The Graham Canyon

As promised I have a few pictures from our family vacation. The trip was a blast. First we went to Laughlin to play on the river and to visit great grandma. From there we took old route 66 to the grand canyon and stopped in a little town to buy some souvenirs. It was the cutest little barber shop converted into a store. We stayed in Williams which is about an hour from the grand canyon and that was a cool place in itself. When we left for the grand canyon I was amazed by the drive. I had always thought that the grand canyon was in the desert so really we would only see a lot of dirt, rocks then a big hole, but about 20 minutes into the drive we started seeing a lot of forest areas that just kept getting thicker. I had know idea the area around the grand canyon was so beautiful. When we got there we loaded up my back pack with water and snacks and hiked a couple hours along the rim. We took a ton of pictures, ate our snacks, saw a couple deer and a cute little squirrel that tried to attack me. He was actually going for some crackers that were on the ground right behind me. A group of tourists from Australia got a big kick out of me jumping like a little girl when he was running right at me. I could have sworn I saw some foam coming from his mouth and a crazy look in his eyes. Anyhow, when the girls got tired of walking and I got tired of carrying Mia on my shoulders we headed back to the hotel. The next time I think we will stay for a week or so to really get the full experience. Then we went to Vegas. The girls have always wanted to see where Isella and I got married so we stopped in Vegas. We stayed at Circus Circus and only left the hotel to see the wedding chapel other than that we stayed there at the hotel. We swam, ate at the buffet, met Sponge Bob and played some games in the arcade. Sophia didn't understand why she couldn't play the slot machines because they looked so fun to her. And when I tried to explain that they were games for mommies and daddies she gave me this look like "You're kidding me". We went home from Vegas and after week 1 out of the way we rested over the weekend. Week 2 we went camping at Green Valley Lake near Arrowhead. It was beautiful as you can see in one of the pictures. Daddy hit a minor speed bump while building the tent but after a few cuss words and a couple of thrown poles I finally got it. We also learned that no matter how many flies buzz by the girls ears, each can produce a blood curdling scream. I thought that would get better as time went on and into the next day but....nope. After the camping trip we came home and did some fun stuff around town. We went to the park, the farmers market (A big carnival in Fullerton), the movies and golfing. Well it was just the driving range but the girls had fun anyway and Isella dropped a 30 foot putt on her first and only attempt at putting. After she sank her first try she didn't want to play anymore. Finally at the end of my vacation Isella and I celebrated our 11 year anniversary. We stayed on the Queen Mary and had a great time. The restaurants were excellent and the tour was great. We went on the Daryn and Isella just walk around trying to open doors tour. It was way better and way cheaper than the guided tours. So it was an action packed couple of weeks and I am so happy we got to take this vacation. Now it's back to work for me but I know we will have a lot more fun before the girls go back to school.