taken at the end of a very long day.  Grandma reading a book to all 5 of her grandkids.

Las Vegas '09: Part I

Our long awaited Fitzgerald family trip finally came!  For our last family trip we traveled to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and that was when I was about 8 months pregnant with Preston.  This year my parents decided to take us all to the fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada!  And this time it was Nichole's turn to be pregnant.  Here's a rundown of some of the amazing things we got to experience on our trip.

We stayed at the Summer Bay Resort.  The rooms were fantastic!  Very up to date and very comfortable.  Our view and the short distance we were away from the strip was incredible.  Here's a night time view from our 3rd story balcony.  Notice the Vegas Strip in the background!

For convenience and cost effectiveness we bought most of our food for the week at this little know place called Costco.  Here we are enjoying the bounties of our trip.

The first day we stopped by the Ethel M® Chocolate Factory and Botanical Cactus Garden.  We walked through the tour and got our free chocolate (Evelyn got two :), hence the picture, and we enjoyed the beauty of the Cactus Garden.

We swam A LOT, almost every day in fact, but with the weather as hot as it was it was almost out of necessity.  The resort had 3 beautiful pools for us to choose from and by the end of the week we had been in each one at least once.  My dad bought water guns for each of the kids and they had a blast going around shooting each other.

Sunday we dragged ourselves out of bed and went to church.  I had Evelyn go with Eliza to Sunbeams just to see how she would do in the older class and she had so much fun.  She went on and on about it afterwards.  And since we were so close we decided on the way back to stop and take a stroll around the Las Vegas Temple.

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas... Right,  I got a ticket!  The cops really love me there.  But what can you say when you look as guilty as I do...  Oh well...

Monday we had quite the experience.  We took the kids on the shuttle and over to the Excaliber.  The girls LOVED the idea of being in a "real" princess castle.  We took them down to the bottom level where all the games are and let them play.  Evelyn and I played this fishing game and she won!  She picked a little stuffed monkey to take home as a souvenir.  Preston had a good time "playing the games".  I never did put any money in the machines for him but he spent a good long while with Joshua pushing all the buttons on this one machine.

I got to see just about everything on the strip between the two nights that I got out without the kids.  

The first night my group and I got to see a good portion of the North end, some of which included the Mirage, the Wynn and the Venetian (above). 

We walked by Madame Tussuad's and caught a glimpse of Whoopie Goldberg.  

A New Computer and a Head Laceration all in One Week

The Apple eMac

As most of you know I've been without a computer for many a months.  Basically been living in a world with no electronic connection to the outside world except for my precious life-saving IPhone.  Almost every day I've had this urge, the urge to blog, and I've been forced to resist.  I know, everyone keeps telling me it's possible to blog by phone but it's just not the same.  Well it's been tough but I've done it and after much waiting and anticipation we finally got a "new" (new to us at least) home computer.

So it's no iMac but it does the job and I couldn't be more happy to call it my own.  Now if only I could remember how to use it...  But anyways, as of today I'd like to formally announce my long awaited return to Blogger.  You WILL be seeing a lot more of me from now on.

(This picture is not me, it's Stephanie.  She looks way hotter in a swim suit than I do)

Now for the NOT so great news.  Let's just say I took a bit of a spill yesterday at BV lake.  I was wake boarding and got a little too over-confident.  I tried to go over the wake going way too fast and lost all control.  The board rotated 45 degrees bringing me to a complete stop and shooting me face first into the water resulting in the board swinging up and slicing the back of my head. It hurt but not nearly as bad as I would have expected.  My great friend, Stephanie, drove me to the emergency room and I ended up with 8 staples.  Andy took the rest of the day off to be with me and make sure I didn't have any adverse reactions.  I'm amazingly normal now despite what happened and the pain has been fairly minimal.  I woke up this morning with some serious whiplash that I didn't feel yesterday but nothing a little bit of pain medication couldn't take care of.  I really got off easy and am seriously counting my blessings.

I know I put all this on my facebook so I apologize to anyone reading this twice but I can't express how grateful I am to everyone who helped.  Thank you!  And sorry again Stephanie and Nathan for totally killing the fun family outing.  I promise I'll make it up to you.  Although I may be sticking to the inner tube for a little while.

Other than the head laceration our little family has been keeping quite busy with other things.  The kids and I just got back from a Vegas family reunion (more on this to come), I have been frantically trying to get in shape for my Mt. Whitney trip next week and Andy's been spending practically every waking moment (except Sundays and weekdays after about 8:30 P.M.) preparing for the shooting of HDM's new movie, Phase 2.  I also have so much catching up to do and am actually looking forward to keeping up with this blog now that I have a computer.  So until next time...  Adios, take care and wear a helmet!

I finally gave in to the bangs

I can't tell you how frustrated I've been with Evelyn's hair.  It's constantly in her face and she doesn't get the concept of keeping it behind her ears.  Everyone keeps telling me I should cut her bangs but I guess I'm a little worried I'm not going to like them.  So yesterday I went in for my own overdue hair cut and I took Evelyn with me.   

BEFORE

AFTER

Evelyn has BANGS now!  She also got a really nice summer trim up to her shoulders.  I was so wrong about the bangs.  I don't just like them, I LOVE them!  I can't believe I didn't do it sooner.  I love that I can see her face now.  She has so many adorable expressions that I missed before because they were hiding under all her hair.

4th of July

For the 4th this year I had nothing planned.  Andy had to work and I was stuck at home without a car.  But in my sad attempt to make the most of it the kids and I celebrated by eating the most American foods I had on hand; sloppy joes and jello.  The kids LOVED them both!  After dinner I didn't know what to do with them so we went over to see what my in-laws had planned for their afternoon.  As it turned out they had bought fireworks for the kids to enjoy.  It turned out to be such a great night.  We sat out in the front yard and watched our own personal fireworks show.  I am so proud to live in such a great country.  I appreciate and admire all the men and women who put their lives on the line for the freedoms that we get to enjoy every single day.  I will never forget the sacrifices that have been made for me and for this blessed country.

Another reason to love Summer

The kids have been swimming quite a lot this summer.  They are both super great in the water.  It took Preston about a week to really get used to keeping his head up and kicking his feet but now that he's figured it out he does great.  I still can't get over how adorable they both are in their little suits and goggles.  SO cute!