Adventure dome and Valley of Fire (Wed. in Vegas--part 3)

Tuesday we decided to take the boys to the Adventure Dome.  We first needed to make a trip to the commissary on Nellis Air Force Base because we still had not gotten any groceries besides the few items we purchased at the Super Target.  Also, the base sold discount tickets for military members.  So, off we went.  we got our tickets, groceries, and deposited them back at the condo, then drove back into Vegas.  Let me just say, in a few years this trip probably wouldn't be a great idea with all the boys.  Right now they are content to just watch their movies in the van and are pretty oblivious to anything going on outside.  In a few years however, that probably won't be the case and at that point, I'm not sure how comfortable I'll be driving into Vegas.  The newer part of Vegas isn't so bad but the older part--the part where Circus Circus is located has some really nasty areas with crude billboards and such.  As it is, things were fine.  We got to the Adventure Dome and it was packed!  The boys were so excited.  Will wanted to go on the big roller coaster but wanted to try some other ones out first and Isaac didn't want to go on it (Eli couldn't because he was too short).  After awhile, Will decided he would skip the big roller coaster and just go on the other rides.  They had so much fun and even though it was super crowded and smoky I was happy to see the boys enjoy themselves so much.  After a few hours we were all ready to go home so we headed home, had some dinner, and then while I put Piper down for bed Mike took the boys for a quick swim in the cold pool.

 We wanted to check out some of the landscape Nevada has to offer so we met up with my roommate again and followed her to the Valley of Fire outside of Boulder City near the Dam.  It was such a beautiful drive!  Remember how I said that I didn't think Nevada was that pretty?  I take it back.  It was beautiful and I'm so glad we decided to go check it out.  It was the perfect activity for the boys.  We ate our picnic lunch and spent a few hours just letting the boys climb and play.  Mike did some reading and Nikki and I just sat and talked and caught up on life since we saw each other last.  I would have liked to spend a few more days investigating the Valley of Fire of we had other things we wanted to see and do still and our time was running out. 

It was pretty hot and the boys hadn't had much of a chance to swim yet so we took Nikki's son Lincoln back to the condo with us and let them swim.