Cuz its Vegas, Baby!

Yeah, we totally went to Vegas in January for the very first time. 

My mom watched both of the kids, which was so hard on me (and them).  So, we probably won't take another trip that doesn't include them for a very long time.

It was so fun, especially since we went with a bunch of our friends.  I loved all the lights!  We arrived on Thursday, but I was so sick from a cold that had started the day before our flight.  We met up with everyone and had a little sushi, then went home to sleep.  Boring.

The next day we woke up very early to start our Arizona/Grand Canyon tour.  (see previous post)  Then that night, as soon as we got back, we headed over to Tao nightclub.  A friend from work happened to be in Vegas, too, so we met up with him and shared his VIP area.  I have never been to a cooler club!  We were treated like royalty!  Slash from Guns N Roses made an appearance.  The dance floor would light up as snow fell from the ceiling.  There was a rim around the top of the whole club that had hired girls dancing around.  Some of the dancers were sitting in bath tubs filled with rose petals while wearing rose petal bikinis.  Even the bathrooms were amazing!  Completely glass stalls lined up and down the upstairs hallway - no central bathroom.  After locking the door, the glass would fog up to give privacy.  I didn't understand that... so I went in, pulled my dress up, never locked the door, and almost sat down.  I thought it fogged up just from closing the door.  Luckily, Cheri came banging over on the doorway telling me "NOOO!  I CAN SEE YOU!  LOCK THE DOOR!!!!"  I thought she was joking until a bouncer stood next to her and yelled the same thing.  Hahaha!  Thanks for saving me the embarassment (or some of it)! 

The next day, a few of us went to the infamous Serendipity for their reknowned frozen hot chocolate.  AMAZING!  Then we all walked over to Hard Rock Cafe where we saw the world's largest ipad.  We all played on it as we waited for our table.  That night, Ryan and I saw a Cirque du Soleil show.  I have always been a huge Cirque fan.

The last few days of our trip were spent visiting the wax museum, going to a comedy show, eating, and shopping shopping shopping!  The mall there stays open 24/7!  The shops inside the mall stay open until midnight.  They also serve beer and mixed drinks in the mall.  I am sure they make lots of money off of uninhibited folks over the late night hours. 

This is LA.  We spent quite a bit of time here after our flight to Vegas was delayed.

  Amazing shopping in Vegas!

This is the inside of the mall.  Every 30 minutes there would be a lightning/thunder show.  Amazing!

 First night out - we went out for sushi and then came home to sleep off our colds. 

(Ryan was really concentrating on keeping his eyes open, hence the very serious face.)

Only Ryan gambled, and it was just ONCE (at the penny slots).  His winnings:

We went to Tao (nightclub) inside of Caesar's Palace.  That hotel/casino is beautiful!

 The ceiling in Caesar's Palace

 There were real mandarin trees lining the hallways in Caesar's Palace.

 Tao, yeah!

 These are the girls that danced in the rose petal filled bathtubs. 

 A closer shot of the girls in their rose petal bikinis

 Our friend, Vidal, that just happened to be in Vegas at the same time.  (The reason we went to Tao)

Cheri, Rachel, and I each had a frozen hot chocolate at the infamous Serendipity.

 

 Look at all the deliciousness!

 An $88 dessert?  I don't care if its for 4 people... that is still $22/person!!!

 Yummmmm!!!!

Madame Tussaud's wax museum was pretty cool!

Hard Rock Cafe had a super cool ipad-type wall

The water show outside of the Bellagio was MUY FABULOSO!

Ryan and I reserved a date day for ourselves.  First we went shopping.  A lot.  Then, I surprised him and took him to BB King's House of Blues.  (He LOVES BB King)  That night we went to the Cirque show.  Oh man!  I love all of their shows!

 This is one of the Cirque characters here signing autographs.

 Vegas sight seeing

 Vegas weirdos

Goodbye Nevada and Arizona!