Our trip started out with me saying to Magnus the night before we left, “We’re going to Vegas, Baby”, and he immediately bitch-slapped me and yelled…

“I’m not a baby, Beatrix is a baby!”

OK, Mags…noted!

The last time I had been to Vegas was for my bachelorette party about six-years ago and the thought of bringing my kids was far from anything I imagined as an enjoyable holiday. But…so is the life a “supportive” wife of a (former) rugby player.

This past Christmas I had the brilliant idea to surprise Alan with family tournament passes to the USA Sevens Rugby.

The USA Sevens is the largest annual rugby competition in North America.

As the tournament got closer, I started having a lot of buyers-remorse. My initial thoughts about going was that Alan was going to relive his glory days, get wasted, maybe naked, and leave me with the kids in this drunken cesspool at some remote stadium on the outskirts of Vegas.

.

.

.

We left Phoenix late afternoon on a Thursday to make the 4+hour drive to Vegas with the kids (moan). Usually I would never agree to driving, but flights were ridiculous ($500+ p/p) due to the tournament and some major conferences, so I simply couldn’t justify.

Road trips with young, newly, potty trained kids are always the most enjoyable *eye roll*. For those of you that haven’t made the trip, there’s legit NOTHING between Phoenix and Las Vegas, which in-turn kept Magnus thrilled. Every 30-minutes or so he would tell us he needed a pee-pee and couldn’t hold it – just, so I think, we would have to pull over on the side of the highway and let him pee on some cacti. In retrospect, that must be a pretty cool novelty for an almost four-year old.

We pulled into the strip just as it was getting dark and the utter joy that came from the backseat immediately reassured me that we made a good choice bringing the kids. All the lights had them mesmerized and Magnus was pointing out all of the small beauties that we would have easily taken for granted if they weren’t there.

Being a quick trip with the kids, I knew we wanted to be on the strip, but needed enough space that I wouldn’t want to stab myself in the eyeballs will dull objects, so we opted for a 1-br suite in the Elara…a newer Hilton timeshare that’s attached to Miracle Mile. It was fabulous! Full kitchen to store all the kids milk and snacks, and not having to eat out every meal with tired monsters is always a bonus. The room also have a full living room, full out queen sofa bed, and a projector – any parent with a toddler knows that this is M O N E Y! The bedroom had a Uber comfy king and jet tub that would fit like 5 adults (cause it’s Vegas) and was far too deep for the babes to use. The staff at the hotel was great, they provided a pack-n-play, which we housed in the bathroom, cause where else is your baby going to sleep in peace without her brother bothering her (sorry, Beatrix) and everytime we needed to grab the car or needed luggage help, they were on top of it!

The location was perfect also, while the Elara doesn’t have a casino or full restaurant, they’re attached to Miracle Mile, so getting to everything was really easy!

To Dos:

Casinos…just walking through the casinos was enough to keep the kids occupied! Some of their favs: Mirage for the jungle; Bellagio for the water show and the garden; Venetian Mags loves the gondola ride and the singers

Candy Shops – there’s so many here and, while we usually steer away from sugar at all cost, it’s Vegas, Baby! We loved Lolli n Pops!

Rugby Sevens. Sadly this is the last year it’ll be hosted in Las Vegas, but I was pleasantly surprised with how family friendly it was. The back of the stadium had a huge field with food vendors from all over, an army tanker, helicopter, and fire engine for the kids to explore, tons of games like corn hole and foosball, and everyone was so accommodating to having littles roaming around. Really looking forward to where they’re moving to next year (fingers crossed SD!)

What to Bring:

Since we were staying at the Elara, we didn’t bring anything other than a stroller and baby carriers. The hotel was great for all that we needed.

Stroller-since it was a quick trip we opted not to bring the double stroller even though we still have two kids that nap regularly. Instead we brought our City Mini, which is my go-to “umbrella stroller”. Being tall, I can’t use a traditional umbrella stroller, without being the Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Baby Carrier-I realized just before we went on this trip that Magnus had outgrown our Beco baby carrier and not wanting to bring a double stroller, I needed one big enough for him since we couldn’t bring strollers into the stadium and have two kids that still nap. I found one on Amazon Lillebaby that goes up to 50lbs. We’ve used it for both kids and both seem comfortable and have napped in it.

S O M A N Y S N A C K S!!!! No matter how much I preplan and pack a variety, I never seem to have enough or have what they actually want to eat. Constant #momfail