Weekend Update

And now the fake news...

Remember that from Saturday Night Live? Anyway...

So this was a weekend I'd been waiting for - a weekend away! We had foolish people willing to watch our children (we like to call them grandparents), we had a work schedule we could deal with, we didn't really have the money - but we didn't let that stop us!

So Friday afternoon we were off. First stop - Wickenburg, Arizona! (Insert Cheering here). The aforementioned grandparents met us there for the children exchange - we unloaded a suitcase, several toys, boardgames, child-seats, blankets, pillows, stuffed animals, and two excited children. We met at a Burger King parking lot, so although it was around 4:00 - of course the kids were hungry. It made for a nice transition, though, there were no tears or scared faces, and the kids were fine, too.

We then headed out to our destination for the weekend - Las Vegas. It took us about 4 hours to get there - we were staying at the Excalibur, I know, but I just can't justify spending $300 a night - for a place to sleep!

We got settled in, then were ready to eat, play and consume adult beverages. We stayed up late, drank irresponsibly, and basically forgot that we were parents - something we needed.

We spent the lion's share of the next day geocaching. Our first find, is one of my favorites so far. I've never pulled up to a drive through, and been asked, "Do you guys want to get married - oh - you're geocaching - here". I had to take a picture... not sure if you can read it, but it's all set-up like a menu - I love the included dessert. I peeked through the drive-through window and saw a full - (walk-in) wedding in progress - bride in white and everything...

We focused on checking out areas that were NOT on the Strip, and even though at one point, the car's thermostat read 104, we enjoyed ourselves.

We headed back to our hotel, because this was our big night out. I paid for all other meals, snacks, and the hotel room, and I asked T to plan a special evening out. It took some prodding, but, in the end, he did great. We took the monorail and shuttle over to the Wynn hotel (a place I'd wanted to see!) and had dinner at Okada. After that, we went to see La Reve - a show I'd never heard of, but was amazing - think Cirque Du Soleil style - but, in and out of water... (Probably similar to "O", but I haven't seen it).

Dinner was lovely, the show was wonderful, so you just know something lousy had to happen, right? We walked about half an hour to get to the monorail station, and saw that a train was already there - we sprinted, hopped on to the train and sat down. And sat. The doors remained open, and we laughed about how we had "rushed" to catch the train. Finally, after about 10 minutes, the doors closed. We continued to sit. Then came security. We sat there, locked in the car with a few other people, and watched as security walked back and forth - then came a panic-faced technician, to force the switch to get the doors open and we were told by security to please exit the train. We got out, stood around, and was told, that they were going to switch directions of the next train - and that one would take us the right way. Do I need to tell you that they were mistaken? We ended up having to ride the monorail for the entire circuit, to get where we needed to go. What should have been approximately a 10 minute ride - took about an hour. All I can say is - I'm glad the monorail is air conditioned!

We got back to the hotel and decided to play for a while, we knew that we were going to drive home the next day, so we didn't stay out too late, drink too much, or lose too much money. All good things.

Today, we got up before 8, probably the earliest I've ever gotten up while in Las Vegas. We were showered, packed, and ready to go before 9. I wanted to get the kids a present - so we picked out a couple of castl-ey t-shirts, and went to brunch. As we went back to the hotel room to grab our things and hit the road, T's cell phone beeped. It was grandma. S was sick.

CRAP!!!

Apparently, S threw up this morning, but didn't want to say anything, so the grandparents didn't really know what was wrong - although they knew it was something - until they found the evidence. Blech! His stomach issues apparently also moved in a southern direction. He didn't want anything to eat, and went back to bed and slept for another hour and a half. When we next talked to Grandma, she told me he was flushed, still hadn't eaten, but had taken some water and hadn't thrown up anymore. He slept the entire drive from Phoenix to Wickenburg, where we met them to pick up the kids. He didn't look good - or happy to see us. He perked up a little on the first part of the drive home, because we listened to the Phoenix Suns game on the radio.

When we were about 45 minutes away from home - we saw it - but too late. Coming towards us - that tell-tale grille, the white boxy sedan sized car... Like I said, we saw it, but too late. The white car with the pretty red and blue lights was behind us and ready. We pulled over, and S started crying - he was already feeling crummy and he didn't want daddy to get a ticket. According to the sheriff that pulled us over, T was doing 74 in a 50 - oops. However, that sad sight, of a crying little boy snuggled in a blanket who obviously looks miserable was enough to let T off with a warning (which - at the speed he was going was darn nice!).

At last, we made it home - and I went for the thermometer - S was running a fever, but it wasn't too high. Still, some Pepto to help with the stomach aches and some Tylenol did help, and he was granted the special treat of being able to watch most of the Nascar race that daddy taped.

Since S was being given a lot of attention, A started saying she wasn't feeling well either. However, as S barely ate, and A was eating like a horse, she gave herself away. Not wanting her to feel that she had to be sick to get attention, we spent the evening in some mommy and A time, while S watched the race. We played the most insipid game ever created (which of course, A LOVES but the boys in our house won't play it with her), the Princess Spinning Wishes Game, and she got a very special treat - displayed here...

Now they're in bed, T's at work, and mom is gonna sit a read an e-mailed letter I've been anxiously waiting for. I hope you all had lovely weekends!