Cera brought home some school work that they don't need at school anymore. It was nice to read the kind things she wrote at Thanksgiving. "I am super thankfull for my family. I am greatful for my Mom because she is the best at cooking and taking care of me. Dad is the fishing master and the outdoor guy. Emilee (we call her Em) is very nice and is helpfull to everyone. My sister Elizabeth (we call her wibs) is very sweet and has a huge imagination. Love, Cera"
They had a dress up like your favorite author or character of a book day at school. Cera wanted to dress up like Judy Moody. We decided to try to color her hair orange using jello. The internet gave us a few ideas of how to do it. Our first attempt ended with a not so clean bathroom and less than orange hair. Cera was so upset. We tried another internet suggestion which also failed. After some tears from Cera and last minute decision from Mom, food coloring and water were sprayed onto her hair. It turned her hair orange (not as dark as she would have liked) but it was acceptable for the day. (And actually left her hair an orange tint for a few more days after.) The crazy things we do for school!
Elizabeth wanted to dress up like the dragon in The Paper Bag Princess. She was the most beautiful dragon ever yet so fierce!
For Christmas Cera and Emilee got a certificate for a clay horse making class. They were so excited to go (Elizabeth wished she was 6 already so she could go!). They learned about different types of horses and then sculpted their own. Very impressive!
After they dried for awhile, they were fired and they returned for a second class to paint them. They were proud of their hard work and we loved seeing their final products. Way to go girls!
Dad and Cera headed away for a ski weekend so Mom, Emilee and Elizabeth chilled at home together. Of course the girls wanted to take a selfie to send to Cera and Dad. We had to take a few pictures as Elizabeth or Emilee wouldn't like the way the looked. This was our best one - it looks like we need a little more practice!
Cera and Dad enjoyed the snow, good skiing and nice weather.
Cera has been wanting a candy apple for a long time (not sure what started the desire) but she finally got it in Fernie! She was one happy girl.
Day two of skiing was gorgeous too! They enjoyed some nice time on the hill and also some good one on one visiting time. It was a great weekend!
Dad gave Mom a Saturday off while he took the girls to the Fly Fishing show. Of course the girls found the stand about puppies to adopt. They sent Mom this picture with big smiles, but mean mom still said no.
The girls tried their hand at some fishing. They also got to paint some fish and got lots of free handouts. They had a great day with Dad!
Mom doesn't love puzzles and therefore has never really done them with the girls. The past few years we have received a puzzle as a family gift so this year we decided to crack it open and give it a try. We became addicted and had fun putting it together as a family. (With a little help from Uncle Mike who is the puzzle pro!)
Mom received a foot soaker/massager for Christmas. The girls love it!! They use it so often, it has found a storage place right beside the couch! Doesn't Elizabeth look so relaxed!?!
Elizabeth has a mis-matched day at school. Elizabeth picked most of her outfit and then Cera helped her with the finishing touches. Mom was able to volunteer on this day and joined in the fun. It made the school a fun place to be.
Cera is still enjoying activity days and Emilee can't wait to join in when she turns 8! They have had some great activities.
We arrived home to a cold snap and snow. The girls were excited to get out to sled and skate and Em wanted to try her new Christmas present! Cera has continually improved on her skating skills and really enjoys it.
Last year it took a lot of convincing to get Elizabeth on a sled with Mom or Dad so we were shocked when she jumped out of the car, ran up the hill with her sled and bombed down. She's done a lot of growing up this year!
After a few instructions and tips from Mom, Emilee headed up the hill with her GT snow racer. . .
. . . she got setup and then took off down the hill with a big smile on her face (or a look of fear). . .
. . . and ended off the trip (or her third or forth trip) with celebratory fist pump!
The girls took a few trips down the hill together. Those trips were filled with lots of planning of who would sit where and what path they would take and of course smiles and giggles!
They also loved to go separate and see which way was faster to get down the hill. They don't quite understand how body weight differences play into it yet!
They tried out the little jump a few times but preferred the straight downhill.
Dad stopped by after work and the girls talked him into getting in on the action. What a good Dad!
Cera spent most of the time on the ice rink that is setup in the park but took a break to head down the hill a few times.
The girls had a blast playing on the hill and ice rink until it was too dark and cold to play anymore. (Poor Dad's feet were frozen also as all he had on was his dress shoes from work!) It was a great night of fun!
Our last stop on the way home was in Las Vegas! Alan has wanted to go to Vegas for a long time so it was perfect. Our first stop when arriving in Vegas was at the temple. It was a very unique temple - different than any others we have seen. We were able to wander around the beautiful grounds and take pictures for awhile.
The girls had fun taking pictures at different angles - even while laying down on the grass!
We drove down and saw the strip and then headed to our hotel that was a few blocks away. There was a mix up with our hotel and a huge conference going on while we were in Vegas so we were lucky to find a room. After a stressful hour and Dad's hard work, we had a great little condo to stay in. Of course it had a pool and the girls had to go for a swim. It was a little chilly out but Dad braved it with them. The best part was there was nobody else brave enough so they had the pool to themselves!!
They enjoyed the hot tub also when they wanted to warm up a little and then followed up with some hot chocolate back in the room afterwards.
In the basement of the Excalibur hotel there is an arcade. This is where the girls spent a good amount of their time. They loved playing the games and deciding which were best to spend their coins on. Cera felt pretty strong as she saw the lines go up and up after she pounded the hammer down.
While Elizabeth tried to help clean this stinky body with her water spray, she earned a few tickets to get a prize at the end of the day.
Cera had done some research and knew there was a Hersey's store in Vegas. It was the one place she wanted to go. The store was impressive especially the Title of Liberty's - this one was made of chocolate!
Another one made all of licorice! Just love this cute family!!!
Last one we found - made of jelly beans. Very impressive!
We were true tourists - getting our picture with all the displays!
The girls thought this hand you could sit in was pretty fun.
And of course Mom and Dad needed to have their picture taken also. Proof we were on the trip!
During our visit to the CocaCola store we stopped for a picture with the bear. The bear thought it was funny to steal Mom's sunglasses off her head and rub her hair all over. What a character!
Another store we went to visit was the M&M store. It was an impressive 4 stories full of things to see and buy (of course). They had a little theater to watch a 3D movie about a few of the M&M's and some trouble they got into. It was a fun show.
There were so many different kinds of M&M's! Cera had wanted to get some personalized ones until she saw the price - then she was good to just look.
The girls felt like princesses for the few days we were in Vegas - even though they weren't able to sleep in the castle, we still had a blast doing so many great things!
When we needed a little break during the day, we rode the monorails they have in Vegas to see some of the other hotels and sights. At this stop, we jumped off for a quick picture and jumped back on before it left again. The girls thought that was fun and pretty funny - they giggled and joked about it for awhile.
Another childhood dream come true for Dad - watching the Tournament of Kings (and to make it even better - with his girls!)
The girls really enjoyed the show. They weren't so sure about the dragon blood soup (tomato soup) and eating a cornish game hen, potatoes and broccoli with their fingers but they at least gave it a try.
It was fun to cheer for our knight and boo the bad guy. The girls had fun getting their picture with the bad guy afterwards.
Emilee had to go the bathroom right after the show was done but was able to come back quickly and still get a picture or two. This was not our knight but one of the good guys.
This was the knight we were cheering for. He didn't win but was very entertaining. Also there weren't too many people in attendance so he gave the girls some good attention which they thought was great.
While we were in Arizona Elizabeth found and bought her Chewy sweater. She loved it and wore it tons on our trip. As we were walking the strip in Vegas we ran into this Chewbacca who even had a voicebox to sound like him. For a small fee (of course) we were able to snap a few pictures of the girls with him. It was one of the highlights of the trip for Elizabeth.
Dad also found the perfect sized box of his favorite fishing trip treat! Sadly mean Mom wouldn't let him buy it.
Emilee has been watching some videos online about cool things you can order on the internet - a few of them being the world's largest gummy bear and largest gummy worm. Mom hasn't let her order them and still wouldn't let her buy one when she found it in Vegas. (Really who needs $50 worth of gummy worm!)
To wrap up our day on the Vegas strip we went to watch the fountains at the Bellagio. It was a fun show to watch and listen to. We stayed to watch 3 different shows but we probably could have stayed much longer and not heard the same song (apparently they have 30 different songs). It was a spectacular show to see!
As Mom's fitbit showed - it was a busy, fun filled day in Vegas. We wanted to fit in as much as we could and feel we did a decent good job. We headed back to our condo exhausted and tired but happy and content!
After a great rest, we packed up and took a picture by the hotel fountain before continuing on our way home. We made another quick stop for Dad to try his hand at some slot machines and blackjack (side report - Dad had fun but we didn't leave Vegas richer than when we arrived!) before getting on the road.
Vegas was a fun experience and a place we might keep on our list to visit again.
