Las Vegas Baby!

Sometimes you just wanna get out of town. You need a break from the everyday drama. Vegas just happens to be a favorite spot of ours, especially mid-week because you can get hotel rooms for half off.  We talked Miss Pulley, Makayla's teacher, in to giving her end of level test early so we could hit the road.  I may or may not have bribed her teacher with a gift card. ;) Our daughter had 3 days off school the next week because of the testing, and since she was done early, we got out of dodge.  Our first stop was Cedar City for a night.  Scott's parents wanted in on the fun, so they joined us. We were off to Vegas Monday morning.

View out our window

We stayed in The Excalibur. It was a good choice, because the kids thought they were staying in a castle, and the entire basement is one big arcade.  Our family loves arcade games!

Our first destination was M&M world and the Coke Factory.  We saw the 3D show and then sipped sodas from around the world. I got a kick out of how Lincoln was so possessive of a few flavors like pina colada and an apple berry one, and when anyone tried to sneak a taste, he squealed loudly to show his dissatisfaction.

Next up was Murray the Magician magic show.  He was a top 10 finalist on America's Got Talent recently.  Too bad he didn't do one single big trick.  On tv, he made a full size train engine dissapear.  For his show, he mostly did card tricks.  Even though we got the tickets half price, we still felt jipped.

We then ventured out to some of our favorite television show sets.  We took a trip to Pawn Stars shop on the north end of Las Vegas Boulevard.  We didn't see any of the famous people that are on tv, but that's normal. We didn't see them our 2 previous trips here either.

We also found Rick's Restorations.  They fix up worn out antiques into shiny new looking deals.  We saw Rick, his wife, his brother, and his son. It was 109 degrees this day, hot, hot, hot!!!



The Boneyard



Scott and Rick's brother

The random thing is we accidentally pulled in to the wrong parking lot for Rick's Restorations and we ended up in an iron decor shop.  We and Marv and Vickie ended up buying some yard decorations there, like pretty butterflies and dragonflies made of metal, and an ant made of big stones.

Of course we had to squeeze in some swimming!

We went to Circus Circus to see the circus acts and not surprisingly, to play some more games.



One evening we tried to catch the volcano at the Mirage, but it was canceled due to wind.  Another night we walked down to the Bellagio to see the dancing water music show, but again, too windy and canceled.

We just had to see the pretty flowers at the Bellagio.  They are so gorgeous and creative in their displays.



We stopped on Freement Street to check out things.  Normally we get fried twinkies, but nobody was hungry this time around.  Lincoln was a hoot chasing pigeons every which way he could.  He really thought he could catch one and must have tried with over 20 different pigeons.  Yes son, the bird is up there.  It got away from you. :)

We visited Ceasar's Palace and caught a strange show with fake gods having a duel.

On to our favorite part of the trip, The Pinball Hall of Fame Museum.  This is a place that Scott researched out before we went.  It is an actual arcade/museum with antique games, retro games, and new games; all for the pleasure of playing.  All you have to do is provide your own quarters and the fun is yours.  We absolutely loved this museum so much that we took a second day and went back to double our enjoyment!

The antique machines have bell and doorbell sounds when you play. There must have been 25 different older pinball machines to play.

This pinball machine, Orbitor 1, just used air and magnets, pretty trippy to see your ball magically floating without the force of gravity pulling it down.

Some other pinball machines I had fun playing, a Looney Tunes one and Rocky and Bullwinkle.

This place really was awesome because it had several antique machines to use.  We got popcorn, a clown to dance, and a body rejuvenation jiggle for 25 cents each.

We even got gumballs for one penny a piece.  Supposedly it is the last working penny gumball machine in America.

The kids had a blast because this place had several crane machines to win a toy or a ball. They also had lots of plastic bubble machines and sticker machines.  My kids of course were delighted to go back.  We will definitely keep this on our MUST SEE list for future trips.

After 4 nights in Vegas, we headed back to Cedar City for a couple more nights.  We stopped at our favorite place in St. George, Paula's Mexican Diner and then visited a dinosaur museum.

Supposedly, this guy in the picture was digging the land to build a home when the rock slipped out of his dump truck and landed on its side.  He could clearly see dinosaur prints and claw marks, so they preserved the land and built the museum right on top of the site.

Then we headed back to Cedar City for 2 more nights and hung out with the cousins.  What a fun trip! Now, back to reality until the next time we can sneak away.