Vacation 2009

We didn't have much money to spend on vacation this year, but we didn't want to do a staycation either. I researched hotels and found that Circus Circus had rooms for $27 a night and they didn't charge extra for kids. We tried to think of places where things were free or exceedingly inexpensive. We ended up going to Vegas. Clearly not my favorite place in the world, but it had tons of stuff to do and it fit our budget.

We left early Wed. morning and went to Bryce Canyon. The hike was beautiful and we stopped many times to take pictures. In fact, most of our photos are from Bryce. There were so many different shades of red rock and blue sky, it was breathtaking. We hiked down to Queen's Garden, and hiked up the Navajo loop. That last part of the hike was very steep and I had to stop lots of times to catch my breath. For a while there, I thought they were going to have to get me out of the canyon with a helicopter. Nothing like a hike to prove to you that you are out of shape! I made it out, though, and after just a couple of minutes resting, I was ready to go again. Well, not on another hike....

We got to Circus Circus in the early evening and checked into our rooms. We put Maida, Russell, and Kira in one room, and Jason, Jessi, and me in another. We were about 5 doors down from each other, but it was quite fun to have two rooms! We saw a free magic act on the midway and ate dinner, then went to bed.

The next day, we did our "Vegas-y" things. We have a tradition of stopping by the Coke museum and having our family picture taken with the Coke bear. In the past, the bear has been a large fiberglass bear we could climb on. We've got pics from the time Maida and Jessi were little, so it's a cool way to watch our family grow. This year, the Coke bear was a guy in a suit! Since this was the last vacation we would take with our 4 kids while they are all still kids, we had to get a picture with the Coke bear, one last time. *sigh* We also went to the m&m museum. They're both fun, family friendly places we can go in Vegas, plus they're free!

Then, we went to the Venetian. Maida has been in love with Italy for a while, so we had to see the decor. The Sistine chapel ceiling replica was beautiful. We loved the canal down the middle of the casino, complete with gondola. We shared a tiramasu and took a few pictures.

After all of that, we went to the outlet shopping mall at the south end of the city. They've got some great deals! The kids each bought something there.

With all of that out of the way, we went back to Circus Circus and dropped our stuff off at our rooms. Then, we went to the adventuredome. We went with the idea that we could each do one ride (to save money.) Since we had two hotel rooms, they printed off coupons for us at the front desk. The printer wasn't working well, so we ended up getting 3 sets of coupons which gave us 2 for 1 at the adventuredome. We actually saved money by buying each of us an all day pass compared to what we would have paid had we each done our individual thing as planned. We spent a few hours at the adventuredome, and Jason took Jessi back to the hotel room when she started looking dizzy and tired. Maida, Russell, Kira, and I continued to play until around 8:30. We also ate dinner in the casino and watched a gymnast act--one of those cool acts with the fabric hanging from the ceiling and the girl who flips around in the fabric 30 feet above the ground. Love that! I loved the convenience of the Adventuredome! We went down the elevator, walked a few yards, and we were there. We didn't have to move the car again, didn't have to see the smut in Vegas, didn't even have to deal with the thick cigarette smoke that used to engulf the city because the promenade and the Adventuredome were smoke-free zones. It was the best time I've had in Vegas in years!

We slept in yesterday morning, and checked out of the hotel when we were ready to go. We stopped by some family historical sites on the way home--Jason's family is from Nevada/southern Utah. Then, we came home and tried to see Seussical in Midvale. That got rained out, so we went to see Up!

Now, vacation is over. Jason's at rehearsal. I'm thinking of all the things I have to do. It's nice to get a break once in a while. Kind of reviatalizes you. But then, that's what vacations are for.