“Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds”

We slept very late on Wednesday morning… 😉

I was the first of the four awake, and I had one mission: update the blog! Free wifi – yes!! (My mom snagged this picture of me trying not to wake anyone with the glare of the screens. Haha!)

A little disoriented, we managed to find our way through our stuff and got some coffee running through our veins. When we were sitting at breakfast, I said to the boys, “Guys…I had the craziest dream…”

It did feel like a dream. Have you ever been in one of those situations where you feel like everything is so overwhelming…that it seems like you’re floating? It was like that. How did we make it through that? How did we get here? …Only by God’s grace.

We were moving slow after breakfast. For Joe, it was more phone calls… 😦 For me, it was time to find something fun for the boys. Like, truly fun. My mom and I decided to take the boys to the hotel pool! They had a ball…and we had a ball watching them. It was also nice to finally be reunited…there were a few times in NM – in all the chaos – that this 41 year old wanted to put my head down and say, “I want my mommy!” 😉 ❤

But among MANY things I’ve learned from my mom, one of them is how to keep my chin up, stay calm for the sake of those around me, and persevere!!

We checked on Joe every once in awhile, who had now moved the mobile office to the hotel lobby. There were phone calls to the rental car company, RV rental companies, AAA, the RV owner, etc. I can’t say enough about him here. Everything you have ever known about Joe and how he handles tough situations was on display. It was A LOT of work and a LOT of brain power…but we kept praying and he hung in there and didn’t give up!

Everyone headed back to the room for showers – a LUXURY, at this point – and it was time to put it all this mess aside for a little while. My parents picked the perfect places! Man, we had no idea what we were getting into with this trip to Vegas. But they are AMAZING tour guides! I will consult with them about renting out their services, if you are planning to visit the area. 😉

The first stop was the Pinball Hall of Fame. It’s a little out-of-the-way place that, for this 80’s kid – was nostalgia overload! Hard to believe that not that long ago – before Xbox and online gaming – we used to stand in line with pockets full of quarters, just to play Frogger! (Which they totally had and I TOTALLY played!) This place was so cool and ALL my boys loved it. 😉

Next up was The Hofbrauhaus, a German restaurant and indoor beer garden. It was INCREDIBLE! I mean, how can you be stressed while holding a beer and listening to German folk music?

The duo was great! They were very animated and really got the crowd into it. At one point, they even brought out an alp horn and traveled with it from table to table.

Remember how I said we all agreed to try a new food on our trip? The boys have been rock stars with this! They’ve tried LOTS of new foods! (More on this later) But for now, Brady was ready to try my mom’s wienerschnitzel. He tried it, that’s what matters…

But he didn’t like it… 😉

Joe decided to be as brave…

(But he actually did like it. 😉 )

Grumpa (that’s my dad) so highly recommended the apple strudel that – even though we were stuffed beyond belief – we had to get it! It was SO worth it! We decided, if we ever go back, pretzels and strudel ONLY! 😉 I didn’t even get a picture, it was gone so fast!

(By the way, EVERYONE calls him Grumpa…even our friends. He’s a legend.)

Lastly, they wanted to take us to the Fremont Street Experience.

(Quick pit stop on the way there – have you ever seen this show?)

If you’ve never heard of Fremont Street, it’s a section of the road that they covered with a very sophisticated system of lights and screens. They play different shows, with music, on the hour…in the sky. AMAZING! There also other attractions and shops. It was really cool!

But, by now, we were very tired and ready to get the boys back to the hotel (if you know what I mean). It was a great first day…and a good introduction to the town. Sin City? Absolutely. But there is also a lot to see and do and enjoy…before dark. 😉 We were excited to get home at a decent time for a normal night’s sleep. There was a BIG day ahead…

|Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. – Romans 12:12 |