July 30

We're HOME.  

And it's just the THREE of US.  

We LOVE our FAMILY....

And we LOVE VACATION, 

but we have had a lot recently

and we're SUPER EXCITED to be HOME!!

(at least for a couple days...)

July 29

Today we drove home.  Fortunately it was an event-free drive, and we were SO THANKFUL!  The last two times we made the drive it took 7+ hours [yikes!]  Fortunately that was not the case today.  {Clearly, 4 more hours in the car were enough for our little girl!}

July 28

Today was our last day in Vegas.  More time at the pool.  Again, no photos.  This afternoon we took Em to see the new "Ice Age" movie.  She loved it... I think everyone else hated it :)  Pete actually was so completely asleep that he started snoring.  Loudly.  

In the evening we went for a walk through the Bellagio and some of the other big hotels.  No one gambled, but it felt like a more 'authentic' Vegas experience anyway :)

July 27

Las Vegas today.  We stayed inside a bunch today since it's +110 degrees outside.  Inside, or at the pool were the locations of choice for today :)  Unfortunately I don't have any pool pictures, so this will have to do.

July 26

This morning I had a gig at El Dorado Park Church playing solo cello, thankfully, Pete was willing to accompany me.  It was really nice to play.  If I'm honest, I very rarely practice anymore.  Ok, I never practice.  I sometimes play, but it's not really practice.  (Given, I play everyday as a string teacher, but I mean play and practice my music)  :)  Anyway, it was good for me to have some motivation to spend more time with my cello!

After church, we packed and loaded up the car and drove to Las Vegas.  Most of the drive was uneventful, but then we saw smoke.... and then traffic stopped... and then we waited.... and waited... and some people went off-roading... and some of them shouldn't have!  (If you look carefully in the photo, I think you can see that several cars got stuck.)

Both sides of the roads were closed off and we had no idea what caused the smoke until they finally opened the road and we saw the bare bones of a bus.  It was shocking to see what had happened to the bus!

When we finally made it to Vegas we checked into my parents timeshare and after dinner Pete and I went to see Cirque du Soleil's "O".  It was amazing!  (Thanks Mom and Dad for the tickets and babysitting!!)

July 25

Same story as yesterday.   :)  It's SO nice to be home for a couple days before we travel again!

July 24

Pete worked at Disneyland today so I stayed home with Emily and my parents.  Just a relaxing day hanging around home.

July 23

Thursday.

Grandpa Cary and Grandma Cathy came back to California!  We're going on vacation together to their timeshare on Sunday but first we'll have a few days to hang out here.  It's great, they get to play with Em and I get to have some free time to relax while Pete works! :)

July 22

Wednesday, July 22nd.

I taught lessons again today.  I love being able to teach from our home.  :)

July 21

Tuesday.

We got home last night and today I took my middle school orchestra (and a bunch of their parents) to the Hollywood Bowl tonight.  It was a bit busy trying to get everything ready in time, but once we were there it was amazing!  Last spring I took the orchestra on a field trip to Walt Disney Concert Hall to hear the LA Phil, and afterwards we filled out surveys which resulted in free tickets to the Hollywood Bowl this summer :)

There were 30 of us, and almost every student was there with a parent so my job was actually pretty easy!  We saw the LA Philharmonic play Dukas' "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", a piano concerto by Salonen and Pictures at an Exhibition.  It was a beautiful evening, a fantastic concert, and a lot of fun for me to see the kids enjoying it, too.

One more reason I love living here!

July 20

Monday.

It was a LONG day of traveling.  One which I don't ever want to repeat.

We woke up in Orange City, drove to Sioux Falls, SD to Steve & Davee's house to say goodbye.

Drove to Sioux Falls Airport.

Flew to Las Vegas, NV.

Took the shuttle from the airport to the hotel.

Picked up our car and started our drive home.

The STUPID state of CA found the most AWFUL way to do road work.  I'm a pretty patient and understanding person.... but this was absolutely ridiculous.  Our 4 hour drive took 7 1/2 because of poorly planned construction.  Maybe I'll write more later, right now I don't want to think about it anymore.  Just believe me.  It was AWFUL.

July 19

Sunday, July 19th.

Today we left Iowa City and drove to Orange City.  Tomorrow morning we fly home (out of Sioux Falls, SD).  We had a great trip, but I'm also really excited to go home and sleep in our own beds :)

July 18

On Saturday, in the late afternoon, we were all hanging out at my parents' house and the boys decided to make up a new game with the Ladder Ball game.  The object of their game was similar to that of the original, being that you toss the balls and try to land them on the ladder to receive points.  Howev

er, they added an element of frisbee golf, moving the ladder to different (hard to reach) locations each round.  Unfo

rtunately I missed the toss that put the balls in the tree, but came outside to see a pair of blue balls hanging from a tree limb 40 feet overhead.

Over the next hour or two the boys tried just about everything to retrieve the balls.  They threw other balls, shoes, giant metal poles, even bigger PVC pipes... it was hilarious.  Eventually they realized throwing things wasn't going to help, so......out came the duct tape.  Each boy (my father included) went looking to see who could find the biggest stick (hm.)   Several crude jokes and a roll of duct tape, the balls came down.  :)

July 17

Fun with the Covington Family!

*Iowa City Ped Mall Fountain.

*Merry-Go-Round in the Coral Ridge Mall.