Best Vegas Trip Ever!

***I have NO CLUE why the prior post was in all characters!!!***

Louis and I arrived home last night after three glorious nights in Las Vegas. I have to say that of all the trips there we have been on together (and seperately!) aside from our honeymoon, hands down this was the best one. By the time my mother in law picked up Jeremiah, we finished our last minute trip preparations, and we picked up my grandmother at my mom's house, we didn't get on the road until shortly after 8:00 p.m. on Thursday night. We were walking to our rooms at the Motel 6 at around 1:00 a.m. only to find a hooker (well we THINK she was a hooker! She certainly looked like one!) being arrested in the parking lot outside of our room. Only in Vegas...

Louis had to work on Friday, so my grandma and I hung out by the pool playing cards until it was time for us to check out and head over to the Luxor, where Louis and I were staying that night and Saturday night. My grandma was staying at the Excalibur but couldn't check in until my aunt Bette arrived, who was paying for the room. I LOVE THE LUXOR! We stayed in the pyramid. I like the slanted walls and windows, the atmosphere, and the lack of enthusiasm to gamble there. The casinos weren't overly crowded, and the higher limits at the tables kept me from wanting to play (which was great because we had a very TINY amount of $$ set aside for gambling,a nd we were saving it for a trip to the small O'Shea's casino, a favorite of ours). After we checked in, Grandma and I got in our suits and spent the afternoon at the pool, swimming, drinking, reading and napping. I brought the fixings for margaritas with us from Cali plus some mango Smirnoff ices and plenty of chips, so we were all set for a party. And it cost a tiny fraction of the rediculous $10 per drink at the pool! The sponsors for Malibu rum were giving away free shots of Malibu and coke so we got some of those as well =)

Friday night was the first family gathering of the weekend (we went for a wedding- my aunt Bette's daughter, Ellen, was getting remarried. Bette was my grandma's cousin-in-law, so her daughter Ellen is like my 3rd or 4th cousin?) The party that night was at Mandalay bay where they were staying- in the PENTHOUSE. Which is where the picture above was taken. OH my goodness talk about luxury- especially the panoramic view of the strip outside the windows. They had Panera Bread cater with sandwiches and goodies, and a full service bar. Needless to say Louis and I had a lot to drink that weekend... and had a great time with my family, most of whom I don't see very often because most of them in attendance live in New York. And Louis's favorite part of the evening was watching the Lakers clinch the playoffs. Thank goodness we weren't the youngest ones there- Ellen's daughters who are my age were there as well. It was my first time meeting them- even though her daughter Debbie was my pen pal way back when we were kids!

After the party, we decided to go to the LAX club in the Luxor. Neither of us had ever been to a club in Vegas before so we decided to go, especially hearing all the great things about it from Debbie- and having free admission for staying in the resort. It was a great club- but let me tell you, we waited over an hour in line only to stay half an hour, tops. Louis and I felt very out of place, being that we were probably the only married people in attendance, and most definitely the only parents. I think clubbing is something that people do when they are single and looking to meet someone (and get wasted, which we were not going to do). Perhaps if we were still dating each other it would have been more fun?

Saturday: Louis and I slept in- or rather, he slept in because I"m still on "Jeremiah" time. I woke up at his usual 6:15 and then fell back asleep til 8:30, which is the time I get up when Louis lets me "Sleep in." We went to the buffet for breakfast (champagne brunch, way yummy), and then Louis went back to our room to prepare the music for the wedding reception. He was playing DJ at the dinner that night and needed to make his playlist and practice his songs that he would be singing. That took pretty much the entire day. I went to the pool for a little bit, then back upstairs to read "Gone with the Wind" and take a few good naps.


The wedding at Mandalay Bay was really nice! Neither of us had been to a Vegas wedding, either, and it was QUICK. Like 10 minutes. Even in a fancy resort like that they want you in and out. The reception was in a small room at Aereole, this 5 star gourmet restraunt inside of Mandalay Bay. Tons of hour deourves and small dishes for dinner were served- along with the BEST open bar I had ever been to. At the suggestion of Debbie's friend I got a strawberry mojito- the best drink I have ever tasted ever. Everyone was saying how good m y drink looked and lots of my relatives ordered it as well- so much in fact that they ran out of the mix after my second mojito! So I had to settle for two more pomegranite martinis =) (I told you I drank a lot this weekend...) Louis's music and his singing were amazing. I love my husband. I love it when he sings. And I love the reason why he sang at this wedding- the bride's father, my Uncle Louie, was also a Frank Sinatra buff like Louis and they would always sing kareoke together when he would come to visit. Louis knew that my aunt Bette would be so touched for him to sing at Ellen's wedding since Uncle Louie is no longer with us. So we went to a wedding with distant relatives- a few we knew well (including my grandma) but most we didn't know at all. And we had the GREATEST time. I can't emphasize that enough. It doesn't matter how "distantly" you are related, or how many times you have met. Family is family. And I love everyone in ours.

Sunday- after checking out of our hotel, we picked up at my grandma at the Excalibur and went to the champagne brunch at Harrahs. This has become a Vegas tradition of ours since our honeymoon. My grandma is so sweet- we fully intended on treating her but, as always, she beat us to the check and wouldn't take a cent. Then we gambled for an hour at O'Sheas. Louis won back everything I lost at the black jack table with some VERY lucky plays on Roulette and we actually came out ahead roughly $40. Not too shabby... then we went home and picked up my precious son! Oh how I missed him dearly! Vacations away from the kiddos are always a blast- a great time to reconnect with your spouse, eat great food, sleep in, have a few drinks- but there is nothing like coming home to two arms wide open and a huge grin from your precious child!!!