Vegas 2007

Another year and another set of great memories from Vegas. It was a vacation we had been looking forward to for months and it did not disappoint.

I'm pretty sure, even with all the mayhem that comes with 3 grandkids under the age of 4 staying in their 2 bedroom condo, that Grandma Lenny and Grandpa Jimmy had a good time, too.

The kids only took the first two days to adjust to the time-change. Ada handled it the best and did nothing to change my opinion of her as the best baby ever. As I said to Kathy on the plane ride out, "a well trained St. Bernard could babysit Ada."

Some highlights of the week included daily trips to the condo's pool. I'd say we swam 5 out of the 8 days, even though the weather was rather cool when we were there. Of course, it was in the 90s the entire week before we got to Vegas and immediately following our departure, but we've just come to accept that as our Vegas fate. Honestly, I'm not complaining, but it only rains 10 days every year in Vegas and Grandma and Grandpa rarely see clouds - they say. But everytime we go, we have at least one day of rain and this time we had multiple overcast days.

Much to our surprise, Marylin put on her swimmies and jumped right in the pool, swiming all by herself. Much to our chagrin, the floaty-vest we bought for Jimmy didn't float. Oh, well. Next year.

Grandma and Grandpa played the role of well-trained-St.-Bernard and we took Marylin and Jimmy on daily adventures. Although Vegas doesn't actively market it, there really is a great deal of things to do with your family. Highlights included the lion habitat at the MGM, the lions and dolphins at The Mirage, the M&M store on the strip, the midway at the Excaliber (which looks like Disney's Magic Kingdom to my kids, and that was good enough), the Ethel M Factory Tour, and the aquarium at Mandalay Bay.

As always, there was dining out. Our new favorite buffet is at South Point. We ate there twice. Also good was a Mexican restaurant at Mandalay Bay. Otherwise it was ham sandwiches, chicken nuggets, and pancakes back at the condo. And really, who could complain about that?

Grandma and Grandpa also happen to live right along a flight path so we're able to watch airplanes landing from sun-up to sun-down, and for a 2 1/2 year old (and even the 4 year old), this is the best show in town. Grandma and Grandpa's sun porch made the perfect plane-watching outpost.

I'm going to guess that Grandma doesn't typically build forts with all the pillows in the condo, spread toys from one end of the family room to the other, and she probably doesn't watch The Backyardigans and The Wiggles. So, I'm also going to guess that Grandma slept for two straight days after we left. But while we there, she had more than her fair share of floor exercises, games, coloring, Playdough, and children's videos. If she dared seek respite, Jimmy would go running and asking "where hama Lenny" (translation: Where's Grandma Lenny?)

And, even better, on the very last night in Vegas, yours truly was chosen to stay in with the kids while Jimmy, Lenny, and Kathy went to the casino one-last-time, and let's just say Kathy hit enough to pay for the entire trip, again. Woo hoo! Viva Las Vegas.