L is for Las Vegas

We had the best time on our vacation! We LOVE Vegas! D and I used to go there all the time before we had kids. It was about an 8 hour drive up from Tucson and we'd go for a long weekend 2 or 3 times a year.

T went to Vegas with us 3 times before he turned a year old. D2 went with all of us when he was 2 and we haven't been back since. Until last week!

We stayed at Texas Station which has a KidsQuest where you can drop your kids off and go gamble. The first night, I won $200 and D won $100! playing Super Fun Double Deck 21 (sounds like a Japanese game show, right?) and playing Craps.

Of course, we lost it all the next day and ended the trip a total of -$250 but we had a great time doin' it! At one point, at the Craps table, I rolled for 25 minutes straight!

We also took the kids to see Hoover Dam...

Here's a view of the new structure they're building to bypass cars (or, theoretically, terrorists) around the dam...

Can't even begin to imagine how much each of those bridge braces costs or how much concrete they take. Seems it'd be a lot easier to destroy/cause havoc one of those then the actual dam. Just sayin'.

This interesting sculpture is an homage to the "less glamorous" jobs involved in the building of the dam (according to the plaque next to it). This is a statue of the guy whose job it was to sweep the outhouses and keep them stocked with toilet paper!

We took the boys to see the lions at MGM and on the way, we met the women who won the National Cheer Competition. They let the boys hold their trophy. Good job, Massachusets cheerleaders!

The lions weren't as cheery...

The things you see in Vegas...

The shadow above (oops! to the right. Couldn't figure out how to flip it, sorry) of this pick is actually about a bamillion strings. Each shiny piece of this chandelier is hung on it's own individual string. I would've loved to see them hang that thing. It must've been a tangled nightmare!

Also, can't go to Vegas without taking your picture with Elvis...

and some "showgirls"....

These girls were actually handing out Mardi Gras beads as an enticement to come into their slot machine place. The boys went over and asked for some beads but they weren't allowed to give any to minors. So a nice guy standing nearby got a bunch and came and gave them to the boys. Then the showgirl said, "Don't let them suck on those!" OK. I won't. Um, they're a little older then sucking on lead-laced beads age. But thanks for the heads up! This was all at the Filmore Street light show.

We took the boys to this interactive kid's museum (Lied's?) and we were in that thing for about 2 hours! Then we took them to Circus Circus where they got to see a small show...

(Dave joked that Circus Circus was were Circue de Sol performers went to die)

and ride the rides in the Adventuredome. D took T on his first real roller coaster! He was a bit ambivalent about it. Much to my dismay, he didn't want to go on it again. (So D got to go on a roller coaster but I didn't. sigh.)

In this pic, it looks like D2 is getting eloctrocuted by Spongebob!

We took them to see the pirate show at Treasure Island but it was too windy and it got cancelled. Bummer! But the boys did get to take a pic in front of the well-endowed ship's bow...

The boys ended each day like this...

and even a little during the day, sometimes, like this...

Awesome! And they were little angels the whole damn time!! I asked them why they didn't listen this well at home? At home, D2 always holds my hand, but rather lightly in case he wants to make a quick getaway. The whole time in Vegas, he had a death grip on my hand. I think they were so well behaved because they didn't want to be left behind when we went home. hmmm

On the Etsy store front: (hee, hee - storefront?)

These are now available at Gail Knits in Vegas and may be coming to Wooly Wonders in Vegas soon. So you can get one without paying S&H if you are local.

And in the Etsy store, I've added more of the Stitch Savers (since the first batch was about sold out! Splee!) and also added the whole Custom option! Like these...

Seven come eleven, Ruth!