Carnival Paradise

The next day we drove the rest of the way to Long Beach and boarded the Carnival Paradise for our 5 day cruise.

We headed up to the top and got some lunch and watched the seagulls that stayed close to the ship waiting for someone to feed them. Jack was pretty amazed with the big boat and the ocean. That night we attended the welcome show and had a nice dinner.

vegas!!!

On Aug 10th we left for our big family vacation. It was defintely something we had been looking forward to for weeks. Luke quit his job the Friday before so this was the last shibang before we headed back to Kansas. We started off the trip by heading down to Vegas. Of course our first stop was In N Out It was delicious. Then we had a few car problems that set us back for a few hours but it all worked out.

Later that night we headed over to the shark reef at the Mandala Bay. It was pretty cool. Jack loved it. They have a 1.6 million gallon aquarium full of sharks, turtles, and other fish. They also had a place to touch sting rays. We had a good time.

Then we headed over to the MGM buffet. It was so yummy. You can't really beat all you can eat crab legs and prime rib, with a huge variety of desserts. It was a great way to start off our week of eating, I mean vacation.

Bowling

We were all bored one Saturday night, so we decided to go bowling. Jack was so excited when he got inside and saw all the ball, but soon his face turned into frustration when he realized he couldn't lift them.

He went around to pretty much every ball trying to see if he could pick it up.

Dad had to step in and show him that he needed to roll the ball, not throw it.

Most of the time he wouldn't wait to see the ball hit the pins.

Nope, he couldn't lift this ball either.

He finally got the hang of bowling and ended up having a great time!

Yay for bowling! Thanks Sum, Andy, Ethan, and Avs for sharing the night with us!Afterwards, we headed over to Wingers, Luke had been dying to go there ever since we got back.

The kids had tons of fun with the dessert!

Ethan's baptism

We were so grateful we got to be home this summer and attend Ethan's baptism. It was such a special day. Jack loves his "E" and couldn't of asked for a better buddy!

We were so proud of his decision!

Wyoming

We really had a fun weekend. It was refreshing to wake up each morning to nothing but mountains and fresh air. Jack had such a good time with them. He is so lucky to have great grandparents that are a great example in his life. I told Gpa Lou that when Jack was 8 I was sending him up to his farm so he could show him how to work. We were truly blessed to be able to spend the weekend with them!

Wagon rides

Gpa Lou hooked up the mules o the wagon, and we went on a couple of wagon rides. It was so relaxing.

Of course Jack liked to sit front and center.

Gpa Lou told us that one of his favorite sayings is , "the best way to see the world is between the ears of your mules"

Jack got to help drive the mules and he really had a good time when he got a hold of the whip. He would try to tell the mules to go and which way to go. He loved it!

I was the lucky one to get to drive the mules back in the barn, good thing they already knew where they were going!

horse rides

The second day we were there we spent a lot of time with the horses and mules. Gpa Lou saddled up Old Celio (his oldest mule) for Jack to ride by himself. He wasn't too sure of that. He didn;t stay on too long, later he put a saddle on that I could ride with him and he liked that better. He loved to be out on the farm and playing in the dirt.

the local dairy

In Afton Gma Great took us to their local dairy. It is a couple in their ward that just has a little dairy at their house. They had cows for Jack to see, although he didn't want to touch them. I just loved this dairy! I love the small town feel it had. Plus their chocolate milk was too die for, Luke drank the whole carton in one day!

Ranger ride

We were so lucky this year to be able to go up and stay with Luke's grandparents in Wyoming. They live in Star Valley in Afton and it is so beautiful! Right when we got there we took a ranger ride up the canyon that is right across the street. I think it is called dry creek canyon. It was so pretty, it had a small river running down through it. We rode clear to the top where there was a small lake. It was a fun ride especially with Gpa Lou driving, he is always looking for the wilder route. They showed us the different spots they go logging and took us up to a spot that overlooked the valley. Jack had fun sitting in between gma and gpa. We really had a fun weekend. It was refreshing to wake up each morning to nothing but mountains and fresh air. Jack had such a good time with them. He is so lucky to have great grandparents in his life.