3-O... Vegas Style

Ree did a great job of spoiling me on my 30th birthday this year, so I had to think big for hers. Part of my compensation package is the use of my boss' airplane on occasion, and, coupled with all of my hotel points from traveling all of last month, a surprise trip was the answer. I thought of many locales, but finally decided on a show in Las Vegas.

One of the most fun parts about the trip was that I managed to keep it a secret from Ree until just a few days before we left. She knew we were going somewhere, but no details. It was fun to keep her in the dark. I cursed myself when I accidentally let slip where we were going almost a week before, though. Silly absent mindedness!

Tris and Kris were kind enough to watch our kids, so we flew into Tooele to drop them off. With the girls in good hands, we made the 1:40 hop down to sunny, warm, North Las Vegas Airport. First stop was Serendipity 3 in front of Caesar's Palace. Ree had fond memories of their frozen hot chocolate in New York, so it was a must-do. Special thanks to our friend Alissa for the heads up on its existence in Vegas. I can now appreciate Kerri's fondness for this much-cherished beverage. What we could've done without, however, was the 45 minute wait when we were eating lunch at 3PM and were starving to death.

Mmm... Frozen hot chocolate goodness

One of the many fountains at Caesar's

I asked our friend, and Hale Center Theater resident set designer, Kacey, what the best show in Vegas is. He's seen everything and I knew he wouldn't steer me wrong. He recommended Le Reve, at The Wynn and he certainly didn't disappoint with his recommendation.

Waiting for the show to start

Le Reve (The Dream) is very Cirque du Soleil-esq, though it's not them. The tagline for the show is, "Dream with your eyes open," and that's certainly an apt description. The show is theater in the round with an aqua stage. The stage actually submerges below water, and rises in various forms throughout the show. There were extraordinary numbers of characters and props on wires gliding through the air and often dropping into the water from staggering heights. There were fountains, fire, acrobatics, diving, and swimming. It was spectacularly entertaining, visually amazing, and I think Ree loved it. It's hard to describe, but you can check out this quick clip to get a bit of an idea (apologies for the poor quality, but I wanted to keep it short).We would highly recommend seeing this show!

We finished the night away from the crowds and smoke-filled casinos by having a delicious dinner at PF Chang's, followed by a dip in the hotel hot tub. Ree needed to soak her bones after all of the walking up and down the strip earlier that afternoon.

The next morning, we headed to Circus Circus for some good clean family fun. We watched their free circus acts and both wished we'd seen them before Le Reve, as they were sadly pathetic by comparison. All was not lost, however, as we had fun playing some carnival games. Kerri's real triumph was her stunning skill at Skeeball, winning 3 stuffed animals for her girls back home. The guy handing out prizes kept shaking his head and handing them over to her.

Undisputed Feather-Weight Skeeball Champion of Las Vegas

On the way back to the airport that afternoon, we saw Gold and Silver Pawn of "Pawn Stars" fame, and the famous (infamous?) Little White Wedding Chapel. We managed to pack in a lot of other sights, but I'm already overly verbose. We flew back to Tooele to pick up the girls and then headed back home.

Maisie tries her hand at flying the 421

Passengers safely strapped in

 Thanks again to Tris and Kris for watching our girls. I hope you had a great birthday, Ree, you certainly deserved it!  We love you!

I Gave Three Hugs Today

The first was to my littlest, who tumbled down the stairs. The second was my oldest, who was upset by how someone had treated her. And the last went to my middle child, as tears filled her eyes because she had nothing quiet to do while her baby sister was napping.

Three hugs, three girls.

These were not my first hugs of the day, nor will they be my last, but these three were special. These three involved tears, and hurt, and sadness.

And I, as their mother, got to help make it all better. A few words, a few moments wrapped in my arms, and the tears dried, the hurts eased, and the sadness faded as equilibrium was regained. Just a few moments; a simple gesture.

Priceless.

The Big Easy

St Louis Cemetery #1

Last weekend I flew my boss down to New Orleans so he could attend Jazz Fest. It was a great opportunity to see a cool new city. The tickets to Jazz Fest were prohibitively expensive for me, so I didn't attend. Who needs to pay for great music, when you can just walk down to the French Quarter and listen for free? Yes, they really do play in the middle of the street. I only wish my camera recorded more than 30 sec of video at a time. These guys were the best I saw the whole time I was there:

The French Quarter was very cool architecturally and culturally. It's hard to capture on film, but here are some poor attempts:

St. Louis Cathedral/Jackson Square

St Louis Cemetery #1

A word to the wise, Bourbon Street, even during the day has quite a few, um, "gentlemen clubs" with advertising that is not suitable for children, myself included. Yikes! Other than that nonsense, the rest of the Quarter was cool. I also visited the French Market and had beignets at Cafe Du Monde, saw the River Walk shops along the Mississippi River, and checked out the National WWII Museum. 

The only bummer of the trip was that there was shellfish everywhere and on/in everything. I had a hard time finding things that I could eat. Everyone talks about the great food, but I mostly felt robbed. Stupid allergies!