Sunday, February 28, 2010

THE Vacation Part 1: A 5 Day Fun Packed Stint At the Norris Household

On Thursday the 18th I got Mally off the bus and loaded her in an already packed vehicle. We picked up Jake at school and a couple of tubs of Despo's salsa and Caramel Apples for Jeni & Carrie. Just to send a little love from Sun Valley their way.

The kids and I stopped by Jeni's for just a few minutes then headed on to our first short pitstop at Nana & Papa's house. Next morning we were packed up and ready to go again.

After a pitstop in St. George for a well diserved Cold Stone Ice Cream for my two good little travelers, and then we were onto our home for the next 5 days in Henderson, NV (a great little place on the outskirts of Vegas).

We were so excited to see the Norris family. We love them so darn much! All of the kids got a long so well and had the time of their lives. Even Mal fit in easily with all the fun! Carrie and I stayed up a bit late a couple of nights just laughin and remembering how darn much fun we have together!

The vacation was off to a great start! Loads of fun!
From the playground to Chucky Cheese back to the playground again only to end the day with the funnest indoor playground McDonalds has to offer! The kids were totally pooped! They crashed as soon as we got home! So did I! Dan & Carrie were being tortured...well, in my opinion - not theirs, at the Brad Paisley concert.

Next day was Sunday. We went to church, made our fabulous, previously posted about dinner, and relaxed at home.

On Monday we packed the day with adventure!

First stop....Lake Mead! Carrie heard rumors of a bunch of fish you can feed in the lake with pieces of bread. She bought each of the kids a loaf and we made our way to the Lake.

You may be thinking, "What's with the bundled up kids?! Isn't this Vegas?!" Well, yes. Most of the time the weather cooperated leaving me at a comfy temp and dreading the snow awaiting us when this whole thing is over. However, not on Monday. Although it was in the low 60s the wind was blowing like nobody's business. That made it feel quite a bit more chilly!

While driving down to the lake Carrie, wondering where we should park and search for these bread eating fish, said, "I wonder where the fish are". To which Mallory replied, "The fish are in the water". Well, thanks for clearing that one up little sister!

So, the water became our starting point!

After no luck at the Marina we were directed to the harbor. However, we were interupted.

Ok, maybe swarmed was the right word.

Some moments were even to overwhelming for the bravest of our numbers.

Have you seen the movie Birds? I have only seen clips. That was all I needed. That birds beady little orange eye was checkin me out. I was totally freaked out!

I was watching the kids and I would suddenly look up and BAM! There they were. Less than a full arms length away. YIKES! Carrie and I were laughing pretty hard. Although not quite as hard as when the wind let up and one of the birds, in a full attempt to get me I am sure, was givin the leeway needed to get right at my face. It made a dive for my face (luckily my camera was up, which may or may not have magnified the wing, making me believe it was closer than it actually was), I screamed and Carrie...well, Carrie recorded it all laughing all the while! Silly Carrie!

Oh she will get hers! They are coming to get you Carrie! Coming I say!

After the birds we set out on the grand adventure of a trip over Hoover Dam, which was only a few minutes from the lake. As luck would have it, the place was packed and we were running short on time! The kids had a party night planned...AKA, babysitter so we could go out, and with the wind, no one was all that excited about the prospect of being blown off the bridge.

So here is Jake. In the car. Somewhere halfway between Nevada and Arizona. Maybe stuck in the middle. In two different time zones. That is the best explanation I can come up with for the look on his face!

And for this one....
There is no explanation. Just Kallie. Silly silly Kallie!

I did manage to snap one or two pics of the suspension bridge they are building over the dam. Totally freaky, if you ask me. Carrie explained it as very "Star Wars" she was right! The whole thing is pretty intense. Not to mention the stretcher/coffin on the side of the road. Who signs up to build these things?!

After a quick stop at Blockbuster for the rental of a couple of fun Wii games and a swing by to pick up Madi, the babysitter, Carrie and I evacuated the premises so that the kid party could get underway. We were left to ourselves to come up with entertainment. As it were, we already had plans for the evening. We headed out the the "M" casino/hotel for a DELISH dinner with Dan, Dan's brother and his wife and her parents. SO FUN! So Yummy!

Carrie and I mastered the art of pacing ourselves, which isn't easy to do when you are presented with a Buffet of gourmet type food. I tried Sushi. Didn't love it. Didn't hate it. In fact, would have liked it more if it wasn't for that darn seaweed. BLECK! Don't care for that too much. I almost attempted one rolled in some sort of orangy stuff. Until someone said "Fish eggs" and upon closer examination, that was EXACTLY what it was. The coaxing that included, "oh, but the texture. I love the way it 'pops' when you bite them." Nope. That pretty much sealed the deal for me. No worries though, we enjoyed plenty of creme brulee, prime rib, ribs, orange chicken, etc. So yummy!

Alright, on to our last day with our dear Carrie.
On Tuesday we picked up Carrie at the office at about 11:30 and swung by the airport to pick up Ryan. We made our venture into Vegas....uh hem, my boy got a good lesson on the evils this world has to offer, I was a little stunned by how much bigger it all is. Who knew a place could get that big in just like 15 years since the last time I was there. Go figure.

We dropped Ryan off at the Venetian. He was checking in and heading to his work meeting. We decided to take advantage of where we were and take the kids to the Bellagio to see the amazing lobby and hopefully the fountains.

The lobby is re-done monthly, I believe. Always with a new theme. It was beautiful! The flowers and everything was amazing!

{Syd on Kallie's back, Mallory, Jake & Carrie}

As luck would have it the fountains still had an hour before they would start. We decided to hit the road. Get lunch then find a fun park.

The kids played for a bit....

and had a lot of fun. Then it was time to say goodbye to the our sweet friends. Their next guests were arriving and it was time for us to get on with next part of our vacation.

5 comments:

Tana said...

So Fun! Love all your pics and the scene straight out of Hitchcock's "Birds" (Be glad you didn't see it, you would be triple freaked out!) Miss you, glad you're having so much fun! T

Kara said...

Looks like you are having a ton of fun. But those pictures sure make me miss carrie. Have fun on the rest of your vacation=)

Kristin and Jay said...

Oh my gosh! I seriously cannot believe nobody got pooped on! haha! Looks like fun! And how great would it be to actually go to a playground.....ahhhhhhh....I will just live vicariously through you =)

Just Us said...

Those birds!!! I would of died. I have a fear of birds. They freak me out. Other than that, I wish I was there with you. I would of made you eat the sushi with fish eggs. Seriously the "pop" is the best. One of those foods that sometimes hide in the cracks of your teeth and later in the day you get a pleasant surprise. Just kidding! But they really are so good. Now you need to go to Zoe's. The best sushi ever!

Norris Fam said...

Just to clarify...I had my hood on just in case one of them attempted to poo poo on my head!

Thanks for the great re-cap Amy! We LOVED having you guys here (and hopefully we'll see you again in a few days). How is it that you can get this all posted while on vacation and I haven't even gotten Valentine's day on my blog. Go figure...

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