Back from a wonderful trip to Vegas

A Bunch of pictures, the top ones from our Vegas Trip and the bottom two from our trip to Paradise today for Easter. It was a whirlwind week. We got back from Vegas at 9 AM on Saturday, I was on the golf course by 10:30 and we were in the car on the way to Paradise by 4:30 PM. We decided to stay over in Paradise and go to church with Earl and Frances today, but I was so tired that I pulled over outside of Marysville and Darla drove the rest of the way where we met her parents for dinner at a favorite Mexican food joint in Paradise.

The trip to Vegas was incredible and we had so much fun with Samantha and Jennifer and Michael. We flew in Wednesday morning and grabbed our rental car which turned out to be a silver HHR, which is a gutless little wonder. It is like the PT Cruiser, in that it was a concept car that was a good concept, but they put 4 cylinder little cheap engines in them and made them almost useless to men. We drove over to Jennifer's house and spent some time there before taking a run over to Weinerschnitzel (Sam wanted hot dogs for lunch) and then over to the Luxor, where we checked in, changed and headed to the pool. The temperature during our stay was a consistent 85 degrees, and perfect pool weather. Michael was working on Wednesday as they now have separate days off (Michael has Thursday Friday) and Jen has Wednesday Thursday). At least they share the Thursday off. We lounged by the pool and came back to the room, where we all showered and readied for dinner.

After we got ready we headed for the car. Sam was always wary of getting into the elevator with other people. If it was empty, she'd walk right in, but if someone was in there, she would hold back. Darla and I got on the elevator and she held back with her Mom and the doors closed. We could hear her crying as the car went to the ground floor. They came down a few minutes later and she was still teary eyed and said, "You left me and I cried when the "Alligator" doors closed." Her word for elevator is alligator.

We met Michael at Benihanas, a favorite restaurant of ours and a good choice for Samantha as she enjoyed the show. Samantha had to tell the waitress that we left her behind in the alligator and she cried. The waitress looked at us like we were nuts. Why did we have an alligator near a 3 year old? The kids packed up afterward and headed back to their place and Darla and I headed out on the town. We had a funny incident at the valet, when a family came up with us and Samantha had met them when she was looking at the fountains and other artifacts in the Benihana's. Samantha was saying goodbye and the little girl, who was maybe five, came over and gave Samantha a big hug, so big that the two of them tumbled to the ground. Darla and I went to the Orleans casino and played nickle poker for a few hours, turning $80 into $200 before calling it a night.

Thursday, we were up early and had breakfast at the cafe in Luxor and enjoyed a slow morning. We met Michael and Jennifer at the pool about 11:30 (we had given them our extra room key so they could get into the pool). Samantha had a great afternoon playing with both Michael and Jennifer in the pool and hanging out with us. We had some lunch by the pool and all had smoothies, ours alcoholic and Samantha's a virgin variety. They said their goodbyes about 2:30 and Darla and I walked over to the Aria Casino to pick up our Elvis show tickets. It was a long walk and Darla wore the wrong shoes and ended up with blisters on the tops of both feet. I thought I was going to have to piggy back her back to the Luxor, but she was a trouper and soldiered on.

We met up with the kids back at their apartment where Michael fixed us tri tip and chicken with potatoes and salad. They had a friend come over for dinner as well and he has an 8 year old niece who joined us and Samantha was in kid heaven, showing off her room and toys to Amy. They had squirt guns and were shooting each other, riding bikes, playing tag and hide and go seek. It was a joy to hear Sam's laughter all night. Darla and I changed into nicer clothes and left about 8:45 for our 9:30 show at the Aria. I know Dad has seen the Circus de Soleil Beatles show and I will sign up for that on our next trip, but the Elvis show was phenomenal. The costuming, sets, acrobats and singers were excellent. The show followed Elvis' life as narrated by Colonel Tom Parker and it touched on his birth in Mississippi, his discovery in Memphis, his recording career, his tour in the Army, his movie career and of course his life and comeback in Las Vegas. They talked about his early death, but did not dwell on it or embellish it at all. The show really ended on The Elvis portion of his career and showed his famous comeback concert where he threw a kerchief into the crowd. That scene was paused and 100's of kerchiefs fell from the ceiling into the crowd. It was awesome. The show includes some acrobats bouncing off trampolines in the floor and walls and they look like spider men as they stop on the edge of the wall and scale it to the top. Very, very well done and highly recommended. It will make you appreciate Elvis for his music, talent and celebrity all over again.
Friday, both Jennifer and Michael worked. Michael had a side job with a friend that paid him cash. Michael dropped Sam off about 8:30 and we took her out to The Black Bear Diner, the first restaurant she ever went to as a baby. We had a great time with her and she wowed the crowd there. We then went out shopping as we wanted to get her a new Easter dress and a Leapfrog Tangled game. The dress was a slam dunk and she picked out a princess dress and a matching purse. The game was sold out everywhere we looked. We had bought her the Tangled DVD when we showed up and she wanted a Tangled Rapunzle doll. It was fibre optic and cost $35. We agreed to get her a Rapunzle dress and she wore that to see her Mom that night and then over to John's.

She loves princess dresses and gets all sorts of comments when she is out. She is so petite and cute and the old ladies swoon over her. I think that's why she likes the dresses so much. We went back to the room and then down to the pool. It was Friday and they had a DJ and some of the models from the fantasy show down at the pool in gold bikinis and it was really loud and after swimming Sam wanted to go back to the room. Sam found my snore guard container and wanted to know what it was. We told her. I later fell asleep and I guess I was snoring because she woke me up and handed me the snore guard. We went back down to the pool and set up far from the DJ booth where we could relax and it wasn't near as loud. Sam swam and we then ate lunch at the pool deli.

We picked Jennifer up from work at 5PM and she said goodbye to Sam as we drove her over to John's house. We had a great visit with her. She is growing up so fast and saying some funny things and having independent thoughts. It is a great age.

Friday night we took Michael and Jennifer to Bautista's Italian Restaurant, the famous Vegas restaurant that was a mainstay of the Rat Pack. The food was incredible and included house wine and a great cappucino for after dinner. We gambled with the kids for awhile at Bill's casino and then headed back to the room for our early flight on Saturday. Jennifer and Michael seem to be doing well. Samantha has a great life with the two of them. Darla and I both like Michael a lot. He is very patient with Jennifer and cares about her so much. Jennifer is very lucky to have such a great partner in her life. Michael is very laid back and responsible and Jennifer, well, isn't. It is a match made in heaven.

Well, Darla is calling me for dinner and with all of the pictures, this blog episode will be huge. I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. We love you. Ciao.