We took a family trip back to Las Vegas to visit our family at the beginning of July! It was very fun. One of the best parts was getting to see Brady's oldest brother, Colin, and his family. The are Army and we haven't seen them in three years! They had never met Beckah or Owen in person. It was so wonderful to see them and play with cousin's Saylor and Paisley. They have grown so much!
Brady had to fly home after the first week, which was sad. The second week the kids and I got to spend the week in California with my parents, most of my siblings and niece and nephews. We spent some time on the beach and went to Lego Land, the San Diego Zoo, and Sea World!
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| Sunset on the beach in San Clemente |
We went to Legoland first. Shortly before we entered the parking lot to Legoland, Beckah threw up all over the place. We ended up having to take her car-seat apart and clean the cushions in the bathroom of the park. We also had to buy her a new shirt and borrow some extra shorts my sister-in-law, Megan, had for her son, Liam. I'm so glad she had them with her! Not the best way to start the day.
When we got into Legoland we went through their aquarium first. It was pretty nice and the multiple touch tanks were definitely a hit with the kids!
While eating lunch Beckah managed to tip her chair over and hit her chin on the T bar of the stool behind her. At first we thought she was fine. It happened really quickly and no one really noticed that she had actually hit something on her way down. I noticed she was bleeding a few moments after sitting her back up though and thanks to quick action by my parents and sister we had ice and towels in quick order and off I took her to the first aid building in the park. The medical personnel were wonderful at Legoland. I didn't really get a good look at her chin until we to the first aid building and I was shocked at how deep the cut was. They offered to refer us to the hospital to get her stitches (which would have really complicated things with the my other kids since we just got to the park and coming back another day wasn't going to happen) or they could steri-strip it for us right there and we could stay at the park. The medic told me that either way she was going to have a scar, but that if we could keep her hands off of the steri-strip and keep it dry for at least three days it would heal very nicely. We chose the steri-strip, mostly because Beckah was so calm at the first aid building and getting it placed there was less likely to upset her. She held perfectly still for him to clean and sterilize the area, apply the glue and place the strip. Then they covered everything with a big butterfly band aid. The medic said Beckah was the best patient he has had in a long time. He sent us off with a goody bag of first aid supplies and a dose of Motrin in case Beckah started to hurt.
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| Ouch! |
There were lots of rides at Legoland and tons of awesome stuff built out of real Lego's! Cadence was having the time of her life on all the roller coasters. She's a girl after my own heart that one. Rory was scared, but grandma convinced her to try small coaster and she was hooked after that! Beckah went on every ride she was big enough to ride. Watching her stick her hands in the air on the little train and squeal was so fun! Even Owen got to ride a few things.
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| Cool Lego Spider that was easily as big as a Smart Car. |
Beckah did so good letting me change band aids and never once played with her chin. The next day was Owen's first birthday and we spent the day at the San Diego Zoo! We got lost in the Lost Forest and never did see the Gorilla's. We saw quiet a few amazing animals, but the highlight for my kids was the Polar Bear. It's Rory's favorite animal and it was all they would talk about most of the day. They got their faces painted and we celebrated Owen's birthday with some ice cream!
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| Beckah the Butterfly |
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| Birthday Boy!! |
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| Cadence the Cat |
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| Birthday Ice Cream!! |
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| Rory the Tiger |
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| I think we wore them out... |
The third park was Sea World. It was really packed at Sea World and we didn't get to see as many shows there as we would have liked. We did see the Shamu Show and we got to watch the dolphins in their tank while they played with toys and had some interactions with people. We also touched sting rays and saw beluga whales and more polar bears! Cadence and I got to ride the big roller coaster in the park a couple of times and the younger kids loved the Sesame Street play area!
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| Hanging with Grandpa waiting for Shamu to start! |
All in all it was a really fun day. It was nice to just spend the day at the beach on Saturday though. It was a super fun week in California, but I was glad to head back to Vegas.
On the way back to Las Vegas we blew a tire on the van. It the radial part of the tire tread just peeled off like an orange. The rest of the tire stayed inflated. It was super weird and shook me up pretty good. Thanks to my parents and a good manual we were able to get the spare on the van and made it to Baker where we were able to get a new tire. The inside of the wheel well was duck taped back in place and the only thing with issues was my left turn signal in the front wasn't working. Back in Vegas we had a mechanic look at it and it was a surprisingly simple fix. Considering how much damage could have been done we were very lucky. He fixed things up and secured things very well for us so we could drive home to Omaha safely. My van has some cosmetic damage but other than that it's good as new.
Brady's mom, Suzi, was kind enough to make the long drive back with me and the kids. She stayed for a few days after we got back too which was wonderful!
We had a great adventure but it was so nice to get home to Brady and our own beds!
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