Having never been to Vegas, "excited" doesn't even begin to pinpoint my emotions. I had no idea what to expect, but a friend who had recently been there described the city to me as "not part of the United States." Now that I've experienced Vegas, I would have to say that's an accurate description. But I didn't know that as I boarded the early morning flight from OKC with Kate. After a few bags of peanuts, hours of candy crush, and a minor freakout during our layover in Denver about the Denver Airport Conspiracy and the Illuminati, we arrived in Vegas. There was so much excitement between running to reunite with Lauren, who flew in from Kansas, and grasping the concept of endless slot machines in an airport. It wasn't long before we grabbed our bags and started our Vegas adventure by piling into a limo to head to our hotel.
We stayed at the Venetian, which was beautiful to say the least. I knew I was in for it when I realized there was gambling, shopping, dining, and gondola-riding to be done all under the roof of our hotel. Of course, those were all just added bonuses to the suite we got to stay in—I would've been more than happy to spend the whole trip in there! I realized at this point that I would probably not enjoy a trip to Vegas after this one because I'd never get such fancy treatment again. (HUGE thanks to Lauren's parents!)
It didn't take us long to ditch our bags and head straight onto the strip to get the birthday girl her anticipated yard-long margarita. We did some wandering to soak in the idea that we were finally in Vegas after talking about it for so long, and then headed back up to the hotel room to get ready for our evening plans. We had dinner reservations at an italian restaurant called LAVO and tickets to the Thunder from Down Under show to follow. Dinner was delicious, and the show did not disappoint. We were so entertained by those Australian performers that we couldn't resist a picture with them! After debating whether or not to hunt down Juicy J who was in town, we ended the night at the New York-New York casino. Between the time change, jet lag, and so much excitement, we were exhausted.
After catching up on some sleep the next morning, we headed out for pizza and made our way to downtown Las Vegas. There was so much to see including some of the oldest Vegas hotels, talented bar tenders, and of course, interesting characters dressed in costumes. After exploring for a bit, we stopped to get drinks from a bar tender juggling and balancing bottles on his head. Not long after that, we found an oxygen bar, which was also on the birthday girl's to-do list. I'll let you be the judge, but I think the nose pieces really added to our level of attractiveness. Regardless of what we looked like, we left feeling very refreshed and relaxed. We had some time to spare before heading back to the hotel so we went to win big with the slot machines. I think the most I ever earned was $1.30, but since I (like many others) don't do well with the "quit while you're ahead" concept, even that was gone before I knew it.
Despite our losses, we headed back to the hotel and got ready for the evening's plans. We had dinner reservations at TAO, which is both an Asian bistro and nightclub. The waiters were notified of Lauren's birthday, so we were given extra special treatment. If the delicious meal wasn't already enough, they brought us a huge fortune cookie and even drew attention to Lauren with champagne sparklers. After extra-full bellies, we were escorted to our table in the VIP section of the nightclub and introduced to our security friend, Chad, who we were to notify if we needed anything. As the night went on, we discovered that if we told him we needed to use the restroom, he would escort us directly to the front of the line. Needless to say, he became our best friend. Overall, it was a fun night filled with dancing, taking pictures, and definitely sore feet from those heels. We even acquired our own version of "baby Carlos" by the end of the night!
The next day we were able to rush over to the infamous M&M store to get a tasty souvenir, catch one last glimpse of the strip, and ride the gondolas through our hotel before ending our Vegas adventure. Though I was sad that it was already time to leave, I was so thankful for the amazing trip I had the opportunity to be apart of. I made so many memories with my littles and am blessed by them in so many ways. I hope Lauren had a 21st birthday to remember—I think it's safe to say we celebrated accordingly!
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