We had planned to take a family vacation to Salt Lake in the summer to go to the zoo and Chuck E. Cheese. But after Brynlee's surgery bills and not knowing when (or if) they would ever end, I decided we better not spend money on unnecessary trips.
But by September, I was itching to go somewhere and do something. Since Vegas is a lot closer than Salt Lake, we decided to spend 2 nights in Vegas. Brynlee hadn't been to a hotel since she was 6 months old, so this was a new experience for her.
We stayed at Boulder Station which is off the strip. We have stayed on the strip before, but realized that since we aren't partying and going to clubs or major shopping, it's not worth staying there. The hotel was way cheap which is always nice. My favorite part though is that there is an entrance from the parking lot that goes right to the elevators so you don't have to walk through the smoky casino several times a day. I have never found a Vegas hotel that does that, but now I am glad because I hate that so much. Plus, this was at the peak of my morning sickness (if only it was just in the morning) and cigarette smoke makes me nauseous even when I'm not pregnant.
I was trying to think of fun things to do with Brynlee. I knew there was a pool, so we packed our swimming stuff and went to the pool one morning. Even though it's mid-September, it was still 90 degrees during the day. The water though, was freezing!!! John and I couldn't even get in. Brynlee was in for a minute, but then she started shaking and turning blue so we left and took a hot bath in our room. Way more pleasant!!! I was disappointed that the water was so cold, but should have known that about Vegas also.
One afternoon we decided to walk down the strip. I thought there would be enough interesting things for Brynlee to see that she would be entertained, plus it's free entertainment!
M&M World on the Strip
Brynlee got a small bag of pink and purple M&M's
We took Brynlee to Chuck E. Cheese for the first time. I haven't been there since I was a kid and it was a lot different than I remember. We got some tokens for the rides and Brynlee only wanted to go on the same ones over and over again. You can see from the pictures below it was the princess coach and Barney.
The food was really expensive for what you get. I knew it wouldn't taste that great but I wasn't prepared for how much we would spend. Probably won't be going back for a while.
We drove to the Las Vegas Temple one evening. John and I both went to the open house in the late 80's/early 90's but hadn't been back since.
Brynlee loved it and was singing "I love to see the temple" while we walked around. So cute!
Even though it wasn't that late, the Visitor's Center was closed, so we just walked around the grounds and left.
Looks like a volcano in the background, but just a lit-up fountain.
Brynlee had the hardest time going to sleep both nights. I didn't bring the pack and play because she usually sleeps on the floor in her room. We created a little barrier against the wall using the bed and a few chairs. She just kept walking around and putting "lamby" to bed, then getting him out, etc. It took about 3 hours for her to go to sleep. The next night was a little better, it only took about 2 hours for her to go to sleep. She also woke up early both mornings so it was a short night for all of us. I fell asleep in the car on the way home, but of course she didn't.
The picture above is the 2nd night when she was finally able to fall asleep.
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