Travel with Kids: Las Vegas

April was a bust for traveling/exploring with kids, but we had a great month with visits from family.  We finally squeezed a trip in on the last weekend of May.  We headed out to Vegas to attend my cousin's wedding.

My kids are good travelers! I packed on Friday and Saturday morning found us in the car headed to Vegas.  The boys had a stomach bug the week prior, and Lydia was struck down Friday . . . but Saturday morning found her feeling better so we were on the road.  The boys' Nintendo DS's definitely help the trip go faster for them, as well the games on my iPhone for Lydia (we decided she needs an iPod Touch.  How crazy is that for a 3yo? But it would mean I could keep my phone . . . we're scouting Craigslist for an older model.)  We had a cooler full of drinks, and stopped briefly for lunch on the way.  We could have packed lunch, but Lydia getting sick made some of my plans fall away.

The Hoover Dam was crowded Saturday, so it took us 2.5 hours to cross the Dam.  That put us even further behind, but thankfully we were able to arrive at the wedding just in time for the ceremony.  It was a fun backyard wedding, with an Elvis impersonator showing up to wish the couple well.  I loved the chance to see my family -- it's been almost 20 years since I saw some of them, so of course they hadn't even met my children before!

There never seems to be enough time to hang out and visit, but we had a nice time and Lydia absolutely loved the chance to dance the night away with her Aunt Tess.

On Sunday, the boys went to the Titanic Exhibit at the Luxor (I went last summer with my sister, and didn't feel the need to spend the money again.)  They all thought it was pretty amazing, although Nate isn't so keen on taking a cruise any time soon.  Then, we headed over to the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay.  The boys thought it was great, but Lydia wasn't convinced the fish weren't going to suddenly get her.  She didn't understand the concept of glass between them and her and most of the time found her grabbing her brothers' shirts from behind so that she could pull them away from danger.  Then, the kids spent an hour or so in the pool.

We tried to hook up with family, but we always seemed to miss each other throughout the day.  We decided to buy the "eat all day" buffet option at the Luxor's buffet so we headed there for dinner.  As long as you eat 3 meals, it's not a bad deal at all.  I love buffets for the kids, since they can eat whatever strikes their fancy.  Nate even tried sushi for the first time (he didn't like it -- but he tried it!)

Around 8PM, the kids were beat so Bo stayed in the room with them while I went down and spent a few hours with my family in one of the hotel's bars.

Monday found me waking up feeling horrible, (and, no, it had nothing to do with the bar the night before, since I only drank Coca-Cola. LOL) and so the drive home was long (thankfully we had no delay at the Dam.)  Also, thankfully, we had a puke bucket in the car.  That's enough said about that!! 

I over-packed a bit, and that is something I will work on in the future. I need to streamline my cosmetics bag, since I somehow ended up bringing 2 on this trip. (and I'm not exactly Miss Make-up, so I'm not sure why) Each child has their own rolling bag, which is extremely helpful! They also each carry their own backpack.  The boys keep their games, chargers, and books in their backpacks. Lydia keeps a few toys and her favorite blanket.  I brought too many outfits for Lydia, but she's still at that age where she sometimes needs multiple outfits in a day.

I'm still on the outlook for the perfect gadget bag.  I need one that will help me keep the cords from getting tangled, that is big enough for all that we carry, but not TOO big.

We're traveling again in a couple weeks, and I have every intention of planning it a little better.  My main objective this next trip will be to have healthy, convenient foods to choose from while we're on the road.