Pictures of the rides

Birthday Fun

Las Vegas was a lot of fun. We stopped in Mesquite and ate at the Casablanca Buffet. It was seafood night so it was heavenly. Crab legs, shrimp, scallops, and prime-rib were our personal favorites. I could eat prime-rib every meal of my life and never get sick of it, as long as it is tender and I have a good Au Ju sauce to dip it in. We then went on to Vegas , checked in to our hotel, and went straight to the stratosphere. I did my Vegas Roller coaster research beforehand and all the reviewers seemed to agree that the stratosphere was the place the go. We bought the package deal. Tower admission and rides and we headed up to the top. There are 3 rides on the stratosphere. The "Big Shot," a ride that shoots you up 10 stories above the top of the tower and then drops you. The "X-Scream," an open-air car that launches you over the side of the 100 story building, like a teeter totter and then brings you back. The "Insanity", is a ride that hangs you out over the edge and spins you at 40 mph. So they all sound pretty scary, right? I was still feeling confident after walking around the observatory deck. It was a little sickening how high up we were ( did I mention it's over a 100 stories tall). To back up a little, we were told in the line in the lobby that the X-scream was the scariest experience ever and that we should just avoid it. So naturally that's the first line we got into.Matt wasn't even nervous. I was getting a little shaky. There were only 2 people in line ahead of us ( a clue, maybe?)I look above me and I see the platform that the open-air car sits on fall away. The car then moves back and forth like a teeter-totter, then it propels forward at 30mph over the edge of the building and then abruptly stops and the people on the car are screaming in fear. They are hanging over the edge of the stratosphere, and there is nothing but open space below. I look at Matt and he grins at me. I am thinking, " I am the one who asked for this?" All the sudden it is our turn and I am being strapped into this car and my heart is beating faster than I think is normal for my age. I am feeling the adrenaline rush that I love, but now I am really hating it because I am truly , truly terrified. For those of you who want to ride this ride in the future I won't ruin it for you.... but it is pretty crazy. Not as completely horrible as I thought it would be. It was definitely a rush! My Favorite ride was the Big Shot. It was so cool because you get twice the thrill of most rides. First the thrill of being shot up 10 stories...and the thrill of then falling 10 stories. Can't beat that! Even though it was only 11:30 PM after we were done with the rides, ( 12:30 Utah time) we were tired, so we decided to head back to the hotel. That's a big reminder of how old I am getting. I get tired by 11 and delirious by midnight. The plan was as follows:

• Go to vegas
• ride rides
• walk around strip
• go to hotel
• go swimming
• go to bed
• sleep in
• check out of hotel
• Find a Cinnabun
• Find a good mall
• shop, and eat cinnabun
• Find IN n OUT for Matt
• go home

This is what really happened........

• Go to Vegas
• ride rides
• go to bed
• wake up extremely early because our bodies are trained to get up with the kiddos
• get ready and check out
• go to a mall that has cinnabun
• eat the best cinnamon roll ever
• Laura spends her birthday money on Ava at Janie & Jack
• Matt wanders aimlessly around the mall
• Matt finds Iphone booth and is content
• leave mall
• find IN n OUT
• go home

A pretty good birthday if you ask me. Ava's clothes are adorable by the way.

Viva Las Vegas

When Matt asked me weeks ago what I wanted for my 26th birthday I said, " Nothing, honey, really...!". Then the more I thought about it, I decided I really do want and need a birthday gift. So I decided that what I really wanted was for Matt to think of something creative, romantic, and also something relatively cheap for us to do. In my head I pictured a romantic picnic in the canyon, or an all day hike in Zion's Park. All of my birthday fantasies were without the kids I might add! So I told Matt my birthday wish. Poor Matt, I know he just wanted me to tell him that I wanted a outfit, or a gift certificate or something simple. So a week went by without a word about any fun and romantic activity and I started to panic a little. My birthday was a week away and if we wanted this activity ( if one was even being planned by my husband) to be a childless event, than we needed to start lining up a babysitter. 6 days before my birthday Matt walks into the kitchen and says nonchalantly," so, uh, what are we gonna do for your birthday honey?" I stare at him. He says with a smile," Anything you want, just tell me" I smile and continue to stare in disbelief. Matt says nervously," umm... We could go to Vegas. Stay overnight and my parents could watch the kids." I am still a little skeptical. What is fun about Vegas if you don't like to gamble? And then Matt got to me.....he says...." we could ride roller coasters all night!" And just like that I was hooked. Happy Birthday to me! ( On Friday)

92 pictures in one book.....seriously!

I haven't written for awhile because I have been obsessed with making a photobook. What is a photobook, you are probably wondering. Well here is mine. Creating one is a wonderful way to waste countless hours in front of the computer! Also, organizing your children's photos into a book that that doesn't require any taping, cutting or gluing is really convenient. The last 3 nights I have stayed up until 1 A.M. working on this ( I only have time at night, it seems) and it is soooo addicting. I found a 50 % off coupon online for these photobooks and the coupon expires 8/31/07 , and it can only be used for 5 photobooks, so I figure I am saving myself time and money by getting some of the hundreds and hundreds of pictures that I have, into a nice book, rather than try and scrapbook them myself. I finished my first book last night and I ordered it. In 5 days I will tell you if it was worth all the time I put into it. I managed to put 92 pictures in it, and the book will be as thin as can be. I hope it is as cute as it looks online. What I really want is the Adobe photoshop elements 7.0 for Digital Scrapbooking......but this photobook thing will have to do for now. Even if my back hurts from too many nights hunched over the computer.

Model or Basketball star?

Ava had her 4 month checkup today. She is actually 4.5 months , but that is because I am a huge procrastinator and I hate it when they give my baby girl shots :( So , I finally took her in today for her checkup and the best part about the whole appt. is finding out how much Ava has grown since she last came ( her 2 month appt). Well, I was in for a surprise. Although her weight stayed in the 58Th-60Th percentile, her height shot up into the 98Th percentile. Wow! We have a tall young lady!

Weight: 14lbs 4 ounces (58%)

Height: 26 1/2 inches (98%)

I shouldn't be surprised, not really. I mean, her Sunday dresses, skirts and shorts have all been a little on the short side lately. She is all legs. Every woman's dream.....right?