Viva Las Vegas!

We are back from a week of crazy, all night, high rollin' fun and remember-
what happens in vegas, stays in vegas!

Okay. Not really. If we were up late, it was because the kids were watching the Disney Channel and Kelly was watching HGTV. And the closest we came to gambling was getting ripped off by the midway games at Excaliber:

(showing off the prizes they won after some serious manipulating of the games!)

But we did have some fun! Here are a few of the highlights:

Lake Mead

In all the years I have been visiting Las Vegas, I have never been to Lake Mead. We decided this was the trip- we were going to go! We checked the weather report and decided to go first thing Monday because the rest of the week would have rain.The water level is low from drought (by 100 feet!!) so, the water was very silty. When the park ranger told us that, I had no idea what she meant. Now I do. It means that the minute you walk into the beautiful blue water, you sink to your calves and stir up this smooth but slimy mud(silt), turning the water all cloudy. It was pretty gross- at least Ethan and I thought so. No one else seemed to mind- my kids actually took mud baths!

(my sassy and muddy models standing in Lake Mead)

I, however, found the least icky spot I could and Ethan rolled around in my lap, making sure his feet did not touch the mud! Despite the silt, we had a great time and would definitely go back!

Dancing Waters at Bellagio

(Emily watching the show- the water literally goes up as high as the hotel!!)

I don't know if my kids really love this show as much as I do, or just think they do because I tell them I love it SO much! Doesn't really matter, it wouldn't be a good Vegas trip if we missed this fabulous attraction! Which we almost did!
They are building residential high rises next door and accidentally cut power to part of the Bellagio- including the show! We had to come back later in the week but, of course, it was worth it! We took our camera and our water bottles and pretty much camped out for an hour and a half so we could take in 6 performances. Two were new. The others were old, but still amazing. If you are ever in Vegas- this is a MUST!

(Kelly took this awesome shot during the last show we watched.)

Museums and Aunt Kathryn

(The kids riding the actual motorcycle used in the movie!)

My sister, Kathryn, came up from Arizona with her husband, who was moving furniture out of the penthouse and other suites in Caesar's Palace- what would that be like!! Both of them were able to come with us to the wax museum at the Venetian (very fun but SO expensive!) and then she joined us at the Leid Children's Museum. This was one way we stayed dry while Vegas was hit by monsoon rains and flash flooding!

(Kathryn and Ethan learning a hula in the children's museum)

Let's Go to the Movies...

Even though it was raining, it is still Vegas! So temperatures were 103 and the rain just made things humid. To stay dry and beat the heat, we spent two afternoons at the movie theaters.

(Kate and Megan looking at the downpour Wednesday morning)

We had been waiting for this trip to see Ratatouille, which was really cute if you could get past the fact that rats were in the kitchen! And while we were there, Underdog came out. (My kids liked it, I didn't. But we went for them. It was slightly torturous though to sit through such a dumb movie when Bourne Ultimatum was playing nearby! And Harry Potter 5 which I want to see again so badly!!)

Swimming

(You have NO idea how hard it was to get them to hold still for two seconds to get this shot!!)

This is the reason we go on vacation. My kids are not really good swimmers but they love to be in the water. We swim EVERY day of our vacation and I generally have to drag them out! Ethan was definitely the craziest- almost drowning himself by jumping in when no one was there to catch him! But every one of the kids would say that the pool is their favorite part of any vacation!

(Yes, I was there to catch him this time.)

I was originally going to post about how much I needed a vacation after getting back from this one! The space was small which meant lots of kids bickering. I am still the mom and found myself making lunch and beds, finding towels and doing braids... when I wanted to be reading and lounging! But, when it comes down to it- we had a great trip! Kelly worked really hard to make me happy and help things run smoothly. Kudos to him!! We went to some great places, ate good food, and got away from our daily grind. Viva Las Vegas!