Wound Up Baby

Maddox was wound up and showing off for us today. The word boom enticed him to continue his antics even more. Not sure what got him so hyper but it was entertaining.

Las Vegas

James and I took our first kid free vacation since becoming parents. So we headed to Vegas! It had been 7 yrs since we were last here and there were a couple of things we didn't do then that I wanted to do now - see Blue Man Group and eat at the Top of the World in the Stratosphere.

Inside the Venetian hotel. Last time we took a gondola ride here. Fortunately for us, we have since experienced a real gondola ride within Venice itself. This hotel is where we saw the Blue Man Group. Probably our main reason for coming to Vegas this time (they were just in KC in Dec but we were already of thinking of coming to Vegas then). It was a great show! Definitely worth the 7 yr wait, lol. No pics though - they don't allow any.

The Exclaibur hotel

New York New York hotel. James thought he might get me on that roller coaster. It didn't happen :)

Inside the Aria. Pretty cool!

Luxor - the hotel we stayed at. Next time (if there is a next time) I will have to place us in a more central location. Our hotel was pretty much at the end of the strip so we did a whole lotta walking. Probably a good thing since we ate alot. That was our second reason for coming to Vegas - we found some great places to try. Most were delicious!

James and I spent the better part of a day lounging at the pool of our hotel and drinking Lime A Ritas. Yum! We had just taste tested them at Grants Farm while in St Louis and was thrilled to find them Vegas. Such a relaxing day! A little too much sun but relaxing nonetheless.

The Stratosphere. See the black portion at the top. We ate up there (106 stories up I believe) as the     restaurant rotated around so we could get a full view of Las Vegas. Great food!

                                                    A view of the strip while we ate.

We also saw Criss Angels Believe magic show. We weren't overly impressed. He is suppose to be a little edgy but the show itself lacked a lot and didn't flow well. We can't put our finger on it but it just seemed off.

We also had reservations for Gordon Ramseys restaurant. The food was good although probably not worth what we paid for it. Good thing James did pretty well at the Blackjack tables a couple of times.

We had a very relaxing vacation and couldn't have asked for a better time. Thank you mom and Mariah for taking such good care of the boys for us. I'm sure they weren't ready for us to come home.

James 2 wk leave is now over so back to the real world.

Hooters

We took Maddox to Hooters for the 1st time. Yes, we are STILL those kind of parents, lol. They all went nuts over him as he walked inside and up to our table.

Grant's Farm

Our last stop in St Louis was Grant's Farm. We all enjoed looking at the animals, sampling beer and even feeding some goats and llamas. This place is exactly like a German zoo so it brought back some memories for us. A great way to end our vacation!

Cardinals vs Royals

The next day we were off to watch the game with family. First we walked down by the river and got some shots of the arch.

 

Macen and I were outnumbered by the red shirts. Macen ended up cheering for both teams, lol. He just likes being at games I think. This was Maddox's first game and he did great. He loved clapping long after everyone else was done clapping, lol. We were way up at the top of the stadium and it was perfect seating. We had shade on an extremely hot day! What a relief!

Transportation Museum

 

James went to the Transportation Museum as a kid and remembered it being pretty cool. We took a mini train ride around the grounds and then James and Macen got to tour some of the train cars. Macen enjoyed it but it was pretty hot out so he wasn't as focused on the trains as we thought he would be.

Next we made a stop at Ted Drewes for some frozen custard.

City Museum

The next day we headed to the City Museum. Macen loved it here! There were all kinds of tunnels, slides, caves, stairs, etc. A perfect place for kids to release energy. I'm sure we didn't even experience half of what is there since there are nooks and crannies everywhere. Definitely a repeat the next time we are in the area.