Mount Charleston Hike

Last Saturday we were lazing around like any other Saturday and I was trying to explain to my boys why they couldn't just watch t.v all day long. I told them they needed to get outside and get dirty and toughen up. My two sons are not your average rough and tumble, dirt lovin boys. Don't get me wrong, they love to wrestle, sword fight, gun-sling, play football, but they don't like to get dirty or work hard. I want them to toughen up a little bit more. So, after that conversation, we decided to head up to Mount Charleston, which is literally 10 minutes from our house. It takes about 30 minutes to drive all the way up. It was a perfect day, 70 degrees up there. We decided to attempt the Mary Jane Falls Hike, which I only found out later is a 2 mile, 1,000 foot climb. As the trail began to get tougher, we considered turning around and heading back. The trail was very busy and we kept passing lots of people on their way back down. When they saw us (Lucas with Isla in a baby backpack, the boys trudging along, and me dragging Niamh who was crying that she couldn't walk and was too tired)many of them gave us sympathetic looks and told us it was a very hard trail and some of them looked at us like "there is no way that you will be able to drag these kids up this mountain." That was all the fuel Lucas and I needed. We kept going, despite the crying, whining and complaints that it was too hard. It was such a great feeling to get to the top and rest. The boys climbed in some caves and played in the small waterfall. Niamh sat and cried for a while and Isla played in the dirt. We spent about 10 minutes there and then headed back down. The way down was much easier. I know when Lucas woke up that morning, a hike up Mount Charleton wasn't on his agenda, but I know that showing my kids that they can do anything, if they just push themselves and enjoy the journey, made a difference that day and hopefully it made them a little toughher.

32 years young.

I turned 32 on July 9. I was woken up bright and early to Lucas and the kids singing "Happy Birthday to you." I got some great new Nike sneakers (hot pink and black.) Some new perfume, and lots of gift cards to my favorite stores; Home Goods, Ross, Target, Charming Charlie's and itunes. I am a spoiled girl indeed. The night before my birthday we had cake icecream with family. I made my own version of a chocolate, chocolate chip nothing bundt cake with cream cheese frosting. It was so easy to make and tasted amazing. It was a hit with everyone. It was fun to celebrate my birthday with my family on both sides. For my birthday, my sister Kim and her hubby Sam booked me a room at the Golden Nugget. It was an awesome surprise because they also offered to take the kids overnight. On my actual birthday, we dropped the kids off with Kim and went straight to dinner at an Italian Restaurant called Brio at Tivoli Village. It was amazing. Then we browsed Charming Charlies which is an accessory store with jewelry etc in just about every color you can imagine. I got lost in there for 45 minutes and couldn't decide on what to buy. Next we went to Towne Square to watch the new Spiderman movie in 3D. We really enjoyed it. We got back to the hotel late and pretty much crashed. Its a really nice hotel. The next day Lucas had a training class early, so we got up and left right away. Later that day, my sister and her 4 kids and me and my 4  kids went back to the hotel to the pool. It is just amazing. There is a huge circular pool and in the middle of the pool there is a huge shark tank. Then there is a tube slide that goes right through the middle of the shark tank. It's just beautiful and so much fun. The kids were in heaven. The day itself was a scorcher at 113 degrees. The place was packed. Every deck chair was full and there were people everywhere. We stayed in the pool the whole time. It was such a fun couple of days.