We left at about 9 in the morning and drove to Henderson, Nevada (the south side of Las Vegas). I was fully prepared to stop every hour or two to let the girls have a break from the car. I had no idea how they would behave and since I was the only one to tend to their needs I figured I would need a break from the car too. Our first stop ended up being in Nephi for gas and lunch and then we didn't stop again until we got to our hotel. Seriously? The girls were a dream in the car!
This is still in Nephi. We stopped at Subway. I love this picture of Shelby hoovering her sandwich! This girl will eat anything! I ordered a foot long filled with all the things that I like on it. Then I split half of it with Shasta and Shelby and I ate the other half. It worked perfectly!
I decided we needed to stay in a casino hotel in Henderson because I didn't want to drive around once we got there to find dinner. I knew a casino hotel would have eateries plus we would be able to walk around and not be cooped up in a room all evening. Unfortunately, staying in a casino hotel meant a very LONG walk to our room. Thankfully I was smart enough to pack a separate hotel bag so I didn't have to haul in our suitcase and bathroom bag, but I still had to haul in the pack n' play which is plenty heavy. By the time we finally reached our room I wanted to die. It was so hard pushing a stroller (because Shelby doesn't walk), carrying our over night bag and my purse, hauling the pack n' play (which doesn't have a shoulder strap and the hand straps don't quite reach together which means my grip was wider than what would be most comfortable and the material isn't very comfort friendly), and trying to keep Shasta focused on walking whilst being distracted by every single thing we passed. It was quite the hassle. Once we got to our room all I wanted to do was climb in bed and go to sleep, but we still had to eat dinner and Shasta was dying to explore.
The only kid friendly thing in the hotel was this little arcade. And of course it was right next to the food court. I held out as long as I could to let the girls get their fill of playing, but they would never be satisfied. We never placed a single quarter in any of the machines and still it was no easy task trying to convince Shasta it was time to leave.
The next morning we ventured on to Arizona. I was really nervous about finding my way to Phoenix. I was worried about the two roundabouts in Wickenburg and finding my way to Loop 101 once I reached Phoenix. I knew if I survived those two things (and switching interstates in Las Vegas) I would survive. The funny thing is the parts I was most worried about were the parts that ended up being the easiest. The roundabouts were no trouble and finding my way to Loop 101 was a breeze. Those are the two things that give us the most trouble when Nick and I go visit my family. Apparently it's the GPS that makes it hard. Did I mention I did this trip without a GPS of any kind? I tried to use my phone at one point, but I couldn't figure out how to get it to work. I printed the directions from mapquest before I left, but that's all I had. I feel so accomplished!
Once I hit the 60 I had a cheesy permagrin plastered to my face. I was so proud of myself for finding my way all by myself!. Hitting the 60 meant I did it. I found my way. I knew the rest of the drive with confidence. There was nothing left to worry about. WE MADE IT!
We arrived at my parent's house around 2 in the afternoon. My family had no idea we were coming and I have to say, Best. Surprise. Ever! My sister Sally answered the door (her family lives with my parents right now) and she was very surprised to see us. Her visiting teachers happened to be over so I quickly ditched her to go find my dad. She told me he was out back doing yard work. So the girls and I ventured out back in the blazing heat and looked around, but didn't see my dad. Then the lawnmower fired up and he popped out from behind a tree. We started walking toward him and when he saw us he jumped in surprise. His reaction made me so happy! I didn't even care that he was dirty and smelled like fresh cut grass and gasoline. I hugged him good and hard and so did my girls. Shelby even let him hold her for a while. We walked back in the house and chatted and Sally joined us once her visiting teachers left. They wondered why I was there and were so surprised that I came without Nick. But they were so happy to see us.
Then we waited for my mom to get home from work. We were expecting her home shortly after five so we sat in the ready waiting for her to walk in. But she never came. After about an hour my dad called her to find out if she was on her way home and she said the doctor still had his last patient in the office so it would still be a while.
In the meantime, Shelby decided she wanted to learn how to start walking while we waited for Grammy to get home. Sally's baby is three months younger than Shelby and he was walking all over the place. I swear Shelby saw him, sized him up, and decided if he could do it so could she. By the time we left Arizona she was a pro.
(Shelby and Shane)
Shelby is very much a momma's girl (or daddy's girl if he's around... she just prefers her parents over anyone else). Surprisingly, she warmed up to Uncle (my brother) first. He won her over by tickling her face and feet with the roadkill on his face he calls facial hair! Haha! (Love you brother!)
It was kind of a bummer that Kiley and Gabe could only stay for the weekend, but better that than nothing. And I somehow managed to not get any pictures of Kiley or my parents... that was dumb. Guess I'll have to do better at Thanksgiving time.
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