THE ROWDY RHODENIZERS!: VEGAS!!! ( the LONGEST post ever!)

Well, it had been almost 3 years since we had been to Las Vegas. The last time I saw my sister Theresa was the weekend we put an offer on our house here in Michigan. I remember Thomas was so little, Zachary had just got his glasses and Elise and Mckenna were joined at the hip from the moment we drove up to the second we left. Actually, the last time we left I remember watching Mckenna hang her head and sob on the front step as we drove away, only for us to come back around the block to get the dvd player we left behind! It had been too long but since Josh had a conference there at the Mandalay Bay we decided it was the perfect time to take a family vacation!!

I LOVED seeing my sister! She always takes good care of us when we come to visit. I loved just being able to relax and chat while the kids played with their cousins.

Zachary found Uncle Sandy's lap to be a VERY comfortable spot to lounge while he "helped" them play their Lord of the Rings. Of course he took breaks to be a little silly with the rest of the kids. Elise and Mckenna had some very *interesting* costumes
and were playing games from sun up til sun down (and sometimes into the night!!)

The next leg of our trip was at the Hotel (which was BEAUTIFUL!!). We ran in to my friend Jenny while wandering around trying to figure out what to do all day (while Josh was in the conference) with 4 kids by myself. It was nice to have a friend to chat with while we walked around seeing some sights and getting a bite to eat. Elise was wanting to play photographer and snapped a few pictures. Later that night our friends the Woolley's met us at our room. We hadn't seen anyone since Graduation almost 3 years ago. It's strange how the only thing that was different was the number of kids we were carting around. I hadn't realized *just* how much I had missed seeing Holly on a daily basis (we talk on the phone all the time but face to face is so much fun). The picture was taken after one of our *lengthy* but failed attempts to see the lions.

After all of the running around and taking trams back and forth the kids all tuckered out in a matter of seconds!

While we were there my AMAZING sister was able to get us some tickets to go and see Phantom of the Opera!! We had never seen it and boy was it INCREDIBLE!! We took Elise and Holly with us and had a wonderful evening (Theresa even took the other 3 kids for us!). THANK YOU Theresa!!

We finally were able to get to the Lion exhibit at the MGM while they were open...but the Lions were asleep. The kids didn't seem to care and had fun climbing around and watching the lions twitch from time to time.

Next up was the Shark Reef. Holly and the Boys were able to join us, it was so fun to watch the kids "OOOH" and "AHHHH" at everything. Zachary was the only one of our kids that was brave enough to touch the rays

Then it was that dreaded time again! Time to say Good Bye to a dear friend...We sure miss you guys!

Well, we were thrilled to be back at "Hotel Dobbs" to finish off our trip. Olivia LOVED all the attention and the older kids had a blast playing with their cousins!

Sunday was spent (after church) watching Olympic Men's Hockey -Canada vs USA in the Gold metal game... a VERY exciting game. Of course once Canada won Josh had to go put on his Jersey and parade around.

When you think of Vegas you of course think warm weather and pools...it wasn't quite warm enough to swim until the last night we were there. The kids were trying to sun tan while Auntie Theresa was getting the pool heated up...as you can see (by their apparel) it was a little chilly out!

We had fun swimming and playing around for our last night. Then off to the airport VERY early in the morning!!

Zachary had mastered the "art" of schmoozing the flight attendants and came off of every flight with his backpack loaded with every treat you can find on the plane. Olivia would smile at all the travellers sitting around us and Elise and Thomas were full of questions.