I'm an early riser so I was up long before anyone else. I grabbed a shower while it was available and tried to get the casino smell off of me. With all that smoke, my eyes were bloodshot and my asthma was acting up a bit. As everyone else started to wake up, I did a Starbucks run and suddenly realized Vegas is not a Lululemon kind of town. Whitney, Reagan and I wanted to drop in at a CrossFit box so I was in my workout clothes and I stuck out like a sore thumb. Vegas does sparkles. Vegas does skimpy. Vegas does kitch. Vegas does not do Lululemon.
Thanks to Reagan insisting we all watch Target Lady videos on You Tube, we yelled "APPROVED" any time we had to swipe a card for anything.
Mom and Katrina hung out in the hotel and chatted and when we returned from CrossFit, we did the same as everyone slowly got ready. Reagan had a date and we returned to the deli for lunch. The poor guy actually came in and met all of us and well, with our rapier wit, we can be a hard group to handle. I think he's still recovering, ha! Eventually, we headed back out to the Strip to catch the Bellagio water show. I love these next photos because you can really see how much fun we had just being together.
I'd like to think I'm funny, but it's when I get around my family that I know for sure I am funny and they are downright hysterical! We not only appreciate each other's sense of humor, but we can play off of it. Here's a prime example: We walked by a couple taking a selfie and Katrina offered to take one for them. They politely refused and I called over my shoulder, "Good thing because she steal cameras!" Without missing a beat, Katrina pretended offence and said, "Only every third one!"
At one point, I was walking with Katrina and asked her if she missed Vegas at all and somehow that morphed into how they almost moved to California. For various reasons, we were agreeing that's not where either of us would want to live. The guys walking behind us were suddenly quiet so we asked if they were from California and it turns out they were and we had just kind of insulted them. One of them asked where we were from and Katrina said we were raised in Iowa and he said, "That's where they grow potatoes, right?"
Ok, anyone who has grown up in Iowa has had their home state confused with Idaho which is nowhere nearby, isn't shaped the same and no, doesn't even have the same main crop as Iowa. We do corn and hogs. They do potatoes. Big difference. Maybe it's the mix of vowels that throws people off, but COME ON!!! Katrina gently pointed out the difference to this poor guy and I threw in, "There's that California education at work, eh?" He said yeah, that was true and we all laughed.
I laughed a lot in Vegas and even more so, I enjoyed making my mom and sisters laugh. 
Seeing the water show was at the very top of my Vegas wish list but unfortunately the walkway was pretty crowded by the time we arrived. It wasn't the best spot to see it, but I LOVED the music!
The song is called Footprints by Tiesto and it's on an album titled "A Town Called Paradise". I can't help but wonder if it's meant to be a tribute to Paradise, California which was destroyed by the wildfires. Whatever the case, that water show was amazing and that song is now my favorite.
Whitney happened to snap this photo of me when I looked over my shoulder at her during that song.
Pure joy!
Katrina hadn't seen the Bellagio Conservatory so she and Mom took off to go inside. Whitney wanted to try her hand at craps so we headed over to Caesar's Palace. We happened upon a Hell's Kitchen restaurant and since Brent is a fan, I asked Whitney to take my photo...
...when this random guy jumped in! There was some kind of military ball going on because we saw a lot of men in uniform. Whitney demanded that his date be in the photo as well so it was less creepy.
I reiterate the #MeToo movement has not yet reached Las Vegas!
Before we even got to the craps table, Reagan wanted to do a dollar slot, just for the photo op. One pull and she won $20!
Craps is actually an interesting game because the people working the table explain it all to you. There was a couple there who clearly knew what they were doing so we watched for a bit and then my sisters tried their hand.
Again, Reagan cleaned up. All told, she won $250!
She wore the perfect t-shirt for it too.
I honestly had so much fun just chatting with the guys who worked our table and one of the pit bosses. I asked if they actually ever say, "Winner! Winner! Chicken dinner!" and he smiled a wry smile and said he does if it's a big win. I asked if he's seen superstitious people and he had endless stories about rubbing heads and bringing good luck tokens to the table.
After we picked up Reagan's winnings, we headed back towards the Bellagio to meet up with Mom and Katrina and this time we got a good spot for the next water show. Katrina's friend Amy Jo had told us to be wary of people dressed up as children's characters on the strip. It's not uncommon for them to be sex offenders and they use the costumes as a way to get close to children. Because they are masked, police can't tell who they are. So when Mickey Mouse came over to say hi to Reagan, it scared her half to death!
That's another thing about Vegas- it seems like Halloween never ended!
The show was fantastic and that memory of singing along (I'm the one off-key in the video) and hugging each other is one I want to savor forever.
We found Mom and Katrina and headed back to New York, New York so they could get ready for the Michael Jackson experience. Mom and I just hung out and went to bed early but my sisters shared some photos of the night and I'm so glad they had fun!
At one point, an usher loaned Reagan his fedora which is the exact same kind Michael Jackson wore. They are made in London and cost over $200!
Whitney and Reagan had a really early flight the next day so we said goodbye in the wee hours. Katrina's flight wasn't until late but she wanted to see if she could do standby on an earlier flight. Thanks to Whitney, I was learning how to use Lyft and we all headed to the airport together. We had time for a leisurely breakfast before boarding.
The scenery out the window changed from this:
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