For anyone considering a trip to Vegas, let me say from the start that this is a trip best planned for adults.

Are there family friendly things to see and do in Vegas? Of course. But if you plan to stay on the strip, understand that it is a very adult culture. Night and day there are people on the street handing out x-rated photos of girls and hotlines to call. In our taxi on the way to the hotel our first day, we stopped at a red light next to a bank of free publications with photos of every kind of girl and act you can imagine.

And if that doesn’t deter you, consider that there are tons of bachelor and bachelorette parties there. On our way to breakfast each morning we passed drunken groups trying to make their way back to the hotels. If you bring your kids to Vegas, be prepared to have them exposed to many things that might need explaining.

Having said that, if you are an adult, Las Vegas is like a grownup Disney World. The food and restaurants are excellent, you can play any game you can imagine, shop for days and never hit the same store twice and there are so many interesting sites to see.

We stayed at the Bellagio, an amazing luxury hotel on the strip. The casino was enormous (and clean) and there were no shortage of restaurants to eat in. Plus the service was impeccable. Make sure you request a room overlooking the fountains out front. Some friends of ours have stayed at the Paris right across the street and loved it as well.

Where to eat. Vegas is known for its amazing buffets, and breakfast is a good time to try them out. They’re most reasonably priced then ($15 to $20 per person) and you can select everything from omelets made to order to seafood salad to Belgian waffles with every imaginable topping. We also enjoyed Mon Ami Gabi in the Paris hotel. You can eat outside and people watch and the food was top-notch (particularly the french toast and home made corned beef hash). On the weekends they have a make-your-own Bloody Mary bar.

If you’re a sports fan, watch the game at The Pub in the Monte Carlo or O’Shea’s right on the strip. The Pub had better food (the sliders are amazing), but O’Shea’s was much more homey. Prepare to make friend because it’s always one big party there.

If you’re going out for a special dinner, consider Sensi in the Bellagio. Seafood is the specialty here, but the menu also hints at Italian and Asian flavors. The red curry of diver scallops featured coconut cream, chili paste, cilantro and Kaffir lime and was out of this world, as was the surf and turf beef carpaccio appetizer.

For a late night dinner, try BLT Burger in The Mirage. Burgers is all they do and each variety our party sampled was perfectly cooked. Our favorites included the lamb tandoori burger, handmade waffle fries and the hot wings, which were huge.

We saw the Terry Fator show at The Mirage. Fator’s ventriloquist act won “America’s Got Talent” and now he has his own theater in Vegas. Great show, PG rated, lots of laughs.

We also got tickets to a night of boxing at Planet Hollywood. Loud, crazy and lots of fun, if you like the fights.

We truly had a blast in Vegas, and if you’re planning a visit, I hope you do too. Shoot me a message if you have any questions and I’ll help, if I can.

This blog was written by my co-editor Cheryl Clemens.

As I mentioned yesterday, hubby and I just returned from five child-free days in Las Vegas.

Was it romantic? Absolutely! In fact, I’d like to share a few things about my husband of 20 years that I’d forgotten:

1. I miss eating breakfast alone with him. It was so nice to wake up and head out for the first meal of the day alone. We talked about the night before, made a few loose plans for the day and simply enjoyed waking up together.

2. I really enjoy holding my husband’s hand. He has huge hands, and mine feels tiny in his grasp. I’d forgotten how nice it is to stroll around, holding hands. Even when we’re not talking, the connection feels good. We have to do that more often.

3. My husband is a lot of fun to be around. I hadn’t completely forgotten that one, but being together 24/7 reminded me of how much we laugh when we’re together. He has a great sense of humor and always knows the right thing to say to me when I’m in a funk.

4. All right, this one is rated R, but I miss seeing my husband naked a lot. With three kids in the house, we’re always rushing to throw clothes on in the morning or after a shower. The kids respect our privacy, but as any parent can tell you, all it takes is one slip-up for a huge embarrassing scene to unfold. At the hotel we showered together, took our time dressing and were never in a rush to cover up. It was liberating and sexy and I really miss it.

5. Finally, after 23 years together, I still think my husband is the best looking guy in the room. It was fun to dress up in Vegas and go out at night. My husband has been known to come home from an afternoon out covered head to toe in mud from a pickup football game, but he sure cleans up nicely when it counts.

Tomorrow is Part 3: Where we stayed and what we did.

This blog was written by my co-editor Cheryl Clemens:

Hubby and I recently returned from five child-free days in Las Vegas with three other couples.

I blogged a few weeks ago about how much I was looking forward to this trip, our first extended one alone in years. I looked forward to reconnecting with my husband, having fun with our friends and exploring a new city.

What I didn’t expect was the ease with which I relaxed and truly had a good time. It didn’t take long to realize this was the first trip since I became a mother that was truly a vacation.

* I wasn’t the activity director for the group.
* I wasn’t constantly concerned that everyone was having a good time.
* I wasn’t cooking or cleaning.

I really just relaxed, had fun and enjoyed myself. One day we woke up, ate breakfast (with Bloody Mary’s, of course), went back to the hotel and slept til 1. One night we were having so much fun we didn’t get around to eating dinner until 11 p.m. (2 a.m. our time). We played in the casinos, saw shows and just walked the streets and took it all in.

It made me re-think our family vacations.

Now that the kids are older, it’s not necessary for me to plan everything. They can research and schedule just as well as I can. And no amount of my worrying is going to ensure that someone has a good time. If they do, great. If not, maybe they’ll enjoy the next activity. And I’ll never again take down time for granted on a vacation.

Most importantly, I’ve realized there doesn’t need to be something planned for every minute. Spending part of each day relaxing is a good thing. It clears your mind. And when you’ve had enough, you’re even more ready to go out and try something new and different.

OK, so much for the general overview. Tomorrow I’ll talk romance.

A friend told me about this blog at preschool drop off this morning. It’s called “If You Give a Girl New Cabinet Knobs.” It cracked me right up because — at long last — I got new curtains for my living room this weekend.

Because the curtains were more formal, I had to exchange the rug for one in another room in the house.

Since I still wasn’t happy, I wondered if I could take the rug back to the place I bought it 10 years ago to get a brighter color.
So I spent a half hour looking for the receipt.

Meanwhile the pillows I agonized over buying from Pottery Barn don’t match anymore.

So now I need new pillows.

And looking at the coffee table my husband built, it occurred to me it would look better in another room.
So now I want a new coffee table.

Maybe if you give me a cookie, I’ll just sit down in the kitchen and eat it and forget about the living room for awhile.

I helped chaperone a friend’s daughter’s 16th birthday party the other night.

There were about 50 girls there — most dressed to the nines — and a handful of boys in jeans and hoodies. Watching them interact, I was taken back to how terribly hard it was to be a teenager and at the same time, given a glimpse of what lies ahead for my girls.

As a teen, I was awkward and unsure of myself. In group situations like the party, I was usually on the fringe — not comfortable in my own skin and not sure how I fit in. I saw a number of girls that fit this description and I cringed for them. I wanted to go up, give them a hug and let them know that things do get better.

It also had me contemplating how my girls might fare in such a situation. Will they be the ones on the outskirts like me? Or will they be sure of who they are and their place among their friends? Or will they be like one girl on the couch, letting a boy touch her in ways that made me turn away? I sure hope not.

After the party, I drove another friend and her daughter home. They talked the whole way about who was at the party and what was going on behind the scenes. It was heartening. I know one thing for sure, when my kids are teenagers — I hope they are as comfortable talking to me as my friend’s daughter was to her. No matter how hard the teen years are, I hope my girls know that they can always turn to me.

This blog was written by my co-editor Cheryl Clemens:

That’s right - Memorial Day is only 129 days away.

Are you as nauseated as I am?

Once upon a time I used to be at the gym by 5:30 a.m., four times a week.

But these days I can’t seem to find time in my schedule. I go to bed between 10 and 11 and I’m up around 7 each morning.

Hubby and I have been discussing purchasing a piece of exercise equipment, maybe an elliptical trainer, so we can exercise at home. I also have been considering a workout DVD or TV program, but it has to be on a beginner level.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Any machine, workout program or routine that seems to work for them? Please let me know. If I’m going to start from zero, I’d like some input so at least I’m starting out with some info.

Please, any help would be appreciated. I don’t want to spend another summer wrapped in my towel.

Sometimes during the day, I find myself wondering what my kids are up to or how their school day is going.

Yesterday I got a small glimpse into the day of my 9-year-old twins thanks to their teacher — who happens to be technically adept and a Facebook friend of mine.

When I logged onto my e-mail to start work, I got a message that their teacher had posted something on my Facebook wall.

This is what it was:

Sweet isn’t it? I wish I could say things were this tranquil when they got home and started their homework. No one would have wanted to see a picture of that.

A picture on the front page of The Sun yesterday of homeless Haitians in a makeshift camp has me ashamed of the excess in our home.

We have too much food in the pantry, little free space in the freezer, so many toys that there is no place to put them and a house too big for a family of six.

This morning my 5-year-old made himself a big bowl of cereal and hardly ate any of it. He has no concept of the meaning of waste. This struck me as I was reading that troops in Haiti were only able to deliver food to half the refugees needing it.

But I was at a loss to explain it to Jonah. “There are people starving in China” never really worked for me — so I know saying the same to him would be of little use.

While I’m glad that we are able to live comfortably, I don’t want my children to take the luxuries we have for granted. I want them to feel compassion for the people in Haiti, and to be able to reflect on and be thankful for what we have. Is that asking too much of a child of 5, or 9 or even 11?

Yesterday was my birthday.

The kids were off school which I thought was a drawback but it ended up being positive because I didn’t have to get out of bed first thing. I can’t call it sleeping in, because I was joined by a rambunctious 5-year-old and a kitten in “attack mode” at 7 a.m. But at least I didn’t have to get up.

When arguing started at breakfast — I immediately put a halt to it by explaining that all I wanted for my birthday was no arguing. Amazingly, it worked — for awhile anyway.

After breakfast, I went for a run around the neighborhood and even the weather cooperated. Who expects a warm and balmy birthday in the middle of January?

For lunch, I pawned two kids off at friend’s houses and left two home alone so I could escape to a restaurant with my sister. I felt no guilt. It was my birthday after all. How can I help the fact that it coincided with Martin Luther King Jr.’s?

After dinner, I jumped up from the table to take my oldest to swim practice — leaving my husband with the dirty dishes and the other three. There’s nothing more blissful than sitting poolside with a good book. I could almost pretend I was in balmy Florida.

I rounded out the day by opening a half dozen gifts my 9-year-old daughter wrapped for me. I got a beaded necklace and bracelet, a shell and two pieces of sea glass she found at the beach last summer, a color by numbers and a mirror she decorated at Vacation Bible School when she was 5.

It was truly a day fit for a queen.

Our router died last Thursday morning.

By 9 a.m., I was on the phone with Verizon. As it turns out, they had to mail us one. You can’t pick it up at a nearby location — which would seem logical — the only option is UPS. I explained to the Verizon representative that I worked from home and needed the connection. He promised overnight air and suggested Starbucks in the meantime. But that’s not really an option with a 5-year-old in tow.

So Thursday afternoon I headed to a friend’s house with my lap top and son and did what I could. My hope was that the router would arrive by noon the next day so I could get to work.

But there was no such luck. It appeared that next day air might turn into a six day wait, thanks to empty promises and the holiday weekend. But amazingly enough, UPS came through on a Saturday — just after I resigned myself to being unconnected for the duration.

It’s amazing how paralyzed I felt without internet access. Not being able to work was a huge factor, but there was so much more. I had no idea how much I had come to rely on the internet and the instant information and connections it provides. I had hoped to collect information on Haiti donation sites for our Family Religious Education program on Sunday. I wanted to order some curtains for my living room. And I was at a loss of where my Sunday morning women’s running group was going to meet.

But on the flip side, it became blatantly clear how much time the internet was sucking from my life. Whenever I had a free moment, I was checking my e-mail or perusing Facebook. Without that option, I could balance the checkbook, tidy the kitchen and read a few pages of my book in those brief breaks. I even found that I was able churn out briefs for work so much faster without the distraction of e-mail and Facebook constantly at my fingertips.

But even though there was one small positive side to being cut off from the World Wide Web, I hope it never happens again. Instant communication is something I simply cannot live without.