Thursday, April 12th

On Thursday we checked in to the HOTEL at the Mandalay Bay at 4:30am... Needless-to-say, we were sleep deprived. I couldn't wait to hit the pillow and just crash for a few hours. Dylan and Todd felt the same way because we all fell asleep right away. The hotel room was absolutely gorgeous. We had a suite, so that was nice. There was a living room area with wet bar, 2 bathrooms, a sleeping area and a nice tub/shower area. If you are ever staying in Vegas, I would definately recommend this hotel.

My parents came over to the hotel around 8am. They called to say they were on their way. I visited with them while Todd and Dylan slept. Around 10ish, Dylan woke up and was ready to eat. He showed grandma and grandma how he liked his milk and cereal bar. Actually, I think he was showing them his throwing skills and tossed his bar.

Grandma and Grandpa played with Dylan for awhile. They tried reading a book to him, but he wasn't interested. They did discover he likes his cars, so that kept him entertained. Dylan showed everyone how he could brush his teeth too. He just loves to be the center of attention.



Todd and I got ready and after we were done, we went to IHOP for some breakfast food... YUMMY. We were all pretty hungry. Dylan fell asleep at the table, so we just put him in his stroller. We then went to the closest Target and picked up some drinks, snacks, diapers and other essentials for the trip. The "Stoffel" crew dropped me off at my conference and they were going to site see the remainder of the day. They originally planned on going to the Coral Reef at the Mandalay Bay, but they were all so tired that they went back to the hotel and took naps. I wish I could have slept, but I was doing ok.

I went to a vendor fair, met a lot of people, and then attended two classes. On my way back to the hotel, I saw a slot machine that was calling out my name. The strange thing is I NEVER play slots, I am more of a table girl. Anyway, after a few whirls, I won $200. I immediately cashed out and was very happy. I called my dad right away and told him the good news.



When I arrived at the hotel and made it up to the room everyone was up and looked refreshed. We were waiting for Jason to come over. I showed everyone all the "goodies" I got at the fair and gave them some fun stuff. I think I literally picked up every pen in sight.

Once Jason made it to the hotel, we visited for awhile and then headed to his favorite pizza place, Metro Pizza. Amanda met us there after work. This was Dylan's first time meeting Amanda, so that was nice. To our surprise, our cousin Chris was also there. Amanda had invited him and we were all very happy to see him. The last time I've seen him was at Jason and Amanda's wedding. While we waited to be seated, Dylan roamed around and liked to go up to people and interact with them. He was also fascinated with the door.






I think "Tig-or" is ready to go.... he wants to show us more of Vegas



The pizza was great and our waitress was so friendly. She noticed Dylan was getting pretty anxious to go, so she brought out some dough for him to play with. Grandma showed him how to make balls, and knead the dough. I thought that was so great.

Later that night, Amanda headed back home to do some work and Todd, Jason, Dad and I went gambling. Mom watched Dylan for the night. I think she liked having him around and cuddling him.



Todd was the winner that night. I think he won $50.