Vegas BABY!

So the Hubby turns 40 in September.  The only thing he wanted to do was to take a trip with his friends. Our friends, Dave & Mel were going to celebrate Dave's 40th too.  After months of trying to figure out where to go (England is too far; Napa is all about wine; we already went to the beach with the kids) we determined the perfect little get away was VEGAS!!!

Lucky to have such a quick flight on MY favorite airlines - LOVE Southwest - seriously - they have so much fun on their flights.  The flight attendants tell jokes, talk to people - just make it enjoyable.  And for 4 people who had been up since 4 am, we needed "fun".

Love flying over the Southwest - doesn't it look hand-carved by God??

We stayed at the oh-so-lovely Encore on the Strip - it was a gorgeous hotel - most of the places in Vegas are now - but we really loved the room - the pool - the location - all of it.

First pic of the two of us in Vegas......

And our first meal - at Hash House-a-Go-Go at The Imperial Palace.  Many Many people recommended this place to us and as we got in at 9 am on Sunday, we were hungry for a great brunch. I enjoyed the chicken & waffles - bacon was actually cooked inside the waffles.  To eat this, you have to have a bit of everything- chicken, waffles, bacon  AND syrup - so amazing!

For Dave's birthday, Mel had bought him & Matt a "digging experience" on these huge excavators.  They moved dirt, piled tires and then played basketball.

They LOVED it!

But we hadn't even gambled yet!!  And I am not much of a big gambler, so to be honest, that was not a goal of mine for the trip.  However, the boys wanted to play some tables.  So we walked the Strip on Day 2 and ended up playing for a few hours on a roulette table and had so much FUN!  I won big (by total accident- had a big bet on a line that paid well when it hit "1" - still don't quite understand how I did it) which is why I think I enjoyed it so much!!

And we enjoyed lunch at another recommendation - Serendipity at Caesar's Palace.  This is the Frozen Hot Chocolate.  Yes - I go on vacation for the food...sometimes.....

Night Number 2 - Big Plans!! Dinner at Battistia's Hole in the Wall (good, rich Italian) and then Tickets to see Beatles' LOVE!!!!

And we finally caught a water show at The Bellagio - those are so fun to watch.

But on to the show I have wanted to watch for over 5 years!!!  I have the cd, being a HUGE Beatles fan and this was the highlight of the trip.

It was an amazing experience to see all the songs you love being "acted/danced/flown/displayed" in front of you.  It was beautiful and breath-taking and precious and brought tears to my eyes.  I think it meant so much to me because I have loved the Beatles for so long - this is as close to a "concert" as I will ever get.

Day number three - got to Skype with the kiddos for a bit - love modern technology!!

ANd then a drink of the gorgeous lakeside patio at The Wynn.

Happy Birthday Honey!!!

Dinner was at N9NE at The Palms.  It was an amazing steakhouse that treated the Birthday Boys like kings.....

While we were there, we had to make a quick stop up at the Ghost Bar to see the city all lite up.

Day 4 - have to head home - boo.  Our room had a ceiling-to-floor window - here's our view!

It was really a fantastic trip with our friends - we had tons of laughs, had fun, and made great memories. Happy 40th Birthday to the boys!!