Bellagio & More

December 20, 2010

Las Vegas here we come! The girls were so excited about visiting Las Vegas for the first time. We were a bit nervous about the car ride considering Alisha is prone to car sickness, but she ended up doing well during the long trip up and back.

Our first order of business in Las Vegas was to secure Tournament of the Kings tickets at Excalibur. It was difficult for the kids to leave the Excalibur gaming area for children once they spotted the "arcade" area, but we were able to entice them with the mere mention of buffet at the Bellagio. The girls have always enjoyed the food at Souplantation, but were blown away by the spread at the Bellagio buffet. Ashley couldn't wait to dig into dessert, so she tried packing as much food as possible in her mouth thinking she would reach her goal faster. All of us over indulged on the food and decided to walk around the hotel to speed up the digestion.

One of Bellagio's many highlights is the garden area. The theme for this time of the year was obviously tailored around the holiday season. The beautiful poinsettia, jumping water fountains, penguins, igloos, electrical train, flying reindeers, polar bears, giant candy canes, etc. filled the garden. We visited Rio hoping to see the show in the sky (performance frequency reduced due to cost / lack of demand), but ended up calling it a night earlier.

Performance & Awards

December 17, 2010

Ashley and her classmates sang a few songs during their holiday performance at school. The kindergartners are just too cute in their gestures while singing. For Alisha's class, students were recognized and awarded certificates for exceptional performances. Alisha received awards for achieving her "Personal Best" in her class (certificate presented by her teacher) as well as being the only student selected by the school district from her school to compete at the district level for her "Reflections" artwork (certificate and gift card presented by the principal).

Since it was the last day of school before winter break, we rushed to the girls' preschool to dropped off Christmas cards, caught up with their teachers and wished them well for the holiday season.

During art class, the girls worked with clay and finished their creation of snowman (Ashley) and Pikachu (Alisha).

Kristie's ESPN Zone with the LA Angels

December 14, 2010

Kristie's Foundation along with ESPN hosted an event for the kids to meet with the LA Angels. We had the opportunity to listen to three of the Angels baseball players along with Mike Scioscia, current Angels Manager read a Christmas story. There was a brief question and answer session; however, the girls are not as informed with baseball as with other subjects. The kids from Kristie's Foundation were invited upstairs to enjoy a quick bite and ESPN generously provided the food along with unlimited free play on all games for the children.

The girls quickly hopped on the race car arcade. Ashley had a hard time reaching the gas pedal, so she was driving in an awkward position. Alisha, on the other hand, was a seasoned driver and didn't take her eyes off of the screen. Later, they attempted shooting the basketball into the junior hoops and had a short workout. Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer, cheered the girls on from behind. As the baseball players made their way upstairs, we ran to them for their autographs and signatures. Prior to leaving, various companies donated a set of PJs, toys to choose from and bags of sweets.

Alisha snatched up the only Hello Kitty toaster and was jazzed about her selection since she has wanted that toaster for the past couple of years. Ashley grabbed the car key alarm and toy while staring at other toys. I reminded her of the age range for the toy she selected and searching for another toy would probably be a good idea. She reluctantly looked around and spotted the huge purple care bear stuffed animal. It was a riot watching wrestling and carrying the stuffed animal. She was all smiles once she realized she had gotten the biggest toy available!