Saying goodbye to our friends was so incredibly hard, but we had to hit the road. The first stop on our eight day trip, Vegas baby! We arrived in Las Vegas at about 9 o'clock on Saturday night (and it was still super-hot out.) We hadn't planned on getting that late of start, but it was worth it letting the girls get one last day at the pool with their friends. Neither the girls, nor mommy had ever been to Vegas before. But, friends of ours who had just been with their kids recommended the Monte Carlo. The hotel was very nice.
That evening we walked down the strip and saw a couple of the water fountain shows at the Bellagio. It was quite impressive. However, the girls were much more content playing at the pool than walking around in the excessive heat and crowds. 
Then we went to the Mirage because the girls wanted to eat at CPK. However, they did not even have a kid's menu, but while we were waiting on our table Mommy won $40 on a quarter slot and bought the girls little Siegfried and Roy white tigers! On the walk back to our hotel, we noticed that Maren was feeling extremely hot. She had be running a low-grade temp. for the couple of days. Of course none of us packed a thermometer, but she was burning up and very cranky. So, mommy and daddy took her to an urgent care clinic. They said her temperature was too high (103) and sent us to the emergency room at a children's hospital. After about two hours of waiting, monitoring, prodding, and both urine and blood testing, they diagnosed her with an ear infection and gave her antibiotics. It was a horrible experience--not the way we wanted to spend our night in Vegas. But, we just wanted to make sure our baby was okay. The antibiotics started working immediately, and Maren started acting more like herself the next day.
We drove over the Hoover Dam, which was kind of cool. It was 110 degrees there, so we decided to just stay in the car rather than getting out to see it. Besides, the girls were watching Peter Pan (for what would end up being the second viewing of about ten.) We stopped in Flagstaff, AZ for dinner, and then headed to our hotel in Albuquerque, NM. That was a lot of time in the car--it took us way too long. We definitely do not recommend driving that distance in one day on an eight day road trip. But, we made it none the less. Tuesday morning after Logan and Carsyn ate breakfast, mommy and daddy took them to the pool for bit where we saw a real roadrunner. Maren was still sleeping--she needed the rest. 
After we all got cleaned up and checked out of the hotel, we went to Old Town Albuquerque. It was a really neat area. It's like any "old town"--a lot like Old Town Scottsdale. The girls had fun looking around in all the shops and eating ice cream. 
Thursday on our way to Memphis, we stopped in Little Rock, AR. Very much to our surprise, it had a very neat downtown area. We had wanted to check out President Clinton's old digs--the old Governor's mansion and the Bill Clinton Presidential Library, but we didn't get there in time. We saw them both from outside--very impressive. We might actually consider going back to see them. 
We then ate dinner, and drove to downtown Memphis. Our hotel was a very cool old downtown hotel, very close to the river and just a few block north of Beale St. On Friday walked around downtown and Beale Street, and even talked Daddy into doing a little shopping. It was pretty cool place. 
On Sunday morning after breakfast, we lathered the girls up with sunscreen and headed for the pools. We spent all day floating in the lazy river, jumping the waves in the wave pool, and just hanging out in the kiddie pool. The girls had such a blast.
Too cool for the pool...
That evening we walked down the strip and saw a couple of the water fountain shows at the Bellagio. It was quite impressive. However, the girls were much more content playing at the pool than walking around in the excessive heat and crowds. Outside of the Monte Carlo...
At the Bellagio...
Happy Father's Day, Daddy...
Then we went to the Mirage because the girls wanted to eat at CPK. However, they did not even have a kid's menu, but while we were waiting on our table Mommy won $40 on a quarter slot and bought the girls little Siegfried and Roy white tigers! On the walk back to our hotel, we noticed that Maren was feeling extremely hot. She had be running a low-grade temp. for the couple of days. Of course none of us packed a thermometer, but she was burning up and very cranky. So, mommy and daddy took her to an urgent care clinic. They said her temperature was too high (103) and sent us to the emergency room at a children's hospital. After about two hours of waiting, monitoring, prodding, and both urine and blood testing, they diagnosed her with an ear infection and gave her antibiotics. It was a horrible experience--not the way we wanted to spend our night in Vegas. But, we just wanted to make sure our baby was okay. The antibiotics started working immediately, and Maren started acting more like herself the next day. Monday morning we all slept in and then had to pack up to make it to our next stop on the map. We did make a quick stop at the slot machines on the way out--we came out ahead!
Too young to gamble...
We drove over the Hoover Dam, which was kind of cool. It was 110 degrees there, so we decided to just stay in the car rather than getting out to see it. Besides, the girls were watching Peter Pan (for what would end up being the second viewing of about ten.) We stopped in Flagstaff, AZ for dinner, and then headed to our hotel in Albuquerque, NM. That was a lot of time in the car--it took us way too long. We definitely do not recommend driving that distance in one day on an eight day road trip. But, we made it none the less. Tuesday morning after Logan and Carsyn ate breakfast, mommy and daddy took them to the pool for bit where we saw a real roadrunner. Maren was still sleeping--she needed the rest. Coolin' off in the pool...
After we all got cleaned up and checked out of the hotel, we went to Old Town Albuquerque. It was a really neat area. It's like any "old town"--a lot like Old Town Scottsdale. The girls had fun looking around in all the shops and eating ice cream. Old Town Albuquerque...
Our next stop was Amarillo, TX (only about a four-hour driving day!) But, it started raining pretty hard as soon as we crossed the Texas state line. It was lightening and thundering--something Logan and Carsyn didn't remember and something Maren had never heard or seen before. There was nothing really to do in Amarillo except eat dinner and go shopping (which daddy put the nix on the latter.) So, we just hung out in our hotel room and relaxed.
Wednesday we drove to Oklahoma City, OK. The girls had fun swimming at the hotel pool, but we really didn't do much in that city either, except grab dinner and watch the Cubs on t.v. Maren was recovering from her illness and ended up sleeping for almost 15 hours. She missed out on dinner, breakfast, and the pool. Poor thing. But, she's all better.
Thursday on our way to Memphis, we stopped in Little Rock, AR. Very much to our surprise, it had a very neat downtown area. We had wanted to check out President Clinton's old digs--the old Governor's mansion and the Bill Clinton Presidential Library, but we didn't get there in time. We saw them both from outside--very impressive. We might actually consider going back to see them. Maren feeling pretty good at the Old Governor's Mansion...
At the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library...
We then ate dinner, and drove to downtown Memphis. Our hotel was a very cool old downtown hotel, very close to the river and just a few block north of Beale St. On Friday walked around downtown and Beale Street, and even talked Daddy into doing a little shopping. It was pretty cool place.The birthplace of Rock'n'Roll...
Beale Street...
Then we stayed in Knoxville, TN also before driving the rest of the way to Northern Virginia. We got the keys to our new place on Sunday morning and the truck with our household goods met us there. We had fun and safe trip, and now we're looking forward to settling into our new home!
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