Vegas, (with) baby (and kid)

It's funny explaining to a 4-year-old what gambling is.
me: "People spend a lot of money playing games with a chance to win a lot more money"
Sam: "That sounds great! then you can buy a lot of expensive things!"
me: "Well, but most people don't win, so they just lose a lot of money trying."
Sam: "So why do they do it then?"
me: "Well, some people think it's fun."

After spending the morning covering his ears against the onslaught of noise while trying to win tickets at the arcade at Circus Circus (made even worse by the fact that loud noises and flashing lights happened in response to the very acts that won tickets), Sam just nibbled a bit at lunch. We hung out in the hotel room for a while after that, "resting", and then J. joined us for the afternoon-- took a cab to see the Shark Reef, then another cab to go to an outdoor playground (best thing we did all day). (Hadn't realized that this is such a car-centered town! we should have rented a car. Oh well.) We had dinner there after Sam ran around for a bit, but he was uninterested even in the dumplings we got (!!). Then after 3 bites of pizza he barfed copiously all over himself and the seat. We cleaned him up in the bathroom, boxed up the rest of dinner, left a big tip, and made a quick exit. On the cab ride back (with plastic bag at the ready), we at least got to see the Strip all lit up. He seems better now, crashed out on the pull-out couch. Poor exhausted little guy. Let's hope it's just exhaustion and not a bug-- fingers crossed.

Bean is in much better shape, but then jetlag and long trip mean a lot less when you just sleep and eat and poop wherever and whenever, and weird hyperstimulating surroundings are not so bad when you see them snuggled against all the sensory familiarity of mom or dad. We'll see how she does tomorrow with J. (and bottles), since I'll be at the conference for a few 2 or 3-hour chunks.