Vegas Baby!

The fact that I have ventured to Las Vegas twice in the last 6 months seems unreal to me since I hadn't been to Las Vegas in the 10 years prior to this! :-0

But both occasions have been for good (GREAT!) reasons...FAMILY! :0)

And actually, no offense to "Las Vegas," but the purpose of THIS trip was to celebrate the 30th birthday of my sister (shout out to Jenni!) and her husband (shout out to Desmon!), at a restaurant my mom considered to be the best she had ever dined at! And this particular restaurant just so happened to be located in Las Vegas. :0)

The invitation to a 2-day, 1-night, mini-vacay in Las Vegas was also extended to my husband, my brother, his girlfriend, my older sister, and her husband, but unfortunately, those five were unable to make it. :0(

So EARLY Saturday morning, while making SEVERAL pit-stops, my mom, Jenni, Desmon, and I jetted off to Vegas...

The time in the car (actually making progress toward our goal destination, lol) was my very favorite...

And finally, after getting gas, going back to the house, dropping off my sister's dog, 2 Starbucks runs, a trip to the Outlet Center in Primm, and a Gyro run for lunch...

...we arrived at our hotel...The Bellagio Hotel...in Las Vegas...

...where they have the amazing fountain shows right outside the hotel (not pictured), and they have the incredible garden sanctuary where frogs, bugs, and bees are brought to life out of flower creations...

...and where one of the most incredible chocolate shops EVER exists...yep, that would be dark, milk, and white chocolate flowing like a fountain!...

Even though we checked into the hotel, our rooms weren't available yet, so we ditched our luggage, and headed for their amazing spa facilities...

Steam room, sauna, and Jacuzzis GALORE!!! We were in relaxation HEAVEN!...

We stayed at the spa for as long as possible, but alas, we had to make our way to our guest rooms, to spruce up for dinner! :0)

2 hours later, we had new hair and make-up, we were off "The Strip", and standing in front of the infamous "Michael's" restaurant!!!

And then, moments later we were seated at our table...

...under a GORGEOUS (and MASSIVE!!!) stained glass sky light!...

Three of us at the table had NO idea what we were in for! It turns out this would be the most food I would ever consume in one sitting...EVER! Not to mention the very BEST of food consumed in one sitting! AND the longest amount of time spent at a table over the extent of one meal! I am convinced that this is how the Kings and their Queens, and all of their royal subjects dined at their banquet tables...eating in literally BIBLICAL proportions! A chubby girl's dream come true! ;0)

The first course- A huge relish tray sent to the table with a top secret cream dip, toasted pumpernickel cheese bread (not pictured), gigantic sweet crackers, and rose shaped butter...

The Second Course- Hot Appetisers. Others at the table enjoyed various DELICIOUS soups, but I selected a different favorite appetiser of mine...an amazing Maryland Lump Crab Cake!

The Third Course- Salad. Again, others chose different (and in this case, fancier) options than I...but I selected The Chef's Special Tossed Green Salad with hearts of palm...

The Fourth Course- a sorbet/champagne "float" of sorts. This tiny little palate cleanser had a delicious scoop of lemon sorbet, and then more-than-a-splash of Dom Perignon champagne poured over it. Mmmmmmm....

The Fifth Course- Main Entree. I selected the chef's special of the night which happened to be Au gratin Potatoes, and a Bone-In Filet Mignon. Oh, and I mustn't forget the bowl of mushroom cream sauce that accompanied my personal steak!...

As if that wasn't enough, we all sampled each other's dishes, and I must give a special shout-out to Desmon's side dish of Creamed Corn (!!!!)...the freshest of cream AND corn I have EVER tasted (not pictured)...and my mom's incredible plate of (creamy JUMBO) Shrimp Scampi...

The Sixth Course- Intentional Dessert. It was said on more than one occasion by Desmon (but to which I agreed whole-heartedly!) that we must always remember our goal of the night: Make it to dessert! LOL! Immediately next to our dining table sat a gorgeous cart of dessert, which the menu referred to as "Michael's Pastry Cart Fantasies"...Desmon and I had been eyeing the cakes...and berries...and whipped cream...and liqueurs...and, and, and...ALL NIGHT! And unlike Claim Jumper, and other restaurants, the items on this cart were REAL, and slices of cake were disappearing from the cart all night...yep, we were eyeing it THAT closely!! ;0)

But before we had the opportunity to select a freshly prepared dessert off of the menu, or a different dessert off of the pastry cart, our waiting staff surprised the birthday couple with humongous slices of Coconut Cake, and Tiramisu...

The Coconut Cake was something I was very excited about, so there was no need for me to pick anything else off of the cart, but Desmon had his sights set on the Strawberry Shortcake Cake :0)...

The Seventh (and final) Course- MORE Dessert! After our dessert had been consumed, and some of us were drinking our espresso beverages, we were surprised yet again with additional treats arriving to our table! A beautiful bowl of colorful fresh fruit, AND a sizable tray of various chocolate dipped fruit! :-0

A SECOND DESSERT COURSE!?!?!...Don't mind if we doooooooo....

But believe it or not...after 3 hours of eating...no other food arrived at our table (unless you count the gold foil wrapped chocolate mints, LOL!)!! We were STUFFED!...and EXHAUSTED, LOL!

So we headed back to our hotel on The Strip...

Most of us wouldn't have minded going straight to bed...and one of us did do exactly THAT (while chanting, "I'm 53! I get to go to bed! I'm 53! I get to go to bed!")...but Desmon had other plans in mind for us! My brother in law really enjoys Las Vegas, and he really enjoys going to the clubs in Las Vegas. And after a few years of my sister and I (playfully) teasing him about "clubbing in Vegas" this was his/our opportunity to go to a Vegas club together. So we did. Two different ones actually. :0) Jenni and I were super good sports, and even had a pretty good time. If my stomach hadn't been stretched to capacity from eating 7 courses over 3 hours, if my new (borrowed) shoes hadn't been giving me blisters on my toes, if I hadn't sworn off alcohol at the clubs, and if I hadn't been awake for 19 hours already, I think I might have had even a REALLY GREAT time!

But after 90 minutes total, I was able to check "Clubbing in Las Vegas (or in general)" off of my bucket list, and we returned to our rooms for sleepy slumber! :0)))

I NEVER sleep good in a hotel, but surprisingly on this occasion, I slept super solid! And after 6 hours of sleep, I got dressed in my workout clothes and marched my blistered feet to the hotel gym with my mama!

Once I completed a fairly decent run on the treadmill, we got ready for the day, and then met up with the birthday couple for breakfast, and our final escapades in Las Vegas.

But first, breakfast! Others enjoyed...

But this mama ALWAYS goes for "sweet" over "salty"!!!...

We decided to dine at The Aria hotel, where after breakfast, we cruised the shops...

...browsed through the sister location to the amazing chocolate shop in "our" hotel...yep, that would be a dragon made 100% from chocolate! :-0...

...and did our first (and only) gambling of the weekend. We each put $5 into separate quarter slot machines, and once I hit a MINI jackpot, I cashed out my machine at $21.75...I was STOKED! But theeeeeen my sister, after losing her $5, went to a different slot machine, put in a single dollar bill, pulled the handle, and won a $60 jackpot!!!!! :-0 She's always gotta out-do me! ;0) We were ALL happy!...well, maybe not ALL of us!...

And that was it for Vegas! We picked up our bags...picked up our car...and headed home!

Except...it wasn't that easy. Our (what should be a) 5 hour drive home, turned in to a traffic-ridden 9-1/2 hour drive! :0( Fortunately though, I was "stuck" in a car with really GREAT people who know how to have fun!!! There was far too much (additional) eating...too many road-trip discussion questions to count...and of course, plenty of time spent organizing the details of our next family vacation...our annual December trip to Big Bear!

Such amazing FUN was had...such incredible FUN to look forward to! :0)))

We loved you before we met you!

Unfortunately, we don't get to see our out-of-state family nearly as often as any of us would like to! :0( I have had the privilege of visiting with my in-laws several times, but mostly prior to our children being born. Since the kids have been born, they have met 2 of their 3 "Indiana cousins" only once, and they had yet to be introduced to their 3rd, and oldest cousin..."Cousin Alisha!"

This uniting of cousins was far-too-long-over-due!!! 7-1/2 years of waiting were finally put to bed when our visitor stepped off of the airplane!!!

Even though the kids loved her before they met her, it didn't hurt that Cousin Alisha came bearing gifts!...hand sewn!...her own design!...personalized stuffed animals for each of them!...

On Day 2, we took her to my favorite breakfast place in San Diego...Hash House!!!...

And then we went and saw "The Amazing Spiderman"...which was, well, AMAZING!!!...

This was Alisha's 3rd time seeing the movie! :-0 And we all agreed...the movie is worth seeing over, and over again!

Aside from hours and hours of chatting and catching up between Uncle and niece, that was about it for Day 2.

On Day 3 we packed our bags and headed out for a LONG day at Sea World...

We took our picture at every-single-show they had...

In between the shows, we rode most of the rides, including the Skytower...

The kids played in the kid zone...

We ventured to all of the animal exhibits...

And we even got to watch as Alisha's souvenir gift was retrieved from a oyster!

We had high hopes of staying for the final Shamu Show of the night, and watching the sky light up with fireworks, but exhaustion took over all of us, and after 9 hours at Sea World, and seeing literally EVERYTHING on the map, we didn't have it in us to stay for another 5 hours...so we called it a day, and headed home!

On Day 4, we packed up our bags again, and headed to the heart of sea life...the ocean...also known as...the BEACH!

Now while I spent a good portion of our time boogie boarding, Alisha and Wyatt were captivated by searching for shells (deep) in the water...the clarity was the best I have ever experienced in my life...we could see the ocean floor, even while being out in the waves! :0)

When we weren't out in the water, we were busy digging a hole! The picture doesn't do it hardly any justice, but I dug the deepest and widest hole for the kids!!!...

...that is, until I stopped to have lunch, and then Alisha took over the digging...that girl was AMAZING! Look what she did to my hole!!!!...

On Day 5, while most of us were at church, Wyatt got to venture to Comic Con with some of his local family...

Where he got to see various versions of the Star ship Enterprise...

...and be interviewed on camera by Disney XD...

Wyatt had an incredible time, and I was so disappointed that I didn't get to witness him in his total element of all things Star Trek, Star Wars, Marvel, and Lego...sigh.

We reunited with him at Family Dinner Night though!

Where boys were doin' their boy thing...

...and the ladies were doin' their lady thing...

On Day 6, our last REAL day with Cousin Alisha, we ventured back to the beach...but we chose a different beach than before...aaaand we didn't plan to stay all day this time...this was just another quick opportunity to collect more shells for her trip home...

Wyatt found more-than-shells on this adventure...

And once I got a snap-shot of Bea on the lifeguard station...

...I couldn't help but to ask the girls to pose for a few more pictures...

After that, we hit the island streets and did some SHOPPING! :0)...

And when were good and tired from walking around, we headed home for our final meal together...and then GAME NIGHT!!!! A tradition we have always upheld on the last night of our visits with family!...

"The family that plays together, stays together"....

And on Day 7, at 'O-dark-hundred, we had to say goodbye to our Cousin Alisha at the airport :0(...

While these pictures were a good summary of our time together, it's funny that they didn't capture our most tender memories together...the too-many-to-count tea parties between Bea and Alisha...the hours of drawing between Wyatt and Alisha...the never ending conversations of what's been going on "back home" the last 10 years between Rick and Alisha...and as for me, I loved sitting with our guest late at night watching chick-flicks like "The Help," and "Steel Magnolias."

We had an AMAZING time with you Alisha...as I predicted, these days together went by way too fast...we will miss you in our home...here's to hoping that we won't go another 10 years before we get to see your beautiful face again!!! We LOVE you!...some of us felt that way, even before they met you! :0)