I wrote this post a long time ago and as I was getting ready to publish it, something weird happened and I lost most of what I wrote and some of the pictures, so I got frustrated and haven't felt like doing it all over again. But I have felt guilty for not posting anything in so long so here goes. This trip takes place the end of February beginning of March.
It all started with Evan purchasing a Photobooth as an addition to our business. He was in Las Vegas at a photography convention. So the decision was made to leave the booth in Vegas and drive down as a family to pick it up. We thought it would be fun to have a little family vacation. We started the trip by driving to Hawthorne and staying the night at my Aunt Toni's. Then on to Las Vegas. We stayed with good friends Danny and Lauren. They did a little babysitting for us so that Evan could take me to see "The Lion King" at the theater at Mandalay Bay. It was amazing! The costumes were incredible! I loved every second of it. Even though he dozed off a couple times, Evan said he enjoyed it too. I am sooo glad we did that! I wish Reno had awesome shows like that.
We also went to one of the casinos to eat at the buffet and they had a huge fish tank full of sharks and rays and other cool fish. The kids could have sat there and watched them all day. They even got to watch the divers go in and feed the sharks.
So from Las Vegas we drove to Williams, AZ. The next day we took the Grand Canyon Railway into the Grand Canyon National Park. If you ever go to the Grand Canyon, I recommend taking the train. It was so much fun and the kids loved it. There was a western shoot-out show before boarding the train in the morning and then on the way back the bandits from the show held up the train. Fun stuff. It was the first time the kids and I had ever rode on a train. We all enjoyed it.
There really are no words to describe the grandeur of the Grand Canyon. Pictures don't do it justice. It is breathtaking and completely awe-inspiring. I am so glad we went. I think we will go again when the kids are older and can remember it a little better. Iris was actually a little afraid to stand too close to the wall. I don't blame her. That's a very big drop.
It was windy and cold but the kids were troopers and let us drag them around looking at the canyon and going into the shops and museums. They are pretty good at entertaining themselves. Here they are tackling each other in front of one of the shops.
On the train ride back the kids slept almost the whole way so that was nice. Donevan only woke up when they stopped the train for the "hold-up".
The hotel we stayed at in Williams was nice and had an indoor pool so we took advantage and swam with the kids. Clara's first time swimming.
From Williams we drove to Phoenix. We drove around most of the first night looking for a place to stay since the place we booked online looked nothing like the pictures and was pretty scary. We did eventually find this place and loved it. It was more of a resort with lake that you can paddleboat on and all kinds of other activities and stuff. The kids really liked the paddleboat and throwing rocks in the lake.
While in Phoenix Evan took Iris to a spring training game. Of course the Giants. She loves baseball and was pretty excited about her new Panda hat.
From Phoenix we drove to Lake Havasu City to visit Evan's grandpa and his wife Jessie. It's always nice visiting them and spending time with family.
So from Havasu we drove back up to Vegas and spent one more night there. Then we loaded up the photo booth and headed for Reno. It was a long trip but so much fun. The kids did great and we didn't have too many meltdowns. I am so thankful that we are blessed enough to own our own business which allows us to take time to go on little vacations together as a family. I know the kids might still be a little young to remember a lot of this but I know they will remember that we loved spending time together, and that makes me happy.
