Las Vegas So Far

Day 1 of our vacation was full of driving, not so much fun we left fresno about 8:40am and made it to the resort about 4:30, not be bad, we thought. Abi wasn't too thrilled with being in the car that long but she survived. The Vue was PACKED to the brim and we even had my dad's car-top carrier to hold all the camping gear for next week.

The room is great, big and modern looking. the bathroom is huge, larger than abi's bedroom. It has a large soaker tub with a tv and a large marble tiled shower. There is a closet just big enough for abi's pack-n-play which is great becuase she can't see us when she's trying to fall asleep.

Sunday morning we left early for Hoover Dam. I had seen the Dam years ago but josh hadn't seen it before. Leaving early was a great idea because when we left a few hours later traffic was backed up A LOT on the 2 lane road, we would have waiting a long time for a tour but we ended up being the 2nd tour of the day. Since we had Abi with us we coudn't do the Dam tour but could do the power plant tour.

The biggest difference for me this time was seeing a HUGE arched bridge (http://www.hooverdambypass.org/) being built across the Black Canyon over the Colorado River. We drove across the Dam for the last time, once the bridge is completed the dam will be closed to thru traffic.

Sunday Night we went down to the strip and walked around. Abi loved seeing all the people and lights. We walked from Mandalay Bay to Bellagio to watch the water fountain dance to music, soo cool, abi liked it too.

Monday after lunch Abi and I spent some time at the pool before nap time. Abi loved the water, she was totally cold but kept crawling back into the water. The first 6-8 feet into the pool was only a few inches deep and had lounge chairs all around the pool. the few inches of water was great for abi to play in.


Here a few cute pictures of Abi from the bathtub and playing with her poker chips on the bed, i wonder what she was betting on?

Wednesday night Josh had another dinner so Abi and i took a drive to Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area. It is only a few miles up the road from the resort and a beautiful place. There is a 13 mile scenic drive, picnic areas, hiking and off roading trails. Evening wasn't the best time to go but it is the time we had, i imagine some of the red cliffs would be much more vibrant if the sun was shinning on them verses behind them.

I think that is it for now. We are planning on going to the Shark Reef Aquarium this evening at Mandalay Bay and we'll have pictures to post later. Then off to Glandale, Utah KOA campground and Zion NP and Bryce Canyon NP.

Abi's First Ever Birthday Party

Last Friday we celebrated Abi's 1st birthday. Since we left for vacation on Saturday morning (her actual birthday) we had her party Friday night at Josh's parents house. Having it there was so helpful since we were packing. Thursday night i went over to Monica's house to work on the cake. She baked the cakes and laid the chocolate fondant on the cakes then i got to work on the fun stuff, decorating. I spent probably 3+ hours placing fondant flowers and dots on her cake. It turned out so beautiful and delicious. I love this picture of my friend Kristin and her son Alexander. And the one of Denise and is cute except for Abi not having a good time at that moment. The picture of us 4 mommies is in the same order as the picture we took at my baby shower last summer ( http://joshandstephmikow.blogspot.com/2008_08_01_archive.html) now we all have babies and thought it would be nice to have a before and after picture.

Abi wasn't quite sure what to do with her cake. She took a few bites, tried to share with Ethan and was done. I guess she wanted to open presents instead.

She had lots of fun opening gifts. Of course she loved the tissue more than some gifts but that's ok. She got some cute clothes, great toys and lots of tissue. she can't wait to get home so she can play with all her new toys.

365 Days of Abigail Lauren Mikow

Our goal for Abi's first year was to take at least 1 picture each day. Here they all are 365 days of pictures. Its amazing to see the changes from day 1 to day 365. I am putting all these pictures in one book seperate from her baby book so they are all in one place.
Enjoy!

The Many Faces of Abi in September

A whole year has come and gone since Abi has come into our lives. It is as they say that time flies (espicially when having fun). I LOVE being a mommy, espicially Abi's. This year has been a learning experience and so much more joy than i thought possible. So many people told me that the first year would be really hard and yes some times it may have been but over all this year hasn't been that hard. We are very blessed to have a healthy baby, that slept thru the night early on and took to a schedule. I am so thankful that God has provided a job for Josh that allows me to stay home. i hope you all have enjoyed these collages as much as we do!

The Many Faces of Abi in August