Shark Reef

We celebrated Shark Reef's 10th anniversary by going for 1/2 price. We also got free cookies and a visit by "Sharky." Nice.

 Did I mention party hats?

 Shark Reef is not limited to Sharks. There are stingrays

 and jelly fish

 and whatever this is.

 At the end is a ship wreck with a cool tunnel which gives awesome fish viewing. 

Sea creatures are funky but fun.

Saturday Mornings

One way we like to torture our kids is to wake them up early (8:00) on a Saturday morning and make them hike. Oh how they complain! The car ride is generally a nightmare filled with whining and fighting but fortunately it's short. I love that we live so close to Red Rock Canyon. It's a great place.

See the profile in the rocks?

Zack and I took it slow on the downhill. He thought this hike was incorrectly ranked as easy.

Hikes with cousins don't register as many complains. This was called the Children's Discovery hike.

Once they get over the initial injustice of it all, the boys actually enjoy themselves. And that is why Matt & I torture ourselves by getting them up early on Saturday mornings. 

Keeping Cool

I am so far behind it's making me anxious, so I am going to be quick. Vegas is hot in the summer. That's a fact. Lucky for us, we found some good ways to cool down. How about a rooftop pool?  I don't know if you can see it, but we are near Gold and Silver Pawn (aka Pawn Stars!!).  Noah is obsessed with the show--it is over taking our DVR. But don't try to go check it out on a Saturday, the lines are huge.

The "splishy splashy water park" is just a short walk up the hill from our house. But to avoid heat stroke, we drive. 

This is a total boy thing to do.

But our favorite way to beat the heat is to hit the pool with the cousins. Being close to our family is definitely the best thing about being in Vegas.

118 degrees

is Matt's favorite detail about unloading the truck at our house in Vegas. I wasn't present for the unloading (thus no photos featuring a lot of sweat) but I think it was still over 100 degrees when I arrived after 10 pm. Welcome to Vegas in July!

The week of the move was crazy fast and busy so we took it easy with the unpacking. Making sure Logan saw some of the sights before going back to Idaho was a big priority, so we took him to the strip. Our intention wasn't to make it so he never comes back, but it was so blasted hot that I know he'll never visit in July.

All our Percy Jackson reading made the Forum an especially fun place to visit.

This is a new favorite spot for Zack.

Maybe the view wasn't the greatest of the fountains, but the a/c felt sooo good.

We are big fans of the Coke tour of the world. Foreign countries have interesting drink options. Turns out, Ben really likes fruit (watermelon especially) if it is super sweet, carbonated and barely resembles the natural flavor.

Don't let the sour look fool you, Zack liked this place.

Doesn't Ben look older? By the way, he nearly ate the entire foot long.

Even in the sweltering heat, tired and thirsty, our flip flops nearly melting into the pavement,we had good time.

 

We love hanging out with Logan and having him with us on this move was a huge help. It was sad to see him go, not only because we would miss him, but also because we didn't have any more reasons not to unpack.

One Week in July

I have more tears than words regarding this week. I think the pictures say enough. (Thanks Emily & Kelley for sharing your photos.)  It was a week filled with sadness and love. Lots and lots of love. 

This is one of my favorite pictures of Ben and Max and a few from some of the times we will always remember. 

A few things have happened....

It has been awhile. I could use the excuse that I've been really busy and it would be partially true. But the fact is, I just haven't been able to do this. I've tried lots of times. This has been the craziest summer--so much change and sadness, but also new opportunities and good times.  Where to begin?

We moved.

 

We spent the last night at our house almost like we spent our first night:

 (2005)

(2010) 

The morning we left. (A word about the Edward shirt. Matt got it for $2 and I wear it when I am painting or moving, not for movie premieres. Not that there is anything wrong with wearing an Edward shirt to a movie premiere. I just don't).

Matt & the boys heading to our new home in Las Vegas.