What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

So I guess I won’t be able to tell you about our trip. Sorry.


Only kidding!


Jason and I had a great time!!! My parents got here Saturday afternoon. Zachary was so excited to see them. He was a little confused because he thought we were meeting them at the airport and then getting ON the plane. Sunday morning Jason and I drove to New Orleans to fly out. It was a direct flight from there. We flew Southwest, which we’d never done before, and it was interesting the way they board. You don’t get assigned seats you just get a number as to when you can board. Group A goes first (1-60), then group B (1-60) and then group C. It wasn’t that bad but then we were never Group C #60. We did end up sitting by some drunk dude who had apparently partied until five that morning, gotten two hours of sleep and then got a speeding ticket on the way to the airport. He proceeded to have two bloody marys on the flight and asked for a third but the flight attendant cut him off. Thank goodness. He passed out about half an hour before we landed but not before telling us that he was flying home on Thursday as well. We started concocting our plan right then and there as to how not to sit next to him on the way home.

We landed and took a very expensive taxi ride to the hotel. We stayed at the Bellagio. Very very nice. We told the guy at the registration desk that it was our first time in Vegas and he hooked us up with a great room. It was on the ninth floor smack dab in the middle of the hotel overlooking the Bellagio fountains & the Paris casino across the street. You can turn the TV on a certain channel and it plays the music that the fountains are ‘dancing’ to. The fountains came on every half an hour so we enjoyed watching them throughout the day. They were especially pretty at night.

Our view.

Our view at night.

On Sunday night we had tickets to “O” which is a Cirque du Soleil show that was at our hotel. We had amazing seats right in the middle and the show was phenomenal!!! Anyone going to Vegas has got to check it out. We gambled a little before the show. Didn’t really lose any money but didn’t really win any either. Monday we just did sightseeing. We walked through all of the shops at the forum in Caesars Palace and it was so so nice. I could have really done some damage there but since Jason’s not a big shopper I didn’t spend too much money. Monday night we went over to the Rio casino and saw the Penn & Teller show. We ended up getting really good seats there as well. The very first two seats in the whole theater so we were right up front by the stage. It helped us figure out some of the magic tricks!! They were very entertaining.

Jason at the bar on top of the Rio casino.

On Tuesday we did some more sightseeing. We traveled all the way to the Stratosphere which was at the end of the strip. At the top (and you can see it’s really high!) there are three roller coasters. I was honestly feeling nauseous that day (and no it’s not because I was dreading going on these rides) so I didn’t want to push my luck and get sick all over myself by riding one. As you can see from the pictures one of them is so stinking scary I think someone could have honestly offered me a million dollars and I still wouldn’t have gone on it. I was getting sick just watching these people ride it. Jason didn’t want to go on any of them by himself so neither of us went. Can’t say I’m all that broken up about it if you want to know the truth.

The view of the strip from the Stratosphere.

This is that CRAZY ride that pushes you over the side. Can you imagine sitting in the front!

This is another ride that goes over the side of the Stratosphere. It doesn't look that bad until......
........it starts to move. Here is a better picture of how it dangles over the side.
This is the one, had I not been feeling nauseous, that I would have agreed to go on. It shoots you straight up in the air and then drops you.
We did manage to ride a few roller coasters though. The first one was at New York New York. It was pretty neat although extremely jarring. The second one (which I didn’t get a picture of) was a Nascar one that lasted maybe 45 seconds but it was a lot of fun (and a lot smoother).

On Tuesday I did manage to play my favorite slot machine (Wheel of Fortune). I won a little and lost a little and basically came out even.

Tuesday night we decided to try out a Mexican restaurant that we had passed by on our way to NYNY. It was called Diablos and it was probably one of the best Mexican restaurants I've ever eaten at. And I know Mexican restaurants!! Afterwards we walked around a bunch of the casinos trying to decided where to play blackjack. Most of the tables were $10 minimum bet and we wanted to find a $5 table. We went to Wild Bill's or something like that. Not the nicest of casinos but they were advertising $3 Corona's so we gave it a shot (after spending $8 a beer at Diablos - $3 sounded like a bargain). Of course there was no one at the Corona cart when we got there but we did find a $5 table. We gambled, we lost, end of story. Here's a picture of Diablo though!!
Wow this post is really long isn't it! Anyways, on Wednesday we went to the Tennis Channel Open which is a small tournament they hold every year in Vegas. It was SUPER windy and chilly that day. As you can see below. We had left to go eat lunch and I made Jason stop at Kmart so I could buy a blanket. Don't worry, I wasn't the only one. I got the idea from all the other people who came prepared with their own blankets.
There weren't a whole lot of really big name players there but there were a few I was hoping to see play. Marcos Bagdatis was one and Marat Safin was another. We lucked out, well I lucked out - I'm sure Jason didn't particularly care, because they were playing against each other in doubles. Here is Bagdatis
And here is Safin.
Safin was the main one I wanted to see (besides the Brian brothers whom we didn't get to see). I will admit to a small crush. After it was over we were walking out of the tennis center and we walked right by Safin. I am still kicking myself for not asking him for a picture.

We are much colder that we look.

Wednesday night we just took it easy. We were exhausted from all of the walking we had done the two previous days. We tried going to ESPN Zone to eat and watch the Aggies play but we couldn't get a table in front of the game. We ate there anyways and then headed back to the hotel to go to bed early. We flew out the next morning and as we were sitting waiting to board the plane guess who sits down right next to Jason. Yep, the drunk dude. He was with a friend and hadn't said anything to us so we casually got up and walked around a bit and sat down some place else. Luckily he got on the plane first, so as I was walking down the aisle of the plane I made sure not to make eye contact and walked to the back of the plane. We got home late Thursday afternoon and were so excited to see the kids. We missed them so much. Zach was very excited to see us and Addison was a bit confused I guess. She just stared at us and then at my parents for a while. It was pretty funny. We had such a good time. We want to thank my parents so much for watching the kids while we were gone. They had such a good time with you. I can't wait for the three of us to come to KS in June.