Vegas Baby! and other various stops along the way.

So we decided a couple of things needed to happen on this summer vacation - if we already have to drive all the way up to Utah, we might as well come home the fun way through Vegas.  I have never seen where my sister lives and it was time.  We also figured that while we were at it, we would just swing by exciting stuff along the way, like Hoover Dam, the Grand Canyon and friends in Arizona.  These were all good choices.
First item of business when we arrived in Vegas, Stella simply had to deliver Hazel's babies.  She had like four.  I stopped being shocked at this game a couple of daughters ago.

I love these two kiddos.  They were born exactly one month apart in Houston.  One month old Caleb was actually at Mia's birth.  Mia was at his too, but more in spirit than actual person (ie in my belly.)

 We came.  We saw.  We explored.

We met up with my twin cousin and walked the Bellagio.  It was beautiful and impressive.

 Vegas is a hot all it's own. 

It's why we made sure to stop and cool off on our little romp around the strip.

Pregnant women spill things on their bellies.  But it was a frozen hot chocolate from Serendipity so, totally worth it.  This was just moments after I caught Jonah licking a handrail.  Those were both wrong choices.

 See? Twin cousin and my might-as-well-be-a-twin-sister, so non triplets?

 And lots of kids in a casino. 

Little cousins that tragically live far apart.  They were two peas in a pod.  They played and played and cried when we drove away.  It's a little freaky when you see how much it looks like my sister and I when we were little - but we fought more, so not.

We took advantage of the older kid thing one evening and went to dinner and a movie.  My architect brother in law James showed us around some of his very own creations and I took the chance to sit a spell.  He is one talented fella.

That brings us to the end of Vegas.  The visit was too short.  Yet another sister that lives too far away.

At this stage in our little family's life family vacations are supposed to be long car rides, squished together and stopping all along the way.  So that was the plan - granted, we were closing in on three weeks plus of being away from home and I was tired so we did limit it just a little.  And by the last two days through west Texas I'm pretty sure I said five words...my body may have been in the car but my mind was stretched out, napping in my comfy bed at home.

Hoover Dam was pretty spectacular, albeit crowded and really, really hot.  We came, we parked, we walked, we saw, we took selfies and got back in the car.

On occasion, one must stop and take in the vista.  We haven't ever driven through this part of the country and it was amazingly beautiful and much more lush in places than we were expecting.

 Clark found a random recorder in his door of the car so naturally, he played a few tunes for us.

We also had to stop and take a picture of my family in the desert.  That was hot too.  I pretty much expected to see scorpions and rattlesnakes everywhere but we only saw broken beer bottles.
Allow me a moment to quote one of the kids' favorite songs from the summer. 
Dinos are dead, bleh.
Mummies are dead, ehhh.
Zombies are dead, sort of!
But deserts arennnnnn't, no they're not deeeaaaaaddddd!
This educational moment brought to you by Plum Landing.  Youtube it.  It's clever.

Pregnant in a Houston summer, at my age, has produced a lot of swollen ankles and pudgy feet so my doctor made me promise to wear my compression socks every moment of the car ride.  It was necessary.  But they are so hard to get on and off that I sometimes had to just suck up my pride and wear them into a rest stop.  I was surprised to be stared at so intently in this tiny little middle of nowhere Arizona town.  It warranted a picture.

Biggest regret of the trip: not leaving enough time for the Grand Canyon.  I would have liked to have seen many things here but we literally were just passing through.  We barely arrived right at sunset.  I was sad to have not had the chance to explore more of it but glad that we made it in time to at least catch a glimpse.

Next stop was Rock Slide in Sedona, Arizona.  This was the best suggestion! (Thanks Mandee!) It was a blast.  The kids absolutely loved it.  The water was a little too frigid for my fetus so I was satisfied with cooling off my feet and being the photographer (and making sure the little kids didn't drown.)

I want you to appreciate the look of sheer terror and excitement on Hazel's face.  She laugh/cried the whole time and then asked to go down repeatedly.
We then popped into the town of Sedona for a yummy lunch and breathtaking views.  Absolutely worth the stop!

I was so glad that this little detour home took us through to see our awesome friends, the Lotts.  We first met Dallan and Mandee when we were newlyweds living on the base in Charleston, South Carolina.  They lived across the street from us.  We got together multiple times a week for dinner and never missed a Chinese #1 kitchen and A&W Thursday night of Survivor.  They are good people and it was just as if it hadn't really been ten years since we saw them last.

They have a brand new baby that is delicious! And was a perfect teaser to make sure my kids are really going to like having a baby around again.  Especially Jonah, who spent the first three months of this pregnancy yelling at us to "stop talking!" every time we brought up baby.
I think it's safe to say, he was smitten.

Notable events of the trip was Clark teaching the kids to identify a Ponderosa Pine which subsequently, smells like cupcakes.

And siblings cuddling the night away.  Oh, my mother heart.

Last and final stop was a natural spring in West Texas called Balmorhea.  It gets pretty deep in the middle and is full of fish and rocks.  I also refrained from getting in, not only because I don't care swimming with fish, but I was so exhausted by this point in the trip that I thought I might just not be capable of keeping myself afloat.

Even though it is totally fed by a natural spring, it's huge! and they have surrounded parts of it with concrete and added diving boards.  The fam had fun.

And even though it took five years to drive from one side of Texas to the other, getting hotter and more humid all the while, it was bliss to pull back into our driveway.  We had been taken care of while we were gone - not only was our lawn mowed but friends had power washed the driveway and a friend and sister in law had grocery shopped so we had food to eat.

God bless Texas.
Yeehaw.
The End.

More Cowbell, or family vacation, as it were.

It's been lots and lots of years since we have had a family reunion of my parents and siblings.  It was well overdue! I have never been to Bear Lake - the whole family gasped as we came around the bend to see the turquoise water of this huge lake in the mountains.  It is gorgeous and we knew it would be a good time.  Especially when we walked in and I saw my Dad's first sign.  We had family signs on our doors, a designated place for shoes and cups - I am my father's daughter for sure.

One evening we had a family talent show - well thought out and organized by a sister, there were no spontaneous numbers, meaning it was a reasonable and enjoyable amount of time :)
I especially liked the part where Hazel and Stella were supposed to sing their duet, a song that Hazel had been practicing non-stop all week.  Then she buried her head in my shoulder and cried in terrified silence as Stella and I sang together.  Stella sounded adorable.  I sounded like I didn't know the song, which I didn't.

Haley and Abby sang a duet that was adorable though my family could work on their stage presence a little.  They are total hams at home but get all stiff and shy in front of a group.  They sang a song called Mind Your Own Biscuits that was cute and lovely.

Mo came prepared for the week with a myriad of craft projects.  Everyday there was something else going on at the kitchen table.  One night it was just the adult women cutting and gluing and chatting.  I loved it.  I am also my mother's daughter.  Imagine that.

We explored and played and romped.  The weather got really chilly for one day but it was so gorgeous and not Houston summer that we thoroughly enjoyed it.

I opted out of a nature hike one afternoon but sent Hazel with my camera - she came home with a lot of pictures taken at knee level but all in all I was impressed with her photography skills.

 and even enjoyed her selfies...

I was the resident braider/hair doer for beach day.  I like doing hair.  Not my own so much.  But I like doing hair.

We spent a full day down at the beach, taking turns on the tube, boat and canoe.  It was perfectly wonderful.

We found ourselves spontaneously making requests for things we knew may or may not work out.  For instance, upon finishing the final clean up and walking out the door, someone yelled "all the grandkids on the stairs!" I don't understand why its so hard for 27 kids ranging in age from 1 to 16 to sit still and look happy for two seconds.  It's a mystery.
Little brother also took on the task of getting family pictures and one huge group shot.  Considering the fact that the only time this was possible was at the end of our long day on the beach, I think he did a pretty darn good job.
I love this beautiful family of mine.