Vegas, Baby, Vegas!

We decided we needed to get away at least a little bit this summer, but with a new baby and a scaled down budget, our options were somewhat limited.  I thought back to how much I enjoyed staying at hotels and swimming in a hotel pool as a kid.  We did that a lot with my dad and it always was fun even if we were just at a simple hotel close to home.  Our kids were taking swim lessons this summer and we wanted as much pool time as possible in order to give them lots of practice.  Scott needed something to look forward to and a much well deserved break from work.  So, despite the heat in triple digits, the low cost of $50 a night at the Luxor lured us to the city that never sleeps.


We drove up on Sunday night and stayed at Uncle Brian's.  It was a sweet place!  in fact, Brian's place was so cool, we wondered why we had spent money on a hotel!  Joshie was so excited that there was a "potty for me to make pee pee and poo poo!" and when he saw the second toilet he just couldn't get over it.  (He had just finished potty training.)  We spent one night there and in the morning we woke up and were watching some Blue Planet in HD while I fed the baby.  We were all sitting together and Ben exclaimed, "We are all together as a family!  I LOVE Las Vegas!!!"  I love 5 year old kids--they are so easy to impress!


We had breakfast at a nearby IHOP and went back to Brian's to enjoy his awesome yet deserted pool.  It was sooo hot, but in the pool we were so happy!  I think the temperature peaked at a toasty 117 degrees while we were there.

We packed up and met Kristin at the Mandalay Bay and she got us a great deal for tickets to their Shark Reef Aquarium.  Joshie kept crying and did not want to go inside.  We finally figured out why.  He really thought that we were going into the water with the sharks.  Now that would have been quite the up close and personal experience!  

The boys were most impressed with the pirahnas, the green 

sea turtles, and the sharks.  They spent the next few days pouring over their guidebooks every time we were in the car.  It was great to see Kristin.  The boys adore Aunt Kristin!

For dinner we met poor Adam who was studying for finals at out favorite sandwich place in Vegas--Capriotti's.  I finally tried to turkey dinner sandwich and it did not disappoint!

Tuesday, we hit the Luxor pools.  All the pools were shallow and perfect for Ben.  He gained a lot of confidence in swimming this week.  His favorite move was throwing his googles and diving after them.

Tuesday we decided to take advantage of the meal plan at the Luxor--All you can eat breakfast, lunch and dinner for the whole family for about $50 after the hotel credit we got when we booked our trip.  Not bad. The food was pretty good and we ate way too much this day.  A buffet with kids is just so convenient...everyone is happy.  I should have taken a picture of Ben's plate each time.  The only colors on his plate were brown or white...mashed potatoes, french fries, fried shrimp, etc.  Joshie got some more colors with lots of fruit and even broccoli.
We went swimming again and went straight from the pool to meet Scott's dad and new wife, Carol, for lunch.  I thought that Clark had picked up dessert for the whole table, but in fact, it was just for him.  Good work, Clark!
After lunch, we all took naps in preparation for a late night at the downtown Freemont experience.  We checked out the show times on what turned out to be a mistaken website and ended up two hours too early for the show.  In the meantime, we went to the MGM Grand only to find out that the lions went home at 7 pm and it was almost 8 pm by then.  We took the kids as promised to the M&M store.  It was M&M overload, but they had fun picking out their very own bag of M&M colors of their choice.
We hadn't eaten dinner yet and had to get back to the hotel by 10 to eat.  In hindsight, the meal plan was great but it did tie us to the Luxor so we should have made sure we had accurate information on things we wanted to see outside the hotel.  We'll have to take the boys to the Freemont Street experience another time.
The next morning we woke up and went to the pool again.  There just wasn't enough pool time!  We had hopes of sticking around Vegas to check a few more things out, but the boys were tuckered out and tired of walking around.
All in all, it was a fun getaway...very budget friendly, had some pool time, saw family, and got to spend time undistracted with our little family.  In Ben's words, "I LOVE Las Vegas!!!"

Our good little traveler.

Sweetest Baby!

Did I mention how much we just love our little baby?  He is so easygoing.  I can't tell you how many times I might have forgotten (just a bit ) about him and he's fallen asleep for his morning nap on his play mat.  I''l just pick him up put him in his crib and he continues to sleep.

We just love his quick smiles and can't get enough of kissing his cubby cheeks!  Love you, baby!

Oh, Yes...I DID!

Maybe it was because I lost my mind after spending a day in the bathroom potty-training. Maybe because I was alone with the kiddos from 7 am to 9 pm. Maybe it was hormones or nursing brain...but, look what I did to my BABY! In hindsight, I really meant to put a guard on the clippers, but I remembered one swipe too late. So, my baby went from thinning patchy hair to completely BALD! Whoops! At least, he's only 3 months and could care less. He still looks happy... When I showed Ben, he was in bed and laughed so hard he fell back and hit his head on the bed. Then, always so protective of his baby bro, asked acusingly, "Mom, did you hurt him!?" to which I replyed, "No, not at all. Actually, he seemed quite content while I was making him Bald Baby." What a trusting good baby. If you haven't noticed, this is my first blog. Up to this point, Scott has done all the blogging. I am feeling very guilty about documenting our life. I am feeling like my sweet boys are growing up before my eyes and I have such a bad memory, I won't be able to recall all the funny, wonderful things they do. So, I publicly vow to become a blogger. I hope I can figure out how this all works and include some pictures. So, stay tuned!

Happy 4th of July!

We are making traditions!  For the second year in a row, I ran the Huntington Beach 5k with my ruddy (running buddy), Tori.  A lot has changed from last year--I had a three month old baby and Tori  was over 3 months pregnant.  Babies tend to get in the way of this running business, but we still managed to do it anyway!  Our time was not great...a little over 30 minutes, but we were out for fun, not glory.
After the 5K, I ran the kid's race with Ben again.  He was so funny.  He alternated in running his guts out to barely shuffling.  I am just so happy he did not trip like last year.  This time he had his eye on the prize and was determined to get a medal before they ran out like last year.  I am happy to report that he did!  Along the way, we were surprised to run into Brian and Lindsay, but were happy to have them get this action shot of us!

After the races, we assumed the position under Tosh's monstrous EZ up and chilled under the shade with good friends and good snack while the Huntington Beach Main Street parade went by.  My favorite part is when the Pearl Harbor veterans pass by.  They get older and fewer in number every year, but they are not forgotten.  I am so grateful to live in this country and for the men and women who have sacrificed so much for our freedom.  It is a very emotional experience to stand up and cheer for out country's heros.
Then, on to the pool party and BBQ hosted by Tosh and Tori.  This is always a pleasure and good time for all.

We still haven't solved the dilemma of fireworks in this town.  Main street would be the best show, however, it's just way too crazy to navigate with tired kids.  This year we stumbled upon our best option so far.  We heard that a couple of families were getting together at a church parking lot on a hill that had a view of several different shows.  We checked it and and were surprised to see how many families were there and enjoyed all the fireworks that were done right there in the parking lot.  Joshie didn't even make it out of the car...sleeping the whole time in his car seat.  Ben got out, but after 5 minutes pulled a blanket over his face and fell asleep in a lawn chair.  I got to wander around with the baby chatting with friends. Scott had fun lighting a few fireworks and chatting with friends as well.  I think we are creating some lasting traditions!