Dickieville News, April 2006

Is it the Bahamas again?  No, it's the desert, actually.  Can't you tell the difference?  The highlight of April was our vacation in Las Vegas to visit Kate's dad and step mom, along with a few other activities and the opportunity to experience warm, sunny days well before we can expect them in New England. 

This is a shot of the Hyatt Regency on Lake Las Vegas, a man-made lake, about twenty miles out of Las Vegas proper.  It's a resort area for... ahhh... resorting.  Below, Will enjoys the Water Slide, Kate enjoys the sun, Brie enjoys the pool, and Dave enjoys taking photos of it all.

You can see all the March and April photos in the photo gallery if you want!

And here we have our boating / rafting trip down the Colorado river, starting at the base of the Hoover Dam.  Which is Dam Big.  I mean, a Big Dam.  To the left, some random people on our raft... oh, wait that's us... to the right and bottom, some of the spectacular scenery along the way.

Will actually jumped into the 52 degree water.  Brie was content to wade in it.  I was content to take photos of it. 

And here we are in another world... the strip.  We visited a few of the casinos.  To the right, Brie at the Dolphin and White Tiger habitat at the Mirage.  Far right, I and Will visited Circus-Circus's "Adventuredome" where we played a totally awesome laser tag game several times (not that I'd mention my top score of 4525 compared to Will's top score of 6... well, OK, 2225) along with roller coasters, log rides, bumper cars, etc. 

Below, the highlight of vacation for Will... fishing with Dad (with the only catch of the day).  Kate enjoys the patio.  The strip at night.

To the right, the real reason for the visit.  The family poses with Grand-dad and Grand-mom outside their new Las Vegas (well, Henderson, specifically) digs.  Kate's sister Anne and her husband Nick (that's Anne's husband, not Kate's) join us for part of the week.

Below, the Cirque Du Soleil "Mystere" show which was excellent despite the French name and the attack of the giant psychedelic snail at the end of the show.  Everyone's favorite part was the clown that appeared just before the show started and began showing late arrivers to their seats, worming in and out of the aisles and generally leading them in a circle until they finally caught on.  Then dousing them with popcorn. 

And, to round out the month, we have a new addition to the family.  Welcome Tasha, our new 10 week old Corgi companion for Patric.  She's the softest, cutest thing in the world.