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Kid-Friendly Spots in Las Vegas

March 5, 2018 by Katie Haller

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || 30 Kid friendly places in Las Vegas

Whenever I tell people that I live in Las Vegas, they are always surprised. A lot of people have a preconceived assumption that Las Vegas is Sin City and it’s no place for a family. That’s not true at all. I had about 5 months of life in Las Vegas before I found out that I was pregnant with Jack. Ask me what the best night clubs and shows are in Vegas and I have no clue. Ask me what to do with kids in Las Vegas, I could go on and on. Whether you’re a tourist or a local, there is a place for everyone in Las Vegas.

I have quite a list of places to visit. I’ve listed my favorites below. I’ve been to almost everyone, except for a few, but I’m sure I’ll visit them all soon. My husband suggested that I list them in order, but that’s just too hard to do. I did go through and rate my top 10 favorite places first, then the rest are in random order.

1.) Container Park
Container Park is by far my family’s favorite place to go. It’s a short walk down the street from the Freemont Experience (not always the greatest place for kids). We love that there is something for everyone here. Jack loves the slides and large blocks for building and Kevin and I love that we can get a beer and some yummy food. There is shopping, food, drinks, concerts, and even a Dome theater.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || 30 Kid friendly places in Las Vegas, Container Park

2.) The Linq

The Linq is a great little spot that is perfect for families. It’s full of fun gift shops, restaurants and what kid wouldn’t love a cupcake ATM at Sprinkles Cupcakes?

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || 30 Kid friendly places in Las Vegas, The Linq

3.) The Bellogio Fountain

Kids or no kids, you have to see a fountain show if you’re in Vegas. Jack goes crazy watching the water spray up. I love the beautiful view and atmosphere. It’s a great place to take pictures! I can never put my phone down every time we visit.

4.) Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
We love the gardens at the Bellagio too! It’s a beautiful garden that is always dressed up for the season. It’s a great place to go year round.

5.) Eiffel Tower Experience*
Can’t afford to take the whole family to Paris? Well, Las Vegas has you covered. The Eiffel Tower Experience is a great view for the whole family. We went to the top of the Eiffel Tower last summer, but what I really love to do is just walk around the hotel and check out the little shops and cafes.

6.) The High Roller*
If the Eiffel Tower isn’t a good enough view, try the high roller. It’s a fun way to view the entire valley in one of the world’s largest ferries wheels.

7.) The Park
We love the Park. There are plenty of restaurants that are family-friendly. It’s right outside T-Mobile Arena if you want to catch a Golden Knights hockey game. Plus you are only a quick walk away from New York, New York with a roller coaster and Hersey’s World.

8.) Town Square

Town Square is what my husband and I call a fake downtown. It has all the charm of a classic downtown, but it was all constructed in the 2000s. Town Square is a great place for shopping, food and in the middle of it all there is a park with food stands that you would find at a local carnival, a splash pad, playground and lots of fake green grass for your little ones to run on.

9.) Mount Charleston
At 12,000 feet above sea level, Mount Charleston is a perfect escape from the Las Vegas Strip. If you come in the winter, you can enjoy skiing, sledding, and other fun winter sports at Lee Canyon. In summertime you can escape the desert heat by heading to higher elevations for some hiking.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || 30 Kid friendly places in Las Vegas, Mt. Charleston

10.) Red Rock National Conservation*
Most tourist don’t even realize that only 30 minutes from the Las Vegas strip, you can find the beauty of the Mojave desert. Red Rock is the perfect place for a drive, family hike or a family photo shoot.

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || 30 Kid friendly places in Las Vegas, Red Rocks

11.) The Hoover Dam*

12.) The Springs Perserve*
13.) The Volcano at the Mirage

14.) Discovery Children’s Museum*

15.) Downtown Summerlin

16.) The District at Green Valley Ranch

17.) Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay*

18.) Nelson Ghost Town

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || 30 Kid friendly places in Las Vegas, Nelson Ghost Town

19.) Pinball Hall of Fame
20.) Boulder City
21.) The Lion Habitat Ranch*
22.) Cowabunga Bay Water Park*
23.) Wet n’ Wild Water Park*
24.) Madame Tussauds Museum*
25.) Seven Magic Mountains

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || 30 Kid friendly places in Las Vegas, Seven Magic Mountains

26.) The Adventuredome at Circus Circus*
27.) Coca Cola World
28.) Cactus Garden at Ethel M’s

Thrifty Wife, Happy Life || 30 Kid friendly places in Las Vegas, Ethle M's Cactus Garden at Christmas time

29.) M&M World
30.) Fall of Atlantis at Caesar’s Forum Shops

The best part about this list is that more than half of these places are free!! I’ve stared all the places that you have to pay. I think that you would be surprised just how kid friendly Las Vegas can be.

Las Vegas, My Home

October 4, 2017 by Katie Haller

It’s been almost 3 years since my husband and I found out that Las Vegas was going to be our new home. With that anniversary approaching, plus the recent tragedy that happened this week, I felt inspired to write a post dedicated to my current home, Las Vegas, NV.

When I first told people that we were moving to Las Vegas, I got some mixed reactions. Some people were excited for us, while others told me that they couldn’t see me living here. People asked me if they had neighborhoods that weren’t on the strip and they asked me if we were going to be gambling all the time. Now when I go home to visit my family, the TSA guy makes a joke about how I live in Las Vegas, but vacation in Detroit and the person sitting next to me on the plane is usually amazed that I am a teacher in Las Vegas and they actually have schools here. When I fly home, the airplane is full of passengers who are usually cheering when we land and ready to start their vacations. All I’m thinking about is how I have to go back to work the next day.

We were never planning on moving to Las Vegas. We were supposed to move to Florida, but then Kevin found out that he would be based in Las Vegas. Instead of trying to bid for Florida again, we decided that we would go with Las Vegas. Kevin kept telling me how nice the weather was and how much I would like it. I trusted him and with never vacationing in Las Vegas, I moved here with an open mind. I found a job right away, made friends and quickly became familiarized with the area. Exactly one year after moving here, I gave birth to Jack. My labor and recovery rooms both had a view overlooking the strip and we joked about how our baby had a strip view for his first days of life.

Although the summers are very hot, I’d say 9 months out of the year are pretty much perfect. I don’t even mind the cooler winter days. My child may never know what frost, dew or slush is, but we are only 40 minutes away from some pretty great sledding and skiing on Mt. Charleston. We feel like we can never run out of things to do. We are close to so many national parks and if we want to go to the ocean, we are only a 4-hour drive.

Kevin made a comment to me the other day after looking at all the “Pray for Vegas” pictures on Facebook. He said that the Las Vegas skyline describes Vegas perfectly. There is a little bit of every city in our skyline. A little of the New York skyline, a little bit of Paris, Rome, Cairo and more. Not many people are actually born and raised in Las Vegas. Most of the people living here are from all over the country and world, that’s why our skyline is so perfect for our city. Las Vegas is a little bit of everyone and so many people love this city. In the last 3 years, Las Vegas has become my home and no matter where life takes my family and me, Las Vegas will always have a special place in my heart.

Here are some pictures from just a few of our many family outing out and about in our town, Las Vegas.

Our first night out on the strip when we first moved to Vegas

I took this picture 2 weeks ago when we were walking around the strip on Sunday after getting lunch.

2 months ago we went to the top of the Effie Tower.

A favorite family spot for us is always The Linq.

Last fall at the Bellagio. This is one of my favorite spots.

Eating Graham crackers on the High Roller last spring.

My little Vegas born baby checking out the strip

Family photo.

Please pray for the victims and their families of the horrible mass shooting this week. Luckily, I did not know anyone personally who was a victim, however our neighbors, friends and co-workers know people that were effected. If you would like to help the victims of this tragedy, you can click HERE to the go fund me account to donate. Thank you for all your love and support this week!

Michigan Trip

July 10, 2017 by Katie Haller

Hey everyone! I feel like I’ve been out of the loop for a while because I was on vacation and away from my computer for a week. Now I’m back and just trying to get back into my normal routine.

Last week, my family and I spent a week in Michigan visiting our family. Ever since we moved to Las Vegas, our number one destination has been Michigan. We have been trying to go back twice a year so we can spend time with both sides of our family and share Jack with everyone. I always thought that Kevin and I were so lucky because our family is all in the same place, but ever since we moved away, I find it to be difficult to have all our family in one place. We get one week to squeeze in a visit with everyone and it can get a little overwhelming at times, especially with a baby. That’s why this trip was our last Michigan trip for a while. We decided we want to take some time to visit some other places this next year and hopefully we will have lots of visitors come out our way.

It was our 3rd trip to Michigan with Jack, but it was our first time going back on Kevin’s airline and traveling with our flight benefits as a family. If you have ever traveled standby, you understand how nerve-racking it can be. We totally lucked out though and ended up making it onto 2 initially full flights. On top of making the flights, Jack was the best little traveler that he’s ever been. I was so proud that I wasn’t the one on the flight with the screaming child.

We flew into Grand Rapids, MI, because that’s the closest airport to our families that Kevin’s airline flies to Vegas from. I actually prefer the Grand Rapids airport. It’s smaller than DTW and it’s easier to get around with a baby. They even have a kid’s playroom that Jack loved.

Our trip was pretty non stop and the week flew by so fast. We visited both sides of our families. Jack got to see grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. In our short week, we squeezed in a trip to the Detroit Zoo, visited a couple lakes, the Yankee Air Museum, a tour of downtown Detroit and a 4th of July parade. I even got to be reunited with my favorite Michigan beer that we can’t get out in Nevada.

Here are a few pictures from our week.

Excited to go for a ride on daddy’s airplane!

We have grass in our yard, but it doesn’t compare to the big grass yards in Michigan!

First time at the lake. He had a blast until he tried to eat the sand.

He loved playing in the baby pool.

4th of July

He wasn’t sure what to make of the boat.

The penguin exhibit at the zoo was the best! It put a huge smile on my little guy’s face.

Detroit riverfront

Best airplane trip ever! Jack slept half the flight.

Shop Jack’s wardrobe. A lot is on sale right now!

It’s always nice going home, but it’s also always nice coming back to my other home. I only wish we would have had more time to see more people, but there’s always next time!

Do you live away from family? Does anyone else spend their summer vacations in their home state?

Nelson Ghost Town

June 21, 2017 by Katie Haller

One of the best things about living in Las Vegas is that there is always something to do. We never seem to run out of new places to explore. Last weekend, my husband suggested we take a drive out to a ghost town. On Saturday morning we packed up Jack and headed to Nelson Ghost Town before the heat really set in.

Nelson was a gold mining town in the 1800s and early 1900’s, with a bit of a dark history. There are a few original buildings still standing, along with lots of antiques to create the perfect ghost town atmosphere. I felt like I was on a movie set. A lot of people go out to Nelson for photoshoots, and I completely see why. The town makes the perfect backdrop for photographers.

Here are some of the pictures my husband and I took. I didn’t get as many as I would have liked, because Jack was keeping me extremely busy.

If you’re ever in Las Vegas and looking for something to do that’s different than the typical strip activities, I definitely recommend taking a trip out to Nelson. It’s about a 45-minute drive from the strip, just south of Boulder City. It’s worth the drive, I would just recommend getting there early in the morning if you are going during the summer months so you can beat the heat.

Family Weekend Trip to LA

October 12, 2016 by Katie Haller

Last weekend we went on a weekend trip to California to visit family. It was Jack’s first road trip and he did great! I always feel a little overwhelmed traveling with a baby, but I think I’m slowly getting used to it. You can’t let having children stop you from doing all the fun things that you would like to do.

On Friday morning we left our house extra early because we wanted to make a quick stop at Seven Magic Mountains. It’s a piece of artwork that is in the middle of the desert. It’s defiantly a great photo stop if you’re ever in Las Vegas. We got there right after sunrise so the sun was hitting the colorful rocks perfectly, making for some awesome pictures. On Saturday we spent the morning at the beach in Santa Monica. I love the ocean and I was so excited to take Jack to the beach for the first time. He loved watching and listening to the waves, but he didn’t love getting his feet wet. Here are just a few pictures from our trip.

I just love those tall skinny palm trees.

Family picture at the beach.

Sleeping on the drive home.

I look forward to many more family trips like this.

Settling into a New Life

March 7, 2015 by Katie Haller

It’s been a while since my last post. I don’t like going that long in between posts, but I’m sure you all understand that my life has been a little busy this past month. So here’s a catch-up!

Kevin and I are settling very nicely into our new life here in Nevada. When I last posted, I was living out of my suitcase, stuck in the rainy northwest, waiting for my new life to start. A lot has changed since then!

I was fortunate enough to get a new job right away. This was the first job I applied to, the first and only one I interviewed for, and luckily it was my first choice. I’m back in a classroom teaching preschool. I couldn’t be happier about that! It was a bit stressful at first starting my new job because I started working only a few days after we returned from Washington, leaving us very little time to get our lives together here. We needed to find 2 cars and a place to live and we only had a week to do it. We learned that Vegas is different than Michigan, and we were going to have to re-evaluate the way we live our lives on a budget. In Michigan, we had it down. We lived in an older apartment with cheap rent, in a nice safe community. We drove older used cars with no car payments and cheap car insurance. Once we started our search here in Las Vegas, we quickly learned that we would have to change our ways in order to save money in the long run. The apartments were not what we were looking for and were overpriced. The used cars were junk and Craigslist took us to some pretty shady parts of town.

After 2 days of being extremely let down with our findings, we had to seriously re-think our plan, or at least Kevin did, I just supported him. We ended up getting pretty lucky. After a fire alarm at the, oh so lovely airport hotel we were staying at, (I could not wait to get out of that place) woke us up at 3 in the morning, Kevin did some major searching online for places to live. He ended up finding the perfect condo for us, in a great area, right in our price range. We ended up getting the place and moving in only a few days later. (The landlord was extremely impressed with Kevin’s great credit.) As for our cars, we ended up doing something we never thought we would do. We went to the Ford dealership and leased 2 of the cheapest, most practical cars they had. Now we have monthly car payments, but after our horrible car repairs back in Michigan, (we were way to close of friends with our local mechanic) it’s worth it to have the peace of mind of a full factory warranty on our vehicles.

In no way is moving cheap. It’s the most money that we have ever spent all at once, besides paying off my student loans. The thing is that we wouldn’t have been able to do this entire move without our saving these past few years. We lived small, spent small and saved big. Now we are finally getting to feel the benefits of our savings. I’m grateful to be married to an over-planner.

I have to say that our move has had it’s ups and downs, but in the end it’s been a great experience. It definitely has brought Kevin and I closer together and made us a stronger couple.

Kevin and I on Valentine’s Day at Red Rock Canyon

As for Thrifty Wife, Happy Life, I’m searching everyday for new ways to save money in my new life. My wardrobe post will be changing a bit, due to the weather and the casual dress code at my new job, but I still plan to make the weekly post…. once I adjust to my new job of course. I’ve been really into cooking in my new kitchen, so look for some recipes soon. Of course, I’ll be shopping soon and looking for some fabulous deals (once I recover a little from the expensive of my move). There are 3 thrift stores down the road that I can’t wait to check out and I have all my favorite stores close by, including Target! I can’t wait to do some shopping at new stores like Ross and Nordstrom Rack, which I didn’t have back home. I should have plenty of things to blog about. I can’t wait to share!

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