Upon my arrival to town, I was quickly introduced to a very bright and exciting city:
Las Vegas, Nevada

This little girl below is Cousin Molly.

If I return with any tears, we can blame her (she just turned one).

I found out very quickly that a main attraction to Las Vegas is "The Strip." It is filled with many hotels, casinos, and BRIGHT LIGHTS! See below:

Aunt Allison and Uncle Mike wanted to make sure that I got a chance to see many of the famous hotels....one that I enjoyed was MGM Grand:

The outside of MGM Grand has a big gold lion. If you ever come visit Las Vegas and MGM Grand, you'll be sure to enjoy the real lions inside at the Lion Habitat!

While we would love for you to believe that we took a quick trip to Liberty Island in New York, we really were just able to walk across the street to visit the Statue of Libery replica at New York, New York Hotel & Casino. To learn more about the real Statue of Liberty in New York, click here: http://www.nps.gov/stli.

New York, New York Hotel & Casino also displays a terrific replica of the New York skyline, which includes the Empire State Building (see below):

Many Las Vegas visitors enjoy the fountains at the Bellagio. I now understand why! It was a great show, where the fountains 'danced' in rhythm to music!!!

Paris Hotel & Casino hosts a replica of the Eiffel Tower, which is 7 times smaller than the real Eiffel Tower in Paris, France:

Below is a view of the gondola rides, offered at the Venetian. We were so busy walking up and down The Strip, we did not have time to take a ride.

A visit to the Flamingo Hotel & Casino led us to the Wildlife Habitat,

which included real flamingos!

We finished our trip to The Strip with a quick photo of the Stratosphere (the tall, skinny tower, way in the back). A visit to the Stratosphere provides you with a chance to ride 3 possible rides, located at the top (if you're one of the few brave ones to try)!!!! If you would like to learn more about those rides, click here: http://www.stratospherehotel.com/thrills/

Most people are not aware of all of the outdoor adventures available in Las Vegas. Uncle Mike, Aunt Allison, and Cousin Molly introduced me to one of their parks: Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. We had an enjoyable picnic at hike there.

Here's more information about Red Rock: http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/lvfo/blm_programs/blm_special_areas/red_rock_nca.html

I would also like to share one final thing about Las Vegas: the reason why my Uncle Mike, Aunt Allison, and Cousin Molly live there. My Uncle Mike works on the staff with UNLV Basketball. I just missed the ending of the basketball season, where the Rebels enjoyed another successful trip to the NCAA Tournament, but here are a few pictures from the season:

Here are the Rebels enjoying winning another Mountain West Conference Championship! To follow up on more about the Rebels, click here: www.unlvrebels.com

Here I am, in front of the Thomas & Mack (where the Rebels play),

saying goodbye to Las Vegas!