Vive Las Vegas

Last weekend Will and I and the kids went down to Las Vegas for the Highland Games. I've always wanted to go to Vegas and I wasn't about to pass up the opportunity for a trip down there.

We rode in the motorhome with Will's parents. I wish I could say that our drive down was fine, but it was anything but. Somewhere in no-man's-land between Idaho and Utah, we witnessed a one car crash. A pick up truck suddenly flipped and rolled into the median. We immediately stopped and Will ran over to the crumpled up vehicle while his dad called 911. No one at the time was sure what had happened, but Will said that one of the tires had its tread blown off so we think that's what caused the accident. There were four people in the car, a husband and wife and an older girl and boy. The two girls walked away unharmed. One of the guys was being choked by his seat belt so Will had peel the door off and cut him out of it. He died five minutes later. The other guy was badly crushed and he had been scalped so no one held out much hope for him. And there was nothing they could do. We were so far out that there was no ambulance nearby and it took a half hour just for a cop to show up at the scene. By the time we left, about an hour after the crash happened, Life Flight still hadn't shown up yet. A couple of days later, Will was reading the police report and apparently there was another cop on his way to the accident when his car flipped over. He was unharmed.

But, wait. It doesn't stop there. A couple of hours later we were the victims of road rage. We had stopped to get gas and when we were pulling out of the service station a man in a pick up truck, who was at a stop sign and saw us coming, proceeded to speed up anyway and then honked his horn at us for pulling out. He got angry, turned into the suicide lane to try to pass us and cut us off. Well, he missed and ended up hitting us instead. He jumped out of his vehicle and proceeded to yell profanities at Will and his dad. The guy called the cops and we had to wait for them to show up. When the cops finally came, he told them that we cut him off and he had to swerve to miss us. He also said that Will threatened him. This is where karma comes in. When the guy honked his horn at us, he caused someone at the gas station to look up and see what was happening. He stayed as a witness for us and told the cops that it was his fault, not ours. When the police were telling him this and that if he had to swerve to miss us, he was driving too fast and it was still his fault, he started yelling at them. Anyway, we lost another hour because of him. We drove late into the night and didn't get as far as we had hoped.

It was a long drive down so we amused ourselves by eating pretzels from between our toes.

We stayed at the campground behind Circus Circus. It was one of the first hotels to cater to families. We took the kids there the first night. There was a big area with lots of carnival games that the kids could play.

Enjoying $5 slushies while waiting for the next act to start in the indoor circus area.

We watched two acts at the circus. One was a couple who performed illusions and then this acrobat.

I saw these shoes in the window of a really cool shoe store inside Circus Circus. I tried to convince Will to get a pair, but he said that he couldn't wear them without getting a pimp suit too.

The Strip. It didn't disappoint.

A bad picture of the Trump Tower.

I had such a great time walking the strip. And it wasn't just the lights and the enormity of the buildings that gave me goosebumps. It was also all the people and cars and the honking of horns. Even though I love my big backyard and having chickens and seeing the sheep out in the back fields, it all reminded me that I'm a city girl at heart.

The Highland Games were held in a park that was filled with peacocks. They roamed all over and were quite used to people. They are so beautiful and the loud cry they kept making brought back childhood memories of Stanley Park and the peacocks that wandered freely there too.

Who knew that peacocks could climb so high up in the trees?

This one wandered into our booth while we were packing up. He was particularly interested in the shiny clothing racks we had.

This albino peacock, while not as colourful, was still beautiful.

Random Photos

Here are some random photos that I took over the past week.

Kyla and Penelope taking a nap together:

Playing dress up:

Last weekend we got a lot of snow. Moira built a snowman with two penguins:

Sugar likes to hang out in the field right behind our house and catch mice. I circled him in the first photo.

More Pics of Penelope

Penelope is just so darn cute that I had to put up some more pics of her.

It's amazing how a two pound kitten can manage to kick a 50 pound dog off her bed.

A New Addition to Our Zoo

Last Sunday the girls and I went to the cat shelter as usual when we went into the kitten room and saw this wonderful little creature:

Her name was Penelope and she was all alone. She was such a love and was snuggling with us. Moira begged us to get her and finally we relented.

She's five months old.

She hasn't shown any interest in the other cats or Suki. She just runs around exploring and doing her own thing. She has a little bell on her collar so we always know where she is.

Liam is showing Penelope the laser pointer. He calls her "Bee-nana-pee".

And our other pets:

Here is Sugar sleeping on Kyla's bed.

Our Lucy who was four months old when she adopted us.

Of course, our dog Suki.

And we still have our chickens.

This is one of the original ones that Will first brought home. She is very pretty and her feathers shine.

This is our littlest chicken. She is very tiny.

This is the biggest chicken and she rules the roost. She is much bolder than the others and the other two follow her around.

The three of them in their coup. They haven't laid any eggs for us yet, but I keep checking their nests.

*Not included in this post are the two little goldfish that Moira has in her room.*

Simply Cats

The girls and I are still volunteering every Sunday at Simply Cats. We look forward to going every week so we can visit the cats and give them some love.

This is Valentine. She was shot in the eye with a bow and arrow by a young boy. Her left eye has been sewn shut and her left ear is deaf. She is afraid of the kids and doesn't like sudden movements, but sometimes I'll go into her room by myself and she'll come and sit on my lap. She drools when she is especially happy.

This is Dark Sky. He is a love and is always rubbing against our legs. He is Kyla's favourite.

Inca Due and Brenda

This is Simon. He is Moira's favourite cat.

Dyllon. He is an affectionate cat too, but prefers adult company.

This is Ralphie. He sits by his door and waits for us to come in and pet him.

Maggie

Fradee. Normally he doesn't give us the time of day, but when Moira brings out the cat treats, he becomes very vocal and lets us pet him.

The hardest part of going to the shelter isn't seeing all the cats that need good homes, but missing them like crazy when they do find one. You get to know the cats and their personalities and you can't help but love them. You take for granted that you are going to be able to see them every week, but when they get adopted and they are no longer there, it's heart breaking.

Snowshoeing

I finally made it up snowshoeing this season. It's the first time I've been up in two years. It felt so good to get some fresh air and to give my body a workout. I'll sleep good tonight!

The trail wound through the trees.

I only fell twice this trip. I need to work on my snow legs.

I snowshoed on the trails at Bogus Basin.

Views from the top near the Nordic Lodge.

Will and Moira went skiing while I was snowshoeing. Moira looks so grownup with her skis and new poles.