Then last week. Thursday dawned as normal as any other day. We went about our daily routine and by 10am, I was in a funk. My kids were more rambunctious than usual. In my frustration, this idea popped into my head as clear as day: Just go to Vegas. I hopped on Airbnb and found a place for $75 that looked nice and had the ability to book instantly. I asked the mr. what he thought. Besides thinking that I was absolutely crazy, he told me that he thought it could work. At about 10:30, I booked the place. Within an hour, overnight bags were packed and we were in the car. We made a quick stop to say goodbye to the mr. - which, of course, was when he found a nail in the freaking tire. WHAT. Luckily, we were around the corner from Discount Tire and there was no line, so it only delayed us about an hour. Finally, at 1pm, we were on the road. Smooth sailing. We pulled up to the Airbnb at 6pm and I nearly died. It was in the WORST part of town. It was behind two liquor stores and there were working girls on the street. I didn't even get out of the car. And if it was that sketchy during the day, I don't even want to know what it would have been like at night. Hard pass. So we left. Instead, we stayed at the hotel where my friend and her sister were staying. To my fortune, the hotel upgraded me to a two room suite at no extra charge, so I'll call my losses. Seeing these friends after TEN YEARS made my heart happy. With one in Brazil and the other in SLC, the opportunity to see either does not happen very often. That first night, we swam (with our FOURTEEN combined children!) and caught up for a few hours before calling it a night at about 9pm. I dashed over to In-N-Out to grab dinner and my kids finally made it to bed at about 11.
On Friday, I woke up at 4am to teach kids in China for a couple of hours. At 8, we were out the door to get breakfast with our friends. Afterward, we finished getting ready and then headed to the Strip for fun. We went to the Mirage and saw the dolphin show as well as Siegfried and Roy's retired animals. Amazing, but the heat started to wear on us. We split for lunch - the girls each went to a different restaurant and my kids and I headed back to the hotel for sandwiches and a swim. My friend called me as we were getting out of the pool and told us to meet them at the flamingo exhibit of the Flamingo. Great! Except it took us an HOUR to travel 3 miles and find parking. Because it had taken us so long to get there, our friends were ready to move on from the flamingos once we finally met up. We crossed the street and headed to the Bellagio to check out the flower gardens. Gorgeous, but my kids only appreciated it so much. After a stop for my friends to nurse their babies, we split up to head back to the hotel for dinner and a swim. I was with the older sister and her six kids. But my keys and wallet were with the younger sister and her two kids. And this was the point where I got split up from my children on the Strip of Las Vegas. So that should tell you how I was feeling about our trip... It was hotter than hell. It was difficult navigating the Strip on foot with six kids. And I was separated from my children. I was done. Once I had keys, wallet, and kids again, I split with my friend and decided to take my six to M&M World. I made it a mile before giving up. It was already 6pm and I couldn't drag them three miles roundtrip on the Las Vegas Strip on a Friday night. No way in hell. So, all crying, we turned around and headed for the car. It was a hot mess. In-N-Out again for dinner before finally reaching the hotel at 9 (let me insert that our hotel was literally 3 miles from the heart of the Strip, but traveling anywhere took about a million years). It was so late that we didn't even get to swim with our friends that night.
We saw them one last time at breakfast on Saturday. We said our goodbyes before they took a shuttle back to the Strip and we hit the pool one last time. After our swim, we checked out of the hotel and made it to M&M World before the long drive home. Even M&M World had its ugly moments. But. I saw my friends of 17 years. And we made new memories. And I will never take all six of my kids to Vegas again...
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