Las Vegas

Brian had a conference for work a couple of weeks ago in Las Vegas.  We decided to make a much needed vacation out of it and headed down as a family.  I was reluctant to take Averie, but I figured there was plenty to do with a 2 year old in Vegas.  Our hotel was great!  We stayed in Tahiti Village and it was great for families.  The rooms were condo style so we had our own kitchen and separate bedroom.  The pool was incredible.  There was also a Lazy River too.  I was really glad that we went to the pool the first day we were there because it was freezing the rest of the trip.

Here's Ave and Daddy checking for snakes.  Averie was convinced that there were snakes in the bushes.  We had to keep explaining to her that there were no snakes, and hoping there were no snakes.  It is so funny the things get worked up about.  I mean what made her think that there were snakes in the bushes?

 Here's the fabulous pool I was talking about.  I didn't take my camera so you get to see the limited pictures I took on my phone.  They definitely don't do it justice.

 Averie's ready for some sun!

The first night that we were there we decided to take Averie to Excalibur.  We ended up taking her to the King of Thrones dinner show and she loved it.  She didn't eat a thing while we were there so I was glad that she still fell into the free age.

She thought it was pretty cool to be in a "real" castle.

I have been to Vegas countless times in the past but I have never once been to the Hoover Dam.  It seemed like a family appropriate destination so we were off.  I think we picked the windiest day  ever.  It was so freaky to be up so high with the wind blowing so hard.  You will have to excuse some of the pictures.  My camera was acting up and I didn't have time to mess with the lighting on them at all.  It was super bright that day!

 Poor Averie was just blowing away.  She was totally freaked out.  I wouldn't even go near the hand rail...

 except for this picture.  I didn't even dare look behind me.  It was so scary.

Another good thing about Las Vegas is that there are lots of animal attractions.  We headed over to the Mirage and went to the dolphin/tiger habitat.  I was a little disappointed with the dolphin show, but Averie had a great time.

 We tried to get a picture of Ave next to this grass grown tiger statue and she was not having it.  She was NOT going to stand next to that thing!

 I love this picture of Brian and here.  Desktop Background here we come!

 While Brian was at a Business Dinner I decided to brave the Strip by myself and I took Averie to the Flamingo.  They have a nice little bird refuge there and it is FREE.  My favorite part!  I'll be honest, I felt really horrible going through the casinos with Ave.  It was pretty awkward.  Averie didn't mind though, she just loved the "pink birdies" when we finally got there.

 

 After seeing the flamingos standing on one leg, Averie thought she would try it out.  I must say, her balance is much better than mine!

When it was finally time to go home, Averie and I decided to fly since Brian needed to stay the entire week.  An entire week in Vegas is too much for me.  Averie was so excited to go on the airplane.  She was pretty much throwing a tantrum the entire time until we were on the plane.  I think everyone was surprised how good she was given the screaming for an hour before the flight.  What a silly girl!

Easter

Celebrating Easter just makes me so happy and it really gets me excited for Spring!  Too bad Mother Nature has not been very kind to us so far this Spring, however, Easter was quite nice!

Every year our neighborhood does an Easter Egg Hunt.  It was freezing cold last year so I think everyone was excited to have the sun out.  It is so fun living in a neighborhood where everyone knows each other and we do fun things like this.  I just love our neighbors.

 Here are some of the neighborhood kiddos ready to go.  Averie was being a stink and wouldn't be in the picture.

 Yup.  This was Averie's attitude regarding the endless picture taking.

 Funny story.  So every year they split up the kids so that all the 5 and under kids are together and all the older kids are in another area.  Well this year they decided to hide the eggs for the 5 and under in the rocks!  Let's just say that there were a lot of stumbles and a lot of tears.  I don't think the kids minded though once they found the eggs.

 My friend Jen's little boy, Blane.  He is such a cutie!

 Now she is all smiles, now  that she has the goods!

 Jen's kids are so photogenic.  Must be nice having children that will allow you to take their picture.  Averie is getting better now though.  She will actually "cheese" for the camera.  After the egg hunt we decided to color the eggs that we had at home.  Averie loves this tradition.  She had a blast!

 It wouldn't be Easter without a new Easter Dress!  Averie looked adorable in her 5T size dress.  Can you believe she can fit in a 5T?  It was huge in the arm holes, but she is so tall it was the only one that was long enough.

After church we had my parents, my brothers and my brother's wife, Holly, over for dinner.  I should have taken pictures of the Easter Ham.  Ha ha.  You would have died.  I WAY over cooked it.  I followed the instructions exactly, but it apparently cooked a little faster than it was supposed to.  At least it was still edible.

After dinner Averie and Easton had a blast in the sandbox.  Seriously it is the best babysitter you could ask for.  We didn't hear a peep out of them for an hour.  It is so fun to see these cousins grow up and play together.