At the end of March, we went to Las Vegas with Angie and Dan and their brood of 5. We got some cheap condo bonus weeks and took off for our first big vacation with them. We felt quite privileged to be the recipient of Dan's vacation time, as they spend a lot of it with Angie's family in California. In Vegas, we went hiking to Red Rock Canyon, swam ( I should say the kids swam - It has to be 90 degrees before I'll swim :-) The kids had so much fun. We ate all our dinners together, switched off nights to cook, and even got in a date night for each of us.
We took the four boys to a sports car dealership. We told them that if they "touched" the car at any moment, we were turning and walking out. They salivated a lot , but no touching
Hiking in Red Rock Canyon
About a week before we left for Vegas, Scot was complaining about how many projects he had, and how he needed us to go away for a while. I used to go to my mom's so he could work on the house, but now that's not an option. So I got the crazy idea: Well, we're not too far from California.. Who do I know in California? At first I couldn't think of anyone, but then I remembered a missionary who served in MS when I was 8. I'm sure after 28 years he wants us to crash at his house. Then I remembered Scot had an aunt there - not an aunt he knew very all. But, I am who I am, and I called. "This is JulieAnn, Scot Willey's wife. Do you remember me?" Definitely a close enough relationship to invite yourself over for a week with 4 kids :-) The lady is as crazy as I am --- she accepted my invite to her house.
I was pretty nervous - the thought of driving to and in LA was pretty scary to me. I've been known to have some serious panic attacks while driving. I had a couple of freak-out moments, but over all I did really well. Ch. was my guide - sitting in the front seat navigating for us. He did amazing. One lady at a museum, upon seeing him with the maps, commented that with mapquest now, no one can read maps. End of guilt that we did no homeschooling that day. School fulfilled.
Before I left, I googled "free things to do in LA". I was amazed by all there is to do there on an extremely limited budget. I could have stayed another week (I'm sure the aunt was rooting for that!) and still have had lots to do. We went to La Brea tar pits (with Aunt Shirley - she'd never been), Cabrillo Marine Aquarium (free and amazing!), tide pools, beaches, California Science Center (free and incredible), Farmer's Market, to Carlsbad to see the missionary, stuck one day at home with car problems, Getty Villa (so beautiful and yes, free). We passed through Ethiopan town, Cambodian town, Korean town, and never had time to stop. I'm a sucker for anything ethnic. We took Aunt Shirley out to eat Thai food (she'd never had any). We loved staying with Aunt Shirley. Just so you know, any of you are welcome to make the same phone call to me whenever you'd like. Though Lehi sure isn't a hot destination spot.
Scot got a lot done on the house. He worked on planting the fruit trees, putting in the water purifier he bought 2 years ago, and framing the basement.
La Brea tar pits with Aunt Shirley
Notice some attitude we were dealing with.
Notice some attitude we were dealing with.
Getty Villa (replica of the Villa de Papiri buried by Mt. Vesuvius) Since we did the ancient civilizations this year in history, the Greek and Roman artifacts were somewhat interesting to the kids.
afternoon with Stacey Goodson, served his mission in Miss., many moons ago
Tide Pools, San Pedro
