We flew out just hours after the girls got out of school! What a great way to start summer vacation!
Here we go! Family airplane selfie 🙂
First stop – Las Vegas. Breakfast at Bouchon
Outdoor shopping…we lucked out as the weather was only in the low 90’s. It was still hot, but pretty tolerable!
So many beautiful things to see!
The Brooklyn Bridge in front of New York New York
We saw the statue of liberty 🙂
and the Eifel Tower
We enjoyed In-N-Out a few times on our trip!
Coke from around the world
The M&M store (so overpriced!!!!)
We found an adorable candy store in the Venetian. You can tell by the look on Ashley’s face that she didn’t like it. 🙂
The Venetian is by far my favorite hotel. I love the Grand Canal shops.
The Flamingo – I had never been in this hotel, and love the outside area. It was beautiful!
The Excalibur
So many steps
We got up early on Sunday morning and hiked around Red Rock Canyon.
It was fun to hike around and of course, we got off the trail for a bit….that was a little crazy as we were walking through pokey plants and over huge boulders!
Red Rock family selfie
Shadow picture
We took a break and relaxed as we overlooked the pool at the Bellagio.
Caught a good view of Paris from across the street
We met up with Aunt Karen, Andy, Christopher and his girlfriend for dinner!
We walked in the Mirage briefly while we waited for the volcano show.
We ended our second day in Vegas watching the volcano erupt in front of the Mirage
The next day we headed to Flagstaff and stopped at Hoover Dam on the way.
I was surprised at how high up we were!
We made it to Flagstaff and the house we rented was perfect! The kids enjoyed time in the hot tub the first evening.
Wupatki National Monument
So amazing to see how much is still left of these dwellings after so many years!
Walnut Canyon National Monument – lots of stairs, but totally worth it!
There were a few places you could go in a “room” and this specific spot was pretty low.
More stairs…
It was so beautiful. On this vacation, we really enjoyed the different terrain – so much different that southern CA or the PNW.
Sage loved the energy drinks Grandma bought…
a lot…
Ha! Energy drinks and selfies….love you Sage!
The house we rented backed up to a large grass area with a pond and fountain and there was a park down at the end of it. The kids loved spending time out there.
We took the Grand Canyon Railroad to the Grand Canyon one day. Sage got to sing along with the entertainment.
It was beautiful, but I think we were a little underwhelmed after seeing so many pictures of it. 🙁
It was so fun spending so much with with Mom, Dad, Austin and Alyssa!
Back at the train depot
This was my favorite part of the trip, and we did it twice! The first time, we looked at that small opening and questioned if we really wanted to go in there! I’m so glad we did. Getting in and out was the hardest part.
It was pitch black inside. We were thankful for good flashlights and flashlights on our cell phones!
Love this picture Tom took of Dad in the cave!
We drove back to the Grand Canyon in the late afternoon another day so we could look around more.
Mom and I
Tom and Mom
Molly selfie 🙂
We hiked a very short distance down the Bright Angel Trail.
We were there for sunset, but it wasn’t spectacular that evening. 🙁
Playing around with the camera during sunset
Found a great sign for a family photo!
We took a jeep tour in Sedona. Jennifer and Josh drove up to join us! It was fun to spend time with them and catch up.
Sedona is beautiful!
We were in 2 jeeps. The kids were in one and the adults in another. It was SO BUMPY, but the kids loved it! This picture was taken halfway through at a stop.
The weather was hot, but it was beautiful!
Playing sardines back at the house
The house had a nice patio that we enjoyed.
We saw some beautiful sunsets.
More sugar…
We visited Bearizonia.
Watching the otters
Posing for another cousin photo
Tom made In-N-Out style burgers for us for dinner one night.
The Painted Desert
Petroglyphs in the Painted Desert
The Painted Dessert and Petrified Forest It was beautiful…unlike anything I had ever seen.
The girls liked climbing around on the rocks everywhere we went.
A picture of Tom taking a picture
Petrified wood
More petrified wood in The Petrified Forest
And just like that, vacation was over and it was time to say goodbye! 🙁 It was such a great trip together!
We drove back to Las Vegas and enjoyed a snack in St. Mark’s Square in the Venetian before heading to the airport and returning the car.
OneDrive and Bible Lens added scripture to some of our photos automatically. So I’m posting them again. 🙂
