SURPRISE!!!

Kenn was able to come home on Sept 1st -Sept. 10th for an R&R. We didn't tell the kids he was coming and we were able to surprise them. He flew into Las Vegas and I was able to go down to pick him up and spend Thursday-Saturday with him there in Vegas. My mom and dad kept McKennley for me and Nicole and Anthony took the three older ones. I had told the kids that if they were good I would bring them home a big surprise that they would really like. Javin was very concerned that I was going down to Las Vegas by myself and that there were a lot of boys there. LOL I assured him his Dad knew who I was going to be with and what I was doing but he didn't believe me.
I went Thursday morning and picked Kenn up at the airport just after 9. He surprised me and gave me roses even before he got into the car. Then we went to the mall to get me a new dress for the shows we were going to be seeing. He surprised me again with a whole new wardrobe. I got two new dresses, a skirt, a jacket, and 5 new shirts, and a pair of jeans, as well as some jewelry. It was so fun. I felt great!

We stayed at the Monte Carlo and Thursday night we went and saw the Country Superstars Tribute at the Golden Nugget. Our tickets for the show also included the buffet there so we had a yummy dinner too. We played the blackjack tables before our show and we even won $120. It was a lot of fun. The show was wonderful, they had imitators for Garth Brooks, Reba, Big and Rich and Ronnie Dunn. They were all very entertaining, but we thought that Ronnie Dunn did the best. Reba and Big and Rich were fantastic too, and the Garth Brooks imitator was unfortunately unable to hit all the right notes, but still did alright.

On Friday we slept in and then went out onto the Strip. We ate lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe across from the hotel and then went to M&M World. We enjoyed visiting all 4 floors there and seeing all the M&M stuff they have. We also bought the kids M&Ms in their favorite colors.
After M&M World we went next door to see the Coca Cola Store. There we decided to try out their drink shop where we had the "ALL AROUND THE WORLD" sample drinks. It consisted of 16 drinks from all around the world. Some really weren't terrible and others were awful and some were just nasty. We did enjoy tasting them together though. After the Coca Cola Store we went back to the hotel to get ready for our next show. We went the Phantom of the Opera.
Phantom was amazing! We had orchestra seating and ended up on the front row on the right side of the theater. The theater was amazing and was built for this show so even part of it the actors were directly in front of us. The show was fabulous and we really enjoyed it. Kenn has always wanted to see it and so that was his main request for this trip. And we are so happy we went.
On Saturday we got up and packed up and checked out. On the way out we did an hour of Blackjack again and won about $30. We left about 11 to head home.
When we got back to Cedar we dropped off Kenn at my parents where he woke up McKennley from her nap so he could see her before we left for Applebee's where he would meet the other kids. She was still half asleep and very unsure about who the guy was that woke her up but she did recognize mommy and came right to me and snuggled right up. Precious! I love this girl! After a few minutes I left him and McKennley to go get the other kids from Nicole and Anthony's. The kids were waiting at the door when I got there and had every thing ready to go. We hustled to the restaurant and met Grandma and Grandpa Anderson and Kimber there.
Anthony came up too with Braxton so that he could help take some photos of the kids seeing their dad. The manager there at Applebee's let Kenn act as if he was our waiter and when all the kids were settled Kenn brought out a tray of water for all of us. He started at one end of the table and set the waters in front of everyone. At first the kids were too busy to notice him at all. They were coloring and talking. Then when he got in front of Kierra she noticed it was water and not milk in front of her and she piped up and said "I wanted milk" as she looked up at him. She watched Kenn for a moment and then said "You look a lot like my Daddy!" and then Kenn said I do and then said "And here is a water for you Javin." Javin was then surprised that the waiter knew his name and so he looked up and asked him how he knew his name. This is about the time they realized it was their dad there. Hunter then looked up and saw him too and they all got excited and grabbed for hugs. Hunter at one point asked if he lived there and really worked there. LOL It was so much fun seeing their little faces full of surprise as they realized their dad was really there.
We have really enjoyed having Kenn home and we have stayed busy doing lots of fun stuff. Kenn took the boys to the Aquatic Center and we went to the Iron Country Parade and Fair, he even took Kierra to the park and played with her there and even walked the little river with her. And we went to Elsinore to see my grandpa and feed the lambs and have a ride on the four-wheeler. The kids absolutely love having him home and showing off for him and telling him about everything etc. We will be sad to see him go again on the 10th but will enjoy the time we do have with him now.