It was Easter weekend. Bill and the boys had a day off for Good Friday. The weather was hot but tolerable. We decided to take a little road trip and spend a few days in Las Vegas!

We got a room in Circus Circus overlooking the Adventuredome

We didn’t spend a lot of time in the casino itself because of the kids, but there were plenty sights and sounds sure to overwhelm!

The boys had a VR experience through the solar system

The first day we spent at the water playground

The swimming pool was PACKED, and this wasn’t even the busiest time of the day!

It felt like we were being cooked in a big pot of human soup. There wasn’t a lot of room to move. The hot tub was the worst!

Trevor got brave and went down the huge waterslide!

Which meant Bill had to go with him!

They do a lot of dancing until they realize you are watching.. or filming.

The next day we walked about 8 miles up and down exploring the strip. We rode the monorail and went through several of the different casinos. The boys wanted to see the Luxor and Excalibur. They all start to look the same after a while.

We spent time in the arcade in Excalibur, but the rides were a little… babyish

We got the all day pass to spend in the Adventuredome. The boys loved this bus ride and probably rode it 15 times.

Brendan did not want to try this ship ride, but Bill and Trevor did it at least three times.

Both of the real roller coasters were out of service which is kind of a ripoff when you pay for the all day ride pass. But the boys don’t think they were ready for them anyway. They liked the more calm rides.

These pictures portray what my vision was like after so much casino time

We got the old bait and switch on the 4D movie. It was supposed to be SpongeBob but it was an IceAge Scrat show instead. It was still cute.

Like Brendan

It is nice to have a theme park indoors. No sunscreen required!

High priced arcade games!

Brendan picked up a Las Vegas hat to keep the sun out of his eyes outside. It will sure help like this.

On the drive home, we stopped to visit the Hoover Dam. We were going to do the tour, but the car full of people were tired, it was very hot and we just didn’t feel like waiting.

So we walked around to see the dam and then continued home.

April 10th –

For the first time, we finally checked out “Makutu’s Island” – a giant indoor playground with an enormous jungle tree at the center. It is impossible to keep track of your kids in here, there are so many tunnels and walkways and nets and slides to different areas. We had to make sure Brendan was strong enough to handle himself among larger kids. It is really hard to see, but the boys are in the catwalk above the highest branch in the very top of this image.

We have to follow up a very active morning with the boys’ favorite lunch spot.

Brendan actually devours IKEA meatballs!

April 13th –

Taking a giant pail of army men to the local pond kept these boys busy for hours. Staging a beach invasion is a delicate setup.

April 14th –

There is a huge perk to having an annual membership to places like the science center. You can come in and just play in the one part that is your favorite and not worry about the pressure of seeing the rest of the place. The museum was super busy so we stayed in the foam blocks the whole time!

March 30th –

We met up with an old friend of mine from high school. This is Melissa and her sweetheart Jason in 1992 for Junior Prom!

Now here we all are with our families! Here is the funniest part though. Just a few years ago Jason started doing ancestry research. He stumbled upon a familiar name and we determined that our great-great-grandfathers were brothers. So Jason is my 3rd cousin! This was a family reunion!

We had time for a nice dinner together but they were on a whirlwind tour of AZ and then back to IL!

March 31st –

Trevor’s first baby tooth is coming out! He got super brave and tried to fire it out with a Nerf gun!

It is actually very hard to get a line tied on to a tooth with enough strength for a pull so that didn’t work. It came out with fingers instead.

First hole!

April 3th –

Meanwhile, Brendan created this special hat that he says is a mind reading brain scanner!

April 6th –

We heard of a police dog competition and wanted to check it out. They put the want-to-be police dogs through obstacle courses, crime simulations, and challenges. It is entertaining! Many of the dogs did NOT want to listen.

The dog had to be carried for a stretch of the race as part of the challenge.

Training dummy Trevor!

Also, let it be known that “The Floss” craze is no longer cool with the older kids but the younger crowd is keeping the party going!