July 1-24, 2016

Edith and Keri made two more styrofoam props for the upcoming pageant in California. They stayed up past midnight trying to finish them, so they can be fully cured and sealed.

July 3rd we, along with Keri and her whole family, traveled from Three Forks, MT to Las Vegas. We stayed at a hotel resort on Harmon Ave for 2 nights, then moved to Stratosphere where we stayed until Monday the 11th.  During that time DeafNation Expo was held at Paris Hotel on Las Vegas strip.  

We were devastated to find out that the super fireworks were displayed on Sunday the 3rd, not the 4th.

On Tuesday July 5th Keri and Dustin suggested that we have dinner at Heart Attack Grill in downtown Vegas.  Keri’s best friend, Esther, along with her friends met us there.  If you did not finish your hamburger you will get spanked!  Edith got spanked by a “doctor” waiter.

Esther & Keri having fun!

During the week we shuttled between Strastosphere and Paris via shuttle bus or taxi.  Shuttle bus took forever between stops, so we decided to use taxi once in a while which was faster but costly.  

Paris Vegas Hotel

All of us went to the Strip, walked to where the Mirage Resort is to watch the volcano show. The kids had a ball watching it.

Conner, Nikkol, Zella, Sasha, Hunter & Kalista

There were over 180 booths at DeafNation Expo.  We met some friends we had not seen in years.  

To celebrate Erwin’s (July 14) and Keri’s (July 20) we had fancy dinner at Gordon Ramsay Steakhouse in Paris Hotel.  

We took Keri and the family to Los Angeles Zoo for the day.  After supper at Tom’s we continued driving to Indian Wells, CA and checked into Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort where the pageant was held at.

Hunter, Zella & Nikkol

Keri’s three girls competed in  a three day Heartbreakers pageant. Some of you readers may wonder why Keri’s girls compete in pageants.  Pageants, in many ways, help contestants gain their confidence, improve their inner self.  Edith has seen firsthand at how much one of Keri’s girls has changed by overcoming her shyness, becoming more confident and talking to people without hesitation.  The girls had a wonderful time doing their routines, meeting old/new friends. 

Coming back home our overnight stop was at Stratosphere in Las Vegas after we left Indian Wells, CA.  It was very hot and the temperature once reached 113˚.  Jason, Keri’s uncle, came by and had supper with us at Roxy’s Diner inside the Stratosphere.  

We stopped in Primm and Mesquite, NV to check out the casinos.  Edith taught Dustin on how to play craps.  Edith signed up for Player card, received bonus $5. She played $1 slot machine, netted $9.35 (a profit of $5.35). Not too bad!

All of us were very hungry during suppertime, so we had meals at Old Spaghetti Factory in Salt Lake City, UT.

We did not get back to Three Forks, MT until 5 am the next morning.  After unloading stuff from the truck all of us rested and napped the rest of the day.  We were really worn out from the long trip and the heat.

Erwin took the Lil’ Home to MCM Truck Repair for oil/air filter change, tire checkup and to have more freon added to the air conditioning.  Getting the LH ready for resuming our meandering trip soon.

Erwin and Dustin worked on Zella and Nikkol’s bedroom turning the twin beds into bunk beds, adding more shelvings for pageant crowns, capes and sashes.  Erwin fixed Sasha’s bed by adding more slats and a piece of plywood under the mattress.  

It was the last night for all of us to play Ticket to Ride game before we leave for the Pacific Northwest tomorrow.