Viva Las Vegas!

Brian had to go to Las Vegas for work stuff so we decided to make a little vacation out of it.  We were able to go visit our great friends Chris & Julie and their kids Liberty & Ruston.  We hung out with them a little bit as well as do some fun things just as a family.  During the day we (Amanda, Avery & Lily) just hung out in the hotel and went swimming while Brian was doing his work stuff.  Unfortunately Avery & Lily were sick the entire week and a little cranky but it was still fun.
The first day we were there we mostly hung out and then we went to eat at an amazing Brazilian restaurant.  Then we walked around a bit before the kids got too grouchy.
We saw it "rain" indoors at Planet Hollywood.  Then we saw the Bellagio Fountains a couple of times:

 Tuesday we got to go see dolphins at the Mirage.  This was the highlight of Avery's trip.  He couldn't get enough of the dolphins, especially seeing them through the underwater windows.  We got to see the trainers work with them a little bit and it was really neat.  We also saw the wild cat habitat with Lions, tigers, and leopards.   It was close to closing time and Lily was really cranky so we didn't stay too long.

 Wednesday we just hung out at the hotel.  By the evening Avery was running a temperature and wanted to sleep the whole evening.   It was kind of nice to just relax in the hotel.  

Thursday we were ready to get back to some fun.  We decided to visit M&M world.  Then we mistakenly decided to walk to Treasure Island, which was on the opposite end of the strip.  Wow, that was a really long walk!  When we got there, the outside show was packed with people so we only got to see the tops of the ships.  The pyrotechnics were cool, but we weren't a fan of the dancing ladies...so its probably a good thing we couldn't see very much.  Then we walked over to the Mirage Volcano, which was really cool.  Avery &; Lily were a little frightened by it.  Lily jumped over to Avery's stroller to "get away" from it.

Then we stayed one more night and got up and made the long trek home (for about a 1/2 hour) then we were off to Idaho for the Bone & Back Race (more to come on that later).

Our New Toy

Its something Brian & Avery have been looking forward to a long time.  After much pleading and convincing Amanda gave in and now we are the proud owners of this:

Yep, a dirt bike.  Its "street legal" so that we (or Brian) can ride it on the road.   He plans on riding it to work once he gets his motorcycle endorsement on his drivers licence (he has to take a class for it in July).  It has needed a little work, so it has been out of commission a few days, but when it is able to run, it is all Avery & Lily want to do when Daddy gets home.  In fact, Lily will try to get me (Amanda) to take her for a ride (no way, its too big for me).  Avery actually used to be scared of the dirt bike whenever Brian would turn it on (its pretty loud).  He would tell Brian not to turn it on until he (Ave) was in the house.  Other than that, he loved the dirt bike.  He doesn't mind anymore though.  Lily and Avery love to wear their helmets around just so they are ready.  One purpose in getting the dirt bike was so we could save a little money on gas when Brian drives to work.  However, with all the extra after work riding, I'm not so sure that will work out...

Lily's 1st Dirt Bike ride

A close-up of Lily

Its been a really fun toy for the family.   Even I (Amanda) like to ride on the back of it with Brian.  Luckily it has pegs for a passenger.  We even went on dirt bike ride up the mountains for our anniversary.

The Fabulous Five!

Today we have been married for 5 years!  Its been a wonderful 5 years filled with fun trips, lots of laughs, 2 kids, and two lovebirds! Here's how the day was 5 years ago (and a few pics from the honeymoon)

I Love to See the Temple, I'm Going there Today!

We had the wonderful opportunity to go down to the LDS Conference Center for our Regional State Conference (it was broadcast to 65 stakes, ours just happened to be one that got to come to the conference center).  It was one of the rare times that children (under 8) are allowed in during a performance.  It sure was a lot noisier in there with so many kids, but it was still great!

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf spoke to us as well as Elder Holland of the 12 Apostles, Elder Bowen of the Seventy, and Sister Burton of the General Relief Society.  They had some inspiring words and messages for us!  The kids did great at being fairly quiet though they were getting antsy by the time President Uchtdorf spoke.  However, we felt that it was still a really good experience for them, especially Avery who understood more.

Afterward, we went and ate lunch at a park with people from our ward and then we walked around Temple Square.  We also were able to go on top of the Conference Center and see the gardens, which was really neat.  We walked over to the Temple of the visitor centers there as well.  Avery was so excited to see the temple- or "Jesus's Temple" as he called it.  He was really bummed that he couldn't go inside it and see Jesus.  However, we went over to the Christus at the North Visitor Center and he really liked that.  He was so reverent and we all really felt the spirit.  It was such a neat experience to be there as a family.  We also went to the south visitor center that has a model of the temple and we learned a lot from that!  Then we finished off with some time by the reflection pool.  The kids loved it all and were so tucked out that Lily fell asleep before we got out of the parking garage and Avery before we got on the interstate.  We love Temple Square!