This year we just couldn’t get enough of Vegas it seems, so we headed back there the weekend after the Fourth of July (yes, I know it’s December, but I MUST at least make it to the girls’ birthdays in September before the end of this year so I can print the blog…) I mean, it IS only a 37-minute flight or 4-hour drive from LA, but honestly, I can barely stand it.

But we had a really great reason to go! My college roommate, adopted (by me) sister, and possibly one of the nicest people I know has a talented daughter who was competing in a volleyball tournament in Vegas. Since we don’t get to see them often (they live in Wisconsin and it’s cold there), we decided to crash their party competition!

Part of the fun was that our girls got to show their friend some of the places they had visited themselves for the first time earlier this year, like Meow Wolf and the Sphere. And of course, Bart and I got to hang out with one of my favorite adults in the world. Win-win-win.

Since it was ridiculously hot in Vegas in July, we kicked off with some high quality time at the pool. In fact, July 2024 was the hottest one on record for Vegas, averaging (yes, averaging) 111.5 degrees Fahrenheit. No joke. There were really only two options: Indoors or at the pool.

Thankfully, other than a few minutes outside at AREA15, we were comfortably inside at Meow Wolf.

We also learned that there were interactive cards that could be used around the space (recommend), which we missed last time, to get even more from the experience. Speaking of experience, there was a 21+ bar there we also missed last time, so it was great to have all three of those responsible girls together to allow us to check it out. Like the rest of the place, it was pretty fanciful, with kitschy drinks like the Meowjito, Orange Dream and “The Source”. Meanwhile…this happened:

Pretty sure they didn’t miss us at all.

And to top it all off, we got to see my friend’s daughter play some KICK-BUTT volleyball! There’s nothing like being young and seeing someone not too much older than you do something awesome. She’s a tall, talented player who gets in some great shots at the net–it’s like being friends with a celebrity. They came in third in the USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championship, a huge competition at the Mandalay Bay, losing only one match. Dang.

One evening we went back to the top of the Cosmopolitan hotel for an outdoor movie viewing on their roof. This time, the pool ended up being literally standing room only due to the heat, which seemed great until they turned on the lights in the pool later in the evening and you could see how cloudy the water was… NOT OK. Here’s a pleasant “before” photo:

I think you’ll agree that this trip was blog-worthy, leaving only one super important one to finish this year: The Girls’ Birthdays. While I work on that, enjoy a few more photos from the trip and wish me luck. Merry Christmas?