Fall Break in Las Vegas

For fall break, we packed up the boys and headed to Las Vegas for five days. We drove down Thursday and stayed one night at the Flamingo before spending the rest of the weekend at David’s sister’s house. It was a fun mix of family time, swimming, exploring Las Vegas, and getting outside.

After arriving Thursday, we ate dinner, checked into the Flamingo, and headed out for a night on the Strip. We met up with David’s brother and his family and spent some time together in the garden at the Flamingo. The kids had glow noodles and were perfectly happy running around and playing while the older kids and adults got a chance to visit.

We also rode the High Roller that night. It was fun seeing all of Las Vegas lit up from above, and the boys loved looking down at everything below.

The next day we took advantage of our one night at the hotel and went swimming. The hotel was nothing fancy—we mostly picked the Flamingo because it was cheap—but the pool was fun, and that was really all we needed!

We also ate at an Asian restaurant called Special Noodle and, naturally, had to take a picture of the boys sitting on the giant ornate chair.

Saturday we headed out to Red Rock. David grew up in Las Vegas and spent a lot of time hiking and bouldering there, so he knows the area well. We didn’t really follow a traditional hiking trail. Instead, we spent a couple of hours scrambling and climbing our way up the sandstone.

The boys were having the time of their lives.

Their mom was having a slightly different experience. 😂

At 9, 6, and 4, they are still learning that when a parent says something like, “Stop!” or “Don’t go over there!” while standing on the side of a giant rock, there may be a reason. They were climbing everywhere and loving every minute of it, while I was constantly worried that somebody was going to fall.

Eventually we made it all the way to the top. The problem was that getting up the rocks was a lot easier than figuring out how to safely get three little boys back down them.

David knew that if we kept going across the top, we should eventually find an easier way down the backside. I was extremely relieved when we passed another hiker up there because, in my mind, that was proof that there had to be an actual way out! I was even more grateful when we eventually made our way down and found a real trail again.

Meanwhile, the boys thought the whole thing was fantastic. After several hours of climbing and hiking, we never even heard an “I’m tired.” Apparently scrambling over giant rocks is significantly less tiring than walking almost anywhere else.

We also spent an evening at Opportunity Village for their Halloween celebration. The boys especially loved a big slide where they got to sit on carpets and ride down. It was a fun Halloween activity to add to the weekend.

A lot of the trip was simply about being with family. At David’s sister’s house, the boys got lots of time with their grandparents and cousins. They were thrilled to see everyone and were perfectly content playing and entertaining each other.

Isaac, especially, was in a very talkative and imaginative mood. At one point he and his three-year-old cousin were playing zombies. Isaac decided that he had been injured by a zombie and assigned his cousin to be the doctor. He explained that he had a black eye—which then apparently turned purple—and needed her to fix it. I’m pretty sure he was borrowing some details from when his oldest brother actually got a black eye after a scooter accident. He had an entire story worked out and was more than happy to explain all of it.

Saturday also included the BYU–Notre Dame game. Neil loves watching sports with his dad, so he was happy to watch football with David while the younger boys played together. My family group text was blowing up throughout the game with reactions to every big play. What a game!

By Monday morning, it was time to pack everything back into the car, say goodbye, and head home.

Five days gave us plenty of time for a little bit of everything—cousins and grandparents, swimming, Halloween fun, football, the Las Vegas Strip, and one slightly nerve-racking Red Rock adventure.

We’re trying to give our boys a childhood filled with good experiences and memories together. Hopefully someday they’ll remember weekends like this one: climbing rocks with Dad, playing late with cousins, swimming at the hotel, looking down at the lights of Las Vegas, and just having fun being kids.

And I’ll remember being very, very grateful when we finally found that trail down from Red Rock. 😂