May 15, 2010

The Mirage, The Venetian, and the Bellagio.... Oh my!

The last day was one of the best, actually. We woke up intending to take it easy but ended up being out from breakfast until almost 3PM, then again from 5-10PM.

We drove to the Mirage and took the kids to see the dolphins and white tigers. Weather was perfect again. The dolphins were fascinating for the kids- the first time Tanner and Faith had ever seen them in real life. The white tigers gave us a good show, roughhousing with each other and fighting over a big rubber toy. There was also a black panther and several big lions.

After lunch at California Pizza Kitchen we wandered over to the Venetian where the kids watched the gondoliers singing and we strolled through the really expensive mall with the canal running through it. Jake asked if we could ride on one of the gondolas. My first thought was "no" but when he didn't push it but I could see the look of true longing in his eyes, I started to change my mind. For how long will my little boy want to sit in a gondola with me and listen to schmaltzy Italian-esque music being sung by a man pretending to be from Venice??? There was no
begging involved; if there had been, I probably wouldn't have sprung for it, but watching him watch the boats go by I could tell he really, really wanted to do it. So Auntie Sue and I took the boys for a gondola ride (Faith opted out and chose to watch from the many bridges). They loved it and both Auntie Sue and I were so glad that we let them do it and that we got to do it with them.

After long, late afternoon naps we headed back out to see the Bellagio and the Pirate show at Excalibur. By now it was Thursday and the strip was really getting crowded. The pirate show was packed- and a tad bit inappropriate for the children (lots of sexual innuendo and scantily attired pirates both male and female). But there were fireworks and there was fire and cannon ball explosions so everyone enjoyed the show (well... not Faith. She hid behind me most of the time, content to talk to herself and ignore all the action).

The plan was to get some dinner, then head over to the Bellagio. The kids had seen it in the daylight but Tanner really wanted to see it all lit up at night (so did Brian and I). Jake wasn't feeling great (probably all the crappy food we had been feeding him) and the only thing he wanted for dinner was cereal. What the hell, we thought, cereal it is. Each of the kids got a container of cereal and I took them into a Starbucks for the milk and fruit to go with it. Their dinner consisted of frosted flakes and a few pieces of cantelope/strawberries. The adults found a deli and we headed out toward Bellagio. But first, Jake made a pit stop to throw up. Oops. Guess his tummy really wasn't feeling good. Auntie Sue, Grandma, and Jake took a cab home and we took the little ones to see the Bellagio at night. We got there just in time to see "Your Song" by Elton John. They loved it!!! That water show is the best thing ever. I could watch it over and over and over again.

Our last night in Vegas was over. We were heading home at 4:30 the next morning.


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