Las Vegas & Grand Canyon

It has been neat how our basketball tournaments have taken us places that you always hear about, but don't always get to see. Two weeks ago we had a great time helping a new church in Las Vegas host a tournament. I've never seen such a large city like Las Vegas. Not that I haven't seen large cities. It is just different from any large city I've ever seen. Maybe it's because as you are driving through the desert to get there, you see basically nothing and then, boom...there's the city. It was also unique because there are no trees or mountains to block your view, you have a clear view of the whole city which is pretty breathtaking at night. And it is one of the cleanest cities I've been to...clean as in no trash, very well kept, not clean as in the billboards etc. We took one part of an afternoon to go see the Bellagio fountains in the downtown part. They were amazing!! We saw them during the daytime and I am sure they would have been even more impressive at night, but I didn't really want to be downtown at night. Here is a picture of our family near the fountains.

After our week in Las Vegas, we began our journey home. We left on Sunday and finally reached our house late Thursday night!! We were able to stop by the Grand Canyon on Monday as we drove through Arizona. We just had part of the morning to spend there, but enjoyed every minute of it. In trying to describe the Grand Canyon to Ethan, I told him we were going to see a "big hole." I guess it stuck with him because sometimes he still talks about seeing the "big hole."

Here is what my husband does at the Grand Canyon. I should have just left him there...



Oh the trip home...maybe you can imagine what it might be like with a pregnant mommy and a two year old. (daddy did fine :-) Mommy kept asking to go to the bathroom every 15 minutes and begging daddy to switch lanes to the less bumpy one. The two year old was like a broken record..."Daddy, go outside??" Let's just say, lollipops do wonders at keeping kids quiet. We all have the Curious George and Baby Einstein movies memorized, even Ethan! I did finish croqueting a baby blanket on the trip and Ethan learned how to look out the window better and find ways to entertain himself. Apart from seeing miles of nothing, we were able to see the largest cross in the western hemisphere, the Hoover Dam, and many other things that left us wondering ;-) By personal experience, I could also tell you what roads NOT to drive on while pregnant.

But for now, it is good to be home again for a little while. Time to rest and let our bodies remember what it is like to live at sea level with humidity and in eastern standard time. I'll tell you how long it takes to adjust :-)