Las Vegas April 2012- MOMS Club luncheon/weekend

I've been involved with our local MOMS Club chapter for nearly 5 years. It is a wonderful way for stay at home moms to meet other stay at home moms (and the kids to meet/play w/ other kids) and support each other in this not so easy job of raising kids full time. :) Our chapter is small but we all know each other really well and see each other often. I've been the president for the past 3 years (totally not done on purpose) and it has been a good experience. Every year, there is an annual luncheon held to motivate, train, inspire, etc moms club members around the region. This year they decided to have it in Las Vegas. I have never been before but this year, one of our newest members was totally pumped about going and after talking to Mike about it, I told her I would go with her if she decided to go. (I do have to say I was hesitant to commit to going because I would have to fly out to Vegas just one day after returning from Costa Rica. But Mike said it wasn't a big deal to him that I go right after we got back and I didn't need too much more to motivate me after that!). I had been to Vegas once before... back in maybe 2002 Mike took me for a few days. There is so much to see in Vegas, I was excited to go back to check it out again.

So we returned from Costa Rica on a Thursday. I spent Friday during the day unpacking & doing some of the more necessary laundry. Then I packed for Vegas and Rebecca and I were off that evening at 7pm on a flight to Vegas.

Once in Vegas we checked into our hotel (Circus Circus... going for economy this trip! :) and then set off to check out the sites. We went up to see the circus area in our hotel with the rides and such and then we walked down the strip looking at the hotels all the way down to The Bellagio. It was quite late Oklahoma time by the time we reached that point so we headed back down to our hotel.

Here I am outside of the Bellagio but you see the Paris hotel in the background.

And here is the Bellagio in the background with their fountain show (which is pretty cool to watch). 

And the video...

They do play all sorts of songs, not just Elvis. ;o) The one before this was a classical piece. I think it is every 15 minutes for the water show during the operating hours. 

When you are walking the strip in Vegas you get to see all sorts of things. Pretty much anything goes. I didn't take any pictures of the crazier things... and I would probably spare you even if I had. But there are lots of people who come out, dressed in costume, and make money by people paying them to take pictures with them. There were a few that caught my eye- a couple of them I had to take the picture for Jackson... but one in particular really caught my eye. :)

The hotels are all very unique and many are fun to explore inside and out. Here are some of the highlights... I think Paris, the Venetian, Bellagio, and Circus Circus are in this picture below.

One of my favorite things to see inside the hotels on this trip was inside the Bellagio in their garden/conservatory. I don't remember if I'd seen this area on my last trip but apparently they change it out every so often. This time is was made to look like bits and pieces of Holland... from all the flowers (gorgeous lovely smelling flowers including beautiful tulips!), the wooden shoes, the umbrellas, the bicycle, windmill, etc. I was completely blown away to see this portrait that was made completely with real flowers!! Amazing. I think it would almost be worth it to go to Vegas every time this garden is redone... if money was no object. ;o)

Another thing that I hadn't seen before was the chocolate fountain inside the Bellagio. It runs through a sweet shop just behind the gardens and you can buy lots of yummy treats inside. There is white and regular chocolate running through the fountain and it is all enclosed in glass. We also saw this mannequin dressed in chocolate and this amazing dragon made from chocolate. Such talent!

Saturday morning we had to wake up with our alarms (and I really didn't want to get out of the bed!) and get ready for the luncheon. We got breakfast and coffee to go in the hotel and walked down the strip just a short way to the hotel where the luncheon was being held. We had a really great time with the other Moms from our region... and there were quite a few. We got to chat about club things, listen to inspirational stories, and we also ate lunch. :) Rebecca and I got some really great ideas to bring back to our group as well. 

Saturday night we ate dinner at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant at the MGM hotel (the fish I had was delicious) and then afterward we went and saw Cirque Du Soleil's Ka. (There is a little preview on their site.) It was pretty neat and the acrobatics were amazing. The set was very unique and the special effects were extraordinary. 

It was on Saturday, maybe when we were heading back to the hotel to change for dinner, that we decided to go ahead and get a bus pass. The walking was getting old (especially that we were just walking up the same areas repeatedly only to get as far as we'd gotten the last time!) as well as the heat and I remembered when my feet were killing me on the last Vegas trip that we hopped on the bus very inexpensively. We were so thankful to sit in those bus seats. ;o) We should have done it sooner. So from then on, when we weren't walking in front of the hotels that we wanted to see, we were going to them on the bus. 

Sunday we decided to try out the buffet scene and after reading a good review of the Aria brunch buffet, we headed that way. I am not normally fond of buffets but this was really nice... lots of international dishes (including sushi!), tons of vegetarian options, and crab legs! I wish my stomach could have held more. ;o) I also got the unlimited bloody mary... only to drink maybe 1.5. Ah well... we had places to go! 

Namely.... 

My all time favorite place to shop for inexpensive, cute clothes. :) When I was looking up the Vegas locations (I had spied an H&M bag on the strip so I knew they were out there!) I read an article that said this store was the largest in the world. In the WORLD?!?! It was pretty huge. 

After some other last minute shopping and then a scramble to get our bags at the hotel and get to the airport in time, our trip had come to an end. :( It was a super fast trip but very full and definitely fun! There is still so much that we didn't do so I guess that means I might have to go back one day... but other travels will come first. :) 

Last day in Manuel Antonio & departing Costa Rica

On the last day in the Manuel Antonio area (and essentially the last day of our vacation since we would be flying out the very next day), Mike and Isabella went on their canopy tour and Jackson & I hung out around the hotel.

Here are some pictures of Jackson and my day.

 At breakfast with Jackson.

The view from our breakfast table. 

Our first lizard spotting for the day.

After a pretty long walk Jackson was getting fussy and wanting me to carry him. Thankfully we happened upon this super docile lizard and he provided a good little break from our hot walk. Jackson was actually able to touch this lizard where all the other ones dart as soon as anyone gets near. 

I think this is Jackson trying to give it a leaf. I was telling Jackson he wouldn't bite only later to hear from Mike that they can. Who knew??

            

This is a plane that is actually converted into a hotel room at the same hotel we stayed at.

After getting hot on our walk we took one last swim in the pool. We then gathered up our stuff, checked out of the hotel, and then waited for Mike & Bella to return from their trip. 

 

Isabella and Mike's Canopy Tour (this section is narrated by Mike):

We had been talking about a canopy tour for literally weeks, if not months, before we went down to Costa Rica.  Isabella was super excited about it, and I was super excited to get to share it with her, because I hoped it would be a great experience for her.  We nearly booked one at our second hotel, but I decided to hold off and find one that was independent of a hotel.  So at our last stop I had seen a number of signs around town and some material in the room about canopy tours. I talked with the desk staff at the hotel about what was available, they were encouraging and recommended one tour above all of the others for which they had literature.  I wanted to make sure that I could stay really close to my girl on the tour, and I was assured that we would be close together.  I actually thought he said that Isabella would be going with a guide tethered to her, but I must have misunderstood that...

Anyway, for those of you who are thoroughly acquainted with Isabella, you know that she is a pretty "girly" girl. She also inherited much of her father's lack of grace.  So going into the day, I sort of expected it to be a little rough.  She had been running an average of 1.7329 skinned knees per day on the trip and a crying fit about every 1.326 hours.  There are a lot of ways to get injured and skinned up in Costa Rica, especially if your parents like to see animals and waterfalls and stuff like that.

Come the morning of our canopy tour i got up at six-fifteen, jumped in the shower, dressed, and then woke Isabella at twenty until seven.  She awakened with a smile on her face and was raring to go.  She got dressed semi-quietly and we slipped out of the room so that Mommy and Jackson could continue sleeping, which I'm sure they did.  Mommy loves her sleep, and she will, as a rule, sleep as long as she is allowed to or until at least 10 :) Isabella and I were down at the front desk of the hotel at ten until seven waiting for the van to pick us up for our adventure.  The van arrived just a few minutes late, but we hopped on board and off we went...down to the area near Manuel Antonio park to see if there were any last minute stand around participants, which there were not.  Then off to the canopy tour office to sign a release and meet up with a few other folks from other hotels.  I was reassured to see several ACCT signs posted around the office.  Oddly enough, I had not even considered course certification up until the time I saw those signs.  I guess I was very much in tourist mode.  We visited for a few minutes with the other guests (all of them were from the U.S. if I remember correctly) then loaded on to a big van for the drive up into the jungle.  The lead guide, Jorge, kept everyone interested and sometimes entertained with tidbits about the area's history, flora and fauna, and funny stories.  He told us that driving over the very rough roads in the country is called a "Costa Rican massage" and showed us the best plant to use for jungle toilet paper, which information thankfully we did not need. We finally arrived at our destination (nearly an hour drive up into the jungle) and unloaded.  We sat down to eat breakfast.  Eggs, gallo pinto (no avoiding that at breakfast), fruit, bread, and juice. Then we geared up.

Up until now Isabella had maintained her remarkably cheerful demeanor.  She seemed really excited and a little impatient with any delay, like the drive and the breakfast.  Once she got a seat harness and helmet on, she was really raring to go.  We immediately made our first zip line traverse, which was a really short one just across a small creek to get us to the trailhead, then we had a pretty long uphill hike to get to the rest of the canopy tour.  I'm talking close to half a mile, all uphill, in very warm and humid jungle.  You can see by the photos that my girl was cheerful the entire time.  Not one complaint, no whining or fussing, and most amazingly, no injuries.  She was as sure footed as a little mule, even though she was wearing the same shoes that she had complained about the day before.  I think it helped that she had socks on for this...

We finally got to the top of the trail and made ready for a series of zips, rappels, and one Tarzan swing. It turned out that Isabella did not go tethered to a guide, but rather just was clipped in like all the other participants.  She was right ahead of me and we stayed very close together the entire tour, always within arms reach when on a platform. Isabella took to it like she was born to it (which I suppose she may have been:)).  She never showed the tiniest hint of being nervous or afraid - even when bigger kids (or sometimes full grown adults) were crying, literally. So...I guess I'll let the photos speak for themselves.  I guess the only other thing I want to say is that I was (am) very proud of my BIG, BIG girl.

Leslie's part:  After they returned from their trip we headed off to eat lunch at El Wagon which was also owned by our hotel but up the road a short bit. It had some sort of converted train car that you could dine in or the outside patio with a lovely mosaic tile floor. We ate outside (of course) & had a really nice meal. I had a fish wrap which was probably my 2nd favorite meal in Costa Rica. It was delish. While there, our waiter told us that we could look over the patio railing & see an agouti which is basically a large tropical rodent. :) There were several of them & I thought they were pretty cute. You don't really get the size in this picture but I'd say they are maybe twice as big as a squirrel?? 

After lunch we made the drive back to the capital and to our hotel where we would be staying our final night in Costa Rica. :(  We got in after dark and only had time to eat and then get the kids to bed. We were pleasantly surprised to find out that this hotel had a rental car agency in it and actually the same one that we rented from so we were able to return our car that night at the hotel rather than waking up even earlier in the morning to try & find the other rental agency to go through the whole return deal there. So this was a major time saver for us and allowed us some extra sleep and peace of mind.

This is a picture coming into San Jose. We were very surprised to see a different side of San Jose than what we saw when we came in. The area we drove through after getting our rental car was a poor section with lots of small shops and cramped driving conditions. Coming into San Jose from Manuel Antonio we saw a more metropolitan side with lots of tall buildings and a large highway. 

And here are the kiddos on the return flight. Doing pretty well for having to get up around 5am in the morning to get on our 8:35am flight. This was an easier travel day as it was a straight flight from San Jose to Dallas. 

 



After arriving in Dallas we took a shuttle to our hotel (the one we stayed at before leaving on our trip) & picked up our car. Then after a quick lunch we headed back to OKC. We were sad to be done with our vacation but so happy about the fun times we had! We can't wait to go on another trip. :)