I had to go to Vegas to attend a convention for work so we turned it (sorta) into a family trip. I left in the morning and headed to Vegas. Marriann and Dad were flying home later that evening and bringing Maxwell with them. Peter and Emmalyn were coming 2 days later.
I was a little worried about Maxwell flying with his Grandpa and Nana. I knew they would take care of him but as a parent I worried about what if he misbehaved? What if something went wrong? It's one thing to have things go wrong when you are with your family and can take care of it but it's a whole other thing when you have to rely on someone else if something were to go wrong.
I arrived in Vegas and it was great to see the strip. It's been a little over a year since we've been here.
I met up with Kimberly for lunch before I went to the convention. We grabbed some Cafe Rio and then ate in her office. It was fun to see where she worked and spend time together eating delicious food. :) (I tried a pork quesadilla for the first time...it was amazing)
I then went to the convention and was able to spend good, quality time visiting with my clients. After the convention I went to Kimberly's house and hung with her and her kids and enjoyed a delicious dinner she made.
I facetimed with Emmalyn. It stinks being away from my family! It helped knowing that I would see Maxwell soon.
Grandpa and Nana arrived home safely with Maxwell. It was super late for him but he was a good kid. They said he did great on the plane and that he was talking up a storm and then played on his ipad. Multiple people mentioned what a cute kid he was. He felt really special getting to go on a plane with them.
All tucked into his big bed
The next morning we got up and got ready (since we were still on Central time, we were up really early). Maxwell played a little golf and then I headed to the convention while he stayed with Nana and Grandpa.
This convention for convenience stores was crazy! I couldn't believe how big it was.
I came home and look what I found - - Maxwell hanging with his cousin Aaron. Two peas in a pod. They are 1 1/2 years apart.
Ready to hit the pool!
Happily swimming with Grandpa and Nana
Learning how to blow water out of a water noodle
Having so much fun together
A fancy dinner - scrambled eggs and toast!
Aaron slept over with Nana (Heather was busy looking for a new house for them to buy when they moved here)
In the morning they quickly got back to playing again. They did a pretty good job with only a few issues.
Snack time!
I had been planning on spending some 1 on 1 time with Maxwell before Peter got here but gave that up in favor of letting them spend time together and watching Aaron so Heather could focus on finding a house.
Maxwell calls him "little Aaron" (since my dad is the big Aaron). Eventually Aaron told him to stop calling him that. Maxwell did a good job of respecting his wishes and just called him Aaron after that.
I took the two boys and headed to the new children's museum. I'm not that great with kids so I was feeling stress about watching both of them. At times it was great and at other times I wondered what in the world I was doing. (especially when Aaron threw a fit...but I made it through just like I would have if Max did the same thing)
learning about recycling
Playing in the construction area
Running a register in the grocery store
Aaron thought it was cool to work on the car
Not too long after Aaron's fit, Kimberly showed up. She had taken part of the day off to be with us. I was incredibly grateful to have her there too plus it was more fun for me. :)
the children's museum was awesome with many floors and lots of places to explore
watching the paper fly up the tube
This part was a big hit. You sent balls up a vacuum tube and then move levers to control how it comes back down.
Trying out what it feels like to be in hurricane force winds
I forced Maxwell to come in there with me. He was not happy about it and didn't enjoy it one bit.
Lunch at a yummy mexican restauran (Aaron was throwing a fit and wouldn't look at the camera)
After lunch we went to play at a park while we waited for Kimberly went to pick her kids up from school and then meet us there.
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A bunch of cute cousins
Silly kids
Kaity doing Max's move with him
Silly poses
Kaitlyn, Tyler, and Aaron (Maxwell had no interest in getting on the horse)
Water to play in!!
Notice Maxwell just sitting on the side? He could not be coerced into playing in the water and getting wet. He would not budge. (Remember how I've talked about Maxwell doesn't cave to peer pressure?)
Good leaps, kiddos
These three had an awesome time
And Maxwell had a great time manning the button to keep the water flowing
For the last little big of Momma/Max fun, we got some lemonade before Tyler, Maxwell, and I headed to the airport to pick up Peter and Emmalyn. Kimberly took Kaity and Aaron back to the house.
