Sharks! And other cool things in Las Vegas

Memorial Day weekend I had to coach a swim meet in Las Vegas, so we packed up the kids on Friday morning and headed out! We were really nervous about Avery in the car. We planned it so that she would be tired and hopefully take a nap. After stopping at McDonalds for our diet cokes and chicken nuggets we got on the road. She was screaming loudly and we were worried that it was going to be a really long drive! When I got my phone to take a picture of her she had fallen asleep!! Yay!!

Avery slept really well until we got to Barstow. We decided it was a good time to make a quick stop and feed her. We then got back on the road and kept going. I made Andrew stop in Primm so I could go to the Williams-Sonoma Outlet. I love that store!! They have so many awesome kitchen things. I wanted to buy everything, but I held back and just got some "Cars" bakeware for Gavin, some new storage containers and a couple other small necessities for the kitchen. After we felt like the kids were ready to be back in the car for the last part of the drive, we went on our way! The swim meet was in downtown Las Vegas, in the old part of town, so we were staying at "The California" hotel in that area. We had never been to that area so we were anxious to see what it was like.

After checking in to the hotel and getting settled, we got back in the car to go and meet Josh, Hillary and JJ for dinner. I think the kids both wanted to run away when they saw that we were getting in the car again! But we were happy that they were able to meet us for dinner because they were supposed to go to Utah that day, but they decided to leave the next day. We had a yummy dinner at CPK and then walked over to Yogurtland for some frozen yogurt.

JJ was super great with Avery. He loved helping her out and walked over to her in the restaurant many times to make sure that her binkie stayed in her mouth. What a great cousin!

Gavin loved his yogurt!!

The swim meet started early the next day. Andrew was so great to entertain the kids while I coached. He brought them over to me during the meet so that I could feed Avery. Luckily the hotel was just a short 5 minute walk. Unfortunately it wasn't in the best area so I was always a little nervous walking there by myself. The meet ended in the late afternoon so we decided to take the kids swimming. We were excited to get in and have a fun time. It was going to be Avery's first time swimming!! When we got up to the pool and stepped in, it was freezing!!! I have never felt a pool that cold before! There was no way that I could put Avery in the pool!! Gavin insisted on getting in though. Andrew would get in with him and Gavin would just cling to him and just laugh. He thought it was so funny that it was so cold! 

Gavin was so disappointed that we couldn't really swim so we told him we could go back to the room and swim in the bathtub. He got in with all of his toys and started playing. After a few minutes I realized that he was being really quiet so I looked a little closer and he had fallen asleep!! The poor little guy was so worn out that he couldn't even stay awake. 

I took these videos while he was sleeping. You can see his arm or leg kind of go out to the side and he has to adjust his balance. Andrew and I were trying really hard not to laugh so sometimes you can see the camera shaking.

While I was coaching at the meet, Andrew took the kids to Mandalay Bay to the Shark Aquarium. Gavin absolutely loved it!!

It really wore Avery out!

Gavin learned many things at the aquarium!

Because our hotel pool was so lame, the other coach at the meet offered for us to come to his hotel, The Golden Nugget, to swim at the pool there. It is the coolest pool that has a shark tank right in the middle of the pool!! We went at a super busy time because the place was so crowded!! The pool was full and the sides of the pool were lined with beer bottles. Crazy!

I was excited to finally get Avery in the pool. We had this cute little strawberry swim suit and hat that my dad had given to her. Everyone at the pool was going crazy over her. Everyone was stopping us and asking us about her. I guess people in Las Vegas don't see babies very often!! 

I definitely cropped myself out of this picture. I looked  like a big balloon!! 

Avery loved it!!

I love in this video that when I try to video Gavin he just says "cheese" and won't even look at the camera. It is so difficult to get a good picture of him now.

Along with the sharks, they had a lot of big fish in the tank as well.

Gavin thought it was the coolest thing ever!

I just want to eat her right up!!

This was a good picture of one of the big sharks. You can also see the water slide tube that runs right through the middle of the tank. Andrew and I both went on the water slide. Gavin was too small, but he had fun waiting at the end for us to come out!

We drove down to the Strip at night, but ended up not getting out. It was way too crazy and crowded and we decided with the two kids it would just be too much!

In the area of town where our hotel was the had the "Freemont Street Experience." When we drove by on our way back to our hotel Gavin saw the lights and said "I want to go there!"  I hadn't been able to spend any time with Gavin, so even though it was late, I decided to take him over there and walk around for awhile.

It was pretty cool. There was a lot of people and it was crazy, but it was a lot smaller than the Strip, which was nice. They had this light/music show that would go on every 30 minutes. It was actually very cool.

Gavin got this fun dog balloon animal that he carried around everywhere. He was mesmerized by the light show!

We left to drive home on Monday morning. We thought if we left by about 11:00 that we wouldn't have any traffic. We were very wrong!! It was the longest drive ever! It took us a total of about 9 hours to get home!! The kids did okay, but there was a lot of whining and screaming! It was a busy weekend but it was a lot of fun. I am so grateful for Andrew and the kids to follow me around and put up with my coaching schedule! They are the best!!