Sightseeing

My children are all different. Wonderfully different. This last weekend we went to the Bellagio and took in the Chinese New Year gardens. Afterwards we strolled around the stores. That's where I found these delectable things.

They were so yummy and delicious and scrumptious. We also wandered into the Garden Store of the Bellagio. They sell stuff related to the big garden display. Olaf instantly found something he wanted.

He begged and pleaded and I gave in. He loves Terra Cotta Warriors. But so do I. So it wasn't a lot of pleading. And when the saleslady told him they were half off, we were sold. Baby saw what he had and wanted some too. So off they went. When they came back and Middle Child saw that Baby had bought something he had to buy something too. He said he wanted some Warriors also, until he got into the shop and saw some other items available for purchase, half off. Apparently it's The Year of the Rabbit.

Our Bling Bling Child had to have the sparkly thing. We joke that he's like a crow. They love shiny things and bring them home to incorporate into their nests. His bedroom shines, and not from cleanliness.

These rabbits were so bright and shiny that it's hard to tell what they look like.

And speaking of Bright and Shiny things, I was on a quest to find the Neon Signs Boneyard. I'll tell you about that in another post because it's pretty cool.

But I was on a mission to find some new things in Vegas. So I found some Old Things that were really cool. Like an old Las Vegas Grammar School, Mission Style. hee hee

It's across from some new-fangled really cool building so my Dad had never noticed it before. But we got out and took pictures because it is so beautiful.

It's been restored and while I don't know what is in it right now, it apparently has some mission-type services in it because the park outside was full of homeless people. Or Hobos as Baby calls them.

This is only about a tenth of how many people were there. I kept shushing Baby as he would use the word Hobos. I don't know if that's politically correct or anything, but I didn't think they would like it and I didn't want to start a fight with a homeless person cuz we know I wouldn't win, I don't have a clue as to how to fight properly, or even how to fight dirty. I missed out on that training.

Here's my Mom and Baby underneath the arches to the largest part of the structure, probably an old gym.

I was excited to find this neat building. Supposedly somewhere around this area are some old railroad homes. Next time I'm finding those. Watch for my upcoming post about Neon Signs. They were cool. Although not as plentiful as expected, because it is Vegas and that's the one and only thing I remember about Vegas as a child, the Bright Lights.

What Happens in Vegas Doesn't Stay in Vegas

On the way home from Disneyland we stopped off in some small town in California. It's pretty close to Death Valley. It has billboards claiming it has the world's Largest Thermometer. It does have a large thermometer but it has become a victim of the weather and it's hard to read. But they also have an Alien Beef Jerky store. So we stopped.

Here's Baby with the Crashed Alien Spacecraft. Thank Goodness it crashed on impact and isn't working or he might be snatched!

They also have the Mad Greek restaurant. I remember seeing a few in California. But none were quite as awesome as this one.

I love it. It reminds me of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Loved that movie.

Then we stopped in Vegas on our way home. Not to gamble away the rest of our money but to visit my parents. They took us downtown because the boys wanted to see the Lions at the MGM. I was okay with that because that meant I could go to the M&M store and Coke World!

When we got to Coke World they offered to take our photo with the Coke Bear. They were nice enough to take one with my camera and then they used their camera. The boys promptly went upstairs to see them. For the low price of $40 we could get one big one and a couple wallet photos. In retrospect I should have bought them. They would have made awesome pictures to put in our Christmas Cards.

Shady Vegas

Almost two years ago my parents moved to Vegas. Yeah! They now lived only six hours away versus the 25+ hours we had to drive to visit them when they lived in Indiana. We could actually go visit them a few times a year. I was pretty excited.

I refused to go and visit them in the summer. I've been to Vegas in the summer and it's a bit too warm for my comfort. I can barely deal with Utah's heat and it's probably 20 degrees cooler here. So, for fall break in October we went to visit my parents.

We had a lot of fun and did a few things. The last night there Olaf's good friend who lives in Vegas brought his family to meet us all for dinner. We had a good time eating and playing around. Their little three-year-old is adorable and my boys loved playing with him.

After dinner my parents opted to go home since they were tired, my children have that affect on others not used to rambunctious boys. We went down to the Old Part of Vegas. It was quite entertaining. There were some Jesus Freaks with big signs about how we're all going to burn in Hell if we don't Repent and get Saved Right Now. There was a saxophone player with a drunk couple dancing to his music. There was other performers of various types all around. And the best part was the light show on the ceiling, or roof top, of the avenue. It was pretty neat and the kids loved it. Then we went and checked out the remodel of the Golden Nugget. The swimming pool was pretty cool. There is a big Shark Tank in the middle of the pool. And the best part of it is the 30-foot waterslide anyone can ride right through the middle of the shark tank. Almost makes you want to stay in Old Vegas. The kids sure wanted to stay there and try the waterslide out for themselves.

Afterwards we decided to get some of the best frozen yogurt on town. It's a small shop run by someone from somewhere else. You can only pay in cash and you have to risk your life to find the place. We followed Olaf's friend all through Vegas. We kept turning at corners and I swear we drove in a few circles. But he swore he knew where we were going. And since I don't live there and he does I had to kinda trust him. At one point in the ride Olaf remarked, "I think we've driven through the shadiest parts of Vegas!"

To which Middle Child replied, "I noticed the lights were dimmer on those last few streets."

After we got done laughing so hard we couldn't drive and it was good we didn't have any frozen yogurt because it would have landed all over the place in our hysterical laughter (to which he just couldn't figure out what was so funny) we wittily replied to his naive comment, "It's cuz no one wants to be seen coming in and out of the places on those blocks."