Viva Las Vegas

Jimmy and I had a Vegas trip planned for about 6 mos. We almost didn't get to go due to some flood damage in our house. But once the experts were involved and the drying process had begun, there was really nothing for us to do but sit and wait. So we decided to skip town after all. Our friend Adrianna stayed at our house on Sunday night and watched the girls for us till Wed afternoon.



We drove up to Vegas and unfortunately hit some traffic caused by a fatality accident. So we had to re-route a different way through the mountains and it took us forever to get there. This was no easy drive. Uphill with only one lane each way, winding through the mountains at night, with very little light, no breakdown lane, and very tight turns. In fact look at the GPS:



When we did we checked into our suite at the Westgate Resort Flamingo Bay. Here are some photos of our suite.



After getting into the suite (around 1am) we ended up staying in. We unpacked and poured some drinks and stayed up till about 4:30am talking, telling stories, and singing duets karaoke style to our favorite songs. It was fun! The funniest part of the night though was around 5:30am when I was sleeping and heard a large crash and a thump. I shot up out of bed but couldn't see Jimmy. I did however hear some groaning and found him in the fetal position in the jacuzzi tub in our room. Because he was in a strange room where it was pitch dark and after having some drinks, he had walked right into the tub on his way to the bathroom and hit it hard enough to topple over and go right in. Once we knew he was ok, we couldn't help laughing. Thankfully all he had was some bumps and bruises.

The next day we slept in LATE and were really in no rush to do anything. We finally hit the strip around 1 to go to the Wax Museum. I had wanted to go there for SO long but Jimmy could've cared less. I knew we would get some cool photos and that it could have been really funny if we both got into it. He was a lot shier than me about it, but we ended up getting some great shots anyway. Here they are. Enjoy!

At the entrance to Madame Toussaid's Wax Museum:


Mmm Love me some Brad and George!! :)



And our personal favorites! ha ha


And my personal favorite:


After the Museum Jimmy stole my camera to play Paparazzi himself. See it may just catch on. Ha! Then we had a cozy lunch at The Venetian. MMM... Italian Pizza.



After we headed up the strip a little ways to check out the new Planet Hollywood Westgate. Being Westgate timeshare owners at Disney in Florida means we can trade our week to stay at this resort in Vegas and I have to admit it looked pretty amazing! Here are a few of my shots and a few I stole from the hotel.




Hmmm... Maybe for our girls weekend next May, I'll have to book it????

Later that night we hit the strip and had dinner at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. We also hit a casino and played our favorite game... CRAPS! Man I wish they had this table game in Arizona. Hmmm... maybe I don't actually. lol. We also hit a little hip hop club called The Rockhouse which was on the strip. And then headed back to our hotel to call it a night. I got only one photo that night with my phone. But damn is it one of my favorites (except that it is blurry). Cant wait to see this in person for real someday...



The next day we laid low at the resort. We got some lunch. We hit the pool and relaxed for a bit. And then took our time getting ready for our last night in Vegas. Here we are ready to head out.



This time we did bring the camera, cause I really had withdrawals not having it with me the night before. Our first stop was Isla Mexican restaurant and tequlia bar in the Tropicana. I had the YUMMIEST dinner here. Poor Jimmy had a problem with his meal and ended up eating nothing but chips and salsa. :( The waiter snapped this photo of us:



The mermaid ship and dock at Tropicana, and my Man strutting his stuff. ha ha yeah right.


Next we headed to Harrah's for what else.... More CRAPS! We played for a couple hours this night too.



And then decided to head to a real fun dueling piano bar inside Harrah's.



We had a lot of fun and a lot of drinks...


We also stopped by the Belaggio for the fountain show one more time before we left:


And this was us in the taxi line at the end of our last night in Vegas!


And here are the shots of Vegas I took while out and about:



On the way home I was able to see the Hoover Dam for the first time. At night I couldn't see any of it. So this was real cool.



And YES I was that girl leaning out the window like Tammy Tourist.




And we Even got BOTH State Signs on the way out. Yeah!


And my Girls? They missed us sure. But they also had a lot of fun with Adrianna and Mackenzie while we were gone. :) Thank you Adrianna.

Daddy hits the road for Iowa- August Week 2

This week we knew would be a little hectic cause Daddy was leaving to go on a business trip for most of it. Some highlights of our week are included here.

Monday when Ella got home from school I had a special treat planned for her and Ryen. We made cupcakes with this mini cupcake child's bake set I got them in the Barnes and Noble toy area a few weeks back. Ella was so surprised and excited. They helped with every step of the way. But wouldn't stop stealing little finger fuls of batter from the cupcake foils! :)



100 mini cupcakes later I was exhausted and threw away the rest of the batter! I don't know where my photos went that I took of the finished result. But I frosted them and Ella doused them in different colored sprinkles. Then she delivered some next door to her BFF Rachel's house and next door on the other side to her friend Colin. She was shy but very giggly and proud of her cupcakes.

On Tuesday morning we drove Daddy to the airport for his business trip to Iowa. As the girls yelled "Bye Daddy" we wished him a safe trip and headed to breakfast. I ended up at- you guessed it... CHOMPIES (this made my third time in one week I realized later. OOPS.)

We had a yummy breakfast and did some coloring.



And then me and my nemesis, the Elmo Cupcake, met again - but this time I did not let him beat me.



Oh yeah... I would say I won THIS BATTLE! ha ha



After breakfast I took the Girls to Ikea to play and have a tea party. They love Ikea.



Here is where things got crazy! I decided while Jimmy was gone to undertake TWO big projects for the house. One was finally decorate my Girls/guest bathroom. The other was to buy and refinish a round table for my kitchen. I was up late, working like crazy and trying to keep the girls from blabbing to Daddy about it during their phone calls with him. Here are the results of both projects...



Ella went to school on Friday and made a cute sign for Daddy. It was supposed to say Welcome Home but instead was a big drawing of Daddy. (oh well). We were going to park the car and be waiting for him in the airport with our sign and the camera of course. But two things happened, Jimmy's flight came in a few minutes early AND when we got to the airport I turned around and saw this:



Ahh well. We tried... and failed. :) But we were happy to have Daddy home anyhow!

On Saturday morning my girls got to test drive our new kitchen table over breakfast. They love it!



Later on Saturday, Me and The Girls went next door to hang with my neighbor Crissy and her girls Lauren and Rachel (Ella's BFF). Crissy and I had some margaritas while Ry Bunny ran around and played. We let Ella and Rachel in the backyard and when we checked on them later they had used pool water to create water slide. Ella was half-naked and Rachel was sloshing around in wet jeans. But they both had the biggest smiles on their faces.



And what was Jimmy doing in Iowa you might ask? Well I did send him off with a camera specifically so he could take photos of the Iowa State Fair. And these are the photos he took. That's it. Nothing else. When I complained he pointed out not everyone is Mamarazzi like me. Whatever... LOL