Sara and Mark Come to Visit!

Aunt Sara and Mark came to visit this past week and we had the best time!  Sara and Leah finally met each other (and I finally met Mark) when we picked them up on The Strip where they stayed the night before.  Thankfully we made it to the gas station before Mark would have needed to get out and push the car, so the visit began with relative calm.

Seeing Leah for the first time

We dropped off their stuff and headed to Ethel M Chocolate Factory for a tour of the plant and cactus garden.  No chocolate was being made when we were there, only packaged, but we still got to try some (and Mark the suck-up tried BOTH kinds!).  It was delicious.  The cactus garden was a nice stroll on a nice day, but it was nothing spectacular.  I think it would be really beautiful at night this time of year with all the Christmas lights and decorations.

Thursday night we continued our tradition of making our own pizza with Sara.  Our pizza stone was a casualty of our move, so we ventured to Custom Built Pizza where we got to design our own pizzas.  It was so good!

On Friday, we headed to the dog park in the morning so that Johnny would be good and tired before we went out that night.  Then Sara and Mark babysat while Brian and I met up at a movie.  We saw The Secret Life of Walter Mitty... Brian seemed to really enjoy it; I thought it was only ok.  We so appreciate the time together, even if Leah was a small pain.

Friday night we had the Fremont Street Experience take two (take one was when Sara was in town in July and that did NOT go so well, ending in a large haboob and thunderstorm).  We went to dinner at a yummy Thai restaurant and then walked along Fremont Street.  There is never a shortage of interesting people watching there!  We'll have to go back another time to check out the new Container Park.

Johnny?  He did ok Friday night.  Saturday morning, on the other hand, was quite the disaster.  Our dog of all trades managed to climb the wall in our backyard into an alley on the other side of the street.  Luckily Brian saw him and jumped the wall after him, bare feet and all.  Sara had the baby, so I grabbed the keys and sped to block the alley because I didn't know how far he had gotten.  With the help of a guy walking his dog (probably the dog Johnny wanted to play with), Brian grabbed Johnny and I drove them home.  It was terrifying.  Every time this happens (this = Johnny doing something stupid) I am reminded how closely related love and hate really are.  Saturday night, Johnny earned himself a date with his crate.  I guess the date didn't go so well because guess who busted out?  Yeah...

Straight back is the wall that Johnny climbed.
UGH.  #ruiningmyweek

After the Johnny debacle, we all (dog included) headed to Red Rock Canyon for some hiking.  It always amazes me- the natural beauty that is so close to the city, yet makes you feel like you are in a different world.  Leah did awesome as I wore her the whole time.  The hike was so fun and I think we all felt so good and accomplished afterwards (also, hungry... hiking during lunch time isn't the best idea).

Leah's diva hiking outfit

While Johnny was pretending to be Houdini on Saturday night, we were enjoying the UNLV/ Cal State Fullerton basketball game.  College basketball is one of my favorites, but this game wasn't a very good one.  The company, however, made it totally worth it!

Sunday morning we headed to Hoover Dam for the power plant tour.  Another bout of poor timing meant we were hundreds of feet below street level during lunch time, but I enjoyed the tour.  It's cool doing things like that with Brian because he is so familiar with all of the construction and concrete details.  I'd love to go back and do the longer tour and plan a little better.

Johnny once again destroyed his crate on Sunday by chewing through some of the metal and peeing all over, but we all took a deep breath and got him cleaned up, Leah fed, and Sara and Mark to the airport.

We had the best time with you two and cannot wait to see you again!  Thank you for all of the attention and love you gave Leah (and Johnny); I know she misses you.  Love you!