Vegas Vacation

THE FLIGHT
We took a "vacation" to Las Vegas with the girls, Momo, Pa, and Cousin Jordan. We were very nervous about taking two one year olds on a plane for a 2 hour flight. Getting through check in and security took a little effort, but once on the plane, the girls did great. Emily fell asleep during take off while Abigail stayed awake the entire flight. She filled her time with reading, snacking, and watching Dora. We got several compliments from numerous passengers about how great they were on the plane. We were so proud of them.

Before boarding, the girls occupied their time by exploring the gate. Abigail loved to climb onto the chairs while Emily pushed her stroller, bumping into everything as went along.

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Waiting for the Rental

After the flight, we had to do the usual, ride a tram to baggage claim, catch a bus to the rental car company, and of course, stand in line to get the car. Pa was generous enough to stand in line for us while we had to keep the girls entertained. They, however, seemed to be the ones doing the entertaining. Emily played peekaboo around the post while Abigail decided to mop the floor with her belly.

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Finally...Rest

Since Abigail did not rest on the plane, she went 12 hours without sleep. Once we got to the hotel, we requested 2 cribs. They said they were backed up and it would be a little while. Well. some time later the man showed up with one crib???? He said he'd be right back with the other. 9:15 p.m. (11:15 central) rolls around and still only one crib. Since they are already almost 4 hours past their bedtime, we decided enough is enough and settled on trying to put them down together. They have not slept together since they were 7 months old, but we wanted to try. I guess they were so tired it really didn't matter where they went to sleep or even who was in the bed with them. They just needed rest!

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F*A*O*Schwartz

The girls had a blast at FAO Schwatrz in Ceasar's Palace. They both loved to pet he oversized stuffed animals and rocking on the big doggies. Their absolute favorite was the giant floor piano. Emily was a little apprenhensive at first, but Abigail jumped on and took off. In the video, you'll see Emily's first attempt at running down it. Don't worry when you see the end...no twins were hurt in the making of this film. She got right back up and took off on it again.

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Caesars Palace Fish Tank

The gigantic fish tank in Caesars Palace kept the girls occupied while waiting for some last minute purchases from FAO Schwartz. They had huge sting rays and various exotic looking fish. One of the sting rays swam right towards Abigail and then up the glass right in front of her. It was so big that she got frightened and tried to run away from it, but really had no place to go.

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Shopping

Of course, you have to hit all the really expensive shops while in Vegas. Emily enjoyed looking at the shoes.

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Dinner at a Buffet

We had dinner at the wonderful buffet at Planet Hollywood. The girls were being picky that night, eating pretty much only grapes and of course, they found room for ice cream cones. They were generous enough to share with Mommy even though I was not quite done with my dinner yet. Yummy...ice cream and cheese ravioli. Such Sweeties!!!

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MGM-Lion Habitat and Rain Forest Cafe

At the time we where there, the lions were resting on top of the glass arched entryway. It was difficult to see them, but the girls craned their necks to try to get a peek. More than the lions themselves, the girls like the gift shop better.

This video was inside the Rain Forest gift shop. There was a large elephant that moved and made noises. This fascinated the girls. They didn't know if they should be enjoying the show or terrified and run away.
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M&M World

Even though they are still too young to enjoy M&Ms, the girls seemed to like to see the giant M&Ms and do a little shopping.

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Flight Home

The flight home was more uneventful than the one there. Abigail did finally fall asleep this time though. As you can see, Pa fell asleep too. Again, we got tons of compliments on how well behaved the girls were.

There's Just Something About 80's Music....

Emily just loves 80's music. While I was allowing them to climb on the cushions, she hopped onto the sofa, A.K.A.Emily's Stage, and started dancing to Sledge Hammer. If you remember from a previous post, she also loves Michael Jackson. It seems we can always find something for her to dance to on the "Oldies" stations. (Aunt Jess, I think you'll really enjoy this one!!)

Splash Park

Emily running through the rainbow.


Abigail getting splashed in the face.

Emily catching the water from the buckets overhead.

Emily playing in the few sprinkles left after the rainbow stopped.

Abigail running from the water being shot from the water gun.

Abigail is trying to find where the water went. Back down the hole from which it came....


Emily first testing out the waters.

Abigail going from one toy to the next.

Abigail loves to stomp in the puddles.

Anticipating the buckets dumping their water.

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In order to cool off from these 100 degree days, we took the girls to the Splash Park not too far from our house. They absolutely LOVED it. They were a bit apprehensive at first, but quickly ran around exploring every toy. They played with the other children there and actually did not get upset when the water ran into their eyes. Like all the other chilren, the buckets were a favorite. Even though the water never fell directly on them, the anticipation of it coming down was enough to throw them into a giggling fit.

In this video the girls are coming over to Mommy and Daddy. You can see how much they are really enjoying themselves. After I turned off the carmera, they both gave me a big, wet hug.

Playground

The girls love going to the mall, but definitely not to shop. They actually dislike sitting in their strollers while Mommy and Daddy look through clothes. Aside from Emily pulling everything off the shelves that she can get her hands on and Abigail trying to pull herself into the clothing racks, they get pretty bored. So in order to let them get some of that one year old energy out, they love to play the indoor playground.

Pigtails and Basket Seats

Emily's hair is finally long enough to put into pigtails on the top of her head. Her bangs are so long that Mommy has to do something with her hair every day to keep it from getting into her eyes. She is really good about letting me take the time to fix it. Abigail's hair is still amazingly fluffy. She gets comments on it all the time. Mommy can now get enough together on top to get it into one bow, which she really likes to have. Abigail has also gotten into the stage where she likes to see how much of her body she can fit into any given object, whether it be a basket or small box, she always manages to get some part of her body wedged into it.

4th of July

This year we decided to tough it out and let the girls stay up WAY past their bed time to see the fireworks. We went to Kiefer on July 3rd to see their show. We decided to leave before it was completely over due to the imminent storm. The girls really like to watch as the fire

works lit up the sky. They also loved their glow in the dark necklaces Uncle Jerrad bought them. We thought Emily may get scare from the loud booms, but she didn't even flinch. We were scheduled for more fireworks at Nana and Papa's on the 4th, but we couldn't make it two nights in a row.

Back Home!!

In case you haven't heard yet, we have officially moved back home to Oklahoma!!! This past week has been filled with numerous family visitations and a lot of adjustments. It took the girls a couple of nights to get used to their new house, but now they seem to feel right at home.

They are both growing rapidly and learning so many new things. Abigail now has about 40 words in her vocabulary and Emily says about 15 including "catch it" and her favorite "up". Emily is our nature girl. She loves looking at and touching trees, leaves, plants, and grass as well as chasing any animal in sight. Abigail is very independent and likes to do things her own way.



They are interacting a lot these days. Daddy told me about them playing chase and when Emily caught Abigail, she touch her and then took off running in the other direction. They are starting to share everything from their fingers and food to their toothbrushes.

Zoo Trip

We took another trip to the zoo. This time Aunt Tracie, Aly, and Benjamin went with us. Mommy and Daddy were brave and let Abigail and Emily walk on their own(with leashes disguised as purses) around the park. Their favorites were the fish, the birds, riding the train, and of course, the fries and lemonade at the restaurant.

A Time to Dance...

One way we keep the girls entertained while they are in the car is to play Micheal Jackson's Ones CD. Emily can't help to dance which usually consists of bobbing her head or moving it in a circle and shaking her hands out in front of her. Billie Jean is one of the songs that really gets her going.