Vegas! {Project: Rewind}

Let me just start by saying...I really love vacations.  Oh yes I do.

:)

Prior to finding out that we'd be leaving Pekin, both Brad and I were ready for a vacation.  And by "ready" I mean to say that mentally we were already half-way to Bermuda.  Bahama.  Come on, pretty Mama.  Sheesh.  Apparently I'm still on vacation.  Good grief.

Anyway.

Our trip to Vegas came together kind of quickly.  Brad had some vacation time coming to him, and we wanted to take advantage of it before our move.  In the scheme of things, it left little time to make it work, but between my cousin's weekend and the weekend we'd be attending a wedding, we squeezed in a quick trip to the strip.

Why Vegas?  Well, we only had five days to work with, we needed to travel on the cheap, and we weren't taking the kids with us.  So when Brad said, "How about we go to Las Vegas?" I was all "yeah, baby!" and away we went.

Well, my response might have been more along the lines of "ok."  I'm usually not as cool as I make myself sound.

So on Monday, July 26 we flew west for a much anticipated break.  (And one, I might add, that Brad totally deserved.)  We spent three and a half days in the Vegas heat and had a lot of fun.  Because we did it on the cheap, we spent next to nothing.  Which, if you were to read between the lines, means that we didn't do much besides walk and see, walk and see. :)  There's a lot to see on the strip, which is really what makes it such a economical trip.  We did push our pennies at the slots, and ended up winning back about as much as we put in (maybe $25???...such risk takers, we are), and on Thursday we were able to buy super discount tickets to see both Nathan Burton's Comedy Magic Show and Mark Savard's Comedy Hypnosis.  {Why these particular shows?  They were cheap (duh) and they appealed to both Brad and I.  Translation:  It'll be a cold day in Texas before Brad'll see Cirque or Celine.}  

So, keeping "cheap" in mind, our pictures are pretty boring, really.  Unless you've never been there before, in which case it'll probably look pretty awesome to you. :)

We did have a really great time, although I think we'd be okay waiting ten or so years before we go again, and although we consider ourselves pretty fun and funky, we'd like to take a few friends along next time around, too.  :)

I love this sign.

Vintage Vegas.

I'm such a nerd.

 The MGM Grand

 The MGM Grand

 New York New York

WIN!

 We thought maybe this could be Brad's next church???

 The Luxor

 Mid-Strip (The Bellagio, Caesar's Palace) at dusk.

The Bellagio and Caesar's Palace 

 Looking toward the north end of the strip.

(The Mirage, Treasure Island, Bally's)

 My favorite place was inside the Bellagio.  They had this beautiful ceiling in the lobby, and just beyond it was a beautiful flower conservatory.

 Love!

 It looked beautiful

 and smelled beautiful, too.

 With balloons hanging overhead in the conservatory

 and decorative umbrellas throughout the resort.

 Some of Caesar's fountains (across from the Flamingo).

 Probably as close as I'll ever get.

 The flamingos at the Flamingo.

 Brad's favorite place - frozen yogurt by the ounce.  It was yummy.

 The Sirens perform at TI.

 The gondola at the Venetian.

 TI

 The Mirage

 The Flamingo

 The Bellagio fountains at dark.

 The lions inside the MGM.

 Excalibur

Looking north from the south end of the strip.

 Weird, right?

 The Bellagio fountains during the day.

 The volcano at the Mirage.

 The Encore and Wynn.  We didn't walk any farther north down the strip than this, but I really wanted this picture because it's the hotels I recognized from CSI.  :)

 We stayed at the new Planet Hollywood Towers.  Well, "Tower," really, as only one is currently built.

 We were able to update to a one bedroom suite for the price of a studio suite (which was already super discounted, because in case you've forgotten, c.h.e.a.p.), and I gotta say, Brad scored big on this reservation. 

 It had a full kitchen with seating space for six (which we never used, but we could have),

 a large enough living space for just as many people, with a window shade that transformed into a giant movie screen.

 The bedroom, with jacuzzi tub (pardon the disarray...we had trouble with housekeeping the last two days)

and the bathroom, complete with combination washer/dryer (which we never used, and probably would have broken had we tried).

And our pool.  It was rad.

 

Children's Discovery Museum {Project: Rewind}

Included on our Summer List was a trip to the Children's Discovery Museum in Normal.  I have been wanting to take the boys to some kind of  hands-on museum for a while, but was waiting until Reed was a bit older to really be able to participate and enjoy the experience.  I learned about the Children's Discovery Museum from our local PBS station - it is our morning channel of choice now that we don't have cable and, therefore, no more of the preferred Disney Junior.  {Poop.}  From the museum's pamphlet: "The Children's Discovery Museum is three stories of amazing hands-on fun.  The surprising array of exhibits and programs keep curious children and playful grown-ups happy for hours on end!"

I wouldn't say we played for hours on end, but we did spend a couple hours there the morning of July 18.  

Level 1 included wooden car play, 

 the Toddler Backyard,

 and Sugar Creek Waterplay.

 The boys could rearrange the PVC piping to make the water flow in different directions, and then set their boats to sail.

 The first level also had the "Healthy Kids, Healthy Future" exhibit, where the boys could put together a puzzle on their plates that included foods of every color.

They also shopped at the Fresh Market, 

 and made their own pizzas.

Drew made several pizzas so he could put them in and pull them out of the stove. 

 The "Inside Me" exhibit had a giant Operation game!

 On Level 2 we found the "Oh Rubbish" display, where the boys pretended to be a worm in the compost pile.

 Onto "AgMazing"...

 where we milked a cow...

 and got to tour the fields...

 from inside a giant combine!

 The boys also ventured inside the "Luckey Climber", which is this incredible jungle gym with numerous entrances and exits and ways to slither and sneak through.  It was pretty cool.

 Onto the giant ball machine, where we learned about wind and air,

 and then a quick game of chess before heading up to the third floor.

 On Level 3 we found the Imagination Theater, where kids could put on a play and dress their own puppets. 

There was also a Jam Room where my future musicians could rock out

 and see themselves on screen via a body heat camera.

Our favorite part of Level 3 was the Artsink Gallery, where the boys got to express themselves artistically - on the windows!

Their work in progress.

A masterpiece!

 We finished off our visit by making a craft in the art studio

 and then making a little more music before we headed for the door.

We stopped by Wendy's for a late lunch on our way out of town, topped off with a chocolate frosty for four.

I really enjoyed our day, and I think the boys did too.  I loved how many hands-on exhibits there were, which were both fun and educational.  There was a lot to see and do, and we could have easily spent another few hours there, making more pizzas and milking more cows.  

Children's Discovery Museum - cross it off the Summer List!