Things have calmed down in the Harmon Household so I will tell the story about our Family Vacation to Las Vegas. We went with another family - the Hurleys (Jeremiah, Dawn and their daughter Reagan, who is 15 months). Also, Julie, (shes 16) Dawn's sister flew in from NJ to stay with us and baby sit while all the adults went out. Dawn's parents were nice enough to let use one of their time shares. So we were able to stay in the Marriott. It was a 2 bedroom suite combined with a common area and full kitchen. Our room was great - it had a King Bed with a Queen bed pull out sofa. Also had a small fridge, microwave, sink and a big bathroom. Great for 2 families. Enough of space to have our alone time and then plenty of room for all the kids to play.
Our vacation started off very rocky. We were supposed to catch the famous 1 am flight out of Fairbanks. However due to some a volcano erupting in the Aleutian Islands and caused all flights to be canceled in and out of the state of AK. I found this out at 7pm. So rather than waiting 50 min on the phone I went down to the airport to fix the mess. Well they had us all re booked on a flights which was nice of them - the only problem was we were all on different flights. Blake and I, then Ian and Jeff. It was a big deal to try to get us all on the same flight due to all the canceled flights. Long story short we got re booked and it took about 13 hours to get to Las Vegas. The boys did ok on the flights. Nothing to terribly horrible. It was good that Jeff was there to help!
We fly in at night and you think that Ian had never seen lights before. Jeff told him we were flying into the city and he was glued to the airplane window saying "wow the city". It was so very cute. Also, he was glued to the cab window with eyes as big as silver dollars loving all the lights. Blake was passed out and couldn't enjoy all the excitement of the lights of the Strip. After getting all settled in I think we all passed out shortly after midnight.
Monday: The husbands went to the grocery store to get supplies for breakfast and dinner while the ladies got the kids together. That day we just explored the strip. Walking around was hot. It was about 110 out and thank god that they had misters with cool air to cool off us and the kids. We just checked out the casinos. We kept it simple that day to adjust to everything.
Our vacation started off very rocky. We were supposed to catch the famous 1 am flight out of Fairbanks. However due to some a volcano erupting in the Aleutian Islands and caused all flights to be canceled in and out of the state of AK. I found this out at 7pm. So rather than waiting 50 min on the phone I went down to the airport to fix the mess. Well they had us all re booked on a flights which was nice of them - the only problem was we were all on different flights. Blake and I, then Ian and Jeff. It was a big deal to try to get us all on the same flight due to all the canceled flights. Long story short we got re booked and it took about 13 hours to get to Las Vegas. The boys did ok on the flights. Nothing to terribly horrible. It was good that Jeff was there to help!
We fly in at night and you think that Ian had never seen lights before. Jeff told him we were flying into the city and he was glued to the airplane window saying "wow the city". It was so very cute. Also, he was glued to the cab window with eyes as big as silver dollars loving all the lights. Blake was passed out and couldn't enjoy all the excitement of the lights of the Strip. After getting all settled in I think we all passed out shortly after midnight.
Monday: The husbands went to the grocery store to get supplies for breakfast and dinner while the ladies got the kids together. That day we just explored the strip. Walking around was hot. It was about 110 out and thank god that they had misters with cool air to cool off us and the kids. We just checked out the casinos. We kept it simple that day to adjust to everything.
Jeff cooling the boys off
Tuesday: We went into NY NY and ate an Irish pub that was taken from Ireland.
Eating Lunch. Blake is sleeping
Ian and Jeff doing the "Daddy Face"
I had some Apple Cider which was to die for. Ian and Blake enjoyed Coney Island which was on the third floor of that hotel. The hotel was set up like downtown NY with bakeries and pizza places. Very disappointed though at every bakery I looked for a Black and White cookie and found none. Anyways.Ian loved playing whack a mole and he even won a prize. (only him and me played) the lady was nice enough to give us two prizes - one for each of the boys. Ian would have loved to stay there and play tons more games if he were given the chance.
Playing Whack A Mole
That night we went and saw the Cirque de Sole - KA. It was fantastic. You weren't allowed to take pictures during the show. But there was tons of acrobatics and people flying through the air and this vertical wall that they would climb and free fall from. A very amazing show.
Us going to see KA
Wednesday: Ian's birthday! My baby turned three! We went all the way down to Circus Circus. This was at the older part of the strip. The original part of the strip. You could tell that the casino was older. It just wasn't as nice as the other ones that we walked through. The whole reason we went there was for Ians birthday and we could go to the circus under the big top. The boys loved it. There were tons of kids running around making it hard to maneuver thru the crowds with a double side by side stroller, but we managed. Ian, Blake and I rode the Merry Go Round which everyone loved.
Merry Go Round Time
Us going to see KA
Wednesday: Ian's birthday! My baby turned three! We went all the way down to Circus Circus. This was at the older part of the strip. The original part of the strip. You could tell that the casino was older. It just wasn't as nice as the other ones that we walked through. The whole reason we went there was for Ians birthday and we could go to the circus under the big top. The boys loved it. There were tons of kids running around making it hard to maneuver thru the crowds with a double side by side stroller, but we managed. Ian, Blake and I rode the Merry Go Round which everyone loved.
Merry Go Round Time Then Ian rode his first roller coaster. All by himself. I explained to him that he would have to go on by himself b/c mommy was to big and couldn't' go with him. He couldn't get rid of me faster. He said "Ok mommy I can do it, bye!". I was so nervous. I asked the lady if he started crying could she stop the ride and she reassure me that she would. Well we didn't have to stop the ride, I had to practically peal Ian from the ride. He had so much fun. I am glad he did. I was a wreck. Number one a three year old riding a pretty fast ride barely buckled in and two - this was the first big boy thing he did and it made me feel that he didn't need mommy anymore. Jeff was super proud of him while a tear came to my eye to watch my little baby growing up! This was enough excitement for the day! Naptime and Pool time came later. Then it was girls night out and guys nights out. Dawn and I along with Jeremiahs Sisters who came in from St Louis to visit met us at a Male Review "Thunder from Down Under" while the guys went to their own show. The girls and I had such a great time! :)
Girls Night Out
Thursday: This was a fun day. However, we thought we lost the camera on. Long story short - our double stroller has a secret pocket somewhere that likes to hide cameras until you take out the stroller after the cab ride to the airport and put your kids back in that you find it. So the rest of the trip we didn't have our camera. I had brought the good one - but still learning how to use it and really didn't take too many pictures with it. We went to the Wax Museum and The Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. The boys slept through almost all of the wax museum which was good for us b/c Jeff and I really wanted to check it out. Then we got lunch and walked over the the Shark Reef. The boys absolutely loved that. They enjoyed the sharks and fish and the huge glass so much. There was one time that Blake was standing in front of the of the glass and a shark came right up on him and he was amazed. His eyes were huge, and Im pretty sure he said OH. It was so very cute. :) Thursday night we saw Wayne Brady. He was just freakin' hilarious. He was at the Venetian Hotel. Which just fabulous too!
VEGAS PART TWO COMING IN A FEW DAYS
Girls Night Out
Thursday: This was a fun day. However, we thought we lost the camera on. Long story short - our double stroller has a secret pocket somewhere that likes to hide cameras until you take out the stroller after the cab ride to the airport and put your kids back in that you find it. So the rest of the trip we didn't have our camera. I had brought the good one - but still learning how to use it and really didn't take too many pictures with it. We went to the Wax Museum and The Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. The boys slept through almost all of the wax museum which was good for us b/c Jeff and I really wanted to check it out. Then we got lunch and walked over the the Shark Reef. The boys absolutely loved that. They enjoyed the sharks and fish and the huge glass so much. There was one time that Blake was standing in front of the of the glass and a shark came right up on him and he was amazed. His eyes were huge, and Im pretty sure he said OH. It was so very cute. :) Thursday night we saw Wayne Brady. He was just freakin' hilarious. He was at the Venetian Hotel. Which just fabulous too!
VEGAS PART TWO COMING IN A FEW DAYS
