Erickson Family: Las Vegas

We were excited to go to Las Vegas! We had been planning since July when Jake qualified for the World Series Team Roping Finals in Las Vegas. The kids were really excited to go, since they had never been to Las Vegas. We reserved a 2 bedroom condo that a swimming pool and a full kitchen. Jake and I were worried about driving that far with our 5 kids. We decided to drive as afs far as St. George in one day and stay with Jason and Gini Erickson, then go to Vegas the next day. We were excited to go to warmer weather and enjoy a vacation. Well, it wasn't much warner in St. George than it was in Blackfoot. It actually snowed in St.George the night before we got there along with 0 degree weather. It was not a vacation for Jake and I. It was so much work, but we did have so much fun and built many memories we will never forget. Some of our highlights from the Vegas Trip:

Jagger locked himself in the truck in Ogden, when we stopped to visit Amber. Jake put Jagger in the truck so he could put something in the trailer. While Jake was in the trailer, Jagger started pushing buttons...pushed the lock button.....with the truck running! It took us about 15 minutes of coaching him to push the buttons. He kept pushing the button, but locking instead of unlocking the doors. Finally he pushed the window button and rolled down the window just enough for Jake to reach in and open the door. Great way to start out the trip!!!
St.George was sooooo cold. It was actually colder in St. George when we were there then it was in Idaho. The palm trees looked so weird with snow on them. St.George hadn't had a storm like that in 35 years. We bring the cold weather wherever we go.
When we arrived in Las Vegas, we had to drop off our horses at the Horseman Park facility, which was across town from the condo and where the finals were being held. We ended up waiting over 3 hours in the truck, trying to find stalls for our horses.
We only ate at restaurants twice while in Vegas. We had a full kitchen to be able to cook meals. Jake went to the grocery store for us, he spent a $170 and it feed us all week.
Jake and Jason qualified for the short round. If they were to catch one more steer, they would have to chance to win lots of money. The kids and I were so nervous for them. It didn't work out, they ended up missing! That is just how it goes with team roping! They still won $6,000 so it was a lot better than nothing.
We were excited that Nicholas and Ashley came to Vegas. We were able to hang out with them and go on the strip. We had so fun! They always show us a good time! Lots of laughs were going on between kids and adults. Lots of wierd and confused looks by everyone on the strip as we had 9 little kids and us 4 adults walking up and down the strip. Several people came up to us and asked, "are these all your kids??" It was pretty funny and we made it all day without losing any of them.
The kids swam a ton in the pool. It was a little chilly outside so we were pretty much the only ones in the pool all week. The pool water was warm and the hot tub was nice.
On the way home from Vegas, my parents car broke down about 30 min out of St. George. We ended up waiting at a rest stop for a couple hours with them until we could figure out what to do!
Also in Vegas, I got to see one of my high school friends I hadn't seen in 15 years. It was so good to see Sherry and her cute girls.

Jagger didn't see anything wrong with being locked in the truck!

Jagger locked in the truck and Jake trying to coax him to pushing the buttons.

It was a long ride for me and the kids!

We stopped for a night at Jason and Gini's house. They are a great host and we enjoyed our time with them. Jagger thought he needed to be on top of the table to eat breakfast.

Jake celebrated his 36th birthday in Vegas!

We were excited to see the Baldwin girls!

Jagger kept running away from Jane.

We might have done a tiny bit of gambling while in Vegas. We won $5. Mallory was so nervous about it at first, but when she won money, she thought it was awesome.

We watched the M&M movie. Madelyn loved her 3D glasses!

The sign says: I lost my 3 M in Vegas! Luckily we didn't lose our 3 M's in Vegas!

We got to ride a shuttle down to the strip. The girls thought it was awesome.

My kids thought this boot was so cool. We had to get a picture with the boot. Jagger couldn't hold still long enough!

These two are good little friends enjoying popcorn and a movie.

Our family in Vegas at the Southpointe where the finals were held. Kids got new play ropes to use during the week.

The kids loved the swimming pool. They swam for many hours!

We went to visit Jake's cousin Sara, who lives in Vegas. It was fun to see them

The kids loved seeing all the awesome things in Vegas.

We rode the tram to get from one casino to another. Hugh and Candace came along with us too. They are always fun to be around. Hinckley is so cute!

Mallory found this huge candy bar. She loves Hershey's!

The fountains were our favorite thing to watch.

We got many looks and comments about all the kids we had down on the strip. I thought it was so funny, when one lady said to me "What a nightmare for you!" Then another man said, "Wow! You have way too many kids"