playin' in the pool

we made it from las vegas to the rental house in california yesterday

we're staying here with michael's family

it's a nice house with disney themed rooms next to disneyland

and the best part is the pool

eleanor took a long after-church nap while we swam

i was only going to dip in the hot tub but michael picked me up

and jumped in the pool

it was quite the surprise but lots of fun to play with the kids in the pool afterward

tomorrow....disneyland!

las vegas

michael's sweet parents have planned a really fun trip to california for the whole family

and we're on our way there tomorrow

we broke the drive in half and made it to las vegas today

 the kids were so great in the van

which is a rental, by the way (michael's parents are so generous)

we are enjoying leather seats and a built in dvd player

 eleanor and i played lots of peek a boo 

she is the cutest!

st george was fun to drive through with all the red rock

 we drove by the st george temple

it's sooo pretty

 neither of us realized we'd drive through arizona for a little while so that was a funny surprise

 we checked in to our hotel in north las vegas

and jumped on the bed while michael brought all our stuff in from the car

 i thought eleanor looked so cute with this bow on but of course she didn't leave it on

 then we drove in to las vegas and drove down the strip

it was horrible! we didn't even stop and couldn't get out of there fast enough

there were trucks advertising prostitutes driving next to us

and we kept telling the kids not to look out the windows

soooo filthy

i guess they don't call it sin city for nothing

we had heard it was pretty kid friendly during the day but...

las vegas is not for us

 we are really glad we're not staying on the strip

we're in a much nicer area with a chipotle next to an ice cream shop

so that's what we did for dinner and dessert

 then we went for a quick swim in the pool 

it was the perfect temperature and the water was warm

but it didn't last long before there was rain and lightening

so far so good on our big summer trip

we're excited to see michael's family tomorrow

brothers

this last weekend i got to see all three of my brothers and their families

one of my brothers lives nearby but the other two don't 

so we don't see them often

my brother ben and his family stopped by friday night to saturday morning

on their way back to texas

and it was so cool to see their family, even if it was short

here's noah, hazel and olive with kami and olivia

 here's sienna, kami and eleanor

 me and ben

 we had a nice breakfast with chris and ben's families here on saturday morning

here's jen and tawny

then that night my brother ryan and his family came to stay with us for a few days

on their way to california

michael and ryan had so much to talk about 

because michael's research is in the same thing ryan does for a living

they loved chatting about work

 ryan's oldest son holden is so sweet and endured hazel's obsession with him :)

i don't often feel "old" but remember holden as a newborn as he's now towering over me

is kind of crazy and did finally make me feel old

 olive and seth look like they could be siblings for sure

holden and hazel reading

 the kids all got along soooo well, it was awesome

here they're playing xbox together

 and it turns out we have matching vans

 sunday night we went to dinner at chris' house

ryan and chris played scrabble (family tradition) while michael watched

 chris, ryan and me

 we finally cracked open olive's birthday pinata

the kids loved it

 we all took turns getting beat up by ryan on the trampoline 

michael thought it was hilarious

 chris and ryan were pretty funny to watch, too

 and i was pretty much just terrified

but laughing through it, feeling like a 5 year old again 

 cousins

 monday we spent the day with ryan's family first at the dinosaur museum

 and then at the petting zoo at thanksgiving point

 looking at the chickens

 chatting

 pony rides for hazel

 olive

 miriam

 justin

 and noah

 eleanor was content in her stroller

 then we spent a few hours at temple square

 they left yesterday

and now our house doesn't look like this anymore 

it was so much fun having them here

and i loved everyone stay with us

family is the best

jumping in the rain

 for some reason it's been raining a bit here recently

but we don't mind too much

i guess you could say we're used to it since we're from washington

today the kids couldn't get their rain boots on fast enough 

they wanted to go jump in it

 it was pretty fun to watch

 and pretty cute

 then i joined them so i could clean the yard up and it started pouring! 

we all came in drenched but it was fun 

eleanor was napping but here's a picture of her after a nap a few days ago

showcasing her "angry eyebrows" 

i must have not heard her right away when she woke up or she just woke up mad that day

 i don't know

but this is how the poor girl gets when she's upset

splotchy face and red eyebrows

none of our other kids were as fair as her so this is new for us

but we kind of like it

it's just another way eleanor is special