if not now...when?

i'm back...

our mini-vacation to vegas and zion national park. the weather was lovely for the most part, the kids were good and fairly happy. jack loved the pool at mandalay bay. it is pretty cool - they have a lazy river pool that you ride along in an inner tube (or you can free float), and a wave pool. it is pretty incredible - i can't believe how BIG they make that wave. it's a pretty amazing technology. they really have to create a tremendous amount of energy. i didn't take the camera to the pool, but here are some pics of vegas.

new york, new york hotel

kids outside of excalibur. they liked the play area here, even though i thought it was NASTY, dirty, and old. ugh. but they had a spongebob 4-D movie, so all was right with the world. ;)

darren with the kids inside the luxor. the kids really enjoyed the pyramid structure and the egyptian theme.

we stayed at THEhotel at mandalay bay. i just want to say that i HIGHLY recommend this hotel. we had a great 2 room suite that cost about the same as the discount casino rate that we pay were we normally stay (the mirage). we had to wait like 30 minutes for our room to be ready, so they offered us $100 food credit for the resort. it's a very posh, modern hotel, but since it is part of mandalay bay with its amazing pool, many families stay there. it was just perfect for us. like i said - i definitely recommend it. :)

we were off to utah and zion national park. we stayed in a cabin at this nice little inn. they had the most amazing restaurant - so odd for out in the middle of nowhere...  i had a delicious filet mignon, with a red wine demi glace, apple smoked bacon, bleu cheese, and roasted tomatoes. omg it was good. they also had a creme brulee sampler that was out of this world. actually - i have never had anything like it. it was 4 little mini creme brulees. lemon - sooo good. rootbeer(!!??) - yes - it tasted just like rootbeer! pumpkin - nice and rich and delicious. and (this one seems bizarre) cinnamon and cayenne. let me tell you - it tasted just like a red hot. so unusual - but dang, it was tasty. i really loved this place! :)

it was beautiful up there - i have been once before, but the kids have never been, so we really had a good time. you can't take your car into the main canyon in the park. they have shuttle system to combat traffic, and as much as i hate giving up my car, it was nice to avoid that gridlock. since it has been relatively warm up there, the snow is melting, the river is rushing, and the waterfalls are plentiful. we did a 2 mile walk with the kids. it went back along the river to a spot called the narrows. you have to cross the river to go back any further on the trail. the park service had closed the trail at that point because the water was just too swift (not to mention a chilly 42 degrees).

did i mention that zion is beautiful??

this is the great zion arch. i wish i had something to show the scale of this thing.  it is 600 feet across its base and stands 400 feet high.

 

the virgin river - BRRRRR!

the trees were still really bare from winter. some of them were starting to sprout tiny shoots. i'll bet it will be gorgeous there in a few months - green leaves, wildflowers...

the wildlife!! we saw deer, BISON (ok, maybe they weren't wild), wild turkeys, and lots of squirrels.

 

the deer were everywhere once you got to the eastern side of the park, we didn't see any in the main canyon area.

there is a 1.1 mile tunnel that goes right through the mountain. it was finished in 1930, and it is quite an engineering feat. it has little cut-through areas every several hundred yards or so - you can catch a glimpse of the view, and it lets in a little light to an otherwise completely dark tunnel. way cool.

the entrance

inside the tunnel

one of the openings

and a family picture via my self timer. :) it was really windy up there!

 

if you can, get out there to zion. it's really wonderful - you won't regret it. and if you are in so cal, it is only about an 8 hour drive if you go straight through. only about 2.5 - 3 hours from vegas.

happy spring!

spring is here, spring is here! it's warm and sunny here, aside from the fog in the morning. one. more. day. of school before spring break! woo hoo! i am JEALOUS of all of you out there with multi-week spring breaks. we don't even get good friday off. *pout*

i did some scrapping last weekend. used some new *pink paislee* (and i have LOTS more to use!!), cosmo cricket, and the freckle friends march collection. i'll have a couple of layouts up tomorrow or saturday. here is the cover of a little book i did for jack of our trip to JPL last year.

         

i posted some pics of the inside over in my freckle friends gallery. i got to use some of the new cogsmo paper - very fun!

i didn't get the sweater from the last post. i got these (and a little melon sweater) instead. the buttons weighed down to the blue sweater too much...                         

a little more color that i usually wear, but i got a lot of compliments on the little red tunic shirt. :)

walking 4 miles, 3 days per week, and feeling pretty good about that. :)

we are going for an easter egg hunt and brunch at my mom's house. i'm thinking about taking this sausage and cheese breakfast casserole from cooking light. i'll have to let you know how it tastes. i love the column in cooking light where they make over high calorie, high fat recipes... and i also love that they focus on healthy, good food, moreso than "fat free" or sugar free. (although, i have started getting "light" sour cream and cream cheese, and reduced fat cheddar. i have so impressed by the taste. BUT i have been getting horizon organic brands of those products. i wonder if that makes a difference? i saw a recipe in a magazine at the gym for a lemon mousse, and it was made with splenda. ick. i guess you can just interchange splenda and sugar in equal amounts, yes?? does anyone know for sure? i would just rather eat a little sugar instead of eating all of those chemicals. it makes me shudder.... and hey, that is one of the reasons i like organic. no chemicals, no genetically modified food. holy crap - we are all going to turn into mutants if we keep eating this crap...

too many crappy things going on in the world - gang wars in LA, budget cuts in our schools, the supermessy presidential race. anyone else feel like just cocooning in their houses and growing some good tomatoes?? ;)

but, like i said, beautiful spring is here. the hills are quite green from the rain this year. i think i'll just soak that in and enjoy life. i hope you will, too! :) have a wonderful weekend!

uh oh, i've been tagged!

by the super cute jeni!

who the heck wants to read 7 random things about me? isn't that what my whole blog is about?

i kid. (sorta)

1. i once rode on the goodyear blimp! don't know why - but that is random fact that i always remember from being a kid. we flew over the torrance/south bay area. i remember seeing LOTS and LOTS of pools. actually, i think it was the first time i had ever "flown".

2. richard nixon patted me on the head when i was a baby. i'm sure some would say it scarred me for life. :P

3. i can see the house i lived in from age 5 to 14 years old from my current backyard. weird.

4. even though i am a mean old republican, i am on a never ending quest for natural, organic, and yes, even GREEN solutions in my life. i guess you could say i am a "crunchy con" - in fact, the cover of this book has my DREAM CAR on it. i pretty sure i was born in the wrong generation... but i would have sucked as a 60's free lovin' hippie...

don't tell my mom, but i even ventured in to a goodwill this week. i was looking for wool sweaters to felt... but man, oh man, they had a lot of jeans in there.... i am guessing there had to be SOME nice ones!

5. i can't give up sweets in my life. this is a problem...

i have, however, given up mountain dew. yay me! :)

6. i hate taking baths. i used to love it before i had kids. now i hate it.

7.  i still use my original little pink mini iPod. i have the 30 gig classic iPod, and my husband tried to get me an iPod touch for christmas (it is now his), but i like my pink mini. it's cute!

yes, if you were wondering, i AM boring! :P

i won't tag anyone... i should tag some bloggers i know who blog even LESS than me (coughcoughannaandjamiecoughcough)... but i won't. ;)

hope everyone has a GREAT weekend! if you are looking for something to SCRAP, go get the freckle friends march collection. i just got mine, and can't wait to scrap with it. it is a really great kit - i was so happy to finally get these:

i am also having a CAbi party this weekend - i am dying to get this sweater. i hope the color is ok on me...

i AM trying to cut back on BUYING and consumption, so i won't be buying much. (but LOOK-  those are BUTTONS on that sweater!!)  i am looking forward to having some girls over, though! :)