Screams, Laughs, and Good Eats

The title pretty much sums up our Spring Break. This year we decided to stay a little closer to home, but we had to get away from the never ending snow. We headed to Las Vegas for four fun packed days. We got into town just in time to check in (at the Stratosphere), take a potty break, and rush over to Planet Hollywood for our first show. We saw the Fab Four which is a Beatles Impersonator Band. It was a little cheesy, but they had all of us dancing in our seats. Allison, however, got picked from the audience to play the tamborine with them on stage.

The weather was forcasted to get chilly and windy the next few days so we spent the rest of our first day/night riding the rides around town while we could. We went over to the New York New York for some arcade games, New York style Pizza, and then we hit the rollercoaster. I love these pictures that they always take on the rides. The kids' faces are priceless!

It was about 9:00 pm, but still warm outside so we went back to our hotel and rode the elevator to the observation deck which is 800 feet "way too high" up. Brendan, Allison, and I were having a hard time just standing out there and trying to look over the edge. Jake and Jordan rode all the rides which dangle you off the edge. It was hilarious to see Jordan sweating and VERY SCARED as he came off the Rocket which shoots you up an additional 200+ feet in the air. Jake, however, was Mr. Cool.

The next day we spent a few hours at The Luxor. We are all huge Criss Angel fans and couldn't wait to see his magic store. It's not anything like the one they show on "MindFreak," so that was a bust.

From there we went through the 4 floors of the M&M store and took a little break at the Coke store. There we bought a taste tray of sodas from around the world.

Some were good, some were just ok and one was the absolute most disgusting thing we have ever tasted. NEVER drink "Beverly" from Italy. Jake said that next time he goes to the dentist, he's going to request a swig of "Beverly" to numb his mouth. It tasted kind of like carbonated ground up cloves. It really was sick. We had fun watching all the people around us try their tray of drinks and then get to #8! From there, we did a little window shopping at the extravagant stores at the Venetian. One of the things we were looking forward to was eating at The Grand Lux! We loved it a few years ago in Chicago and couldn't wait to eat there again. We were so full though, that we couldn't cram in dessert! Dang! We even had to go find some alka seltzer for Jordan who had stuffed himself to the brim!

From there, we headed down to the Blue Man Group Theater to enjoy one of the best shows ever! We laughed the whole time and marvelled at the creativity of these talented guys. The music was great, the stunts were hilarious, and the toilet paper covered audience at the end was a great way to end the whole thing. We took our tickets up to the them afterward for autographs, but they gave us "blue" kisses and fingerprints on them instead. It took almost 3 days for the paint to dry!

After the show, we found out that there is ANOTHER Grand Lux in the adjoining Palazzo Hotel so we headed over for some incredible dessert! Heads up for you Grand Lux lovers, the Venetian restaurant does not have the Beignets, so make sure you eat at the Palazzo one.

We spent the next day shopping at the outlets for some spring clothes, sunglasses, and basketball shorts for Jake. That kid lives and breathes basketball every minute of every day. He was having some withdrawels from not playing for two days. We had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and ended the night at Treasure Island to see Mystere Cirque de Soleil.

Such an amazing show, but also so dang funny. They took a really cool picture of us at the show, but it was $45 to buy it so we'll just have to remember that one in our heads! Holy Cow....Seriously? $45 for a picture in a little leather folder? Jordan snuck these photos in during the show, which was strictly prohibited.

An usher crawled over through our row to where Jordan was. Brendan and I thought, "He's busted!" But actually they talked to the guy sitting right next to Jordan and confiscated HIS camera. He was taking photos too, but he held his camera way too high and got caught. Whew! Jordan learned his lesson thank goodness.

We couldn't believe that our lawn and streets were covered with snow when we got back. I've lived here long enough to know that yes, it sometimes snows in April, but you don't have to shovel and get your streets plowed in April. Our house was a freezing 57 degrees since we had turned the heater off. Welcome back to Utah!