Viva Las Vegas

We opted for a little vacation in Las Vegas to visit our dearest Dad/Hubby.

The girls were so patient with me... considering I wasn't the most patient with them. I haven't been sleeping well lately (4 hours of sleep), so I was doing my best to stay awake. I had to crank up the AC and blast my iPod. The girls only got to watch 3/4 of a movie the entire trip down.
I felt the need to prep the girls a bit before arriving in 'Sin City'. I don't realize how much of a bubble we live in, until we go somewhere with naked women everywhere you look.So the girls and I had a nice discussion about gambling, drinking alcohol, sex/nudity... even prostitution. It was a rather blunt, to-the-point discussion of what and why.
It was so hilarious to me that as I'm trying to make sense of why people throw away their money and make fools of themselves... Cori is helping me describe things. I was trying to explain gambling and she interrupts my childish sentence of "winning much less than losing"with PROBABILITY. "Yes... thank you Cori". Then I move on to naked women and the visuals of showgirls and she interjects INAPPROPRIATE and IMMODEST, stating "a lack of self-respect and self-esteem". Seriously?! Who's child is this?!
The sun was setting as we drove through the beautiful Arizona canyon. I had to pull of the exit... the only exit... and take a picture of the girls.
When we came up over the hill, Vegas was shining like the sunrise! I had the greatest little commentary right behind me. Sophie was snoring, sound asleep... then all of a sudden I hear "WOW! It's so bright and beautiful!" then a second later there were fireworks right off the freeway. "It must be a party here!!!" I seriously had to tell her to stop yelling at least ten times. She stated that she wanted "to stay here forever!" and she LOVED the "city of lights!" Honestly, she should do commercials for the visitors bureau... she'd do well.
We got to the Mandalay Bay and found our handsome geek... the hotel was full of geeks, but none as tall, dark, and handsome as mine! The girls absolutely loved our room and we got settled in. The views from our living area were amazing!

Here's a pic from Mike and I's room... of the pools... it was beautiful at night!
We had two separate bedrooms and bathrooms, a living room, dining room, and kitchenette.
My problem was that the first 5 hour energy drink I took didn't work... but the second one sure did!


The next day was a hot one! How hot you ask?! Wait...wait for it... 108 degrees. Ouch! We swam. That about sums the day up... swimming, more swimming, then a little swimming. What else do you do when it's 108 degrees? Lazy River, Wave Pool, etc. Fabulous.

The next Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were the same. 108 to 109 degrees everyday. I have only one word in response to that... Swimming.

We had movie nights in the hotel room. Manicures, pedicures, and way too much junk food! It was some good girl bonding time.

I'm realizing that Cori is getting old. She doesn't have a 'full blown' attitude, but I get a sneak peek now and then. It usually comes out of nowhere... and involves a sassy facial expression. I saw it more then ever on this trip. I don't know if it's because she was being herded around with more kids than anyone else had. (There were very few kids there... but four of them in the same place was like a novelty. People pointed. I wanted to ask if they'd never seen a children before... or if in an intoxicated state maybe they couldn't remember what a child was?) Cori was treated like a baby, which I'm sure was annoying. Considering anyone under the age of 21 was a child... a 10 year-old is practically an infant!

Mandalay Beach was great. The only pool over 4 feet deep was the wave pool. It was perfect for kids. Unfortunately we didn't make it to the topless/adult only pool... but I'm curious to know if that pool was deeper. Can the general population not swim? Well, maybe they've found that silicon breast don't work as the best flotation devises.

Halfway through the trip we decided to take on a project. We wanted to search the beach and hotel for shapes that resemble letters... specifically the letters LAS VEGAS. (I've been wanting to do this for a few years now... tried to explain it at camp once, but people just look at me like I'm crazy... which is not far fetched.) I've always thought it'd be a great souvenir, combining pictures and the name of the vacation. You could also do it up in the mountains and spell your name. Eventually I would LOVE a collection of letters from all over the US and beyond. I think that would be cool. Anyways... here are our results...
It was a great trip... fun times and memories with the girlies. The only 'sin' we witnessed?... sizzling human flesh. I'll take my Utah weather and quit complaining.