I began to worry about how Everett would do on his first plane ride. It would only be 1 hour and 45 minutes but he is at an age where sitting still for more than 5 min. is a challenge. I shouldn't have been worried though because as usual Everett proved he is an absolute all star! We packed our bags full of snacks, our ipad full of Daniel Tiger and Toy Story and Mom full of Tylenol and were off. Many people remarked as we were unloading that they never heard a peep from Everett. He was quite content to look out the window and watch the ipad while sitting in our laps. We were so proud of him!!
Carrie's wedding was at Mandalay Bay so we all stayed there. On our previous trips to Vegas we have stayed further down on the other end of the strip so I was excited to see some things we hadn't quite gotten to before. After Everett's nap when we first got to Vegas I was ready to see the sights. The three of us walked next door to the Luxor to see an exhibit I have always always wanted to see, The Titanic Artifacts Exhibit. I was unsure of what exactly to expect and was unsure of how Everett would take being pushed through it but once more he proved I should not worry about him and rode through an hour of artifacts without making a sound. I highly recommend this exhibit to anyone who is interested in the Titanic and is ever in Vegas. I was completely fascinated seeing china that had been at the bottom of the ocean for 180 years. Seeing the pattern on the rim worn down by water. Some where in pristine condition and others were cracked or broken. Luggage of passengers were on exhibit as well has hair brushes, mirrors and some accessories. What was one of the coolest parts was they had on exhibit a 26 foot piece of the outside of the boat. What they call the "big piece" is an unbelievable sight to see and even more interesting to find out how they have preserved it and what took 4 trips to locate and a failed attempt to bring it home. The piece looks massive but when you see it on a map you realize it is a tiny fraction what the real ship consisted of. In the exhibit they have recreated a hallway and room from the third class, the promenade on the first class deck and a luxury suite. I half expected to see Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet running from her evil fiance'. It was so awesome and the history geek in me came out fully!
Doing Vegas with a Toddler is much different than what we have experienced before. It meant Everett and I were up in the room with him sleeping and me watching Netflix by 9:30 each night. It was nice to have an excuse to go to bed early and not stay up late in the casino. Mandalay Bay has the Shark Reef Aquarium and Saturday morning we took Everett to see the fish. It was very cool and we saw lots of incredible creatures and size able sharks. There was a portion in the aquarium where you could pet stingray's and Everett had no interest in this whatsoever. We all enjoyed our little walk through the aquarium for the most part!
We found Everett some cowboy boots to wear in the wedding to match the other guys. He was stiff walking in them at first so I put the boots on him everyday before we left for a week to help him get used to the shoes. I was so excited for how precious he was going to look walking down the aisle in his little outfit. The wedding location was outside in front of Mandalay Bay amongst several waterfalls. Everett took a nap before the wedding so I expected him to do quite well. Trouble was there was no one to keep him in the back while the bridesmaids walked down the aisle and Drew was so far away "hidden" with Carrie so no one saw her before she walked down the aisle. The result was that Everett would not let me put him down... at all! So he didn't walk down the aisle, he rode on my hip down and proceeded to cry until I passed him off to his Dad once his duties were finished where he began to wail. So out of character for this child! I grabbed him, left the ceremony to find our diaper bag with snacks and our Meyer bear. Handed Everett back to his Dad where he continued to sit quietly and eat for the rest of the ceremony. Lesson learned was Toddlers are unpredictable!! The wedding was beautiful and we were so honored to get to celebrate a precious union with family and friends in Vegas.
Sunday most of the other wedding guests had left so we had the day to ourselves. We took Everett down to the wave pool in the morning and following a nap we went shopping.. FINALLY! First stop was the Disney Store where I was determined to get Everett a Sheriff Woody doll since we watch Toy Story like crazy. He spent the rest of the day riding in his stroller with Woody curled up on one side and Meyer on the other. I hit up H&M, Drew hit up the casino and we finished our time off with a little Cheesecake Factory and the Bellagio fountains. 3 days in Vegas with a toddler was plenty of time and although I was exhausted by the end we had a great time!
The next Friday we took off for Broken Bow, OK to the wedding of one of my college friend's Laura Beth. Everett rocked the 7.5 hour car ride down there and we had a great time exploring in the woods of beautiful Beaver's Bend State Park. Everett rocked his same wedding outfit for this wedding and since we learned our lesson he snacked the entire way through the ceremony silently! It was such a beautiful location and amazing weather! We got to spend some great time with old friends that was so good for my soul!
Needless to say this weekend we are thrilled to be spending time at home doing absolutely nothing!
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