Last Day in Vegas

Our last morning in Vegas, we did our best to live it up in such luxury.

We cut through the Bellagio on our way to some shops and Creed asked me to stop and take this picture of him because he loved the glass flowers on the ceiling.

After some window shopping we stopped for a healthy lunch at Serendipity.

And then it was home again, home again, jiggity jig!

Creed & Ollie Take a Trip to the Hoover Dam

Our second morning in Las Vegas we visited the Hoover Dam.  I loved the art Deco Details everywhere.  We rubbed the toes of the Winged Figures of the Republic and then headed over the dam on foot.

You can tell by the change of color on the stone that the water levels are way down from maximum capacity right now.

We were all filled with awe, except Creed, who didn't want to be anywhere near the edge.

In the background you can see the new Memorial Bridge.  It was built after 9-11 so traffic now drives over that bridge.  You can still drive over the Hoover Dam, but it's now just a scenic route and you have to turn around and come back.

We skipped the official tours figuring the boys weren't ready for that, but we did walk out on the Memorial Bridge to get the grand view of the Hoover Dam.

Ollie had no fear

Creed was happiest sticking close to the walls.

If you ever have a chance to stop and check it out, you really should. We'd love to head back when the boys are older (and they can fully appreciate having the excuse to say things like, dam tours, dam souvenirs, dam photos, etc.)

Creed Sees a Show in Vegas

Now that Creed is getting older, it's so fun to watch him experience new things.  We bought cheap (and by cheap I mean not full-price, but not very cheap) day-of tickets to the Blue Man Group and The Lion King.  Larry took Creed to the Blue Man Group while I put Ollie to bed at the hotel and the next night we swapped and I got to take Creed to the Lion King.

Larry was excited that He scored front-row center seats for the Blue Man group, but I think that was a little too upclose and personal for Creed.  They had to wear ponchos because they we splattered with paint and mushed up bananas.  If you ask Creed about it, he will tell you he was terrifed, but Larry says Creed really enjoyed about 80% of it.

 I think he liked going out for pizza afterwards more than the show.

 Creed's only seen the movie the Lion King once a few years ago, but he was so excited to see the play.  The elderly people by us glared when we took our seats, but he was so cute and excited and so well-behaved, and then adored him by the end of the show.

 The play broke down so we had an extra intermission (I've never had that happen during a play before). I tried to convince Creed to make a bathroom run and get snacks, but he would not leave his seat because he was afraid of missing even a second of the Lion King.  He's asked me everyday since then if we can go see Lion King again.

The other major highlight of Las Vegas for Creed was seeing this castle.  He kept asking to see the princess inside.  Good thing we're headed to Disneyland in January.

Creed and Ollie Visit Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Park

While we were in Las Vegas, the weather was hot, but the mornings were nice so we went on adventures in the morning and spent the afternoons letting Ollie nap at the hotel while Creed and LArry swam.

Our first morning we headed out to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Park to drive the scenic loop and do a little hiking.

 When we travel, I always try to seek out a place where the boys can rome free for a while and this park was perfect.

 The peppermint-striped rock was so beautiful

And Creed even took a few pictures (his very first time with my camera)

 Not too shabby for a four-year-old!

Viva Las Vegas

 Larry had a few days off last week and we had no plans, but wanted to take advantage of his flexible schedule before he starts his new job. The morning of, we got on Hotwire, picked an incredibly affordable five-star hotel in Las Vegas, booked it for the next three nights, and hopped in the car.

I had never even heard of the Vdara (same hotel line as the Bellagio, but much more modern right next door), but we lucked out on booking a room there.  There is no Casino in the Vdara so no smokey loud rooms to dash through with our kids.  All the rooms are suites with kitchenettes (can you spot Creed grabbing a snack from the supplies we stocked the fridge with?).  Kitchens are pretty unusual in fancy hotels, but so helpful when you have young kids and you can keep snacks and milk on hand!

 The room was nice

The boys loved baths in the huge tub.

But our favorite part was probably the view.  Creed mentioned how excited he was to see the dancing fountains and the lights when we were checking in so they spoiled us with this view.  In case you were wondering, the Bellagio fountains are still magical after you see them 23 times.