M&M World
Excaliber Arcade
Beck and Hugh
Dad, Mom, and Carter at the Excaliber Show
Princess Huey
Henley and Grandma
The knight at the Excaliber
Rub-A-Dub-Dub Five Kids in a Tub
Anya building her elephant
Huey just saying Hi
Jilly and Anya
Anne and Hugh
Carter and Jess
Grandma and Hugh
Swimming Family Photo
Dad and Em
Em and Hugh
Girls at the Bounce House
Em and Jilly at the Trampoline Place
Em and Jess taking a rest
Bellagio Fountains
Bellagio Gardens
Em and the flower frog
Flower Ladybug
Jess and the rose snail
Jess and Em at the gardens
Chocolate Fountain
Em's triple chocolate cheesecake
Delicious!!!!
My mom and dad arranged a Loren and Shelly Huntsman Family Reunion in Las Vegas. They had to use a week of their timeshare and this was the place they picked. I was so excited to go because I had never been to Vegas before. The drive down went very smoothly. However, that was the only thing that went smoothly, I think. My family had went down the day before. We were supposed to meet them at the Excaliber for dinner. Well, we got there a bit eariler than we were expecting and my family was nowhere in sight. Apparently, they had been waiting in line at the shark exhibit for about 45 minutes two blocks away. I finally got a hold of my mom and she said to just hang out for an hour or so until they were done. That is when it hit me. I never knew this, but I HATE crowds!!! I think that might be an understatment. From that time on, I was completely overwhelmed. We decided to take the kids to M&M world while we waited. We could see it from where we were, so we decided to not take the stroller. Big mistake! Just because it looks close does not really mean that it is. We made it through the crowds, and by the time we got there, both kids were dying of thirst and were so restless. We look around for a few minutes, trying not to touch all the people swarming everywhere. Anya, however, did enjoy herself. Because she is obsessive like her dad, she had to touch every single colored tube of the M&M's. By the time we got back to meet my family, I was almost in tears. I felt like this the entire trip. I don't know what I was expecting Vegas to be, but this was not it. We ate dinner at the Excaliber and watched their dinner show. It was fun and I think everyone enjoyed it, especially my dad who kept standing up and cheering. He was really getting into it. May I suggest, if you are considering seeing the show, it is great and worth your money, but probably not the best thing for little kids. They really have no room to move around, causing you to be juggling the whole show. That night after we got back to the condo, Hugh was not acting like his happy little self. He was up fussing all night. We went to church the next morning with a mission companion of Jesse's. When we got home, Hugh just got more fussy. He kept pulling at his ear, so I figured he had an ear infection. Luckily, I was able to contact our doctor who just called in a perscription for him. We went to Walgreens to get it, who then sent us to another Walgreens, who then took about an hour to fill the perscription. All the while, Hugh is screaming in the car with Jesse who is getting quite upset with the silly pharmacy. Needless to say, we finally got the medicine and literally within minutes our little Hugh was back to his happy self. By this time, I was exhausted and just ready for bed. The next morning, things had settled down a bit and I thought I needed to make the best of this because we had four more days there. My brother Jason wanted to jump off the Stratosphere, so we went to watch. Well, just when things were seeming to be better, and I was calming down, we got into a little fender bender in the parking garage. This made my anxiety go through the roof! This time, I really did cry. I just wanted to go back to the condo. We watched Jay jump and headed straight there. I know I could and should have just put on a happy face and went on with my day, but I really didn't feel like it. The next day was better. We took the kids to Circus Circus to ride the rides. Thank goodness for Aunt Jilly. She took Anya on all the rides with her and was a great helper. That night, we just hung out at the condo and went swimming. On Wednesday, we took the kids to a Bounce House. We got there and they told us that they were closing for a party, so the kids only got to play for about 20 minutes. Later that afternoon, I wanted to go to a trampoline place. Not what I was expecting, but we still had fun. My mom, Anne, and my grandma had bought tickets to the Lion King. My Grandma's back went out right before the show, so she couldn't go. I was going to take her ticket and go but then I got back in my grumpy mood and started arguing with everyone and was a total brat and made my brother, dad, and my mom all mad at me. I then started pouting and didn't go to the show. I know. I am totally lame!!! However, I did cheer up and make the best of my night. I went on a little date with Jess. Just me and Jess. No kids. We went and watched the Bellagio fountains and looked at the Bellagio Gardens. Way cool! I loved it. To top it off, we found a cheesecake place inside (my favorite). That's how you cheer a girl up with a nice date and cheesecake! The next morning we packed up and headed home. I have never been so glad to be home! I am sorry I was such a grump the whole trip. I did have fun and I am grateful my parents provide opportunities for our family to be together. I also have never missed my little community of 500 as much as I did that week!!! As for Vegas, I will never return!!!
The kids and Great Grandpa Millward
