Veteran's Day Escape

Well, I said it once and I'll say it again, I *heart* government holidays! Because luckily, Jonathan gets them all off which always provides a much needed breather!!


Today we headed back to Red Rock Canyon to check out a place called Calico Hills. I find the fact that millions of years ago this whole area was covered by an ocean SUPER fascinating, so I love the red rocks and cool formations.


The weather was a bit chilly (I say that with a note of glee mind you), but once we got down in the canyon away from the wind, it was perfect!

Lucy LOVED climbing up and down the rocks and has become kind of a connoisseur of impressive sights at her young age-- she'd say, "Wow mom! Look at that one!! Who built that one??" And we would answer, "Heavenly Father built all this." In awe she'd ask, "How'd He do that?!?" It was cute.


I'm with Lucy though, how did He do that?!? The desert is so beautiful in its own way!!


Mojave desert in the fall. Can you tell? I don't think I'd be able to tell a difference 6 months ago, but after living here long enough I really can tell the scenery has changed...maybe just because all the cactuses look dead...

Surprise!! Their are hundreds of wild horses and burros in this area and they come right up to your car begging for food, but feeding them is strictly prohibited. This little buggar would not leave us alone!! He kept tapping on my window with his nose and licking it. Sorry buddy!! No handouts for you... At least it was exciting for the kids!!


Okay, okay here's what was in it for me-- lunch at Panera (one of my East coast favs) that we newly discovered on the way home, and some cupcakes from the Cupcakery (featured on "Cupcake Wars") which were AMAZING!! It was the perfect day. Who says you can't have your cake and eat it too??:)

Desert and Dessert

Since we've been doing so much of Jonathan's "thing" on the weekends lately, he told me I was in charge of planning Saturday and could do whatever I wanted. So I got online and searched and searched for the best "family" things to do in Vegas. And the conclusion I came to?? Doesn't exist. Here was the list again and again: eat at the Rainforest Cafe at MGM Grand (tried that), Shark Reef (been there), Mt. Charleston (done that), and the Ethel M. Chocolate Factory Tour and Cactus Garden. We'll try that!

We headed for some dessert and a little desert. Apparently Ethel M. Chocolates is a subsidiary of the Mars Corporation-- when Mr. Mars retired he wanted to just do a company focused on fine chocolates, so created Ethel M.

The "factory" was in Henderson (I will put factory in quotations because really, it was about as much of a factory as what you see at your neighborhood Krispy Kremes. A few conveyor belts, a few workers standing around, and a little chocolate coin to sample at the end). The entire tour took us maybe 5 minutes. And guess what! If you spent $35 in the gift store, you got a free chocolate bar. Wohoo!! I certainly wasn't expecting Hershey World, but this was kind of a bust.

Luckily there was a free cactus botanical garden next door. There were all sorts of different cacti, and it was decorated with Christmas lights.


By this point the chocolate coin had only wetted my children's voracious appetites so we decided to head down the Strip and see if we could dig something up.

Lucy LOVE/HATES these blue guys. Every time we see their picture on a taxi she freaks out and says, "I wanna see those guys!!" But when we found this she would NOT go near them.

Admiring the gondolas and canals in the Venetian.

Checking out the pirate ship in front of Treasure Island. We couldn't really find anything family friendly (aka affordable) in the casinos so we decided to head back home for lunch. I think I get an A for effort, but I think next weekend we'll be heading for the hills again.