Viva Las Vegas

Since we aren't going to be going anywhere out of town this summer around our 10-year-anniversary--don't really want to deliver a baby on vacation--Tony and I decided to celebrate early. So last Wednesday, we headed to Las Vegas to enjoy a few days together. This was also the 10-year anniversary of a trip to Vegas we took with friends back when we were dating. We did go again the very next year as a married couple, but then haven't been back there for 9 years.

When my sister asked about our trip, the question was, "So just what does a married Mormon couple do in Las Vegas for a few days?!" And while there are plenty of sinful options available there, there are also plenty of good, clean, fun things to do as well. Here's how we spent our weekend:

First of all, the main reason we went (aside from just being together) was the Mountain West Conference basketball tournament, the same thing that brought us there ten years ago in the first place. The Cowboys had a great season, and we went there hoping for an upset. But it wasn't to be. They lost in their first game. Oh well. We still ended up watching 7 great college ball games throughout the course of the weekend.

Secondly, there are great buffets in Vegas. We enjoyed these for three of our dinners and one breakfast! Yummmy!

Aside from basketball and buffets (although for us, this would have been a pretty good trip), we also spent many hours just walking up and down the strip seeing all the different casinos/resorts. For those who have been to Vegas, you know that the casino is just one small part of each of these buildings, and that the rest of it is full of shops and restaurants, all in a unique setting developed around the theme of the resort. So, for example, inside the New York, New York, it feels like you are walking down the streets of New York City, whereas in the Venetian, you get a feel for Venice, complete with gondola rides down their indoor river. We visited all our favorites and spent the good part of Friday doing that. We walked all the way down to Circus, Circus (which was no small hike from our hotel--over 2 miles one way!) to enjoy an acrobatic circus act, but stopped in at many of the resorts along the way. All in all, we got a taste of Rome, Egypt, Venice, Paris, New York, and more all on one street. Fun!

Saturday morning, we did something we hadn't really planned on and decided to go to the Bodies display that was there at the Luxor. This was incredible and we were so glad we did it! It was a museum-like setting all about the human body, complete with actual dissected human bodies, not just models or pictures. It showed all the different systems--skeletal, muscular, circulatory, respiratory, reproductive, etc. It was fascinating, and I would highly recommend going if you ever get the chance!

Our Hotel, the Excalibur

Maybe the thing we loved most was the warm weather!

The "Paris"

Found this cool statue of liberty made competely from jelly beans in the New York, New York

After my coaching season, followed immediately by Tony's long basketball season, this was a much-needed vacation for us, and we thoroughly loved just being together!