Vegas & Toddlers: Very Bad Odds

After the three-day weekend in L.A., we followed Mimi and Grampy back up to Las Vegas to spend a few days with them up there.

Not one of my more brilliant moves.

Vegas is about as kid-friendly as a Democratic Primary. We did as best we could, staying at Circus Circus, which aptly summarized the couple of days. While it was good to spend time with the folks, there are about a billion better places to do it than Vegas. The clanging and flashing and dinging and honking drove Stacy into a catatonic fetal position, and left N huddling in a corner muttering "Beep-beeps! Beep-beeps!" over and over to himself quietly.

At least our hotel had a pool. Not one of those elaborate tropical paradises with waterfalls and toucans, mind you. More along the scale of a small pit filled with a garden hose, but thoroughly adequate for our needs.

L seemed to take it all in stride. She was fascinated by the plastic room key, referring to it as the "credit card", furthering my sense of foreboding. At one point, while on a daddy/daughter walk so that N and Mommy could get some sleep, things got a little theo-philosophical. Riding atop my shoulders, L asked me if God made Circus Circus. I had successfully navigated similar such questions in the past, explaining that God made cars and airplanes and, of course, Trader Joes balloons indirectly through the people He made. I was a bit at a loss on this one. Thank goodness 3-year-olds don't have a well developed sense of dodging the question.

Although it was non-ideal (and certainly non-idyllic), we did get to enjoy some final days with Mimi and Grampy. Stacy and Mimi braved the Lied Discovery Children's Museum with L and N while I stayed back with Grampy and learned the art of losing at craps. (No mystery why they call it that.)

Eventually Mimi and Grampy flew off to Tennessee to visit my sister Sue and her family (amid much crying from L and N), leaving us to head back to the relaxed, tranquil land of gang wars, freeway congestion, and earthquakes - quite the change for the better.