Braving a trip alone

So I decided with Keith's crazy schedule, if I wanted to go places and visit family I would have to go without him. This was stepping out of my comfort zone a bit to drive to Las Vegas alone with my four kids. I did it and survived! We stayed with my grandparents. So not as to overwhelm them with the joys of 4 children we visited the Lied Children's Discovery Center and the Museum of Natural History and planned to visit with my aunt and brother. We had a lot of fun. I was surprised that it wasn't as difficult as I imagined. Although I did have one scare while at the Silverton Casino. We were in the Bass Pro Shop (pretty impressive store-It looked like we just stepped into the great outdoors with a waterfall and all.) We were heading over to the Casino to view the giant aquarium when Daniel and Ariana disappeared from sight. Talk about panic!!! We just came down the stairs from the second floor and I turned to the side of the stair case heading to the exit of the store and entrance to the casino when I looked behind me to only find Carissa as I was holding Austin's hand and had the camera in the other hand. I had just had a conversation with Daniel near ending the flight of stairs. I asked Carissa "where is your brother and sister?" Her reply was "I don't know." I scanned the immediate area around the stair case and then ventured a little bit further, frantically looking and calling their names. No answer and no sign of Ariana or Daniel. Fear consumed me, where could they be it was only seconds from when they were last behind me! I headed back up the stairs thinking maybe they dropped something. No, they weren't on the stairs. I wanted to cry at this point. While on the second floor I looked down onto the first floor scouring everywhere when I spotted them heading in the opposite direction of where we were headed. I knew if I tried to run down the stairs with my other two I would lose them so I did what any panicked mother does, yell! I yelled their names so loud that everyone, I mean everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at me. But I didn't care because I had found my children and they heard me. It was a moment of joy and relief and then anger. I didn't know whether to hug them or spank them, so they got both. After that everyone had to hold hands and after viewing the aquarium it was straight out of that scary place. Thank goodness my brother met me soon after that. That was the only scary and unfortunate event and that was plenty. Aside from the moment of terror I would do it again, just not the casino.

This how I wanted to contain them after the casino incident

The aquarium at the casino. The kids loved watching the stingray swim up and down along the glass.

Science can be gross. We got to learn about how bugs help scientist solve crimes.

Just playing in the water or learning how to change the flow of water?

Finding fossils

Can you pull your own weight?

Showing off piano skills to great grandma

Barbecuing with Uncle Ben

The kids and my grandparents

View at the Hoover Dam, Can you believe how low the water is?

Progress on the road over the Colorado River to bypass the Dam