What Happens in Vegas...Stays in Vegas

Last night we had the pleasure of visiting Cory’s family in Las Vegas. We got to meet his 2nd cousins. Kayden (4) Sierra (2) & Matthew (14 mths) We hung out with Jamie and Cora and chatted about old times as we haven’t seen each other in at least 6 years. We had a BBQ then headed out into the cold city of Las Vegas.


My goal for the night was to take the family to the strip and see the water fountain show at the Bellagio and maybe head into NY NY to get an image of my roots. LOL.

As we drove onto the strip the kids were amazed at the lights and all the activity that was going on. Being that Cory grew up in Vegas, Cory was talking about how much its changed. That got Isaac’s wheels turning. We were trying to explain the atmosphere to him but we were having a hard time putting our words together. Finally, our 10 yr old out did us and said “Dad, is it like the weeds?” We both looked at each other in fear and said “Son, what do you mean?” Of course we were scared of what he was about to say but we were thankful when he finished and said “The parable of the weeds and the wheat” We looked at each other once again and smiled and said “yes Isaac, that’s a good comparison.” We are so thankful that our kids reflect life situations with God’s word. I praise God for that.

We watched the fountain show at the Bellagio to the theme song of Titanic. It was awesome of course and I felt like I was standing right at the front of the boat with Leonardo DiCaprio. LOL..not really but it was worth it. 

We walked through the Bellagio which is beautiful of course. They have a garden which is decorated for Harvest. Pumpkins made out of roses and tons of gourds and scarecrows. It was so pretty. The kids loved it.

In order to get from the Bellagio to NY NY it was more of a hassle to drive and I could see NY NY from where we started so I thought…lets just walk the strip even after I was warned to stay in the car LOL (Pastor Kevin) 

We walked into the Cosmo which was actually pretty cool. Very Cosmopolitan. I’m sure that Hotel is a girly girls favorite. Especially walking in and seeing the red high heel stiletto. They had a pink chandelier that I want for my house. LOL It’s super cute.

As we moved from the Bellagio to NY NY I thought maybe Isaac and Cory could ride the rollercoaster, but at $14.00 a person that was NOT happening. So we played some video games and I won Isaac & Bella 700 tickets (You can win tickets with the claw..amazing) and I won Bella “Clumsy smurf”. I just have to say, I have mad skills at the claw. I haven’t lost yet. My kids think Im a hero. 

We then took our hike to NY NY. Oh boy….this is where my title of “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”comes from because I want to leave all the nasty stuff there and not with me. Honestly, all Cory and I could do last night was pray for the things that happen down there.

Some may agree or disagree but since this is my blog, I get to plug in my point. Vegas has so much to offer for sight seers however, the garbage that is filtered through just gets in the way. When talking with Cory’s cousin she was saying that there really isn’t much to do for young families and I can see why. They are so wrapped up in the product which I get, but it makes it hard for young families to find things to do when you live there.

We didn’t walk far. Maybe 10 minutes however I had Cory behind me, warning me not to let the kids look down. Of course as soon as I heard that I looked down just to find business cards of women soliciting themselves. There were workers on EVERY corner in sweatshirts that said GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS handing out these cards. Just to make it better in case you didn’t take the card, they now have a new promotion plan which includes someone driving around a “billboard” truck with the images on the side and they just drive slowly up and down the strip. So as you are stopping to take a picture, you turn around and WHAM….in your face. You look up to the amazing lights of the hotels just to find large screens flashing the entertainment. I walked with both my kids under my arm and just talked about how cool the fountain show was, however everything is just so noticeable, its hard not to ask questions especially when your 10. We walked across a bridge, and there were 3 or 4 people, probably early 20’s. They were all playing an instrument or singing and they had a cardboard sign that said “Need $$ for weed” I stopped and looked at them, laughed and said “can I take a picture of your sign” LOL I couldn’t help myself. Cory and the kids were further down from me and I told him to stay there since I was the only who noticed it. Then a few feet down there were two people sleeping on the floor in fetal position since it was so cold. Then the questions started. “Mom, why is he sleeping there?” “Well, Isaac, he could be homeless, not having anywhere to go.” “Wow, that sucks.” Yes it sure does.

Then he noticed tons of people with the famous Las Vegas cups. The ones that is forever big and filled to the rim with their favorite drink of choice. For a 10 year old that seems like a pretty cool cup. Isaac kept asking for one. He wanted to fill it up with soda. Well…sure I would love to fill it up with a Caramel macchiato. LOL. I tried to explain that those cups weren’t for us to buy. Adults were buying them. He couldn’t understand it.

The questions kept coming and coming as we took every step. We had been in vegas 9 years ago and I can tell you that its not the same. Its 10x worse than it was. Its on every corner. That’s the sad part. I think of these girls. They are someone’s daughter. I think of all the people that have to be subjected to that and the images that stick in their head. It makes my heart sad and I now understand when I see the posts from people that live in Vegas wanting to save it. Media calls it SIN CITY for a reason.

This morning Isaac asked us about gambling since last night we could walk through the casino’s as long as we stayed on the path. You can’t really dodge the casinos when you are walking through the hotel. We didn’t talk much about it last night, but I guess it just took him awhile to process it. So this morning as we were eating breakfast we talked about gambling and how it can become addicting and sometimes gets people in trouble. He said “maybe the guy sleeping on the floor last night lost all his money at the machines” Yup, maybe he did.


So needless to say, last night we had to wash our brains of the crap we had to see and I am thankful to begin our drive to the small town of Winnemucca. Mountains, 4 wheelers and family time is more of my thing. If I don’t see the strip again….I can’t say I will be sad.