I realized I never posted our family summer recap! The kids swam, we bbq'd, slumber parties and just relaxing. It was a fun summer and it went by too quickly. As I write this, it is fall already.
Right after the kids got out of school, Andrew and I moved Ryan to Humboldt County in Northern California for him to go to school. Ryan is sharing an apartment with a friend in nearby Arcata, California. Ryan will be out on his own, working and going to school up there. He will finish a few credits at College of the Redwoods then he will be transferring to Humboldt State University to earn his degree in Biology. We are so very proud of him! We miss him very much but we know he will succeed with hard work and dedication!!!
On June 6th, I celebrated my 47th birthday! Mark took me and the kids to a Dodger game for the day! It was a fun-filled afternoon, sitting in the right field bleachers having all you can eat Dodger dogs!!! I also got to see one of my favorite MLB managers - Mike Matheny of the St. Louis Cardinals. Love that man!! Here is a plug --- read his book "The Matheny Manifesto" and you will love him too!!! Just saying......he isn't mad to look at either!! Sorry, honey!
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| Skyler, Megan, Andrew, Jade and Briggor |
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| Me and my best friend with our little person photo bombing us! |
On June 16th, our beautiful and last daughter, celebrated her 16th birthday with a sleepover/swim party. It was a crazy evening filled with laughing and giggling teenage girls!!
We took in another Dodger game with field seats on the first base side. We love the Dodgers and Dodger stadium. I found an app on my phone that once downloaded you can have food delivered to your seats. The food was included in your ticket price. Briggor thought that was the greatest thing in the world that he could watch baseball AND have food delivered!!!
Briggor had the opportunity to meet Jim Hill. He is currently an LA sportscaster but he played NFL football many years ago!! He signed a baseball for Briggor and Jim Hill asked Briggor for his autograph. He told Briggor, you never know --- you may be famous someday!!!
On July 4th, we had a family bbq, swam and lit fireworks here at the house. My mom and sister came to visit and celebrate with us.
Our family vacation at the end of July was VEGAS!!! We took the kids to the Tahiti Village Resort and the beginning of the strip. It's sort of like Hawaii in Vegas. It was beautiful and very family friendly. The kids enjoyed hanging out at the pool and the lazy river. There was an activities center on floor below our room where Briggor played air hockey and other games and met new friends.
One evening we took the kids to the Tournament of Kings at the Excalibur. It was a dinner/show event. We sat in the "bad" guy section and rooted for the black knight. The kids loved it!
Our kids under the New York, New York skyline with a full moon in the background.
The next evening, we took the kids to see Blue Man Group.
It was so much fun! The kids laughed and smiled.
Right about here in our trip, I dropped my phone in water and lost everything!
Pictures, contacts, everything! It is not a fun thing to lose your phone while on vacation
After 4 days with the kids, we had Andrew, our oldest, meet us in Barstow and he took the
kids home. It was now time for Mark and I to have some fun in Vegas.
The first thing we did was get me a new phone which isn't easy to do.
Old phone is history -- new phone is awesome!!!
Mark's brother, Gerald and his girlfriend Rachel moved to Vegas during the week we
were there. We were able to see their new house and hang out with them
a few times in the Sports Bar.
Mark and I went to the Titanic Exhibit at the Luxor.
It was a great exhibit. We recommend it!
When you enter the exhibit they hand you a boarding pass. It has an actual name of a person who was on the real Titanic. The boarding pass gives your information about this person. Such as their name, age, who they were accompanied by, reason for being on the Titanic and a particular fact about them.
You walk through the exhibit and "experience" the dining room, the staterooms, the artifacts found at the original site, the story of what happened, etc.
At the very end, they have a wall of names. Names of survivors and names of the deceased.
You are to take your boarding pass and find your "name" on the wall.
You are to see if you lived or died on the Titanic!!!
Both Mark and I lived!!
We saw Le Rev at the Wynn.
It was a water - Cique De Soleil sort of show.
Very Vegas!
Mark and I had dinner at Sinatra's in the Wynn hotel.
Very high class and excellent food.
Our last night in Vegas, Mark and I went to Hogs and Heifers!! Let's just say that this is a "memorable" night - sort of!! Drank too much, remember things in pieces, laughed a lot, lost my bra at the bar (That's another story!!! - HAHHAHAHA!!!) But, I did all this crazy stuff with my best friend and husband. We realized we are WAY TOO OLD to be drinking like we are 20!!!
Our drive back home was a long drive for the 2 of us after being hung over from the
night before. It took a full day to recover from THAT adventure.
All and all the summer was fantastic!
When we got back from Vegas, it was 2 weeks until school started so it was time for football practice, school supply and clothes shopping and getting back into a routine.
Another summer in the books for the Mendenhall family!!
