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Vegas Vacation Last Day

Our last day in Vegas we started at Mandalay Bay's Shark Reef. Ava had been asking about seeing the sharks all week.

At first Ava didn't even want to sit by the touch pool.  But, I showed her how to lay on her belly and reach in to touch.  She was cautious at first, but finally towards the end of our visit she got brave enough to reach in.  When she finally touched one she yelled, "I GOT IT!!"  She said it was slippery.

After the aquarium we were ready for lunch.  I took her to the Rainforest Cafe.  When we first arrived there was a "storm" going on and she didn't want to go in.  Luckily it stopped and we were able to eat and leave before the next one!  She liked looking around and trying to find the different animals.  She also got to try her first slushy.  I was surprised she didn't really care for it!  After we ate we took a couple pictures in the photo booth and she got to browse the store.  Out of everything in the store she wanted a handful of small plastic snakes, lol.

Dino nuggets and applesauce.  She ate almost all of it too.

Next we stopped in M&M World.  She didn't want to watch the 3D movie, but she did get to meet the blue M&M!  I picked her up a little container of candy only to find out it was a deck of cards, lol.  So we ran back in to get some actual candy.

More character photo ops!

Then we went to the Pet Comedy Show.  It was a mix of circus acts and animal tricks.  There were dogs, cats, doves, parrots, geese, rats, goats, and even a miniature pony.  On the way out Ava got to shake Popovich's hand and meet his kitty cat.

After dinner we stopped for a cupcake and listened to music.

The last thing we did was go on the High Roller.  The high roller is an observation wheel that goes 550 feet up and one cycle around takes about 30 minutes.

We chose the night ride so we could see the lights.  It is an excellent view but I thought there would be more of a view of the actual strip and all the lights.  It was pretty neat to see the Bellagio Fountain.

Afterwards it was one final trip to the arcade before bed.  Ava is actually pretty good at air hockey!

The next morning we had breakfast and headed to the airport.  I don't think Ava really comprehended what was happening until we got to our vehicle at the airport and were driving home!  She started pouting and saying, "I don't want to go home...I want to stay in Vegas!"  A little while later she asked if we could go on another vacation, lol.

Overall this was a really fun first family vacation.  There was plenty of stuff to keep Ava interested.  She was so good with the change of schedule and honestly we have very few behavior issues!  She did great!!  Can't wait until our next vacation.

Vegas Vacation Day 3

On day 3 we started at the Mirage's Dolphin/Tiger Exhibit. 

We both loved the dolphins.  Ava even listened to the instructor led training session.  She said, "Wow they eat a lot of fish!"  The dolphin jumps were the best!

So cute!

We spent a lot of time in the underwater viewing area.  Ava kept saying, "LOOK I see one!" every time a dolphin would head towards our window.

Ava got to participate in the Dolphin Meet & Greet!  She was so excited.  But when the dolphin slid up onto the platform she got a little freaked out!!  I think it was just bigger than she expected.  She did pet it briefly.  She wanted to feed it fish but they said guests were not allowed to.

This is a leopard but Ava insists it's a jaguar, lol.

Checking out the white tiger.

On the way back we stopped for another fountain and some characters!

Ava was so spoiled on the trip.  Lots of treats!

Our final day of swimming and naps at the pool.

That night we went to Excalibur for the Tournament of Kings dinner theater.  Despite the show being extremely loud (they had to bring Ava ear plugs) we enjoyed ourselves.  Ava was really into the show.  I mean, where else can you scream at the top of your lungs and bang on the table?!  We were in the front row and the cast did an excellent job of interacting with Ava and waving at her.  Towards the end there was a lot of fighting and lots of pyrotechnics.  Ava started to cry so I had to take her out of the show for about 10 minutes.  Once the battle was over and the queens came out she was excited to return. 

Ava with a couple of the "kings."

On the walk back to the hotel we stopped at Hershey World.  Here's Ava and Jon with a 5lb chocolate bar! 

Vegas Vacation Day 2

Day 2 of our trip started at Circus Circus. They have free circus shows daily, so we played in the arcade until the show started. Ava loved the clown.  He did some juggling with a giant yo yo. She was a little bored with the umbrellas, but I thought it was neat.

Next we went to Adventuredome.  Since it was midweek, and most kids were not quite out of school yet, the place was pretty much empty!  Most of the time Ava was the only one on the rides. It was great and she had a lot of fun.  The only thing she didn't like was the 4D movie!  It was Dora so I thought she'd like it.  But the "effects" (things slapping your ankles under your seat, air blowing on your face) scared her.  We had to leave after just a couple minutes.

One of Ava's favorites was the roller coaster.

A close second was the Frog Hopper!

Games games games.  Ava wanted to play games the entire trip.  She just loved it.

All her winnings.  A pizza, a doughnut, and penguin.  She was so happy.

After Adventuredome we went back to Bellagio and checked out the chocolate fountain.

More swimming of course!

For dinner we walked over to Caesars to eat at Serendipity 3.  There are lots of nice fountains at Caesars Palace.

Ava never eats all her food so I had been sharing meals with her the entire trip.  Hot dogs, PB&J, chicken strips,etc.  I was burnt out on toddler food, so I was ready for this yummy crab cake salad!  Crab cake, grapefruit, corn, avocado, and greens.  Soo good!

More walking around Cesars.  Ava yelled, "Look a DANCER!!"  She was thrilled.

More fountains!  Ava was always excited to throw coins in them.

Most of our trip revolved around activities for Avalyn.  But this night I got to break away and see Mariah!!  LOVED IT!!  She was great and her singing was beautiful.  Wow, her high notes are just incredible.  She sang every #1 song she's had. The entire show was excellent.  Jon spent the evening with Ava (take a guess!) playing in the arcade!!

A little video of our days adventures.