Las Vegas Trip part ONE

Things have calmed down in the Harmon Household so I will tell the story about our Family Vacation to Las Vegas. We went with another family - the Hurleys (Jeremiah, Dawn and their daughter Reagan, who is 15 months). Also, Julie, (shes 16) Dawn's sister flew in from NJ to stay with us and baby sit while all the adults went out. Dawn's parents were nice enough to let use one of their time shares. So we were able to stay in the Marriott. It was a 2 bedroom suite combined with a common area and full kitchen. Our room was great - it had a King Bed with a Queen bed pull out sofa. Also had a small fridge, microwave, sink and a big bathroom. Great for 2 families. Enough of space to have our alone time and then plenty of room for all the kids to play.

Our vacation started off very rocky. We were supposed to catch the famous 1 am flight out of Fairbanks. However due to some a volcano erupting in the Aleutian Islands and caused all flights to be canceled in and out of the state of AK. I found this out at 7pm. So rather than waiting 50 min on the phone I went down to the airport to fix the mess. Well they had us all re booked on a flights which was nice of them - the only problem was we were all on different flights. Blake and I, then Ian and Jeff. It was a big deal to try to get us all on the same flight due to all the canceled flights. Long story short we got re booked and it took about 13 hours to get to Las Vegas. The boys did ok on the flights. Nothing to terribly horrible. It was good that Jeff was there to help!

We fly in at night and you think that Ian had never seen lights before. Jeff told him we were flying into the city and he was glued to the airplane window saying "wow the city". It was so very cute. Also, he was glued to the cab window with eyes as big as silver dollars loving all the lights. Blake was passed out and couldn't enjoy all the excitement of the lights of the Strip. After getting all settled in I think we all passed out shortly after midnight.

Monday: The husbands went to the grocery store to get supplies for breakfast and dinner while the ladies got the kids together. That day we just explored the strip. Walking around was hot. It was about 110 out and thank god that they had misters with cool air to cool off us and the kids. We just checked out the casinos. We kept it simple that day to adjust to everything.

Jeff cooling the boys off

Tuesday: We went into NY NY and ate an Irish pub that was taken from Ireland.

Eating Lunch. Blake is sleeping

Ian and Jeff doing the "Daddy Face"
I had some Apple Cider which was to die for. Ian and Blake enjoyed Coney Island which was on the third floor of that hotel. The hotel was set up like downtown NY with bakeries and pizza places. Very disappointed though at every bakery I looked for a Black and White cookie and found none. Anyways.Ian loved playing whack a mole and he even won a prize. (only him and me played) the lady was nice enough to give us two prizes - one for each of the boys. Ian would have loved to stay there and play tons more games if he were given the chance.

Playing Whack A Mole

That night we went and saw the Cirque de Sole - KA. It was fantastic. You weren't allowed to take pictures during the show. But there was tons of acrobatics and people flying through the air and this vertical wall that they would climb and free fall from. A very amazing show.

Us going to see KA



Wednesday: Ian's birthday! My baby turned three! We went all the way down to Circus Circus. This was at the older part of the strip. The original part of the strip. You could tell that the casino was older. It just wasn't as nice as the other ones that we walked through. The whole reason we went there was for Ians birthday and we could go to the circus under the big top. The boys loved it. There were tons of kids running around making it hard to maneuver thru the crowds with a double side by side stroller, but we managed. Ian, Blake and I rode the Merry Go Round which everyone loved.Merry Go Round Time

Then Ian rode his first roller coaster. All by himself. I explained to him that he would have to go on by himself b/c mommy was to big and couldn't' go with him. He couldn't get rid of me faster. He said "Ok mommy I can do it, bye!". I was so nervous. I asked the lady if he started crying could she stop the ride and she reassure me that she would. Well we didn't have to stop the ride, I had to practically peal Ian from the ride. He had so much fun. I am glad he did. I was a wreck. Number one a three year old riding a pretty fast ride barely buckled in and two - this was the first big boy thing he did and it made me feel that he didn't need mommy anymore. Jeff was super proud of him while a tear came to my eye to watch my little baby growing up! This was enough excitement for the day! Naptime and Pool time came later. Then it was girls night out and guys nights out. Dawn and I along with Jeremiahs Sisters who came in from St Louis to visit met us at a Male Review "Thunder from Down Under" while the guys went to their own show. The girls and I had such a great time! :)
Girls Night Out
Thursday: This was a fun day. However, we thought we lost the camera on. Long story short - our double stroller has a secret pocket somewhere that likes to hide cameras until you take out the stroller after the cab ride to the airport and put your kids back in that you find it. So the rest of the trip we didn't have our camera. I had brought the good one - but still learning how to use it and really didn't take too many pictures with it. We went to the Wax Museum and The Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. The boys slept through almost all of the wax museum which was good for us b/c Jeff and I really wanted to check it out. Then we got lunch and walked over the the Shark Reef. The boys absolutely loved that. They enjoyed the sharks and fish and the huge glass so much. There was one time that Blake was standing in front of the of the glass and a shark came right up on him and he was amazed. His eyes were huge, and Im pretty sure he said OH. It was so very cute. :) Thursday night we saw Wayne Brady. He was just freakin' hilarious. He was at the Venetian Hotel. Which just fabulous too!

VEGAS PART TWO COMING IN A FEW DAYS

Quick Hello

Sorry for not updating sooner. A lot has happened in the last 2 weeks. We were in Las Vegas for our family vacation for a week! And then came back, relaxed - got a visiting from Grandma and Grandpa. Then had surgery yesterday. Had my adenoids and tubes put in my ears yesterday. So later on this week - when I'm not all drugged up I'll post some pictures and tell you about our wonderful 2 weeks.

Been a while...

Ian and had a date last week. ( Blake went to play with his friends at school.) We had the special pleasure of Elmo coming to Fairbanks. Here is Ian and I before the show started. Then here is Ian during the opening number. I had so much fun watching him get so excited and just sit and watch. He was glued to the stage! We had great seats. We were right in front of the stage (third row back) right on the end of the row. The good thing was that since we were right on the end the characters came off the stage and Ian was able to high five them. He thought that was the coolest thing EVER! We had such a great time. I think from now on I think I'm going to do a special date with each boy every month or every other month!!

Blake likes to hide out in the cubbards or under neath the sink. I guess I had forgotten to close the pantry and he climbed right on in. And NO he is NOT eating the dog bones - he is eating a cracker. I doubled checked before I took the picture! :)

Playing with Daddy's Boots!

Since Blake was playing with them - Ian had to put them on as well. We were missing Daddy since he was at NTC.

Bloggy Giveaways!

Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Carnival is July 28-August 1! I visit Bloggy Giveaways every day in hopes to win something free and saw that they are having this Carnival and thought it would be fun to participate. This is my first one! So here it goes.

One entry per person please. To enter all you have to do is tell me something about Alaska - the state in which I live (thanks to the Army!). And there you have it! Oh - you need to know what you are going to win right?! I have three prizes, so three lucky people will win! The number will be drawn by the random number generator at random.org (as soon as I figure out how to use it!) :) You can tell me which one you would like and I will try to accommodate each winner! This will close Midnight Alaska time Aug 1st. Please leave me a way to contact you - either Blog or email. Good Luck! You will be notified on Tuesday Aug 2nd.

Prize one: Brand New Mary Kay Travel Roll-Up Bag - A stylish convenient way to organize and carry all your skin care and makeup essentials. Four separate zip-up compartments wrapped up in sleek black vinyl and lined with pink satin. Includes a metal hanger inside to hang on door for easy access. Velcro closures keep everything wrapped up tight. This is one of the most popular Mary Kay accessories. A must have for travel and everyday use!9 1/4" x 32"

Prize two: Winter weather tends to dry out our skin, especially our feet! So, keep your tootsies soft and Rosemary Minty-fresh with Mary Kay's PRIVATE SPA COLLECTION ROSEMARY MINT PEDICURE SET. Includes: 3 oz. Rosemary Mint Soothing Foot Balm; 3 oz. Rosemary Mint Energizing Foot Mask; 10 Pink Rosemary Mint Foot Fizzies; Foot file / brush and a pair of cozy pedicure footies; Tucked inside a cute polka-dot carry bag w/instructions.

Prize three: Envia Nature Salon Finishing Spray 10 oz, Envia Nature's Salon Hydrating Conditioner 12 oz, Envia Nature's Salon Hydrating Conditioner 12 oz. These are made by the company Melaleuca which has been committed to Enviormental wellness for over twenty years. Envia combines the power of natural oils, plant extracts, and botanicals with modern science to transform the hair you were born with into the hair you always wanted - all without the gossip, appointment, or price tag associated with a trip to the salon.

This is why I had kids.

So while Ian was in his almost naptime state I put him on the couch and put in one of his favorite movies on - Little Einsteins. With the dogs in their crates and Blake sleeping as well I thought I would mop the floor. I did and it dried. Success! Being a stupid mother I left the mop full of dirty water with the mop in it unattended while I used the bathroom and came back to this. Ian had let the dogs outside "beacuse Trooper had to pee pee". So the dogs were tracing in dirt from outside and Ian was cleaning the floor for me!

I think now I will make Ian mop the floors from now on. He did a decent job. But now I have to re-mop. Have to love your children!

Blake Walking!

So they are telling me at Daycare that Blake takes a few steps, but I have yet to see him to do it. I was very heartbroken not to see his first steps. Something I knew one day would happen. Things like this wish I wasn't working. Well I hit publish post for the previous post and see him walking in the kitchen! So I run to get my camera that takes video and luckily he walked again and I cought it on camera!! GO BLAKE. Please excuse me talking in a high pitch voice - I was very excited!! :) He was trying to get some markers that I had in my hand!!

Card Making Fun

So I have found something totally relaxing and fun to do. And I can try to be creative at the same time! :) I made cards today. Homemade cards from card card stock, used ribbon and stamps -- even water color. I went to a workshop which one of my friends hosted. She is a Close to My Heart Representative. I enjoyed this class along with lunch with one of my friends from work. It was a Kristin Day!! Most of all I was kid free -- stress free -- for four hours! I plan to join the scrap booking club as well. I think I will enjoy this time during the deployment. Time for me to spend some time with some 'grown ups' and do something that really doesn't require me to do much thinking! Enjoy the cards, who knows you might get one in the mail! Be on the look out!!

So you have to click on the picture to see it close up!
The hippo one says: "Your Hip" on the inside
And the bird one says: "Just because"

Check out the cards, aren't they cute?!

The Hello Hello was all my idea - she had the squares cut out, but the rest -ME.
The Hello Hello one also has a stamp of the alligator in it - just because I thought he was cute!