Bread...yum!

So that first night in Vegas we went to a bread class that a friend of Sara's teaches. I love to bake (and think I am pretty good), but have always been afraid of bread. I have tried a few times but it seems like SO much work and then it never turned out very good, so I gave up. This class was amazing!!! She taught us one recipe and how to use it in countless ways. It made me excited to try bread again, so yesterday I did. It was SO easy and quick (in an hour I had a loaf of bread and a batch of cinnamon rolls and my kitchen all cleaned up)! My bread and cinnamon rolls looked and tasted awesome! Later that night I made another batch of dough and made another loaf of bread and pizza poppers for dinner. It was just as easy and turned out just as tasty! I don't think I will be buying bread much anymore. My next bread adventure is to try using part wheat flour in the recipe....

Last Day in Vegas

Monday morning we realized our time was up. It's always hard to say good bye, especially to Sara and her kiddos! We went on a little drive to a little town not far from Sara's called Blue Diamond. They have wild burros just wandering around and we were lucky enough to see lots!

Krista teaching Wyatt to do the robot:

Ry and Wyatt being silly on our drive. My mom told us to keep our eyes peeled for burros and Wyatt screamed and said I don't want to peel my eyes! Hilarious!

The first burro we saw was by himself by the side of the rode.

We saw a few more here and there and then at this park there were lots including 2 babies. Rylee was trying to feed them an apple, but they kept walking away. They are beautiful animals!

Saying goodbye!

3 in a Row

Rylee LOVES Jack in the Box tacos! I think they are pretty darn good too. Since we don't have any Jack in the Box close to us we always take advantage when we are near one. We got tacos (and shakes) late on Saturday night in Santa Monica, again on Sunday night in Vegas, and then at the last Jack in the box on the way home, St. George.

Heading Home

Sunday morning we headed back to Vegas.


Mom wouldn't let me drive after my speeding ticket on the way to Vegas:


We stopped at Buffalo Bills at the Nevada/California stateline to ride the Desparado Roller Coaster. We tried on the way but it was not running, so we had to stop on the way back. I have not ridden this roller coaster since I was in high school. We stayed at the hotel once with our kids when they were little and they loved watching the roller coaster out our window. Rylee remembers watching and not being able to ride. Now that she is big enough I wanted to take her. It use to be the tallest (0ver 200 feet high) and fastest (over 90 mph) roller coaster in the world, but not sure anymore. Krista bought Sara a ticket and told her she had to go with us. This is us before the ride:

It was the funnest 2 minutes and 43 seconds I have had in a long time! This is what I looked like after 90+ mph (my hair was crazy and my necklaces were all twisted):



Sara wasn't smiling after. She told Krista she was not going to pay her back for the ride!

The Birds

As we were leaving the pier there was a man there with 3 birds (parrot? macaws?) that you could have your picture taken with. He would pose you with the birds and my mom stopped for a minute which turned into about 15 minutes. After my mom had her turn, my cousin, Angie and my Aunt Nancy had a turn, then Rylee took a turn as well. He would pose them or have the bird kiss them. It was fun!

My mom with Max:

Angie and Aunt Nancy with all 3 birds, so cool. Can you tell my mom and Nancy are sisters?

Rylee loved it! She was a natural.

Max loved kissing the girls! (and pulling earrings out)

Ry with all 3 birds, love that smile!

Rides at the Pier

The pier has a bunch of amusement park type rides which Rylee really wanted to ride. I have not done something just for fun like this in ages, so I got myself an unlimited ride pass as well. So did Krista and Angie and we had a blast!


The roller coaster was not real big or scary, but it was fun!


This ride was awesome! It looks like a boat and there are people sitting at the other end facing us and it goies back and forth until you are looking straight down on the other end. We were laughing so hard at the look on some of the kids faces. I wish I had my camera on the ride to get those looks, hilarious!!!


Rylee and Angie went on the scrambler and loved it. Krista and I don't like the spinning rides. I love the look on Rylee's face here:


This ride was fun, like the rocket at Lagoon, but on a much smaller scale. It was fun when you were high up to look over the ocean. Rylee started talking to these little girls in line and they were all best friends by the time our ride was over. They wanted to ride more with Ry but we were actually just leaving. They seemed very sad! Ry draws people to her and I loved watching her being sweet.


These bumper "cars" were so much fun! I think they work kind of like an air hockey table, it was a neat feeling, like you were floating on air. You could make them spin really fast too.

Santa Monica Pier Ferris Wheel

This ferris wheel is solar powered and so big!

Here is the view from the top:

Ry and I at the top:

Krista and Angie

Sara at the bottom, she takes after our dad and does not like heights so she wouldn't join us.

Saturday in Santa Monica

While mom and Sara were in their knitting classes the rest of us headed back to 3rd street. We checked out their local farmers market, did some more shopping, then met my niece, Ashley, and her husband, Brett, for lunch. They live in Pasadena and lucky for us they had the day off from school and work. It was fun to eat good food and enjoy good company. Ashley is expecting their first child (a girl) on January 1st. We haven't seen her for almost 2 months so it was fun to see how much she has grown. She looks great!


We met up later with mom and Sara, as well as my Aunt Nancy and my cousin Angela who had driven up from San Diego to spend the day with us. We headed to the famous Santa Monica Pier.


It was overcast and cool the entire day, it felt great!


I did not know until we were there that the pier is the end of Route 66


There were more street performers along the pier. This gentlemen was at the end of the pier and he was amazing!

Santa Monica 3rd St Promenade

I have never been to Santa Monica before so it was fun to check out a new place. Our hotel was just 2 miles from the Santa Monica Pier. That night when we arrived my mom and Sara had to go to the hotel where there convention was to check in. Krista, Rylee, and I decided to head out to check out Santa Monica so we rode the bus to 3rd St. 3rd Street is a pedestrian mall that runs along 3rd street and is about 5 blocks (I think). It was fun to check out some different stores than we have in Utah, watch the street performers, and just to people watch. Sara and Mom met us there later and we ate dinner at a little Greek restaurant that was yummy.


Ry wanted to pose with the dinosaur, she didn't even notice the homeless man nearby. She made me a little nervous while we were there. I kept having to remind her not to go off by herself...she was so enamored with her surroundings that she wasn't paying attention to everything.



Krista walking down the promenade:


We found this fun store called Wasteland, they have vintage clothes and Rylee fell in love with some outfits:


She really wanted this outfit, we told her the gold leggings looked a like something a prostitute might wear, so she changed her mind.

The Drive to Cali

It was so fun doing a road trip with my mom, my sisters, and my daughter! We listened to a wide array of music, reminisced, and laughed a lot!

Ry and Krista

Ry and Sara

Ry with everything she needs: her ipod, her cell phone, and sugar!

One of the items on Rylee's bucket list is to do a cartwheel over a state line, so we stopped:

I took this picture out of the front passenger window,
this cloud was so dark and right over our heads.

GIRLS TRIP

A few months back my mom and my sister, Sara, were making plans to go to a knitting convention in Santa Monica. They asked if I would be interested in joining them...well I don't knit, but would love a girls trip!!! So that is what we did. My sister, Krista, joined us and I took Rylee along as well (she needed a break from everything). We left Thursday afternoon and drove to Sara's in Vegas. We stayed the night there which is always fun! Her kids are so cute and make you feel so loved. That night we went to a bread making class that one of Sara's friends was doing...more about that in a later post. The next morning we got up and dropped Mara at school, then Rylee, Sara, and I headed to the Las Vegas Temple to do some baptisms for the dead. It was a really good experience. It was the first time I have been to the temple with Rylee and we were able to do some family names my mom had. Then we headed back to Sara's to grab our bags and mom and Krista and headed to California!


Mara in her school uniform:


Us at the temple:


The beautiful Las Vegas Temple:
Rylee was impressed that they drive 45 minutes to go to the temple when we only have to drive 10 minutes to get to 2 different temples.


Wyatt showing us his Halloween costume:


Audrey! Rylee had her laughing hysterically, she has the cutest laugh!

Cheer and Football

On Saturday Rylee had the opportunity to perform with the Weber State University cheerleaders during half time. It was so much fun! It was a different feel than being at the Utah game a couple weeks ago. Weber is a smaller school so cheaper tickets, smaller stadium, less fans, but still some good football! We left after half time so we could go home and watch the Utes kick some Cougar fanny!


The Stadium:

Due to the size, you are a lot closer to the action:


The girls waiting to go on the field, Rylee is the one folding her arms in the white shirt:


Here they are on the field, Rylee is in a white shirt, last girl on the left at the back:


Here are the Webe State Cheerleaders performing there awesome stunts. It was so fun watching them do some crazy, scary stunts that I hope to watch Rylee doing someday. She has wanted to be a Utah cheerleader for some time now, but while we were at the Weber State game she mentioned she wouldn't mind cheering here either.