Road Trip to Utah

     Ray and I had been trying to plan a trip back out to Utah for awhile.  We hadn't been in almost two years.  We had decided to drive out during memorial day weekend.  We originally intended to take the trip in order to see Rays grandfather.  His health had been failing so we packed up the kids and headed out.  Unfortunately we did not make it out in time.  When we stopped at State line Ray was looking on his phone and read his cousins post on Facebook.  Rays grandfather had passed away that morning.  The trip would now be for his funeral.  I felt terrible for Ray.  Luckily he had flown out a few weeks earlier to see his grandpa.
     Although our moods were a bit down we plugged along to get to Vegas.  We got a nice upgrade to our room so we had a great big suite with a great view.  I have to say that Vegas is the place to go to get giant rooms for a good price.  We were hoping to tire the boys out so we took them down to the pool.  I am pretty used to being a spectacle wherever we go, I am well aware that four kids under the age of four is a lot, but in Vegas we are a freak show.  People would stare and point and talk about our kids.   I know Vegas is not the place for toddlers but we seemed to keep them busy enough.  After the pool we took them on the tram from Mandalay bay to Excalibur in search of Knights.  Luckily we found a statue and we got the boys a shield and sword set which made them very excited.  With our busy day we certainly tired the boys out.  They went to bed fairly easy in their little travel sleeping bags.

We had a great view of the strip

I guess people aren't used to seeing this in Vegas

  The next day was a long haul into Park City Utah.  Ray found a fun park in Cedar City where we could let the kids play.  The bad part was how windy it was.   The wind gusts were so strong it actually knocked the boys back a bit as they ran around.    We had planned on letting the boys eat their subway sandwiches at the park but their lunches would have blown away so they had to learn the art of eating in the car.  We made it to Park City at dinner time.  Ray and I were both exhausted but the kids had been sleeping for awhile so they were hyper.  They were excited to see their Grammy and Grandpa but James was a little confused about seeing them not in San Diego.

Walking on the trails behind the condo

   The next day we had a busy day.  First we headed out to the outlet malls.  We needed to find appropriate clothes for a funeral so it wasn't exactly a fun shopping trip.  Ray was to be a pallbearer so we needed to get him dress clothes.  Luckily he found what he needed.  We then drove out to Fruitland to visit Aunt Bobbi's earth ship.  It's a very interesting house where the walls are made of old tires and beer cans.  The boys had a great time looking at and feeding sugar, her horse.  Even now they still are telling me that Aunt Bobbi has a horse and  her horse likes them.  In the Evening Rays cousin Jena came with her family to visit.  It is always great to spend time with Rays family.  We don't get to see them very often as it is difficult to haul all of these kids to Utah but we would like to be able to do it more

Aunt Bobbi and Sugar

Aunt Bobbi's Earth Ship

Jena and Romy meet Lilly

      Next we spent the day in Roy at Aunt Cathi's house.  The boys had a great time running up and down the stairs and playing on the trampoline.  Lilly of course was making her debut to the family.  She did very good but it seemed like she wanted to eat a lot that day.  I'm sure she is going through a growth spurt but it meant that I was nursing her all the time.  The family had to spend some time making funeral arrangements which is never easy to do.  Having lost all of my grandparents I know first hand it is not an easy process.  I felt bad that I couldn't help more but there wasn't much for me to do besides support Ray and make sure the kids were taken care of.

The boys and Thomas

    We found out that the town next to Park city was hosting a Thomas the train day so the next morning we drove out there.  The kids love trains so a day with Thomas was fantastic.  The kids started screaming as we drove past and saw Thomas hitched up to train cars.  We got to go on a 25 minutes train ride with Thomas leading the way.  The boys just sat and looked out the window the whole time.  It was a nice activity to keep our minds off of the next day.  We meet Rays family for a dinner at the Old Spaghetti factory.  I didn't really get to talk much with everyone because Joe was being super clingy plus I was feeding Lilly so I was a little busy but it was still nice.
    Finally Tuesday had arrived, we had to attend the funeral for Rays grandfather.  The boys did OK although I had to take them out during the service.  They still have trouble with the "be quiet" concept.  Ray said that the service was really nice.  He enjoyed listening to his Grandpa's stories again.  I wish I could have sat there with him to help him through the service but our little ones had a different plan.  So we sat out in front of the mortuary playing with their trucks and having snacks.  We were trying our best to be respectful but it is difficult for the boys to understand.  I did take them to the burial site where there was a dedication and the Military honors.  There was a nice reception at a church nearby that allowed everyone to visit with each other for awhile longer.  The boys of course ran around and played, like they usually do.   The day seemed like a very nice dedication.  I know that Ray's family is hurting right now and they are always in my prayers.

In front of Treasure Island

    We were planning on leaving early the next morning so we headed home after the lunch so we could get laundry and packing done.  It took a lot to get everything organized and ready to go again but we managed.  I tried to pack everything we needed to Vegas into one bag but its tricky, especially since the boys need their swim vests for the pool.  I did get it into one suitcase and a small bag.
    We left at six in the morning to that we could make it to Vegas early.  This time we were staying at Treasure Island.  The kids were so excited to be staying at the pirate hotel.  We had plenty of time to look around so we took them to the shark reef aquarium and the M&M factory.  The kids had a blast filling up their bags with all kinds of colors of M&Ms.  
    We also went to see the pirate show in front of Treasure island that night.  I figured since it was a Vegas thing the pirate woman would be in provocative pirate outfits.  I was not ready for them to come out in their underwear and bras.  I felt so silly standing their with my four children watching woman in their lingerie dancing around suggestively.  Oh well...they still had a great time watching the cannons and the ship sinking. They thought it was awesome and didn't even notice that the ladies were in their underwear.

The Secret Garden at the Mirage

  We spent a whole day in Vegas to give our family a nice happy vacation day.  We relaxed at the pool and let the boys get a fancy drink.  We also took the boys to see the dolphins and tigers and the mirage.  After that we thought that we would walk to the Bellagio to see the water show.  It didn't work out like we had planned.  As we started to walk down the strip we realized that the boys were falling asleep. Since we just had our sit and stands Nick and Joe were falling out of the back of their strollers as they nodded off.  We decided to take a little break in Caesars palace and let the boys nap.  People were staring at us with four kids all completely knocked out. At least Ray and I had a nice 30 minute break to sit and have an ice tea.  We finally made it to the Bellagio but the water show had just ended.  We decided to have some ice cream and wait for the next one.  Little did we know they were having some technical difficulties.  So after our adventure getting there and 30 minutes waiting there wasn' much of a show to see, so we headed back.  We tried to stay inside as much as  we could going from casino to casino to keep the kids cool.  The boys had fun stopping at every fountain and looking in the water.  At the last fountain in Caesar's palace Ray taught them how to make a wish

sitting on the ground waiting for the water show to start

Making a wish at Caesar's Palace

  We stayed the night and got ready to leave in the morning.  Joe insisted on carrying our huge suitcase all the way through the casino and all the way to the car.  It was pretty slow going but we made it.  We didn't hit much traffic until we got to LA so it wasn't too bad of a drive.  It was great to be home.  It was a difficult trip where we had to say goodbye to a wonderful and caring man but we also tried to fill it with fun times for the kids.  We are hoping to make it back out to visit sooner than two years.  The boys really want to play in the snow so maybe we will head back out in the winter.