Grand Canyon and Las Vegas!

On Saturday morning, we drove to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We had a picnic lunch along the canyon when we arrived and it was breathtaking!

We did a short hike to get a great outlook at our first stop. Kayla kept asking to pose in different places. She's quite the model! 

Brett insisted on climbing up this rock - nearly giving me a heart attack, especially when Kayla wanted to join him. :)

This backpack Tyson's wearing is the only thing that kept my sanity! The Grand Canyon is so beautiful but it spiked my anxiety exploring it with these two. 

We drove all along the North Rim to the far end where we got a different, yet amazing view. 

Tyson was a champ and walked for so much of our journey. We tried to stick to paved trails where the stroller could join us. 

My boys in one of God's greatest creations!

Grandma loved being able to see the Grand Canyon for the first time!

I love the adventures my life with Brett has taken me on. He is a great traveler, travel planner, and makes the most out of our time always. I sure love this guy!

That night we stayed in Hurricane at my good friend from high school's house. Rachel and her family were so hospitable to let us all crash there. Kayla LOVED her kids and I loved being able to catch up with Rachel!

We stopped by the St. George temple on Sunday morning before heading to Vegas. 

Since it was Conference weekend, we were able to listen while we drove, but I love that we were able to visit two temples that day to keep the focus on the Sabbath, despite traveling. 

 

We had a picnic lunch at the Las Vegas Temple and then headed to the rehearsal for Kendra's wedding.

When Kayla first started walking down the aisle, she dropped the few blades of grass she'd collected for practicing and then tossed that basket clear up into the trees and ran up the aisle! I wish we'd had the camera out! It was amazing! Because everyone was laughing so hard, it took quite a bit of convincing that she shouldn't do that on the actual wedding day though. :)

We explored a bit of Vegas, visiting the M&M store - which was a big hit, and the Coca Cola store before heading to the rehearsal dinner. We stayed at Ex Calibur and the kids were in love with the castle! They thought it was about the best thing ever!

 

We got a lot of candy in the dispenser area - it adds up fast!

Kayla was terrified of the Coca Cola Bear but Tyson thought he was pretty cool!

During dinner, the kids got antsy, so Brett took them to walk around the MGM Grand. Kayla wanted a picture with this dragon and just after it was taken, the dragon apparently roared and breathed smoke! The kids were traumatized! Haha!

I love the skyline of Las Vegas. Its so fun to see so many iconic views in one little place. I was also impressed with how clean the streets were. In the past, they've been covered in inappropriate images, but I didn't see hardly any at all, and I was on the lookout for my kid's sake! It was a bit of a relief.

We got the kids to bed, and Brett took mom to walk down the strip, since she's never been to Vegas. 

The next morning, we went to the Venetian to get Cake Boss treats at Carlo's! I was so excited because I love this show!

 

We then drove to the Hoover Dam. We invited another wedding guest who didn't have plans to come along with us after we met her at the dinner the night before. We didn't get any photos with her, but Amy fit in just like a member of the family! It was great!

We took the tour to go down under Hoover Dam and it was very impressive! I had no idea the engineering marvels that went into creating this huge dam!

It was trippy to look down over the railings!

We headed back to the pool to do a little swimming before the wedding! The slide pool was closed though and it was a little chilly, so we didn't stay too long. The kids had fun though!

We stopped by the Bellagio before the wedding to see the fountains and their impressive indoor display. The kids loved both! Mom was really impressed with the fountain, especially because it had been too windy the night before when she and Brett had gone out together. 

The song it was done to was "All That Jazz!"

Kayla and Kara, Kendra's younger sister!

I can't get over how beautiful Kendra is! Her dress was especially impressive, since she designed it herself and had it made through ETSY!

 

Rob and Kendra were married the same day as both hers and his parents! It was so special to see the wedding cake along with the two anniversary cakes. What a special moment to share over generations!

Kayla was the cutest little flower girl I've ever seen! Here she is with the bridal party!

I was so nervous for her and right before the ceremony, she got scared, but I got her calmed down and she was just perfect in her flower girl duties!

She didn't quite sit still through the whole thing but she did great!

I was asked to read a scripture from Ruth. 

Kayla and Natalie - the Matron of Honor, who helped Kayla and was so great with her! She even got a little present for doing her part so well!

It was a beautiful sunset wedding!

I couldn't have been more proud of Kayla!

No Vegas wedding is complete without an appearance from Elvis, or so I'm told!

My only regret from the evening is that I didn't get a picture with the bride!! Kendra and I have been friends since we were two years old. She's my oldest friend and I love her dearly. I'm so glad we were able to be there for her special day! I'm so happy for her and Rob!

I think they're going to be really happy together! 

They had a fun dance party at the end of the reception. Our kids were asleep back at the hotel with Grandma, so Brett and I were able to have a little fun together. While we were dancing, the father of the groom, who was celebrating his 50th anniversary, tapped us on the shoulders and said that we'd definitely be making it to 50 years as well. I don't doubt that one bit. I'm so lucky to have this guy by my side! We stopped and got a photo in front of the iconic Vegas sign. It was the perfect Vegas trip!

We stopped at one last view of Zion's on our drive back. Kolob Canyon is a hidden gem right off I-15!

We had a wonderful vacation! The drive back was amazing because the kids were so well behaved and slept so much! I had one day after getting home to get caught up on life and then worked four 12 hour days in a row. It feels good to be catching up on the blogging!