Weekend in Vegas

 Jason had to go to Las Vegas for work last weekend, and so Addie and I went with him so he wouldn't be bored.  Or get into trouble.  It turned out to be a really fun weekend getaway for our family.

 It was Addie's first time staying in a hotel, and she loved it within the first 5 minutes.  She ran around our room and looked at everything, jumped on the beds, tried out the bathroom, and then asked if we could live there forever.  The first thing we did after checking in was put on our swimming suits and go down to the pool.  It was dark by then, but still fun. 

 Before heading back to our room after swimming, we decided to eat some dinner at the Steak and Shake in the casino area.  It was delicious, and they give a hat and a cardboard car to every little kid.  We each got a shake too, which is a big deal in this non-spending family. 

The next day, after attending church, we hit the strip.  That's kind of a weird sentence, huh?  We wandered around, avoiding anything anyone tried handing to us (actually, very few people hand papers to a guy walking around with his child and pregnant wife), and looked at a variety of attractions.  Like the Eiffel Tower. 

Then we watched the fountain show in front of The Mirage while eating cookies, which was a nice break from walking and not eating.

You might say Addie is missing the best part, but is she really?  She's licking the last bit of chocolate from her thumb.  This one's a toss up.

We came across this Harley Davidson restaurant where Jason and Addie were dazzled by this giant motorcycle busting through the wall.  Next we went to M&M World and watched the free little movie they show there.  On the way back we saw a few transformers, some feathered girls, an Elvis, a giant M&M, a creepy Woody and Jesse, and a Hello Kitty.  Vegas is THE place for free entertainment.  Good entertainment?  No, just free.  I kept wondering what Addie was thinking about this strange place, but she seemed to be having fun.  We also saw the robotic statues show of Zeus inside Caesar's Palace and ate at the Cheesecake Factory for lunch.  Quite delicious, by the way.

We headed back to the hotel when it got dark and too crazy and indecent for quality family fun, but we did get to drive down the strip and see all the lights.  After a day of walking in the heat, I had swelled up like a Ballpark hotdog, so a dip in the pool was in order.  After I had returned to normal size and Addie had pooped in her swimsuit, we decided to call it a day.

The next morning we headed down for a breakfast buffet, which left us all feeling kind of sick.  We didn't even over-indulge or anything, it just wasn't all that great.  After that, we went swimming for the last time.  It makes perfect sense to go swimming after a buffet, I think.  Addie's most favorite part about the trip was swimming, which is why we went everyday.  This time, we went while it was sunny so I took some pictures.

 
We played Treasure Hunt and Water Monsters, which Addie made up and instructed us step by step through.  It was all kinds of silly fun.  Jason also taught Addie how to blow bubbles without inhaling water, which not as easy as it sounds.  (The teaching Addie part, not the actual doing it part.)

Here she is, kicking her way across the kiddie pool.  She was supposed to get out and dry off to leave when she got to the other side, but she turned around before she got close enough for me to grab her.  We ended up having a little scene since she was refusing to get out. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

We showered, packed, and checked out at noon.  We then headed to the Ethel M. chocolate factory for a tour.  It turned out they weren't making anything that morning, so we looked at turned-off machines and then got a chocolate sample at the end.  Kind of disappointing, but at least there was chocolate to taste.

Before leaving Vegas, we parked in a little parking lot/ construction site to eat lunch.  We made peanut butter sandwiches and ate them while watching airplanes fly low over us as they were coming in for landing on the nearby airstrip.  It was a good time, and I was surprised at how many different planes we saw go over us.  Addie watched the sky closely and squealed an alert to J and I whenever a plane came, which was about every 2 minutes.  We then said goodbye to Vegas and all its stale cigarette smoke and naughty litter and headed into the vast and hot desert.   The End.