Vegas!!!

Remember how that last post ended?, if I was a bettin' woman, well, that's about the only bet I won regarding Ben's first trip to Vegas.  We left Thursday May 19th about noon to drive to Denver.  We arrived about 730pm to drop the four-legged children off with Nana Pat and Grandpa Jim, and MeeMee and Tante picked us all up to spend the night at MeeMee's.  We awoke BRIGHT EARLY at 4 am to catch a 6 am flight to Vegas.  The intent behind the trip changed from when we booked it, but we decided to go anyway.  MeeMee offered to babysit, not in Denver, but in Vegas, right across the street from our hotel!  Tante Mollusk even jumped on the trip bandwagon at the last minute and fun was had by all.

The Aria Hotel kindly let us check in early (8am) and we all headed to the amazing breakfast buffet.  We spent the rest of the day by the pool and trading time with Ben while he was napping.  MeeMee and Tante headed to their hotel in the late afternoon and we all met at Trevi to help MeeMee celebrate her birthday.  Yes, I did break down in tears a couple times during dinner at the thought of leaving Ben for the next 36 hours, but I pulled it together and dinner was delicious.  After dinner we bid Ben and his Nannies adieu and strolled around Crystals shopping area and our hotel.  This was the first Harry Winston I'd seen in the flesh and though they were closed, the window was plenty to tide me over.

 

Hydrangeas to greet us ALL OVER the Aria lobby (my favorite)

 

Ben upon arrival at 7 am

 

The Nannies upon arrival

We spent our Saturday alone going to the gym, the breakfast buffet and lounging by the pool.  After trying to get dinner reservations at Beso, Eva Longoria's steakhouse, Ryan finally got a reservation in our hotel at bar masa.  Bar masa was a sushi restaurant the likes of which we didn't know existed.  We did not order simply yellowtail, but a certian age of yellowtail from a certain region.  The meal was fascinating and we learned a lot.  I don't anticipate us having the opportunity to put what we learned to use in Wichita, but it was certainly a culinary experience to be remembered.  After dinner we enjoyed drinks at another bar and walked around the casino a bit.  We watched one gentleman walk up and get $5000 for craps and lose it all within 5 minutes.  That coupled with the thousands we had watched people lose earlier in the day did leave me contemplating the less fortunate and the proverbial starving children in Africa.

 

The evening view from our Aria room

We were up and at em early Sunday and ready to get back to our Nugget.  We left the Aria and met the rest of the gang at MeeMee's timeshare.  The girls left Monday evening, and we spent our time over the next three days visiting some other casinos, watching the Bellagio water show, and mostly lounging by the pool.  The cabanas at the timeshare were plentiful and free and we had a full kitchen so we could cook our meals or grill by the pool.  This was all a welcome break after two days at the very pricey Aria.  Ben learned to nap in the cabana on the comfy padded lounge surrounded by towels, and was very happy and easy going.  We stuck to a pretty good nap schedule but even on the days we pushed it he was happily stimulated by all the people, lights, and commotion.  He also adjusted to the 2 hour time change with relative ease, though if you asked his Nannies about his being awake at 445 am, they might beg to differ. 

MeeMee giving Jelly surgery (he's already feeling much better)

 

Bellagio water show (Ben's favorite part was a bird flying by)

Ryan commented at one point that he didn't prepare himself for how different a vacation would be with a kid.  I asked what he'd want to do that day if Ben weren't there and we went out and did just that with Ben in tow.   It only has to be as different as you let it be and there is certainly a connection to be respected as well: schedule=happy baby and happy baby=happy parents.  Overall, after his 12th plane flight, I'd say we have a great little traveler on our hands and my fingers are crossed that it stays that way.  I'd even bet...............

 

Ben in the airport on the way home being very happy and VERY loud!!