Vegas Family Vacay

Awhile ago, as in June, a family known as mine went to Las Vegas for a good ol' fashioned family vacation. I am sure you can picture it…organized travelers, perfect weather, getting to the airport early, no rushing to our flights…..

WRONG! First there was a torrential downpour that soaked me while trying to pick up some sandwiches pre-airport. 

Then we had to get all these bags checked  (if you look closely, you can see above that is the curbside line of people out of control because of rain delays earlier in the day). Plus get the car parked. Plus get wheelchairs. And of course we were on time. <insert major sarcasm>

And who came to the rescue? None other than my little sister. …I still sit here in shock months later. Dad and I parked cars and she got all boarding passes, all bags checked and we headed straight to security.

And upon arrival, Dad gave up trying to figure out taxis and got a limo. In Las Vegas there is a limo line and a taxi line which is very convenient for people like us traveling with an army of family.

After we had arrived and checked-in, the three of us headed downstairs at The Bellagio to get To-Go food for dinner.  As you can see by our drinks, we weren't just going to sit there waiting for food without entertaining ourselves.

Monday night (unknown to Kristina or me) kicked off the beginning of the double vacation Kristina and I were on that week in Las Vegas. Family Vacation by day….and sister Vegas vacation by night….

Night 1: Kristina and I hit up Marquee Nightclub at the Cosmo….the next morning I got up early to share coffee with Papa….let's not judge my appearance. Then after about 4 hours we finally made it down to the pool….it only took a few fights and an act of Congress...but we were on our way….

The Bellagio has lots of pools. Lots of beautiful and amazing pools. It is also approximately 115 degrees in Las Vegas so you don't want to do anything but spend the entire day in the a/c or in a giant pool of water. Once we finally made it down there, it was amazing. 

For the next few pictures please just sing the words "I'm so fancy….you already know…."

And then after dinner…..it was sister Vegas vacation night 2 at Hyde at Bellagio:

Imagine being eye level with the fountains, behind a huge glass opposite side of the strip. You can feel the wind as the fountains dance. It's also funny that while everyone else on The Strip is watching this set to the tunes of Frank Sinatra you are listening to the tunes of Usher. 

And that brings us to Wednesday morning and another day of family vacation: 

This quickly became our ritual…morning coffee, splitting a cherry danish with Papa….and for me also Tylenol.  

Later in the day Wednesday, we decided to venture down The Strip to the Venetian. To say we looked like a parade would be an understatement….

That plus a hungry sister who can.not.function. when she is hungry had us all in lovely moods by the time we made it to lunch at The Venetian….

In the family…a little food and a lot of wine goes a long way….

The best part though was when my Dad got tired of us. Not a joke.  After we took the family picture, he started talking to the table next to us. It all started so innocently with Dad saying "so where you guys from…" and 10 minutes later I was snapping photos to document the evidence. <That is my Dad in the middle in the dark blue shirt>

One of the funniest moments though was when Kristina and Papa decided to wander along pretending to be part of a tour group….they totally blended in well don't you think?

Then began Night 3 of Vegas Vacation:

Fizz Champagne Lounge which is one of my favorite places in Las Vegas. Gregg and I discovered this little gem during our visit last December.

Then we spent Thursday, our last full day, wandering around with a lot of ridiculousness: 

 Kristina jamming out in the O souvenir shop.

And then there was her big production in the Shania Twain gift shop…

A little Grandpa-Granddaughter gambling at Caesar's Palace  

And after watching the Spurs win the finals we had our own finale to our Sister Vegas vacation week Thursday night at Encore Beach Club:

When people ask how our vacation was I tell them "it was a nonstop circle of we love each other, we are having the best time, we want to kill each other, we are all fighting, we are eating, we are drinking, we are laughing, we love each other" and so on and so on…." 

These people are crazy but these are my people.