Lost Vegas

While on our road trip, we told the kids we were on the way to Las Vegas. Adelyn thought we said Lost Vegas. She was very concerned about what was lost. It took several days and several explanations before she finally understood that it was Las, not lost.

Our last week in Vegas we decided to do something fun each day. That would force us out of the hotel and be something to look forward to.

Monday Odin was sick. So we only managed to get to the hotel pool.

Tuesday we went to Silverton Casino. They have a 117,000 gallon fish aquarium. They have several different types of stingrays in the tank. A couple of times a day they have feedings. We got there just in time for the 4:30 show. It was pretty cool. The SCUBA lady was hooked up with a special helmet that had a two-way radio in it. She could hear any audience questions and could talk back to us. They also have mermaids in the tank. Unfortunately, they are only there during the weekends, so we didn't get to see them. After that we headed over to the one Steak n' Shake nearby. Adelyn only ate the whipped cream off of her shake. Lucky Daddy helped her out with the shake.

Wednesday we decided to check out the Farmer's Market in Summerlin. On the way there it started to rain. (Did you know that Las Vegas has a monsoon season? Me neither. But it has started). I'm not sure if the rain or the time of year made any difference, but we were underwhelmed at the number of vendors selling produce. There were plenty of food stands and other stands though. And we did manage to find figs, strawberries, and beefalo. Yep. Beefalo. A crossbreed between cow and bison. Supposedly it has the nutrition of bison with the taste of beef. We made it into chili, so it's hard to say.

Thursday we went to Crystals at City Center just to walk around. Ben had been there before so he knew there were a few things the kids would find interesting. Odin wanted to keep walking into the stores. It was pretty cute. We all spent some time looking at these cylinders that had water tornadoes in them. It was pretty cool. While walking back to our car the kids spotted the monorail that runs from Monte Carlo to Bellagio. So, we hopped on that and rode that around.

Friday we went to our friend's house again. The kids ended up in the pool this time. We had a nice visit and Ben made some delicious burgers for us (Mike was out of town).

Saturday we went to Boulder City to check out Hemenway Park. I had heard from a guy at the dealership (we had our tire fixed the day before) that at the park Bighorn Sheep are known to graze. Sure enough! There were probably about two dozen that we just hanging out at the park. They didn't seem to mind that we were there. We could get pretty close without them walking away. When a big tour bus came though, they did kind of huddle up a bit. It was so cool to be so close to wild animals with nothing between us. Not sure if I would have thought it was so cool if it had been a pride of lions though.

Sunday the kids and I let Ben sleep while we tried out the local Dunkin Donuts. We enjoyed our donuts and then we went to a local park. It was pretty nice. We were the only ones there. That wasn't too unusual to me, but it was at a community center and I thought it a bit odd that no one was there either.

Monday we headed over to the Flamingo to see the flamingo habitat. There were different types of flamingos, ducks and swans swimming around. And some of the most active koi I have ever seen.

Tuesday Adelyn woke up under the weather so Odin and I went to get a trailer hitch installed on our car while she rested and Ben worked.

Wednesday we went to the DMV to get our drivers licenses. It was pretty slick. We were even able to register to vote. In case you were wondering, we could use the hotel's address as a physical address and our new PO Box as a mailing address. Seems strange to me, but according to the DMV that is typical in Vegas. We spent the rest of the day packing up because on Thursday morning we flew to MN for a visit.

Cute Little Odin

Before I forget, here are a few cute Odin stories to share.

Living in close living quarters, we often times don't have very much privacy. Especially in the bathroom. Odin has become fascinated with watching daddy go to the bathroom. So much so, that when he hears daddy go in the bathroom, he will stop whatever he is doing and run into the bathroom. And then whenever I change his diaper, he likes to run to the toilet and stand there like he's going. It's super cute.

Years ago when I was a babysitter, one kid that I would watch brushed his teeth by saying the vowels. For instance, "eeeeee" was to brush his front teeth, "aaaaa" for his back teeth. It is an easy way to get kids to have their mouths open in a good way to get to their teeth. I thought this was a useful tool, so that's how my kids learned how to brush their teeth too. Odin has become obsessed with brushing his teeth. Just about every time we walk through the bathroom he runs to the sink, jumps and waves his finger around and goes, "Eeeeee!!!!"

Our Next Move

We have been talking about our living options here. While living in hotels can be nice (housekeeping), it also isn't all that practical. So, we've been talking about what we want and need in a place. Here are some of our options:

Renting/Buying in Henderson
Henderson is a lot like Maple Grove. It's a newer city with a lot of really nice housing options. Our friends live there and say that the schools are the best in the area. It also has the typical local parks and shopping and dining options that we are used to. But, one of the reasons we moved out here is that a lot of our friends end up in Vegas from time to time. So the problem with Henderson is that it's about 20 minutes away, so it would be a lot of back and forth when we're hanging out with people.

Renting close to the Strip
Ben likes this option so he would be close to the action. And, as mentioned before, it would be very convenient when people come into town to see them. This would be the first time for me living in an Urban area. I'm not exactly sure how I feel about that.

Renting in Downtown
Tony Shea of Zappos.com fame is working on a project to revitalize the downtown area (think the original Vegas). They are doing a lot of really cool things there. We went and visited one of their properties the other day. They have work areas set up so that anyone can hop in and work. Ben likes that a lot. They are planning out the community to really be a community. In a lot of ways it will be like our Utah place. I like that idea because it should be very easy to connect with people (we have already received a list of families with children of similar ages). Down sides of this option is that some of downtown is still a little sketchy. While our building would have security, the greater area might not be the best. And we would be away from the strip.

Our days of hotel living might be coming to a close as we gather more info and figure out exactly what we want in a place. I will say one thing, after living in hotels for so long, I have realized how little space we actually need. While I would love a little more space in some areas, like the kitchen, having a smaller space isn't as bad as I thought.

I Miss My Kitchen

I know that I am incredibly blessed. I know that some people don't have a roof over their head or know where their next meal is coming from. But, I really miss my kitchen. Both places we have stayed in Vegas have had kitchens. But very limited kitchens. The other day I thought it would be a nice treat to make cookies. Then I thought about how I didn't have a mixer. No problem, it would be a good arm workout. But then I thought about how I would have to buy sugar, brown sugar, flour, baking soda, etc. Without any canisters or anything to store the excess ingredients, this sounded like a pain. But then I remembered that there is refrigerated cookie dough all ready to go. Perfect! Except... when I got back to the room I discovered that we didn't have a cookie sheet. Or any bakeware for that matter. Grr.

I guess one benefit of my limited kitchen is that I wash dishes after every meal. Sort of have to given we only have 4 spoons, 4 forks, 4 plates, 4 bowls...

Kitchen items purchased:
Cookie Sheet
Pitcher
Cheese grater

Little Fish

Since coming back to Vegas, Adelyn has asked to go swimming. I've been too scared to brave it alone with two kids that can't swim. Yesterday we went to a friend's house for a visit. They have a pool. While I was talking with Lexi she said that her one daughter they had little floaties and a life vest for. She said it wasn't long and she was swimming on her own. Of course, I have thought of this before. But I have been hesitant since when I was a lifeguard those things were highly discouraged because they gave the kids a false sense of security. But then I thought about how much my kids love the water. And how even when Ben comes "home" he won't be able to go to the pool all the time with us. So, the kids and I went to target and got these:

We tried them out right away. Adelyn LOVES it! It didn't take her long and she was letting go of my arm and swimming and floating on her own. Odin wasn't too sure about it, so he still wanted to be mostly held. But I thought it was great! We all had fun and I was able to relax a bit. We also discovered that until 11 or so, the pool is completely in the shade. That means we won't have to get all "sun screamed" up before hitting the pool in the morning. Hooray!