What Happens in Vegas...

...ends up on this blog (but only when I remember to take pictures). A couple of weeks ago we went to Vegas for my sister's wedding. Noah, Josie, Sammie, and myself were there for two weeks, Clayton was there for one week, and Justin was only able to be there for three days (but it's better than nothing so we were happy with that)! It was a really fun, loud, and busy vacation. We laughed a lot, ate a TON (I think I hit all my favs), slept a little, and basically just had a really good time together. I didn't photograph all of it, but I did take a few pictures. I am going to limit my narrative of what I was able to photograph.
Getting ready to board the plane. I was super nervous to fly by myself with three kids (I've never flown by myself with more than one) but they did AMAZING! Seriously, not one problem, not one cry, not one illness. L.U.C.K.Y.

My mom and Jo.

 My dad made these "telescopes" for the kids and Josie loved them (even if she didn't quite understand how to use them correctly).

 My dad also made this cart.

 It was designed to be hooked up to their largest dog, Maynerd.

 Unfortunately there were a few kinks in the system and Maynerd kept slipping out of his harness.

 It's okay though, Grampa (or "Pumpah" as Josie calls him) was able to drag them around.

 He also designed this cart to be hooked up to his bike.

 The kids had a great time riding around the neighborhood in style!

The weather was so perfect while we were there. I brought sweaters for all my kids but we really didn't need them much (ahhh, Vegas winter). My kids spent almost every day outdoors. They were so happy (and I loved it too)!

This is Max. He's my sister's son and I LOVE HIM! He's so fun and cute. I already miss his cute face.

My mom had been saving large boxes for a while knowing that when the grandkids came out they might like to have Grampa help them build forts. Inspired!

Noah LOVES forts. This was one of the highlights of the trip for him (that, and riding the escalator at the mall - go figure).

The kids got to meet and get to know their soon to be Uncle Zach. (See the tents in the room? That's where all the older grandkids slept. The three girls in the "princess" tent and the three boys in the "hero" tent. It was fun and the kids had a ball but it made for a lot of late nights.)

He's a lot of fun. A perfect match for Ashley!

Clayton arrived a few days after me and the littles. He also loved the fort.

Naps were hard to come by in Vegas, so we took them where we could!

Can't forget my sweet Sammie and the oldest bouncy seat on the planet!

The boys having some downtime with the iPad.

The younger cousins all enjoyed bathing together. I think this picture is hilarious. Max is having the time of his life splashing; Josie and Ella not so much.

One night my parents threw a "boy" party and a "girl" party. The parties started out with a joint hot dog roast and s'more extravaganza by the fire pit.

Check out that messy s'more face!

After the food the girls headed back into the house for mani's and pedi's and all things princess and girlie while the boys stayed outside for star-gazing and scary story telling. I wasn't there but from what I heard, it was a huge hit!

The wedding day! The main event! Ashley looked gorgeous.

The soon to be married couple on their way to the temple.

A little make-up touch up.

My handsome first born waiting for Aunt Ash and Uncle Zach at the temple.

The Larsons!

After the sealing ceremony, we headed over to the church to wait for the ring ceremony, and then the reception. One of the most genius things about this wedding (in my opinion) was that they had made wedding coloring books for the kids. They had word searches with the flower girl and ring bearer's names, wedding word scrambles, and tons of pictures to color. Again, GENIUS!

One of the best things was that Gil, Missy, Jared, and Abby were able to come down for the reception. It'd been forever since we'd seen them and it was so great to spend time with them and hang out in such a fun and festive setting. (This is apparently Clayton's new 'smile' face. Not sure what he's doing, but he does it a lot.)

Clayton with Missy and Abby. I don't remember the last time we saw Abby (or Missy) but Abby has gotten SO big (Missy hasn't). She was a baby last time we saw her and this time she was a little girl with personality to spare. I have to say, I have the best neices and nephews - they are all so fun!

Father and son (and sad granddaughter).

Speaking of sad granddaughter...

This is how Josie pouts. She does this and we can't help but laugh at her.

She finally fell asleep and that seemed to remedy the situation!

We grabbed a few family pics since we were all dudded up. This one is my favorite. I love all the kids' expressions (so classic). We're posed, but everyone is just being who they are.

Love this one too. Particularly my boy's faces. If anyone has any tips for getting normal, natural happy expressions out of kids in pictures I'd love to hear them!

The day after the wedding Justin and Clayton had to go back to South Bend and back to work and school. We were definitely sad to see them go, but I was glad that we got another week with family and friends. I don't think we did anything spectacular that last week. More eating, a few get togethers with friends and family, and a lot of time spent hanging out with Anisha, Kerstin, Mom, and Grandma Schmidt. It was really relaxing. Overall we had a wonderful vacation and I was sad to leave. Things I miss most: My family, the weather (oh, the weather), and all the yummy Mexican food.
Leaving Las Vegas.

 We'll be back...eventually.