viva las vegas

Dave had some time off work so we decided to head down to Las Vegas to watch BYU in the bowl game. We drove down on Monday morning, stopping only in Mesquite for gas and a bathroom break. When we arrived in Vegas, we parked at the Excalibur hotel and went in hoping to find a good place to eat. Somehow we ended up eating McDonald's (for the boys) and Quiznos when other choices were too cost prohibitive. How boring is that!? After dinner, began the night of endless walking. We wanted to take the kids to see the water show at the Belagio. Unfortunately we had failed to plan our trip very well and really didn't have enough information. How far was it? Could we park there easily? Walking with five small children and an extra-sensitive-to-the-sins-of-Sin City husband was neither easy or fun. When we finally made it to the Bellagio, we all loved the water show but Dave and I really wished it was longer than four minutes after all our effort to get there.

We made the return trip as quickly as possible and ended up at the MGM Grand so we could see the lions. We walked in the doors and realized that we once again didn't have good information so we had no clue where they were. We decided we were all too tired to do much more walking so we turned around and left. The lions were only about fifty yards from where we were! Ugh.

We got ourselves out of downtown and went to my cousin's house. They were already in Utah for the holidays so we had the whole house to ourselves. Emma completely freaked out about the dog and spent the next hour sobbing upstairs. The boys on the other hand were thrilled by the dog and spent the next hour repeatedly calling her name.

We spent a lazy morning watching TV and then headed to IHOP for breakfast. Everyone enjoyed their breakfast and the boys only embarrassed us ten or eleven times.


Next stop: the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. It was ridiculously overpriced but I'm still glad we went. We just finished studying swimming creatures in school so it was a good follow up. And we don't live near any good aquariums so while this one wasn't exactly large it at least had some interesting creatures.


We made a second attempt to see the lions at the MGM. After more walking, we found them. Sleeping. Of course.

Slade declared that he would do no more walking! We all agreed.

Dave and I left the kids with two babysitters and headed off to the football game. The game was miserably windy and cold but the Cougars came away with a victory. When I asked Dave if he would have rather watched the game at home in his warm living room, he said, "No way." I guess that means it was worth it. Plus, we got to see Dave and Julie Keele, old friends from Boise.

We came home to fine but frustrated kids. The babysitters had refused to let them have any of the treats that we bought for them to eat while we were gone. They claimed that we had told them they were for the drive the next day and wouldn't listen to their explanations to the contrary. Oh well. We gave them lots of treats for a bedtime snack instead. Isn't that what vacation is all about?

After another lazy morning of TV, washing sheets, and reading books, we headed home. We stopped in St. George for lunch where the waiter was rude enough to ruin my meal by telling me the calorie count. Not cool. We arrived home about 8:30 pm and were happy to find plenty of treats from the neighbors on the front porch.

I think this was our first family vacation that wasn't spent visiting family. It wasn't perfect but it was good. When we asked the kids what their favorite thing was Emma said the Shark Reef and the boys emphatically declared Sophie, the dog.

My take away from this vacation was two things. First, knowledge is power. I could have easily done a much better job of research which in turn would have meant a much better trip. Secondly, I have absolutely no desire to ever have a dog.