Vegas Baby!

Here are some more pictures of our fun filled vacation in Las Vegas.

Carter watching the airplanes take off and land at the Airport.

At the aquarium in Mandalay Bay.


At the Natural History Museum.



Riding the Escalators.

Carter's Breakdancing move

We saved up our appetites and went big at the Spice Market Buffet in the Planet Hollywood. 3 plates of food later and 3 plates of desserts later I entered a minor food coma while my body regrouped to assimilate the excess that was just shoveled in.

Carter, on the other hand, ate just the right amount of ice cream covered brownie with sprinkles to produce this. We rode the elevator up out of the basement buffet into a flourescent world of bright lights, ringing bells, and funky dance tunes. The spirit moved Carter and he danced his way out of the Casino to the strip. Neither Susan or I can claim any responsibility for teaching him his sweet moves... he comes up with these on his own.

Okay so the 1:18 second video is too big to upload so I'll have to upload this short one for now.

Vegas Vacation

On the way to Vegas we happened upon a cow the size of a bus... photo opportunity!

Our first day in Vegas was sunny and warm enough to spend some time at the pool. We bought Carter a wheelbarrow sand toy that lasted all of about 5 minutes before it broke.

So it turns out that Carter has a few favorites in Vegas. One of his highlights is escalators... you read that right... escalators.

More to come!

On The Way To Vegas!

The Gladding Family is off on an adventure! I know that I have been slacking with the blog uploading but we have had a lot going on... but that's the subject of another post. Today's is about the beginning of our week long vacation.

We left Fresno and drove 4 hours to Ridgecrest. We hung a left at Bakersfield and drove up the 178 following the Kern river up to Lake Isabella. The wildflowers were in bloom and the hillside was a fantastic shade of green. We stopped to look at the waterfall so that Carter could get out and stretch his legs. His newest thing is when he wants out of his seat he says "Get me outta here!" in a high pitched strained voice.

We stayed the night at the China Lake Navy Base with Susan's cousin Beth, Travis, and Lindsay. We went out on a walk to see the planes that are part of the naval museaum they have there. Carter loved all the planes.

All the millions of dollars worth of airplanes and war machines couldn't overmatch the draw of a ladybug to a couple of inquisitive children.

Thanks to Beth and Travis for the hospitality and the popsicles!

A potty party

Daycare provides. Daycare provides loving care, friends, many opportunities to learn in various ways, a comfortable environment, and a fantastic springboard for using the potty. Last week we were informed, by a very excited Carter, that he wen't pee pee on the potty for the first time. Each day since he has repeated this feat. At his daycare they have several child sized toilets that Carter has watched his classmates use for months. They preemptively placed Carter on the seat day after day until the magic happened.

Piggybacking on this success Carter has his very own potty at home now.... complete with a insert to keep the number one going down in the potty rather than all over the place.

Back to the Mountains

We headed up to the "snow house" in Huntington Lake this past weekend for some rest and relaxation in the mountains.

We met up with some friends on Saturday and had a nice morning of sledding and hanging out.

At the cabin Carter found one of his cousin Jett's old toys that had a little shooter that he loved playing with. After showing him how to click in the projectile and press the button to shoot it he had hours of fun shooting it down the stairs and all over the place.



Back at the cabin we filled the empty time with lots of dancing! Carter loves to dance and he has some seriously impressive moves (he must have gotten those from Susan).

Sledding.... in California this time.

Okay so it's still cold and it's still snowy but this time were back in California in the Sierra Nevada. I took Carter and Jett up to see Boppa and Cha Cha for the day and we found a fabulous little sledding area that was perfect for the kids and the kids in all of us. Here's the higlights.