I can’t believe it’s been a month since we last posted! We’ve been off the road visiting family and catching up on schoolwork while Brian’s been doing a little work in Portland so we haven’t had much to post. We did something fun last week though! Carson turned 15 on November 29th and we surprised him with a trip to Vegas for his birthday! He didn’t suspect a thing – he got a birthday card in the mail at my sister’s house on the 28th with a mocked up “prize notification” for an all expense paid trip to fabulous Las Vegas. We threw toothbrushes in a bag and were on the road within an hour. My sister Ammie came along with her invaluable Vegas experience and her camera! The boys watched Ocean’s Eleven on the way just to set the mood.
We arrived in the evening and the Strip was ablaze with neon awesomeness! We checked into Treasure Island, admired the view from our room, then hit the streets. Carson’s still too young to gamble but we found lots to see and do. We saw the volcano erupt at the Mirage, we wandered through the Forum in Caesar’s Palace, we saw the fountain show at the Bellagio and did a lot of people watching in between. At New York-New York Casino we found a great arcade and a late night dinner; then it was a quick taxi ride to the Stratosphere Tower. At midnight we were looking over Vegas from 1000 feet above the city. Carson and Ammie rode the Insanity which actually was a little bit insane — the riders hang out over the strip about 900 feet up and then spin at 40 mph! It was a great night. We wound things up around 2 a.m. when we made it back to Treasure Island and beds. The next morning we had a birthday breakfast at Denny’s, then a little souvenir shopping, and a couple of great photo opportunities with Las Vegas street signs. We had so much fun!
- Fabulous Las Vegas!
- A view of The Strip from our hotel room.
- Heading out onto the Strip.
- The awesome spiral escalators at Caesar’s Palace!
- Gelato in the Forum in Caesar’s Palace. Yum!
- On the casino floor in Caesar’s Palace.
- Watching the Fountains of Bellagio. The boys watched Ocean’s Eleven on the way to Vegas so they were looking forward to the fountain.
- Carson’s Three.
- One of our favorite stops of the night was the arcade in New York-New York Casino!
- “You must have Jedi reflexes if you race pods. “
- Baby needs new shoes!
- Pac-Man Battle Royale!
- 5 rounds later!
- Having fun!
- Carson and Ammie rode the Insanity! It hangs off the Stratosphere Tower, 900 feet over the Strip, and spins at 40 mph! Crazy!!
- Carson Avenue
- and Bridger Boulevard!
- Carson had his birthday breakfast at Denny’s (open 24 hours!) and opened the rest of his presents. Ammie gave him Arizona scratch cards so he got to gamble after all! He won $5!
- Karate Kid: Nevada
- The beautiful Colorado River on the way back home to Arizona.
- Couldn’t resist showing you all my nephew Olin. He’s a cowboy just like his dad. Isn’t he cute?