Begas Bacation

That's what Kelan's called it (he has trouble with his V's) however, I would call it a Vegas ADVENTURE. Vacation is NOT a word I would use - and probably will never use - to describe traveling with children.

The plan was to find sun, water and pampering. We were on a budget (and I wanted some extra luxury - like water-side beverage service) so the ocean was out. We settled on Las Vegas because we were able to get a great package deal with airfare and hotel (5 nights). The trip was all set - we were going to stay at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino (all the research pointed us to this hotel for kids...) - I couldn't wait! I had my new miracle suit (the "lose 10 pounds in 10 seconds" kind of suit), sunblock, sunglasses, toys and floats for the kids - we were set!

My husband and I are lucky that our children travel well. We have a mini DVD player for the plane that kept Kelan occupied and Lauren pretty much slept. But just because they travel well, doesn't mean it isn't work. We were EXHAUSTED by the time we got to the hotel (the kids are heavy, the luggage is heavy, the car seats are heavy...).

The first room we were sent to had two double beds (I had requested a king - so the kids could sleep in between me and Dan). This room would not work. I called the front desk and fortunately they were able to find us a room with a king bed - getting into the room was another matter. They said they could change the code on the keys to let us in the new room without us having to go back to the desk. Here's to the joys of technology! Too bad it didn't work. Now we are trying to corral two tired cranky kids in the hallway while they send someone up to help us. I started to get cranky and decided to go down to the front desk myself (of course they arrived the minute I got into the elevator). This is only important, because I got a new set of keys that invalidated the keys Dan was getting. So we had several "lock outs" the first couple of days because of which keys we had when. It just became absurd after awhile - we couldn't get the most simple task to work - opening a door.

We could not wait to go swimming so we put on our bathing suits first thing (seriously, I lost 10 pounds in 10 seconds in my new suit - the "tag line" isn't lying. Now they just need to figure out a way to lose 10 pounds on the parts of your body that are NOT covered...). Mandalay Bay has many pools (apparently Vegas has not heard of water conservation - most hotels have 1+ pools and fountains galore - and of course here I am supporting this horrible waste of water - a feeling I couldn't quite shake during our week).

There was one faux ocean with waves - which is very cool, but unfortunately our kids are too young to go in, plus there are SO many rules to be able to swim there - it wasn't worth it. Next was the "lazy river" which had an intense current to float you around the small river - very fun with inter tubes (but hard to walk around holding a child). At last we found the perfect spot. The "normal" pool that was next to the "beach" (they have imported tons and tons of white sand so you can feel like you are at the beach). This became our usual spot in the mornings and afternoons because there was shade, sand, pool and beverage service.

The weather was having some "wind issues" when we got there. At times it felt very tropical (a light warm breeze), but then the wind would pick up and became quite strong. Too bad we did not pay more attention to the strength of this wind.

It was our first morning by the pool. We loaded the kids into the stroller, along with our gear (sunblock, change of clothes, diapers, wipes, digital camera, cell phones, etc.) and headed to the pool. We settled into "our" spot by parking the stroller next to our chairs with our towels and got the kids into the pool. The water was great and Lauren and Kelan loved the pool. The wind started to pick up and before we knew what was going on, our stroller blew into the pool with EVERYTHING in it. I'm not sure if I could have yelled, "oh shit!" any louder (new word for the day for the kids). I quickly lifted Kelan out of the pool and told him to SIT and NOT MOVE (Dan was holding Lauren). I dove frantically to the bottom of the pool retrieving the stroller, cell phones, the camera and the rest of the contents of the diaper bag. Unfortunately, the phones and camera drowned. On an aside, I did learn that contacts don't float away when you open your eyes under water - not much of a consolation - but an interesting observation.

I spent "quiet time" (12-2pm - the HOTTEST time of the day) that afternoon walking around a not so nice part of Vegas looking for a Cingular Wireless corporate store (after being directed to a local mall Cingular kiosk that could not help me). With the tops of my feet burned, 2 hours and $200 later, I returned to the hotel with a new cell phone. Dan's work would replace his phone when we returned to Seattle (thank god) and I would get another camera when we got home (sadly, my camera and phone were already replacements for ones that were stolen last October - but that's another story).

Eating turned out to be more expensive than I thought. Whatever happened to all those cheap "all you can eat" buffets that were supposed to be everywhere in Vegas? Or maybe I have become super cheap and expect all meals to be around the price of our local Seattle taqaria. We ate mostly at the hotel (cabs would just add on to the dining "bill" and then what do you do with two car seats? Walking was out of the question - Vegas is NOT a stroller kind of town). There were many restaurants in the hotel itself - but we went to Raffles (American fare) for most meals. Kelan figured out that he was a "regular" by the second or third visit and started to announce his presence by stating (very loudly), "I'm back!" EVERY time we entered the restaurant. In fact he had his own little routine. After his entrance, we'd eat, then he would take off running through the restaurant (sometimes managing some laps) ending up in the entry hall to dance. The breakfast and lunch crowd thought this was funny, but the dinner crowd wasn't as amused. I personally thought it was hysterical every time he did it.

Other experiences included (but are not limited to) Lauren's allergic reaction to something (she got a really bad skin rash that made her SCREAM when we put sunblock on her or put her in the pool on the 3rd and 4th day), the kids not sleeping that well, Lauren's fever the second to last night of our stay, navigating the stroller through various casinos while attempting to walk the strip, and Kelan escaping and running top speed through the casinos.

The funny thing is, we had a good time. Yes, there are things we learned and would most likely do differently, but we did enjoy ourselves. The fountain/water show at the Bellagio was great and seeing Lauren and Kelan's faces while watching it made the walk down the strip worth it (plus they have great ice cream there). Things that kept happening to us were so ridiculous at times, that Dan and I laughed so hard we cried (and couldn't stop). And I didn't have to cook or clean for almost a week (you can't beat that with a stick). We spent days and nights together as a family and I hope that this is just one of many family adventures we will have.

It was not a vacation (we are NOT well rested by any means), but we have great memories (no pictures, sadly). I will always remember the way Lauren looked in her little sun hat sitting on a beach chair playing with sand (and eating it - with a big smile on her face). I will remember Kelan thanking our hostess at "our" restaurant ("thank you SO much" he would say on his way out, just before he would dance). I will remember asking my husband to bring me back some ice cream (after the kids went to sleep) and getting ice cream for himself and forgetting mine (yes I sent him back out to get some). I will remember this trip and laugh out loud every time. Viva Las Vegas!