Holy Ants, Batman!

Griffin wanted to take a bath in the soaker tub. I started the bath water - and even added bubbles (proving I was "tending" to the water".) Well, about 10 minutes later Griffin starts complaining about "all the ants" and wanted to get out. We have had problems with them wasting all that soaker-tub water and getting out after only a few minutes. I told him he needed to stay in longer (while I was folding laundry - not paying attention) and he just kept up the whining to get out.

FINALLY I went in there to see what all the "ant" fuss was about, because I certainly didn't see any when I was filling the tub. He was standing up in the tub - not moving - and crying. All I could see were bubbles, so I swished away the bubbles ...... and ...... HOLY COW. The 6-foot tub's bottom was black. It was filled with thousands of sugar ants. No word of a lie. It was the most bizarre thing I have ever seen. I've never ripped a kid so quick out of a tub! We have "Ask the Bug Man" come every month and spray and when I talked to them about it - they could only guess that there was a pocket of ants in the water line somewhere that got swept in with the running water.

Thankfully that has never happened again ... but it was truly amazingly horrifying.

Start of Scovil football!

Today Maysen signed up for Pop Warner football that will start in the fall. After a successful, fun time at basketball, he has decided to play his hand at football. This weekend there was a free camp at the cottage Grove high school where the University of Oregon Ducks came to teach the clinic. None other than the Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota showed up. I am not sure who was more excited… Maysen or Daddy!!

Nate took advantage of the situation, and wore his Mariota jersey. He even signed it! Guess he will not be wearing that jersey too much! 

New new (2015) Tahoe

Due to some suscpicions that our white (newER) Tahoe had been in a wreck, we finally threw in the white towel and got a brand new one! The white one was making a weird sound when I turned (and felt resistance, too) and the dealership kept just telling me it "was seals". We drove it into Bobbi and George's and George immediately found a leak and a drip pan that was definitely not "factory". I was done! Lawd, isn't she pretty!!

Las Vegas!

Our doorbell rang at 8:50am and there was Ren Rasmussen waiting to drive us along with Papa and Sherrill to the airport. The pilots let the boys see up in the cockpit and they thought they were pretty special! 

The flight to Las Vegas was only 2hrs long so by the time Sherrill and I were done chatting we were descending into Sin City! 

The Monte Carlo was beautiful and checking in was going smoothly until our $90 roll-away bed for Maysen was not showing we'd paid it already to Expedia. That was a bump but soon resolved. While we were dealing with that, Nate and Papa had decided that we needed to see Blue Man group that night which was showing at the Monte Carlo. 

Monday we took the tram to the Bellagio and looked at the botanical and butterfly garden. Walking through the lobby of Bellagio we passed through the lobby and saw this candy shop and melted chocolate fountain. It was beautiful and delicious-looking at the same time! 

We then walked over to the M&M and Coca-Cola worlds. You never would have imagined how many different types of M&Ms there are! That night Papa and Sherrill went to see The Beatles Love show at the Mirage. We took the boys to get frozen yogurt that night. Sadly the tigers and dolphins exhibit was closed already. It was likely a blessing in disguise, as the boys were exhausted! Nate went and gambled but sadly did not win the jackpot. Rats!

Tuesday morning was spent at Mandalay Bay visiting the sharks and the aquarium. We then rode the tram to the Luxor to see the Titanic Exhibit. To be honest, this was one of the reasons I wanted to go to Las Vegas since Maysen has been such a huge fan of the Titanic, almost creepy! He was in hog heaven!

Tuesday night was to be date night but Nate and I decided there were a few other sights we hadn't seen yet that we wanted to (Mirage volcano, Bellagio fountains, Vegas sign) To get to all of them at night would be hard so we decided on a night private Limo tour. It was one of the best things we did. Louie was our driver (and soon Griffin's best friend).

We walked right in front of the whole line waiting to get this photo. Louie knew the tricks to get the best shot and it meant walking off to the side - not the front.

Standing right at the pawn shop featured in "Pawn Stars". Louie said that the stars are hardly ever there unless their filming.

Griffin spent most of the night talking to Louie in the partisan!

Fremont Street Experience

Wednesday we checked out of the Monte Carlo and picked up our rental car. We drove to Circus Circus where we spent the morning playing in the arcade and watching the circus performances every hour.

We then checked into our WorldMark Penthouse Suite for the remainder of the vacation. It was gorgeous! we had 3bdrm, 3 bath. By this time of the vacation it was nice for the boys to have their own space. The lazy river was amazing as was the hot tub with water falls. Pizza and NBA playoffs followed that night with snoozes off and on.

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Thursday everyone was feeling pretty wiped out and not used to how dry Las Vegas was! Most of us were rashy, sinus headaches and the warmth was getting to us. We did load up in the car and visit Hoover Dam. Man that was a sight to see!

For our final night/dinner we drove back to the strip to eat at the Rainforest Cafe at the MGM Grand.

Friday we were all ready to get home. But not before working on homework at the airport! It was a great trip with Papa and Sherrill and lifelong memories were made. We loved Vegas and personally we can't wait to go back!