Impromtu Las Vegas Trip

BYU and Utah were scheduled to play each other in the Vegas bowl the weekend before Christmas.  We had a free Hyatt hotel we had to use within a few months.  Our original plan was the stay in the Hyatt in Salt Lake, do temple square with the kids, go back and swim, sleep the night and head home.  But, when BYU made it to the Vegas Bowl plans changed.  So, we loaded everyone into the car and drove to Vegas.  The kids did pretty well in the car.  6 hours is a good length for them.  We stayed at the Luxor which is part of the Hyatt hotel chain because they had a pool.

I like to say that Derek and I went on two separate vacations.  He went on a vacation to Vegas to watch a bowl game, and I went on a "vacation" to the strip with my 3 little kids.  Those big casinos are not my favorite place to stay with the kids.  It's always such a long walk to your room through a smokey casino with intriguing lights and noises.  The kids of course keep jumping up on the slot machines, and we keep getting in trouble for not containing them.  We had a room with 2 queen beds.  Camden slept with me, Liv slept with Derek, and Carter took the floor.   Both mornings we had breakfast at the casino cafe.  They had a signature dish Derek loved called Country Benedict.  It's basically biscuits and gravy, with a fried egg.

Saturday, Derek was gone from 10 AM- 7PM at the bowl game, so the kids and I took on Vegas.  They all sported their BYU game to try to send some good luck to the cougar (however, not quite enough).

 We met my Oregon law girls at the Bellagio to check out their conservatory.

The boys loved these penguins that would pop out of the igloo the most.

It was a little hectic there with all of us and our brood of kids so, we soon vacated and found solace at a McDonald's playplace.  We sat there at least 2 hours just talking while the kids played.  We had to order lunch and then later ice cream.  Then, I took the kids back to the hotel and we all went swimming in the outdoor pool in 50 degree weather.  The pool was heated, so it was doable, but still cold.  All the college kids sipping their drinks in the hot tub kept looking at us like we were crazy.  Maybe I was.  But, I had floaties for the boys and the pool was only 3 1/2 feet at it's deepest, so Liv's head was never underwater.

That night we went to Benazir and Nathan's for dinner which was so fantastic.  I was so grateful to not have to manage my kids at yet another restaurant and the meal was delicious.  Then, we slept one more night at our casino.  In the morning we checked out the Las Vegas Museum of Natural History because we could get in for free with our Thanksgiving Point Pass.  It was a little dated, but the kids enjoyed it nonetheless.  Then, it was back into the car and we were heading home.  Here's a picture of Carter snoozing I took on the drive home.