Vegas, Baby!

Time has FLOWN! Where did summer go?? August was a crazy month for us. I started my PhD program, so the entire family went to Las Vegas for orientation week. We rented a house with a pool, played, LOVED having two of our favorite babysitters visit us (thanks, Paige and Rachel!), and ate GREAT food.

We were lucky enough to visit Hoover Dam early one morning before the crowds. It was amazing. Driving into the Dam site.

Our kiddos being silly.
One of the monuments at Hoover Dam. The kids had pretty much had it by this point. It was getting HOT.

One more photo shoot.

Playing in the pool. It was DEEP. Brent couldn't touch in spots. At first, we were VERY overprotective, but we ended up getting the kids some floaties, and that really helped them feel more confident in the water. Jackson LOVED jumping in and making big splashes.

Like I said....

Ashton's turn....

This is the life.

I took the kids to Mandalay Bay's Shark Reef Aquarium. They had a blast. We saw alligators, iguanas, stingrays, jellyfish, sharks, and LOTS of fish. Then we went for ice cream-YUM!

The stingrays were amazing as always. There was an open area with shallow water. You could touch the stingrays. Jackson and Rachel didn't want to (party poopers) but Ashton and I touched them. It was very cool.

The shark viewing areas were pretty incredible.

We also took the kids to Ceasar's Palace. They loved watching the fish there and throwing pennies into the fountains.

One of the highlights was catching up with some old friends from law school. Anna and Jackson are the same age...and were infants when Brent and Scott graduated. Look at them now!!!

We had a great time. The drive was long (people had warned us) and after a week of commuting we were ready to get home. I have to say, we do like Las Vegas!