Vegas 2011-Part 1

Here we are, back in Las Vegas! That means it's time to start having a good time.

We all drove up last night, but with a combination of people getting off work at different times and needing enough room to drive DJ and Kaylyn (the Matiyasics' cousins from Florida) back to Utah after, we rode up in three different vehicles. Deana rode with us and we got there first. Joe rode with Charles and they arrived next. Casey and Jen rode up together and got there last.

We were staying in style on this trip. Last year, we hated having to move to a different hotel in the middle of our vacation, so this year we stayed at the Orleans from the beginning. But we didn't stay in just any old room. We got ourselves the Louisiana Suite complete with two separate bedrooms and a living room/kitchenette in the middle. It was great having so everyone in the same room.

 

This picture is showing off two things. First, we were listening to Dane Cook on the drive down yesterday and his bit about old fashioned pictures really stuck with us. He mentions that no one is ever smiling in those pictures. They just look stoic and creepy. So that kind of became the theme of our weekend. This picture is our attempt at all looking stoic and creepy. Second, one of Deana's coworkers mentioned that you could buy liquor at the Costco in Vegas therefore saving yourself a ton of money. So we hit the Costco this morning after picking up DJ and Kaylyn from the airport and loaded up. Here, we were also showing off our plethora of alcohol. Now that everyone was there it was time for the party to begin!

Future Baseball Star

Since we will be in Vegas for Brayden's birthday this year, Nana gave him his birthday present early. Here we are outside teaching him how to play. He did pretty good for this being his first time every hitting a ball.

Easter Egg Hunting at the Matiyasic's

After dying all of those eggs last night we had to come back over to the Matiyasic's to hunt for the eggs. Everyone pitched in to help provide all the candy filled eggs and toys that Brayden would hunt for. I think Deana and Jen were more excited than we were. They went into the backyard to hide everything while we kept Brayden in the house.

Brayden was finally old enough this year to go hunting by himself. We helped when he got stumped, but he did a really good job on his own.

Once everything was found and gathered, Brayden wanted to play with his toys. I was glad that he was more interested in those than with the candy.

First, Jen played catch with him.

Then Brayden and Craig played basketball.

Finally Lucky popped the bubbles that Brayden blew. It was a wonderful day! I really love relaxing with friends on the holidays.

Coloring Eggs at the Matiyasic's

Because the holidays are so much more fun when kids are around, Deana invited us over to her parents' house so we could all dye eggs. It was so much fun! All the adults joined in, even Charles and Jen.

Since Deana bought the coloring kits from the store, there were a few nifty new tools that he had to teach Brayden how to use.

It didn't take long before he wanted to do it all by himself.

Deana had quite the spread for us. There were about 2 dozen mugs with different colored dye inside. Considering how many eggs Dorothy had for us to color it sure sped up the process.

Brayden was struggling with this flimsy piece of metal when he tried to pull the eggs out of the mugs. Apparently it is much more effective at dropping the eggs in...

...So we grabbed him a spoon. Much easier.

Now we are all ready for the Easter Egg Hunt tomorrow!

Easter Eggs and Racecars

First off, Easter is almost here! And what do you do just before Easter? Dye eggs! So that's what we did. We let Brayden pick the colors, orange and blue, and off we went. He loved setting the timer of the microwave while the eggs sat in the dye. It was cute to watch him being so careful with the eggs. He did a really good job!

Second off, notice the cut next to his eye. This is the first picture we got of it. Earlier this week we went to the West Jordan park to play. We have been there quite a bit, so we thought we could relax on a blanket under a tree and let Brayden go and play by himself. Bad idea! Moments after loosing sight of him another little boy brought him out crying and bleeding. Eventually we discovered that Brayden had fallen down and his sunglasses had cut his eye. Poor Brayden was more worried about finding his glasses than he was about his eye. As Craig and I were walking through the playground looking for the glasses, I saw an older kid walking by checking out the Wall-E sunglasses in his hands. I asked if he had just found them. He said he had and he gave them up, looking rather disappointed. We went home after that. That's probably my shortest, yet most eventful, trip to the park ever.

Well, back to today, after we finished dying eggs, Brayden helped his daddy set up Craig's racetrack. Brayden found it while we were packing up the house getting ready to move, so we figured we'd set it up for him for the first time. Craig has always had this box, but this was the first time I had ever seen him set it up. I loved watching the boys play. Brayden loved watching the cars crash or flip off the track. I even joined in the fun. It's amazing how much skill it takes to actually race these cars. You have to go fast enough to beat your opponent, but not too fast to biff it on a curve. It was so much fun. I love spending time with my family!

Put to Work

Brayden loves playing with the sprayer on the hose at the Matiyasic's, so Gary put him to work cleaning off the filters for their pond. Brayden gets to play with the hose and Gary gets out of this chore. Everyone wins!

"I Got My Boots"

From what I've noticed, my son's favorite thing about winter is getting to wear his boots. Any time there is the slightest bit of snow outside, he asks to wear them. On our way out of the house today, he was being especially cute about it as he stomped his way out to the car.