what happens in vegas

Earlier this week, we made a trip to Vegas. It was so hard. But it ended up being a wonderful experience.

Two very dear friends of ours decided to get married in the Las Vegas LDS temple this week. Lewis and I were fortunate enough to go. And we got to bring Lena. It was so hard. Lena had to forgo naps and stay up way past her bedtime so that we could celebrate with the happy couple.

We learned from our last wedding trip to California that Vegas is Lena's breaking point. And she broke. About a half hour outside the city. Good thing we were close!

We made it to our hotel and asked for a crib when we checked in (they told us twice on the phone that we didn't need to bring a crib because they had them there). Lena was so tired and so ready for a nap. Two and a half hours after checking in, we still didn't have our crib. I had called housekeeping multiple times and they kept saying, "we're trying to find a crib."

Trying to find one? Lena was tired. And grumpy. And all she wanted to do was sleep. I knew if we pushed it much longer, she would be so tired, she wouldn't be able to sleep. So I prayed and prayed and prayed.

Finally, a crib came. And we fed her and put her down to sleep. And she cried and cried and cried. We let her go for a few minutes and eventually, she did fall asleep (thank goodness!). But only for about 20 minutes. And she was sad. Screaming and crying and screaming. We knew at that point, it'd be a long night. The wedding was at 5 and the dinner wasn't until 7:30.

So we just prayed. Put her in the car and went to the wedding!

The wedding was beautiful! It's always so wonderful to be in the temple, especially for a sealing when husbands and wives are promising to be with each other for eternity. We were so happy for them.

Mr. and Mrs. Cornellison!

They've known each other for a very long time. Lewis heard about her from Jared when they were on their missions together. Anna wasn't a member of the church at that point (5 years ago). She joined the church about a year ago.

crawling around the temple while we waited for the bride and groom to emerge

Lewis knew the groom from his mission and was able to reunite with some old mission friends before, during and after the wedding. We were able to make it to the dinner at 7:30 and sit and talk with two friends who had served in Honduras with Lewis.

And Lena survived! Usually she's going to bed at 7:30, but she sure was a trooper! All we had to do was feed her the whole time. Food in her face, and she was a happy camper. Which means we were happy as well. And we gave her some apple juice and she learned how to sip through a straw! Yay toddler-hood!

Her first straw!

Her nap that afternoon was awful! So we were praying that bedtime would be OK. She went to bed easy (at 10), but then an hour later was up with just a terrified cry. It was so sad and I didn't know what was wrong. I tried singing to her, rocking her, holding her close, but nothing worked. All I could think to do was feed her again. So I made another bottle and tried to calm her down. She slept good for the rest of the night but at 6:30 am she was bright eyed and bushy tailed! Happy (thank goodness) and ready to play!

6:30 in the morning

The next day, we spent the morning on the strip. We just walked around, had breakfast in New York New York, and saw the interior of the Bellagio. I couldn't remember the casino with the painted walls and ceilings, so unfortunately, we missed that. But Lena had once again hit her limit, so we headed back to the car to start the trek home.

outside New York New York

"mom get the hat off!"

inside the Bellagio

inside New York New York.

Half way home, we stopped for lunch and to change Lena's diaper. And let's just say that the car is not the ideal place for a diaper change. The poop made it from the inside of one diaper to the outside of the other, stuck between the diaper and her onesie. Whoops! She didn't like the double diaper change, but was so happy when lunch finally made its way to the car!

Dad and Lena hanging out in the car

Yay! Lunch!

ready to eat!

When we got home, we rewarded her with her very own jamba juice. They have a children's menu now! She loved being able to suck from her own cup.

Her reaction to the cold at first

Got used to it and then wanted more

It was a good trip, but in the middle of it, we realized that as parents, we no longer take vacations. Instead, we take "survival trips."

And we survived!