On to American Fork!

After the SHERM Conference was over, we headed to American Fork for a couple of days!

Baby Erika loves to swing!

In Provo, there is a Children's Parade the Saturday before Independence Day.  Guess who had the very best entry!

This is a Balloon Dinosaur.

Micah wasn't any too thrilled with visiting with people dressed up in full costume, but he did want to meet Spiderman!

Relaxing before the parade started.

here comes the parade!

The grandad and I were the only ones clapping and cheering for all the children.  The kids got really excited when they heard people clapping and cheering!  There were a bunch of parade watching duds around us!

The dad loves a good marhing band!

Steve took the wheelbarrow WAY back to the pickup, and we waited by the temple.  There was also a little street fair going on on Center Street.  

See that yellow balloon?  About 10 seconds later, it was on its way heavenward.  Sad day for Micah.

We picked up lunch and took it over to Mary's, and we spent the afternoon there.

Then on Sunday morning, we packed up for home.  We took Angela, Micah and Erika with us for Girls' Week, and then Independence Day Weekend!

Las Vegas! SHERM Conference for the Dad, Hanging with Susan for the Mom!

When the dad found out that the National SHERM Conference was going to be held in Las Vegas, he was quick to sign up!  And of course, I was quick to jump in on the trip--a chance to hang out with Susan on her own turf!  It was a fun trip, and we got to do lots of the touristy things with a real Las Vegan as a guide!

Disclaimer - I doubt these pictures are in chronological order, and I felt free to use pictures in Susan's blog.  She takes great pictures!

We got in on a Sunday afternoon.  we spent the night in Kingman on Saturday, and drove to Las Vegas and went to churh on Sunday morning.  After church, we went and checked into our hotel--the Bluegreen, near the MGM Grand.  I took the dad to his conference, then I went back to the hotel to unpack the pick-up.  Susan went to her ward, and came over to the hotel afterwards.  The hotel had a fully stocked kitchenette, so we cooked and ate most of our meals there.  For Sunday dinner, we had steak, baked potatoes, salad and asparagus.  It was delicious!

Susan got her own Costco membership.  This is her using her card to get gas for the very first time!

This is the dad as he got of the escalator in the MGM Grand after riding the monorail back to the MGM from his conference in the Conference Center.  Susan and I walked to meet him there every day!

In the evening, we went over to the Bellagio to watch the fountain show.  We watched it three different times.   The first time was from up on this walkway.  I don't remember which hotel/casino the walkway belongs to.

We watched the fountain show from the front and from the back of the lake as well!

 

Then we went to see the gardens at the Bellagio.

 

Susan and I did the CSI experience at the MGM Grand.  There was a crime scene set up.  We had to find all the evidence, and then we took it through the crime lab for forensic testing.  We missed our calling in life!  (We also just about missed the biggest clue!)

See that roller coaster in teh background?  It's at New York New York!  We rode it!  That's right...  we rode it!  Suzu wood and laughed all the way.  I didn't make a sound.  She wondered if I didn't like it, because I didn't make a peep the whole time.  I just had my teeth clenched.  I couldn't have made a sound if I tried!  It was really fun!

Susan bouught me my very first Starbuck's non-coffee frappe thingie.  It was delicious!

We went to IKEA!  I love that place!  Of course, we had Swedish Meatballs in the cafeteria.  That's a must!

We went to Container Park.  It's a little shopping area where all the shops are made from shipping containers.  This is a little play area made from shipping containers!

We went to the Neon Museum.  Some folks call it the Neon Boneyard.  It's a museum that showcases hundreds of neon signs that used to be all over the area.  It was REALLY cool!  We went on a tour at night.  The cooler temperatures at night, along with it being dark, made for a great experience!

 

Susan and I went on Coke World Tour.  We tasted Coke Products from around the world.  Most were pretty good.  A couple were nasty.  It was really fun!

We went to M&M World!

We did sealings to daughters at the temple!

 

For our last hurrah, we went to see Blue Man Group.  It was a blast!

 

The next morning, we made skillets for breakfast in our room, then we took off for American Fork nd the next leg of our trip, and Susn went back to her house!