Viva Las Vegas!!!

We have been so busy lately that we decided to take a break and head to Vegas for the weekend. I talked to Brian about going on Wednesday and we left on Friday. Brian decided we should keep it a secret from the boys so we could surprise them. Thankfully we only had to hide it for 2 days. I couldn't keep it a secret for much longer than that. I was far too excited.

We left our house right when Brian got home from work. Took Taffy over to Mark and Molly's (thanks again guys) and were on the road. We left Marks house at about 6:30 pm and were on the open road. The road trip went without a snag. I had packed up lots of snacks and drinks. The boys brought the laptops to play games. And we had plenty of music. I LOVE driving into Vegas in the evening/night. You can see the glow from the city from over an hour away. And there is just something magical about driving over that last hill and around the bend to see the city. It amazes me every time we go.

I was able to find a great deal on a hotel at Sam's Town. It isn't on the strip but it is just about 10 minutes away. It is a great place to go with kids. They have a bowling alley, movie theater, arcade, and a fantastic atrium area. It really exceeded our expectations.

We woke up the first morning and ate a quick breakfast. (I packed cereal and milk... all part of our super budgeting) We all headed down to Tix 4 Tonight to try and get into a show for that day. The boys wanted to go see Popovich Comedy Pet Theater at Planet Hollywood. We were able to get tickets for half price. After that we went back to our hotel and went to the arcade. Xander spent all his tokens trying to win a DS Lite. Josh was a ticket fanatic and earned about 900 tickets. He got a hacky sack, magnetic bearded cowboy, disappearing ink, a bunch of army guys for Xander, and a whole lot of candy. We then had a great lunch of PB and J, grapes, and chips. (packed our lunch too) Like I mentioned, the hotel had an awesome atrium with a giant rock waterfall with animitronic animals. They had a water and laser show several times a day. We we able to catch an afternoon show and evening show. It was really awesome. Almost like a mini-Bellagio water show.

We showed up at the show about an hour early and we the 4th group in line. That was pretty exciting because it was general admission seating and we really wanted good seats. The show the boys picked was great. There was juggling, pet tricks, and dancing. It turned out to be so funny. We all giggled for most of the show. The animals were so hysterical. I find it amazing when people can train animals to do those kind of tricks.

It was dark when we got out of the show so we decided to drive up the strip and enjoy all the lights and signs. Brian did a time lapse video of us driving the strip. It seems as if we drove the whole strip in a matter of a couple minutes.

All the boys love buffets so we decided to eat at one for dinner. The hotel had a really nice buffet that we enjoyed. We we all pretty tired from a busy day so I am not sure if the boys ate to their true potential. The food was great and it was nice to talk about all the fun activities we had done that day.

We woke up the next morning and packed up to head out. Brian made another time lapse video heading down the strip in the daytime. Our first stop was the world famous Las Vegas sign. They have parking there now so it makes it easier to get a picture. We then stopped by the Mirage. It is a very pretty hotel and the GIANT aquarium by the front desk is really cool. Plus the parking garage had a great view over some of the strip and we able get a great family picture. Our next and probably most important stop was China Town to pick up pork buns. We got quite a surprise when we headed that way. They were celebrating Chinese New Year and the place was PACKED! We couldn't find a place to park anywhere. Brian dropped me off and I ran in to get the goods. They were all out! OH NO! We were able to get 4 chicken buns so it wasn't a complete loss. But we are definitely going to order our buns the night before and have them put on hold.

Driving home was pretty uneventful. We were all excited to get home and see our little dog. Taffy had a hard first day when we were gone. But by the second day she was a little more relaxed and enjoyed herself a bit more.

It is so nice to have been able to get away and recharge. And Vegas is probably one of our favorite places to do that.

Check out our fun here.