We just got back from a fun filled, 5 day walkathon, otherwise known as a trip to Las Vegas! Jason's company had a meeting and there was no way I was letting him go without me! Most of you probably didn't know I was even there because I am not one of those people who tags locations of where I am when I am not at my house - doesn't it scare you that you are basically telling the world that you aren't home, and are no where close? I feel like it's an open invitation to everyone to say - "Please, come rob me!" Anyway, I digress.
It just so happens to be our four year anniversary month and this was our very first vacation to take with just us. First trip on a plane with just us and no kids, first trip to Vegas as adults, it was Jason's first trip to a casino, and our first time away from Avery for so many nights. Boy, were we missing her when we got back.
Just a picture review from our previous anniversaries - Avery has always gone and stayed with family at lease one night away while we went out to dinner, but this was the first year we both actually went on a trip on a plane.
First Anniversary...
Second Anniversary (my hair got long!!)...
Third Anniversary...
And (Almost) Fourth Anniversary. Still not quite here yet.
Is it just me, or do we just keep getting better looking?
So, Jason had to be there from Monday - Wednesday. We decided to go early on Saturday to get a few more days out of it. Since we were paying for it, we had to get a hotel on a budget. Las Vegas on a Saturday night on the first night of Spring Break ain't cheap, so we ended up staying at Circus Circus. You'll notice, we have no pictures of us there. For a reason. I know, I know. We were warned. You live, you learn. Just for future reference, if you are ever planning a trip to Vegas, whatever you end up saving from a hotel like Circus Circus, you end up spending in transportation back and forth to the rest of the world down the strip. You also end up with a bunch of kids running around everywhere (strollers, with little babies, in a smoky casino at 10 pm with their parents drinking a 45 ounce margarita just isn't the stuff dreams are made of, folks.)
Monday - Wednesday "we were movin' on up!" to Bally's, which is tied to Paris. We felt like we were in a different country. I actually think Paris was my favorite hotel. I am not sure if it was the ambience, or the really, really cool casino with the beautiful ceiling (not that we spent much time gambling, but I loved walking through it), or the beautiful restaurant with the Bellagio fountain view. OR the fact when you walked through the casino, you weren't instantly hit with the smell of cigarettes. Either way, Bally's/Paris was a great place to stay with a great location. We loved it once we got there!!
This is us (drinking water, I swear) at the Venetian. We ended up going to see Rock of Ages there and it was an awesome show. The Venetian was gorgeous too!
If you like 80's music and aren't afraid of a little inappropriate language, this was a really fun show to watch. We got moved up to the fourth row, so that was a nice surprise!
This is Jason's first bet at the airport....
Greased lightning! I played the Sex and the City game, but sadly, it disappointed me. Mr. Big, you and your ways.
The Bellagio was obviously breathtaking. It has this really pretty butterfly habitat with these gorgeous gardens in the middle of the hotel.
This was Bally's/Paris from across the street...
And of course, the spectacular water show. I could spend hours watching this, it was beautiful and completely relaxing. And what's amazing is that all of the people stop what they are doing and just silently watch.
Me in front of New York New York - Sadly, I didn't get to go inside. This was our fourth day and I was on my own for a few hours and had the hardest time getting around. My feet and legs were absolutely killing me. I know what you are thinking, it's right across the street! Well, let me tell you. On the Strip, NOTHING is right across the street. You have to go inside hotels, get on an escalator, walk across a sky bridge, go into another hotel, find the exit and the find in the part of the hotel that you are looking to see. The hotels in Vegas are incredibly large and everything is really hard to get to. We saw about 15 hotels and still didn't see them all, it would have taken us days upon days. But, I've heard the outside of this hotel is the best part, anyway.
The Flamingo was also right next to us and I got to see the flamingos - I have to say, this was the coolest outside area. It was lush and had waterfalls and was close to the large pool. It was really, really neat. Unfortunately, Margaritaville was in this hotel also, but I didn't get a chance to make it there, either.
We ate at Mon Ami Gabi in Paris...
...which I loved because it bore a striking resemblance to the restaurant that Diane Keaton eats at in Paris in the movie "Something's Gotta Give...
Source: virtualtourist.com
Caesar's Palace was probably the most disappointing. Call me a spoiled sport, but I'd heard great things about the inside of this hotel. And I had to go see the Forum Shops! Forgive me, but it was basically just the Galleria with a much nicer ceiling. And the statue show? Ok, we got to where this show was, which was no easy feat, because Caesar's is probably the largest of all the hotels, plus the most confusing. We got here and saw these four statues. I am thinking, how cool! They move, this will be neat!
What we got was this...
Three animatronic "gods" and you could barely understand what they were saying to each other. I am sure back in the day, when animatronics first came out (I saw the Halls of Presidents in Disneyworld in the 90s, animatronics were cool back then) this was a show to watch. We waited 30 minutes for this show to start and when it was over, we were like, "Huh?" The Bellagio fountain show is worth walking and waiting half an hour for, especially at night. If you aren't already in Caesar's, and aren't already eating there or something, this is so not worth the walk or the wait. Just a word to the wise.
Anyway, after all was said and done, we had a really fun trip. It was tiring and my 23 year old self would be ashamed as we were quite literally in bed every night by 11 pm (yep, I still got it, folks) but I really enjoyed myself. I am glad we got to do it and it got a little vacationing urge out of my system for a while. And while I was gone, this happened...
Brooke cut her hair! I told her to cut it while we were gone and when I saw her tonight, I swear, she might as well have been wearing high heels, she looked so old. My baby is growing up.
Have a good night, everyone!!
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