Out, Out, Out!

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When you think of a weekend away with small children, Las Vegas isn't exactly the first place that comes to mind. However, when Scott first told me that his company were hosting a retreat in Vegas and families were welcome, my initial reaction was excitement. Since Jake had been born 22 months prior, we'd only been out of town once, and that was just a long weekend up the coast to Monterrey, which we cut short due to lack of sleep! It was time we took another trip as a family.

The Hilton on Lake Las Vegas was where we'd be staying. I instantly googled it and was soon drooling over the photos. It looked perfect and dreamy, a far cry from the usual Motel 6 type accommodation we opt for! Then we started to talk logistics. It was a 6 1/2 hour car ride. Jake hates the car and within about 20 to 30 minutes is usually shouting, "Out, out, out!" We decided that there was no option but to drive while he was sleeping. The plan was to set off at his nap time, drive for a couple of hours to the mountains while he slept, wear them out playing in the snow, and then continue to drive at night-night time. With a bit of luck, they'd sleep most of the way, and we'd check in about 10:30pm and have the kids and ourselves asleep by 11pm. Perfect! The only other problem was the meal plan. We were supposed to attend a formal company dinner at 7pm. We don't really do babysitters yet (I know, I know!) especially a stranger in a strange room, so the kiddos would have to tag along. But 7pm is Jake's bedtime. Kyla would be fine, but Jake had serious potential to be a complete wreck. There wasn't much else to do except cross our fingers and hope for the best.

In the week leading up to the trip, I began running around to friends and neighbors to gather snow gear, and the night before we packed our bags. Given that we are seasoned world travelers, you'd think we could pack light for a weekend away. Nope! We each had so much stuff that it ended up filling my minivan (even with the back row of seats down!) which was pretty crazy. Oh well, better to be prepared for anything, right?

Friday morning and we saw Daddy off to work as usual before heading to the playground in an attempt to wear them out and ensure a good nap. It pretty much worked. After a quick lunch we set off driving and, after the initial excitement had died down, Jake was soon in dreamland. A little while later we noticed that Kyla was asleep too. Score! About 30 minutes from our snow destination, Wrightwood, Jake woke up. It wasn't long before he was chanting his familiar, "Out, out out!" By the time we pulled into town he was starting to get really agitated and, given the lack of snow we were seeing, so were we! Luckily, we pulled over and asked some locals where we could find snow and they directed us about 2 miles up the mountain - snow! By this time, Jake was so agitated that we had a hard time settling him down enough to get his snowsuit and boots on. It was the equivalent of trying to cram and wriggling and slimy octopus into a wetsuit. Once you got one limb in, another would make its way out! We finally managed to get him ready and he looked so cute and snuggly, even if he was screaming! He didn't get happy until he saw the snow up close. Kyla, on the other hand, had been excitedly looking out of the window since being awoken by Jake, looking for the first signs of snow. She was more than ready! We'd been building this up for days!

We were actually in the Mountain High Ski Resort and there were signs all over the place reminding us that snow play was prohibited. Luckily for us, conditions were not up to scratch so the resort was closed. We had the whole place to ourselves! We spent the next 90 minutes or so sledding, making a tiny ice snowman, and taking little walks in the area. We got a little creeped out when Scott realized that there could be bears in the area, but then we decided that this mama bear would be so protective of her "cubs" that a real bear would have no chance against me! One really strange thing happened to me. While I was on a little walk with Jake, my foot suddenly felt funny and I looked down to see the whole sole of my hiking boot had come off and lay on the snow, leaving just a thin piece of material between my foot and the snow! Within 30 seconds, the exact same thing happened to the other shoe! I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. These were the boots that came around the world with me on my first world trip in 2001/2002 and they'd been sitting in a closet for many many years, virtually unused until now. I guess the snow was just too much for them. Luckily I had my knitted Uggs in the car to change into (see, all that over-packing paid off!)

By about 4:30pm, the sun was starting to sink behind the mountains and the kids were getting cold as they had snow inside their gloves. It was time to get going and find a fun place to eat dinner. As we headed down the winding road to town, we noticed that another part of the Mountain High report was open. We thought we'd just stop in to show the skiers and snow boarders to the kids, but there ended up being a cool little cafe overlooking the slopes so we hung out there until 6:30 or so. Time for the kids to get to sleep, and time for us to hit the road for the final 4-hour stretch to Vegas.

Things didn't exactly go according to plan. Jake slept for only two hours, but was luckily calm for most of his waking time. He again woke up about 30 minutes from our destination and was soon working himself up to an agitated, "Out, out, out!" Meanwhile, Kyla had only slept for an hour. We pulled into the hotel and within seconds two more cars pulled in behind us, both Scott's co-workers, and one of whom was Scott's boss. They simply got out of their car, grabbed a rolling suitcase each, and went to check in. We, on the other hand, took forever to get out of our car. It was a total wreck from having thrown snacks and toys back to the kids the whole time, and there was wet snow gear everywhere. We got a bellhop and he helped to pile everything onto the trolley. First the suitcases and the backpacks, and then came the stuffed animals and blankies, followed by grocery bags stuffed with snacks, a milk carton, and a potty perched precariously on top of everything. Not your usual Hilton guests!

We checked in and Scott parked the car while I sorted the room out for the night. The kids were running crazily back and forth across the room while I got the beds ready for the night. I guess the Hilton doesn't do cribs often. They gave us adult sized pillows that were so big and puffy, your entire head got engulfed into them but you ended up sleeping on just an 1/8 inch of material, the rest being fluffed up around you. It had SIDS written all over it. When I told Kyla she couldn't have a pillow, she had a meltdown so I caved in. It did make me a little nervous though. Poor Jake didn't get a pillow. The only covers they provided were, again, adult sized blankets that were thick and scratchy and completely inappropriate for a crib. We used our own tiny blankets. Luckily the air conditioning didn't seem to be working so it was quite hot so didn't matter! Our bed was similarly scratchy with marshmallow pillows, making it tough to sleep. It was kind of shocking for such a lovely hotel. I've stayed in rooms for $10 or less that were much more comfortable!

Despite being in bed by 11:30pm, the kids were not asleep until about 1am because of all the excitement. Phew! I could finally close my eyes and drift off into beautiful sleep... Minutes later, I was awoken by a scared little voice saying, "Stuck, stuck!" I looked over to see that Jakey had his foot stuck in the bars of the crib, poor little guy! I got him free and we were soon all finally asleep for the night. But only until 5:30am...

Jake woke up early but not so bright. Despite extended attempts to get him back to sleep, he refused and we didn't want him to wake up Kyla so Scott took him outside the room to walk around. Joy! I turned over and had just fallen back asleep when I heard the harsh blaring of the alarm clock. Some idiot had left it set after the last guest. I was not impressed to say the least! Well, we were all up now so it was time to get up and get this mini-vacation started!

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