Las Vegas

Mike was awarded a trip to Las Vegas and off we went.   We stayed at the Hard Rock and had a great time.  Once we got in on Thursday my friend Renee came over to our hotel to hang out for a bit.  It was her brother in law’s wedding weekend so we had really bad timing for “hanging out.”  After chilling for a bit, Mike and I were able to go to the welcome party for 30 minutes before it was bedtime for Thomas and he wanted his Mommy or Daddy!   

Friday we were up and headed off to breakfast at the Hard Rock Casino’s diner.  Then Mike headed off to his work golf trip and Thomas and I headed down to Siegfried and Roy’s Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat at the Mirage.  He loved the dolphins.  We must have sat and watched them and talked to them for 45 minutes to an hour.   Then we were off to see the Tigers, Lions, and Spotted Leopards/Cheetas.  The big cats were sleepy but a few of them were up and moving around.  After a quick stop at Starbucks for a make shift lunch we were off to the hotel where Thomas surprised me and didn’t fall asleep right away.  So I was able to show him my favorite thing about staying in hotels, room service.  Thomas thought it was pretty cool to sit like a big boy and eat his my lunch.  Once lunch was over we both took a nap-the day had already been equally as exhausting as fun!

After our lunch and nap we tried the pool out and quickly realized why we were the only ones in the water…it was COLD!   We finally gave up and headed up to the bathtub for some warm semi-swimming.

Once Mike got home we took off to “the strip” to grab dinner and see the lights.  We walked through the Venetian and watched the boats and let Thomas run before grabbing dinner at Canaletto.  Once dinner was over we went and listened to some music in the square and enjoyed gelato for dessert. 
Then we went and caught the lava explosion at the Mirage and the Bellagio light show before heading back to the hotel as we were all ready for bed!  Mike even made the comment that after all his trips to Vegas, our night where we were in bed by 10 was his favorite thus far.  Guess life with a toddler in your world changes the way we look at things.

Saturday morning we got up early again and headed back to “the strip.”  We wanted to catch some of the other hotels out and walked (ran) around Caesar’s Palace.  Thomas threw coins into the fountain, we hope he was making lots of great wishes!  We then went and watched the fish swim in the Atlantis Aquarium. Barrett and Anette also happened to be in town for Renee’s brother in law’s wedding.   How small is the world when Anette and Renee’s BIL’s wife, Helen are both friends from Norway.  Such a BIG yet small world.  We met Barrett and Anette for lunch at Mesa Grill.   Both lunch and our company were great.  Then it was back to the hotel for the boys to nap and I went down to the spa for a manicure and pedicure.  After nap time we were headed back to “the strip.”

Where we took Thomas to The Lion King matinee show.  Mike and I were a little unsure how it would go, but we thought we would try it anyhow.   Successful is an understatement.  Thomas was wide eyed and staring at all the animals and singing the entire show.  There was one intermission and he got a little squirmy for the last 5 minutes during the slow part without animals.  He kept pointing and asking us where the animals were.  After the show Mike and I continued to ask ourselves what we actually thought Thomas took away from it.  Well over the last few days, he has become more interested in his animal toys, wants to watch the Lion King’s circle of life I found on YouTube and will ask for “mo (more),” and at the grocery store ran over to the Lion King yelling “yes!”  I think it is safe to say that he liked it and took something away from it even if he can’t tell us exactly what. 

Following the show we walked down to see the Sharks and other fish and amphibians at Mandalay Bay’s Shark Reef.   It was a pretty quick in and out trip.  The sharks were big with big teeth too!  Then it was home again to the hotel for Thomas to teach his Daddy about room service.  We were up early for an uneventful flight home.  Our first family trip to Las Vegas was a success!  It was a great time just doing whatever we wanted (more or less) and spending time as a family without having to worry about all regular day things.  I really do love vacation and our family ON vacation. 

*the photo collage above with Thomas picking his nose seems to be his go to “picture pose.”  We hope that this ends sooner than later and until then you may see more of these nose in finger pictures.