More on Vegas

So hard to believe that the weekend is ending and it's back to work tomorrow. I've been unpacking since Friday when we got home and still have things to do. I realized that I never wrote anything about the reason why we went to Las Vegas - and that was for the conference.

The conference was wonderful. So many great speakers. Brett and I were especially interested in dental and one thing we know is every team does the repairs a little different. It was great to talk with dentist in Las Vegas that has the same timeline as our team here. Always reassuring! We got to hear a lady from the CDC talk. While she informed us that they are working on finding what causes a cleft - after her hour long speech they really aren't much closer to finding out why! Sometimes that is the hard part to swallow - why? But you can't live in that. Then we listened to 2 authors speak. Both had a craniofacial condition - one spoke of her journey and the other used his humor to tell his story. The he taught us how to tell our story. They both have published books so I am so anxious to find some free time and get reading. There was a doctor from the University of Florida (first mistake according to Brett) that spoke about VPI. While this doesn't pertain to Cody he was still interesting to listen to. Although he was older and got off topic quickly. Must be a Gator thing! :)

What the conference also brought was time to reconnect with "old" friends and make new ones. Seeing as though we have gone for 2 years everybody was anxious to meet Cody and Dylan. They on the other hand was not so sure about everything. Very overwhelming to 4 year olds to have a lot of strangers come up to them. They warmed up in their own ways. The boys attend Kids Camp while we were in the conference. They cried when we dropped them off but only for a minute. Another Mom went to check on them for us and they were fine. They never fought us about going so I knew it was just that initial separation. They did crafts and played games! They are still talking about it so I know it wasn't all that bad.

I however, thoroughly enjoyed seeing my old friends again. Some of these ladies are more friends than the friends I have. I guess only because we truly understand each other. Debbie, Joyce, Robin, Karen, Gina, and many others. Thank you for a great week! Karen was my god send....she checked on the boys for me, she loaned me some Valtrex for my cold sore that just had to make it's appearance while on the trip. I'm super excited for our family day in August to see Debbie again and for her to meet my family!

We had a great time - Brett ended the conference by spending it with the gang out by the pool until 3 am drinking some cocktails. To bad we only see these people once a year but it certainly doesn't feel like that. It feels like we see them once a month! That is what family is all about and I consider them all our family!!!

I can wonder all I want "why" we were given a child with a facial difference but I know why in my heart!

A couple pictures

Just a couple pictures to tide you over till I get all of my pictures downloaded from my camera. These were taken professionally at the shark reef. They aren't real sharks behind us - but the family shot does resemble the tunnel that we walked through. More to come later....

People

It is amazing to come into contact with so many different people. I mean we all do this on a regular day to day basis but this trip seemed so different for us that I couldn't help. I mean we are pretty used to the whole "are they twins"? question and in Las Vegas it was no different. The only time I didn't get that was at the conference as everybody knew we had twins and so nobody asked.

So here are some of my encounters with people on this trip. It starts with the taxi drivers. Some of them speak to you others just find out where you are going and you ride in silence. There are so many different taxi companies in Las Vegas. We found that one in particular asked us to buckle the boys for their safety. As they weren't in car seats. I made them in every taxi but some requested it before I even got in. Which I am thankful for. If you've ever ridden in a taxi in a big city - you know why!

While at the buffet in Mandalay Bay.....well let me first explain that their was a Harley Davidson dealership convention in this hotel, so biker dudes everywhere.....we were in line and 2 Harley couples were in front of us. The boys were um being boys and this couple asked "are they twins"...we said yes and they told us they are expecting twin grand babies. I said congrats! Then they said they were going to observe and not to say a word. We just laughed. Having twins is great - but! :)

My last encounter with "people" was at the airport. We experienced two different types. We were standing up waiting to board. On Southwest you board in 3 different groups - A,B,C. If your boarding pass isn't in the A group and you have kids 4 and under then you board after A and before B. So that was our case. So as we waited for A group to board there were these 2 older ladies that stood next to us. I was standing back about a footstep from Brett and the boys. This lady could do nothing but stare at the boys. First at Dylan then she would lean in to look at Cody. Then I just watched as her eyes stayed fixed on Cody. I was going to say something but didn't. I mean don't stare - it's so rude! Ask a question if you really want to know something. The worst thing for anybody to do is stare. UGH! Thankfully we ended our trip on a positive experience. After our plane landed and people got off (we were waiting to board this same plane), I had the boys in the bathroom. This guy got off and set his bags down by our stuff. After he returned from the rest room he sat down and enjoyed a quick sandwich and waited to board our plane again. He boarded before us. After we got in our seats the stewardess came back to us with a pack of gum and said "the gentlemen that sat next to you at the airport wanted to make sure the boys had a piece of gum for take off". I was so moved. That was soooo nice of him. I wondered how I could thank him but we didn't sit close. So as luck would have it - he had forgotten his wallet on the plane and was coming back on the plane to get it when we were getting off. So I got to say thank you in person. Brett and I talked and we realized this guy reminded us of Brett's Dad. About the same height, age, had clothes on like Jim would wear, this guy was probably a grandfather himself.

Fun on the Strip!

We went to the strip 2 nights. With the conference going until 5 every day and with the time change that meant it was 8 our time the boys were so tired. So we went Monday night for our first time. They tried to walk and take it all in. It was over whelming to them. Heck, it was to us our first time too. These hotels are like mini cities and walking through them isn't quick. So on Monday, we got dropped off at the Flamingo Hotel & Casino. We were quick to find the outside landscape and take in their beautiful fountains and then of course - flamingo's! Once we found our way to Las Vegas Blvd....we quickly walked up 3 casinos to Treasure Island. We waited not long for the Pirate show - and they LOVED it! We had to hold them each on our shoulders which probably ticked the people off behind us but oh well. We asked if they had a viewing area for kids and they said no. So on the shoulders they went. They loved every aspect. The girls on their ship - the guys come from behind the crowd on another pirate ship - they squabble and then the girls sink the guys ship (literally, it goes under water) and the guys swim to the girls ship. Now for the adults enjoyment - the eye candy is fantastic! The girls are all beautiful and in bikini's and the guys are super buff, tan and (gulp) you get the picture! After the show we found our way to the gift shop where the boys got to spend their money and the whole taxi ride home they talked about the show. Once we got back to the hotel it was all pirates!

We went back to the strip on Wednesday night. This time we went straight to Mandalay Bay to see the Shark Reef. Dylan loves sharks - he was a shark for Halloween, he has shark swim shorts and towel, he loves shark week on Discovery channel (which starts Sunday). We tried so hard to show him a shark last year in Niagara Falls but the huge exhibit they spoke of - was um very small. One nice thing was 4 and under were free. We were given what looked like a tv remote and as you came upon the exhibits you punched in the number and it was like a little guided tour. So we saw a yellow alligator - that was cool. Some other fish - then we walked through the tunnel. The first tunnel was filled with smaller sharks and other fish. Then we came into a viewing area and we saw some jellyfish (that was cool as the tank was full of them), a petting area where you could touch a sting ray. So I did - the men of my family were all to chicken! What a cool feeling that was - they are so slimy feeling. Then we got to the next viewing area. It looked like a pirate ship had been sunk and at the front of the ship was nothing but glass and all of these much larger sharks, stingrays, saw sharks, a huge (and I mean huge) turtle. The sharks swam in front of us - and above us. It was awesome! Then we went back into another tunnel (same tank) and they swam around. The boys loved it! We loved it! Worth every penny. We got some good pictures and then of course they take professional pictures of you - and we got those too. I'll have to scan them.

After the shark exhibit we went and ate at a buffet. Las Vegas is known for their fantastic buffets and this one wasn't any different. The food was great and you could get just about anything. It was a little pricey - $26.99 an adult - luckily 4 and under was free. So we did luck out with their age. Glad we did it. We ended up getting a really friendly waiter - his name was Tom - and he was super funny. The boys had a favorite drink for the entire trip (chocolate milk) and he brought them 2 right from the start. Cody found his favorite - pizza, and Dylan enjoyed the meatballs - and then they both got a huge chocolate ice cream cone.

So that was our strip experience. If we had had an entire day to just do the strip it would of been better. We wanted to take them to the Mirage but the volcano was under reconstruction and closed down. So that will have to be for another time. The time change was tough and they were tired early. Next time we'll have to do circus circus but most of the rides are for older kids.

More to come later.............