Who Take Their Kids to Vegas?

Who takes their kids to Vegas?  We do.  Especially when there's fam in town.  Well, that's the only reason we took the monkeys with really.  The trip started off on a high note for our little man.  Dude crafted artwork to resemble the Southwest logo and thoroughly impressed the flight crew.  They complimented him over the loudspeaker and invited him to hang out in the cock pit after we de-boarded.  Our little social bee.    

 

After a night (and an awesome dinner) at Grandpa and Di's house,  Grandpa joined us for a road trip to Death Valley.  Where is Death Valley?  It's in the middle of nowhere.  By nowhere I mean NO-WHERE.  No trees, no animals, no water, no buildings, no pee stops.  Just cactus   If you broke down for more than 4 hours with no assistance or water you just might die.  That being so dramatically said, we had a lovely 24 hours with Grandpa at our ranch hotel.  The kids swam (it was baking hot - the hottest place in the world according to Google), we ate, the kids wrestled with Grandpa, we star gazed (unbelievable star visibility) and explored the property.  

There was a small group of ranch employees holding a church service Sunday morning.  The kids joined right in.  They can't resist music of any kind. 

 

 Back in Vegas.  Grandpa's car was a highlight.  Just to play in.  Dude got plenty of cool guy time drivin' around town with his G-pa, top down of course. 

 We spent 2 nights on the strip at a family friendly hotel, which we were super impressed with.  Huge condo with a balcony.  Our nakey girl is checking out the other "nakey" girls in the pool below.  

One afternoon we took the kiddos to a dolphin/lion adventure at The Mirage.  An employee saw us wandering around aimlessly and gave us her discount on getting in to see these awesome creatures up close and personal.  We paid $19 instead of the $75 we would have paid without her.  Ummm, THANK YOU nice lady.  A majority of the rest of our time on the strip was spent at the pool/s.  The inappropriateness was mild as we stayed during the week and called it quits by 7pm, so it was all good.  We underestimated just how much walking is necessary if you're going to tour the strip, so we kept that to a minimum.  Dude & Squirt's endurance aren't up to Vegas standards.  
  

 The kids were filled with GLEEEEEE.  

 These tigers/lions are Sigfreed and Roy's babies.  

 We didn't get as many memorable pics as we would have liked but we had a great time on our Vegas vaca. The kids adore spending QT with Grandpa V and we love watching them bond.  Thanks to Dad and Di for hanging with us and treating us to great food!  We're glad no blizzards got in the way this go round.