When mine and Lance's plans to go to Kauai fell through last minute, we decided to plan an awesome family trip instead. Vegas checked all the boxes: within driving distance, warm, lots to do!
Loaded up for an adventure!
We decided it was time to turn Dixie around. She was so excited and it made things much easier.
On the drive down we played Spot the Temple. It was fun to see so many! Blade was especially into checking out the Payson Temple.
We stopped halfway to eat lunch at The Creamery in Beaver. The line for food was so long that we ate our ice cream first.
And luckily there was a little play place to finish out our waiting.
Traveling is exhausting. You wouldn't understand.
We stopped in St George to check out the new Red Cliffs temple and the St George temple visitors center.
We hadn't told the kids about our hotel, so they were so excited to find out we were staying in a castle!
We checked in and went straight to the Tournament of Kings!
Everyone loved it, but Blade especially.
Dixie fell right asleep afterwards and slept hard until around 6 am (yay...). She was in our room and the other 4 kids were in the joining room.
We were ready to go the next morning. Our main priority was pool time! The weather was in the 80's-90's, so perfect.
Dixie was the cutest little water baby around.
W spent hours at the hotel pool that day and it was so fun.
Slushie break!
At first Dixie wanted one all to herself but eventually she got the hang of sharing and took charge of passing it around to make sure everyone got an equal amount.
We also got some watermelon that was a tasty treat.
After we were done and cleaned up, we spent afternoon/evening at the Fun Dungeon arcade and 4D movies. I took the girls to Wonder Woman first. Dixie did not have as much fun while we were waiting for Lance and the other kids to watch a shortened version of Aquaman.
That's more like it! Everything is more fun with siblings.
Except the train apparently.
Time to cash in for our prizes and get some Pizza Hut!
We decided we had just enough time to walk across the street to the Hershey's store before bed. A little throw-back to NYC!
And we got some yummy cookie dough to enjoy.
Those early morning snuggles while Lance was getting breakfast.
Just hanging until the pool opened.
It's go time!
Dixie was very upset that she couldn't get into the pool until she was sunscreened.
Much better!
Apparently I only took pictures of Dixie that day. The other kids were having too much fun out in the water.
We spent a couple hours at the pool and then cleaned up for our big adventure down the Strip.
First thing- Rainforest Cafe! Super fun atmosphere and delish.
Bellagio fountains.
And then by far the biggest hit, the Secret Garden Dolphin Habitat!
The kids LOVED watching the dolphins perform and seeing them up close.
They had tigers and lots of other large cats, too.
One last dolphin feeding before we go!
Next stop, the High Roller!
We spent a delightful hour seeing the city from way up high in the very slow-moving ferris wheel.
We made it over to the Mirage just in time to watch the Volcano!
By this time, the kids were starting to get pretty tired of walking (and there were some chafing issues...). We ended up pushing/carrying all 5 of them at the same time. I put Daryn on my shoulders and pushed Dixie and Maddie in the stroller with Blade on top. (I love that thing. Still easy to maneuver.)
And Lance carried Reagan on his shoulders. Our own little circus act.
I really wanted to stop by the Botanical Gardens in the Bellagio on the way back. We were so tired but we made it happen, and it was totally worth it!
We got some ice cream when we got back to Excalibur and crashed.
Thursday morning, you guessed it. The pool!
Maddie got pretty worn out from the sun and water that she took a nap halfway through.
That afternoon Lance took the girls to the Mac King comedy/magic show and they had so much fun.
Then we rode the little tram back and forth to the other nearby hotels.
Then we ventured out to New York, New York so Reagan and I could ride the roller coaster. It was... intense. And I love roller coasters. I definitely underestimated it. But it was fun.
Then we all made a visit to the M&M store- the last thing on our must-see list!
The kids really enjoyed riding all the escalators all over the city.
Dixie was riding the vacation high. "I love Las Vegas!"
We saved the best for last!
Time to head home. Blade was ready for anything.
On the way out, we stopped at the Las Vegas temple, which has a lot of meaning for Lance from his childhood.
Bet he couldn't have pictured coming back with his 5 kids!
One last stop at Culvers in Cedar City before we made it home.
Best week ever! We all had such a fun time being together. Let's do it again!
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