Birthday Celebrations- all week long!

The Birthday boys

Collin and Aaron's Incredible birthday party

What a party! All the pizza and ice cream you can eat!

Suiting up for a game of laser tag

Bumper cars

I can't believe my twins just turned 6! I remember when they were so tiny that we could fit them both in one car seat! (Not that we would ever travel that way, of course) We began their birthday celebration at the Incredible Pizza Company that just opened. It was so much fun for them! They got to be the stars of the day and eat all the pizza and ice cream they wanted! We played games and rode rides. Their favorites were the laser tag and bumper cars. Nathan loved the bowling and playing all of the little kid games. Davin loved laser tag and the race cars, but was frustrated when mom didn't drive fast enough to take 1st place. The laser tag game with my family was a blast. I giggled like a little kid ducking and aiming at unsuspecting family members! Thanks Mom and Dad and Cass and Danny for making it all possible! We appreciate it so much! It was so much fun! They will never forget their increeeeedibly fun day!

My grandparents invited us to come to Vegas with them this past week. My cousin Melissa and her kids came too. I was so excited to have some time to visit with them! We stayed at the nicest Marriott (Tahiti Village). It had an amazing pool with sand that went right into it. The kids played in the sand and water for hours and I think I may have even been able to relax poolside for a while!

Nathan having the time of his life in the sand

It was a little difficult to find something for the kids to see on the strip that didn't have a woman's fanny plastered across it, but we did well after locating the M&M store. I had always wanted to buy my kids their pick of the big M&M wall. The employee warned me that whatever my kids dumped into the bag, was mine, at $12.00 a pound!! Still, it was something I wanted to do so I let them choose their colors and carefully monitored the amount of M&M's plopping into each bag. To them it didn't matter if they had 50 M&M's or 500, it was just that they got to pick their colors and have the experience.

The kids at the M&M wall

Me and my darling cousin Melissa at the Hard Rock Cafe

I had never been to a Hard Rock Cafe before, so we went there for dinner. It was WAY too loud and I felt bad for dragging my Grandparents there. The kids loved all the touchscreen technology there and I guess that if anything else I had one more thing to cross off my bucket list, right? -Eat at Hard Rock Cafe, check!

We played in the pool the 2nd day as well and then ordered pizza for dinner. This was much more relaxing, but it made me miss our pizza at home. We headed back to the strip to find a 3 story toy store that once existed inside Ceasar's Palace. Dragging 8 kids through casinos and shopping centers attracted lots of stares. (Grandma and Grandpa couldn't make the trek so we left them at the Gelato store inside the Bellagio.) Melissa, Jason and I and 8 children... from Utah... you get the jest of what people may have thought. It was humorous!

All the kids in front of the Excalibur

Aaron and Collin at the Bellagio gardens- amazing!

Well, we arrive where said toy store was supposed to be, and it was not there. It had been taken out years ago. There was an aquarium that almost made it worth it. We hiked back to the Bellagio and had a gelato... that was worth it! I also wanted my kids to see the fountains at the Bellagio go off at night. We waited a few minutes for that and it was totally worth it!

Nathan eating his gelato. I could eat him up!

The fountain lights at the Bellagio

The kids playing in the tubes at the lazy river

Jason and Nathan floating in the lazy river

Grandma and her birthday Pina Colada

The next day we went to the pool and lazy river at the hotel. Davin was loving playing with Melissa's boys. It was so much fun! We surprised Grandma with a birthday Pina Colada and sang to her. We are so grateful for their generosity and for inviting us to come spend a week with them. It was a lot of fun! We love you Grandma and Grandpa!!

Friends splash at Aaron and Collin's Beach Bash

Make a wish!

The twins had a Surf/Beach Party the day after we got back from Vegas. A lot of people were out of town because of Father's Day, so it was pretty low-key. They ran in the sprinklers, jumped on the trampoline and played with water balloons. We had cup cakes and sno-cones for treats and the boys had a great time. They got new bikes from us and were pretty excited about that! What a fun way to celebrate-all week long!! I am so proud of my boys and how smart they are. I still marvel at how unique they are and love watching their personalities develop. We are so blessed to have them in our family. Aaron loves to ride his bike, play the wii, and loves the color red. Collin loves to read, play with Nathan, ride his bike and loves the color blue. We love our boys! Happy Birthday!