Wednesday in Vegas

No run today. Still burning plenty of calories by rubbing Dave's nose in my swimming victory. Hit the Hash House A Go-Go for breakfast this morning. My Dad saw it on Man vs. Food, and wanted to try it. We had to pass plenty of "Twins" to find it in the casino, but it was worth it and I think the Boyz will rememeber the pancakes, more than the fish nets. The plates were huge and filled with way more food than any one human other than my baby brother could possibly stomach. It was awesome.

Today was supposed to be the hottest day down here, and I believe it was, but the wind was blowing rediculously hard, so we stayed on the strip and took in the sights.

This really isn't fair to Dyl, who has 2 1/2 years on Emma, but she's got him by 5 pounds. Still she was the one whining the loudest, and we forgot the stroller.

Later after a much needed nap, The Daybell/Broadbent Circus invaded a local Glow-In-The-Dark Mini Golf establishment. You gotta love anounamous mini-golf. There is something just a little thrilling about swinging your club as hard as you can, at a little orb of neon orange, in the dark. On the 18th hole, I won a free round which I graciously donated to Jeff and Mall, since they live in the area. It was supposed to be a hole-in-one deal, but I hit the ball 15 times and still made the light go off when it went in the hole, so lucky me.

Privacy on a family vacation is hard to come by. We recommend golfing in the dark.

Pho Ya!

This morning was crazy windy, so we decided to take our hearty, corn-fed, Hoodlums out to fly kites. Dawson and Emma had a great time, but Sticks curled up in a ball on the astro turf to protect his fat-less organs from the bitter chill.
After our trip through Little Asia on Sunday, we all got a hankering for some Vietnamese food, specifically Pho, our favorite. It is a noodle soup dish with bean sprouts, lime, mint, jalapenos, and rare beef, and is actually pronounced like, 'fuh'. Imagine our surprise and delight, to find this little gem in the desert. I thought it was a theme'd out place, just for Vegas, but they only had delicious pho. No t-shirts, and nobody snickering inside. Hmm.
Later, we killed some time around the pool area. We didn't even notice the No Climbing sign until we were looking at the pictures later. We are very attentive parents.

With the Hoodlums properly fed and exercised, we had a few hours before our movie started so we hit the aquarium, once again, smack dab in the middle of a casino. The Hoodlums thought the fish were pretty cool, but the "Skoover Diber" was the main attraction. We watched her scrub crap off the reef with a tooth brush for quite a while. Then hit the 3D showing of How To Train Your Dragon.
Emma likes a movie as long as we have popcorn to put in her mouth, otherwise she is singing or talking. We went through a jumbo and a refill. The movie was pretty cute.

Day Three: A Day of Victory

This morning I felt a little sludgy from all the delicious foods consumed over the weekend, so I nudged Daveskins out of bed, roused Will, and we headed out for a jog. I endured plenty of ribbing about my sweet time machine/calculator/GPS/running watch as I secured it to my wrist on the way down the elevator. But ignored the jests, and deflected with profanity, and Your Mama jokes, in an attempt to hurt them as deeply.

It was, oh so warm, and still brings a smile to my face, as I sit here with the glare of the bright white snow trying desperately to pierce my nostalgia. We started running, and within several feet I realized that even with all my intense training, (twice in the last 6 weeks) the Boys were having a far easier jaunt than I. I told Dave to be my pacer and struggled to stay at least within 5 feet of their dust. I just kept my eyes to the ground and probably for the first time, actually ran.

It was miserable. Each time I glanced up to see how far we had gone, I got so irritated that Dave was running so effortlessly, like a damn gazelle. I would have tripped him, had I been within reach at all. When we had to stop at the light, I glanced down, excited to see how far we had run, and discovered that the Mother Bleeping, Bleepity, Bleeperton, watch had not been tracking the distance. I almost laid down in the middle of the road, hoping for a diesel, or tank, or something heavy to put me out of my misery. Then the light changed and off we went.

At one point during our trek home, we were running in front of the casino, when Dave thought it would be hilarious to run ahead and hide behind a column and jump out at me, ala our own little Hare and Tortoise. I saw the blur of movement though, and warned him as I approached, to try and imagine the rest of his life, celibate. He skittered right back out to the lead, although I don't think it was the threat of celibacy, but more just my general state of mind. It didn't help when we walked back into the hotel room and my parents greeted the guys with, "I thought you were going to go for a run?" and then when I walked in behind them, they just shrank back and said, "Ew."

We decided to spend the rest of the day just chillin' poolside. We walked over to a different pool in our hotel community, and had the whole thing to ourselves for the rest of the day. It was lovely. After licking my wounds in the hot tub, I came over to the pool, and Dave challenged me to a race. Finally redemption. He will probably always be able to out run me. But that competitive sucker will never out swim me. You may not know it to look at me, but I glide through water, like butter down my throat. (Good and fast.)

I accepted the challenge, the rules were set, and my Dad took his position in the middle of the lanes to oversee the contest. The kids were gathered to witness their Mother kick ass, and bets were placed. The cool water lapped at my knees, as I waited for Dave to stop preening and flaunting his freestyle skills. The tension grew as my Dad marked us, set us, and then, the whistle.

Right before I reached the wall on the first length of the pool, I looked back to see Daveskins at least two strokes behind me. I flipped, put my head down and swam for my dignity. I didn't look up again until I touched the wall, and when I did, everyone was laughing. On the last lap, when Dave realized I was kicking his trash, he just stood up and tried to make a run for it. My Dad said, that he'd never seen anyone run in water faster than they could swim. It was bliss.

Dave was full of all sorts of excuses, like he didn't breathe, and he thought we were racing to a different finish line, and yadda, yadda. I would have told him that we were a partnership, and that it wasn't about winning or losing, but what we could accomplish together, but everyone would have known that was a lie. That's why I took the more honest approach and gloated my guts out.

We had such a great time just hanging out at the pool with my

brothers and sisters, and Mom and Dad.

Vegas Continued....Day Deuce.

Can I just say how marvelous it is to wake up to sunshine? Sunday morning we woke up and decided it was time to hit the dollar store for pool toys. When we came a couple of years ago, the kids each got some blow-up, ride-on animals to play with in the pool and they remembered.

Right after Dyl gorged himself on more cantaloupe at the breakfast buffet, (my total pounds gained during this trip, 2.6.) and Dawson had eaten a sickening amount of various pork products, I gave Daveskins directions to the dollar store. "It's either this exit, or the next one." I don't really know how much more specific I could get, but after driving for 45 minutes, and practically tearing out his own retinas with the continuous eye rolls, he used the GPS on his phone and an electronic woman told us that in 12 miles we would be in dollar store heaven.

What she didn't tell us, was that we would have to go through Little Asia, where Dave spotted an 'Adult Toys Mega Outlet' and suggested we leave the kids in the car with my Dad, and run on in. Um, no. What kind of girl does he think I am. What a tightwad, I am clearly a full price Adult Toy type, (without being high maintenance). What it boiled down to, was a rue to make my Dad highly uncomfortable, and Dave wanted a blow-up doll for his pool float-y. Did I mention we were in the car, for about 90 minutes.

Finally the robotic woman said we had reached our destination, and we found ourselves directly in front of a tiny, 99 Hacienda something or other. I volunteered to do a quick walk through to see if the merchandise fit our needs, but secretly hoped to be kidnapped by Mexican drug lords, so as not to have to spend any more time in the car. Alas, the store was only filled with wedding cake toppers, doggie outfits, golf clubs, and radios. I made it through without so much as a look up from the clerk.

By the time we made our way back to the freeway, the Boyz were bawling in the back about not wanting floaties anymore, and "couldn't we please just go to the pool. Wah, wah, bawl, bawl." Right before our hotel, we spotted a 7-11 off the side of the road, and Dave went in and asked directions. I'll be damned, it was right where I had told him 2 hours and three countries ago. We hoped right over the exit and and blew a wad on cheap pool crap, and everyone was happy.

Sleeper hold works way better than Benadryl.

Aunt Mall and Em

Daws was nice enough to loan me his sunglasses when I had forgotten mine. Batman Rules!

Emma and Gran-pa Ranny had a great time perfecting her dive, and when she got it just right, she was diving over his head.

My Mom, and baby bro Will, didn't fly in until this afternoon, and by the time they arrived we were all starving. Jeff and Mall knew of a great Mexican place, so we headed out towards their new house to get some grub. I ordered last, and when I picked up my plate at the counter, I needed a back brace to lift the plate. I swear there was some instant chemistry between myself and Roberto when I placed the order, like he could sense the special reverence I hold for any form of Mexican food, and he rewarded me with the biggest chimi I have ever laid eyes on.

I am usually not one to share, but Dawson helped me polish it off, and treated us to a, "Mmmm." with each bite.

My Baby Brother Will. He is very tiny and weak, as you can see. He has a scholarship to BYU next year, and I can't wait to have him closer, and the kids won't be too sad either!
5 More Days Of Sun!

Short Stories of Family Fun in the City Of Sin

Prime Rib and the Pube........ Day One

You know what is worse than driving 7 hours in the car, with a husband who is fanatic about obeying the speed limit and 3 kids? No, really I am asking, because the only thing I could think of, was adding more kids to that recipe for disaster, and If I could have kissed my IUD, I would have.

When we finally arrived in sunny, sinny, Las Vegas, I stripped off my nasty traveling clothes and stepped into the shower to cleanse away the filthy grime of the day's travel. I say, stripped off my clothes, because I did it slowly, pulled the faces and licked my lips, to see what all the hub bub is about. Hmm...... I guess, I either don't got 'it', or the Cheeto dust rising from my clothes, and my Spawn, banging on the bathroom door, didn't provide the right atmosphere. Damn billboards, got me thinking of a more glamorous, higher paying job, but I guess I will just stick to the gig I have now.

The hotel suite was beautiful, and much nicer than the Travelodge, the Mister and I are accustomed to. (Thanks, Mom and Dad!) The bathroom was monstrous and clean, and as soon as I stepped into the hot water, I could feel the tensions of the day begin to wash off. By the second cycle of Lather, Rinse, and Repeat; I had almost forgiven Emma for the tantrum she threw at the Beaver Truck Stop, which prevented me from purchasing an "I (Heart) Beaver" t-shirt, and Dylan for asking if we were still in Oakley, 45 times.

Just as I was rinsing the last of the suds from my locks, my eyes opened to spy a black, tightly curled donation from the last guest's nether regions, stuck to the ceiling in the shower. I shrieked for Dave to join me, and as he raced in, thinking that I had severed an artery shaving, I gestured towards the offender, and we both giggled while he examined it. We had a lovely time pondering it's owner and the possibilities of how it made it to the ceiling. I decided to abide by the What Happens in Vegas, rule and didn't splash the poor guy into the drain.

After Dave left, I thought it would be funny if, when he showered next, the hair had moved. This came after much debate between disgusting and humorous. Eventually, I reasoned that I was indeed in the shower, and could easily wash my hands after re-arranging the hair. Just as I reached my hand up to the ceiling, Dave opened the door and stepped in with a horrified look on his face. I immediately felt myself go red, and he stammered, "You're touching it??" I explained that I was just repositioning it for his entertainment, and hurried it up with the washing my hands rationale.

Even as I type this, I think, maybe this is what they are talking about, when they say something should "stay in Vegas". Please accept my apology for the anecdote about shower hair, and know deep in your heart that, that hair was the highlight of the rest of my showers in Vegas, and stayed until the very last day, when neither Dave nor I, knew what happened to it.

NEXT, we went to the buffet.

After everyone was settled, showered, and ready for some excitement we,(My Dad, Hannah, and SIL, Mallory, plus my crew) hit the South Point Casino for dinner. Dawson was in Meat Heaven, and since we were on vacation, our dietary standards were a little lax, and we let the kids eat what they wanted. Dawson filled his plate with prime rib, and fish, Dyl ate strictly cantaloupe, and Emma just walked around, taking bites of everyone else's. Quickly enough, they discovered the dessert bar, and just filled up on that weird, fake ice cream.

On the way out, Dawson showed us the "Twins". Earlier, while we were getting settled, my Dad had taken the kids through the casino, to get to the game room. They passed the bar, where two cocktail waitresses were filling their orders and Dawson got the attention of Gran-pa Ranny, and said, "Hey, Look! Twins!" My Dad told us they were probably fraternal twins, since one was Chinese, but from Dawson's line of vision, they looked identical from the thong down. We may have to have, "The Talk" sooner rather than later.

Gran-pa Ranny

Dawson learned his lesson about buffet style restaraunts on Day One.



A whole week of sun ahead of us and it feels so good!