Potty training number 3!

Julia has officially started potty training, as of yesterday.  I got her Dora the Explorer pull ups last evening (they're so cute!).  She is so darn smart.  We were upstairs getting ready for her nap, so I had her sit on the potty before she got in bed.  Well, I left her for a minute to empty the diaper pail and she decided to come visit.  She wasn't in her room for more than a minute, when she ran to her out to the bathroom and emerged a few seconds later clapping and saying "YAY!!"  Sure enough, she had tinkled in the potty!  I think the boys peed on themselves more times than I can count before they got to that stage!!!

So mommy's saying "YAY!!!!!!" as well!

Dams & Canyons Day 6 Grand Canyon/Glen Canyon Dam

Well we made it to the biggest "dam" canyon on our trip (that was funny wasn't it?) on this day--the Grand Canyon!  By this point on our trip, day 6, Jacob was very sleep deprived.  When Jacob doesn't get enough sleep, he is one cranky monkey!

The boys posing for the camera.

Here, you see Jacob being a little bit of a ham, but just prior to snack time and just after, he was throwing a tantrum of, well, grand canyon scale.  He was crying or screaming for the majority of our time here.  Jacob and Julia are wearing their backpack tethers, which we used a lot on this trip.  We did bring the stroller with us, as we did a fair amount of walking, but Jacob insisted that HE needed to ride in the stroller and refused to get out of it, even when Julia needed to sit (evident when she insisted on being carried).  Finally, we just said that no one was riding in the stroller and everyone was walking.

Julia loved her snack time.

Lunch was a much needed respite for all of us.  

Finally, Jacob and Julia got some ZZZZZZZ's in the car!  Hallelujah!

When we got out of the car again, somewhere near Glen Canyon Dam (I don't remember exactly where right now), we stopped to go potty at a Walmart and get a few supplies that we were running low on (bottled water being one).  I let the kids choose their own snacks--this is one of the ways I got Jacob out of the car to use the potty.

James chose Ding Dongs as his snack (absolutely NOT something I would normally have let him choose, but we were on vacation and it was memorable).  Jacob chose Chex Mix.  Julia would partake of all of the above.  The kids were quite happy when they got in the car again.  We didn't drive much more than 30 minutes or so before seeing our next big landmark.

The second dam on our tour was the Glen Canyon Dam.  The above picture is the bridge over the canyon.

Matt and I both loved the scenery on our drive today.  We were both somewhat fascinated with the layering of the rocks and how you could see all the different colors in the rocks.  

The rocks tell amazing stories.

Dams & Canyons Day 5

Day 5 was our Hoover Dam day.  We left Vegas and headed to the dam.  It was so hot there!!!  Oh my goodness, it was a little overwhelming.  We'd been very fortunate in Las Vegas that there was wind the whole time we were there (particularly in Henderson where we stayed).

This is a view of a new bridge across the canyon, looking from the dam.

Obviously, the dam.  But the photo was taken from the afore mentioned bridge.  The kids and I chose not to walk on the bridge--there was a very tall ramp to climb to get there.  I was tired, as were the kids, and I just did not want to go there!  We stayed in the car and ate lunch while Matt hiked up to the bridge.  He said the view was spectacular and well worth the climb.

I think this photo was taken on the road--perhaps from the parking lot?

Ahh, the mother road!!!!!  We stopped in historic Kingman, AZ after turning onto the famed Route 66.  James was soooooo excited to be on Route 66 (anyone familiar with the movie Cars?).  We thought for sure that he'd be disappointed that it was simply a road with no glam to it, but he wasn't.  He stayed excited the whole time we were on the highway.

A train in Kingman.

We spent the night in Williams, AZ.  It's a cute little town that caters to Route 66 travelers on their way to the Grand Canyon.  This is the diner where we ate dinner on this night.  It was really a fun place.  The kids loved it!!

Inside the attached store.

Dams & Canyons Day 4--Las Vegas

Day 4 began at the opposite end of the strip, with the Wynn.  The following photo was taken just inside the entrance to the hotel.  The Wynn is a very upscale hotel and houses a Ferrari store (you actually have to pay to walk through the store).   There was no shortage of fresh flowers or Rolls Royces at this extravegant hotel.

Upon leaving the Wynn, we walked through the shopping mall under the Venetian (yes, the one with the canals, which terrified Julia yet again).  The live statue was very intriguing for the boys.

This is a waterfall outside the Wynn (Julia was scared of it).

Finally, Circus Circus!!!!!!  The boys had a great time in the Adventure Dome.  We let them play a couple of video games, including this car game.  Dad helped the boys reach the gas pedal and steer.

Julia wanted to be in on the action too!

We also let the boys go on one ride in the Adventure Dome.  From the moment Jacob saw the roller coaster at New York New York the previous day, he decided he really wanted to ride one.  Lucky for us, the Adventure Dome has an abundance of carnival rides, including this kid size coaster.  He was so excited to get on it!  Unfortunately, I think he found it to be more scary than fun though.

James chose an airplane ride and loved every second of it!  We capped off our Circus Circus adventure with, what else?  A circus act!  We watched a fantastic juggler and a clown perform with a live "band."  The band consisted of an electronic keyboard and drumset.  The kids loved it!

Our last stop is Las Vegas was the car show that James has been talking about for months and months (that's the reason he lives in Las Vegas, you know).

Dams & Canyons Day 3--Viva Las Vegas

Day 3 was our first day in Las Vegas.  We stayed at a great hotel in Henderson and drove into Vegas around 9 in the morning.  We parked at New York New York and walked that half of the strip.  It was sooooooo windy!

The Bellagio was a great stop for us.  James has been talking for the past year about his house in Las Vegas (aka Bellagio), so it was a real treat for him to finally visit the place!  Inside was a beautiful garden area with wonderful fountains and a walk through aviary with very colorful parrots inside.

Julia showing us "bird" again.

When we left the Bellagio, we walked out the front door and what should we see?  A brand new Rolls Royce just begging to have its picture taken with James!

James standing in front of "his house."

Jacob was very tired this day.  Meltdowns are not uncommon for him, particularly when he's tired.  This one could have been avoided, though.  You see, James had his picture taken standing next to some statue at the entrance to the Bellagio.  Well, Jacob apparently wanted his picture taken there too but didn't tell us until he was already upset.

Finally, Jacob got his picture and the tantrum ended!

What visit to Las Vegas would be complete without a photo standing next the the Fabulous Las Vegas sign?  Well, ours occurred inside the M&M's store, with a giant M&M, but that's ok.  While we were there, we got to see an M&M movie in 3D and eat really expensive M&M's.  When do we get to do that at home?

The afternoon fountain show at the Bellagio.  The noise from the fountains scared Julia to death.

Here's sweet Julia, relaxing by the pool at the Hampton Inn at Henderson.  She didn't want to go in the water, but was happy to sit on the side.  She eagerly sat in the hot tub, though.

Dams and Canyons Day 2

 On our second day, we began at Zion National Park.  Neither Matt or myself had ever been to Zion.  It was spectacular and we could both easily see ourselves spending a couple of days hiking various trails and canyons.  It was beautiful and breathtaking . . . all of the things you expect a national park like this to be.  The following is a photo of James, taken as we were getting gas in Cedar City.

This is a great shot of one of the peaks in Zion.  I love the way the sun's rays filter down on the mountain.

Here we are on the bus that runs through Zion.  They don't allow cars to drive through most of the park.  Instead, they encourage you to ride the bus from end to end, stopping wherever you'd like to sightsee.

These photos of James and Jacob were taken at the far end of the park, on a trail that follows the river.  It was very cold in the canyon (shaded the whole way), even though it was quite hot outside.  The rock they are standing on was at the beginning of the trail.  Julia insisted on walking the whole way, which I didn't mind.  In fact, on the way back, an older woman stopped me and asked if she had walked the entire way, I replied "yes."  She said, "Well if she can walk, then so can I."  I thought that was cute.

After traversing the trail, we stopped to have a snack before boarding the bus.  The squirrels were so obnoxious!!!!  They would have climbed into our laps if we had let them.

Julia loves birds, so it was really fun for her to see this little birdy that just happened to stop on this little wall when we were waiting for the bus.  In fact, we had just taught Julia the hand sign for bird, so she was busy showing us her hand signs as well as saying "bird," which really sounds more like "bee."

Another bird.  Only this time, a wild turkey . . . who knew?

At one of the bus stops, a mile away from the lodge, we decided to walk on a trail to the lodge, instead of staying on the bus.  It was a good trail, but Julia wanted to be carried for a good portion of the time.  The trail basically followed the road, with a few little twists here and there.  It was a good decision, as we were able to spy a fawn getting a drink from a little pond.  And it made the time in the car after that feel nice.

Our day ended with a nice bath in Las Vegas.  We actually stayed at the Hampton Inn in Henderson (which ended up being the least expensive hotel on our trip as well as the nicest!).  We didn't bring any bath toys with us, so I poked holes in the hotel cups and water toys were born!