Las Vegas - Day 3

We woke up Saturday morning craving some normalcy so we walked next door to the Venetian for some McDonald's breakfast. That might have been the best Sausage McMuffin I've ever had. After breakfast we got dressed and ready for a day of football! And how should all football gamedays start? With a shotgun of course!

(Shotgun in our bathtub)

We had planned on watching the Alabama/Penn State and Texas/BYU games at Lagasse's in the Palazzo; however, we got down to Lagasse's, and they informed us that they had a $50 food and drink minimum per person per game. This means that we'd have to spend $25 per person for second half of the game before Alabama, $50 per person for the Alabama game, and $50 per person for the Texas game for a total of $125 per person. Needless to say we decided to skip out on Lagasse's. Who does Emeril think he is?!

Instead we headed over to Caesar's after noting that they had a nice sports betting area while we were there shopping the day before. Some very nice and very cute South Carolina boys taught us how to place our bets on the football games and pointed us in the direction of Shadow Bar next to the sports betting area. We camped out there for the Alabama game.

We made best friends with one of the boys rooting for Penn State in the bar. He and Haley took turns buying each other Alabama Slammers, and we decided they needed to be boyfriend/girlfriend despite the rivalry.

 (Haley and her boyfriend, Jason.)

(Girls watching football.)

During halftime Shannon and I decided to try our luck at gambling again. We sat down at a blackjack table in the Pussycat Dolls section in Caesar's, and each of us walked away up over $100. After an Alabama win we cashed in our winning bets and headed back to the hotel. We decided it would be best to watch Texas in our room while getting ready for dinner. 

Dinner was at Postrio's, Wolfgang Puck's Italian restaurant along the canals in the Venetian. The food was delicious!

 (Mom, Me, Shannon)

(Me, Shannon, E.A., Haley)

After dinner we got our sole group picture of the trip along the canals. I guess we were too busy the rest of the time to worry about group pictures.

(The crew - Mom, Shannon, Me, Haley, Cari, E.A., Lanyce)

Mom, Shannon, Lanyce, E.A., and I then headed over to the Bellagio to watch the fountain show. It was so great! They fountain show was to the song "Proud to be an American"...very appropriate for September 11. 

(At Bellagio)

Shannon and I decided to try our luck one more time at gambling. We immediately lost about $70 per person in 6 hands in blackjack. Then we moved to craps. We were able to hang in there a little longer with craps, but we still walked away down. We'd lost all of the money that we won earlier that afternoon at Caesar's. Overall I ended up down about $40, Shannon ended up down about $60, and Mom ended up down $1 from her bets on the football games. Not too bad...I'd say we definitely got $101 worth of entertainment during our 3 days!

The trip was so much fun. It is something that I will never forget, and I'm so glad I got to spend this time with my Mom and sister.

(Acting goofy at the airport Sunday morning)

Thanks for the amazing trip, Mama Sheila!!!

Las Vegas - Day 2

After a good night's rest we woke up bright and early for Day 2 of Las Vegas.

(Bed buddies)

We were wide awake and ready for lunch at 10:00 Vegas time. We found a panini place in the Venetian that was actually serving lunch that early, and then we set off for some shopping. We started at the Fashion Show Mall (meh...) and worked our way down to Caesar's for the Forum Shops (really cool!). On our way to Caesar's we stopped at BLT in the Mirage for a spiked milkshake. Emily, Abbey, and I had them the last time I was in Vegas, and we really needed to have one this trip also.

(Most amazing milkshakes!)

We finally got to Caesar's and set off in search of the H&M (my new obsession). We found some fun things along the way...for instance I fell in love with a $300 scarf at Pucci, stopped for some pics with fountains, AND we found a Zoltar machine like the one in the movie Big.

(Caesar's fountains)

(Shannon getting her fortune from Zoltar)

We were exhausted from a day full of shopping. Lanyce and E.A. got into Vegas early that morning. They spent the whole day down by the pool with Cari and Haley. We were all ready for a good dinner. We went to Dos Caminos, a Mexican restaurant in the Palazzo. We had some delicious tacos and guac, and serenaded Shannon with a little "Happy Birthday."

 (Shannon, Me, Mom at Dos Caminos)

(Blowing out the candle)

(Get it, Shan!)

(Haley, Shannon, E.A., Me)

After dinner it was time to head off for our most important stop of the evening, The Thunder from Down Under. Lanyce and E.A. opted not to join...their loss...so we said goodbye for the evening and set off for Excalibur. Ladies, I highly recommend going to this show next time you're in Vegas with your girlfiends. It was hillarious. We had a drink at the bar outside of the theater then hit the show.

 (Drinks at Excalibur)

(Thunder from Down Under)

We went back to the Venetian, and Shannon and I went to do some gambling. She and I both lost all of our money and decided to call it a night. We were ready for a good night's sleep to prepare for our final day in Vegas!

Las Vegas - Day 1

A few months ago Mom and Cari's random (alcohol induced) conversation about Haley and Shannon's 21st  birthdays turned into a full blown 21st birthday extravaganza in fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada. Lanyce and E.A. decided to come as well for E.A.'s 25th birthday, September 11. We got into Vegas on Thursday, September 8. Haley turned 21 earlier in the week on September 4th, and Shannon would be 21 at midnight when it was officially September 9th.

(Sisters in the taxi line at the Vegas airport)

We drove over to the Venetian with the help of our new friend and cab driver Glenn. Glenn told us all about how you can't tell which girls in Vegas are prostitutes and which girls are nice girls because they all dress like whores. He said that he usually tells the guys to go up to a girl and ask her, "How much?" If she slaps you she's a nice girl. Good to know.

We decided to set off exploring the Venetian and the adjoining Palazzo. We found a restaurant to go to for dinner, a bar to go to at midnight for Shannon's first drink, and finally we found the Walgreens at the base of the hotel. We got the cheapest drinks in Vegas at Walgreens and went up to our room to get ready for the evening. About this time Haley and Cari were getting in so we had a few cocktails in our room to prep for the evening.

(Shannon, Me, Haley in the room)

I was first to finish getting ready, and the Vegas fever was making me antsy. I went down to the casino to do some gambling while the other girls finished getting ready. When Mom, Shannon, Cari, and Haley came down to get to me to go to dinner I was up about $75. Still high off my winning streak we walked over to Cut, which is Wolfgang Puck's steakhouse in the Venetian. 

(At Cut)

After dinner Haley and Cari went to gamble, and Mom, Shannon, and I went over to Harrah's for Legends in Concert. We needed something to keep us occupied until Shannon turned 21 at midnight. A show seemed like the best thing. Legends was really great. The show has impersonators for different musical "Legends." We got to see Lady Gaga, Steven Tyler, Stevie Wonder, Bobby Darrin, Michael Jackson, and of course...Elvis.

(Elvis got a little handsy during this picture.)

By the time we got out of the show it was around 11:00...time to walk back to the Venetian and get Shannon's first drink. We went to Laguna which is a champagne bar in the Palazzo. 

(Shannon's first drink!)

We toasted to Shannon's 21st, and decided that we were exhausted since it was 2:00 a.m. Texas time. After the drink we hit the sack so that we would be refreshed and ready for a full day tomorrow.

Unbroken

I just finished reading Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.

Unbroken

My mother was right...this book was VERY intense. It is a true story about Louie Zamperini. Pre-WWII, Louie was an Olympic runner. At the start of WWII he joins the Army. During the war his plane crashes into the ocean between Hawaii and Japan. After struggling to stay alive on a life raft for over a month he is captured by the Japanese. He is then transferred from POW camp to POW camp. It tells of how badly he was tortured and beaten by the Japanese guards. And if that isn't enough it then tells about his post traumatic stress disorder following the war's end. This book was very educational and very inspiring. Louie was faced with every obstacle imaginable, and yet he overcomes them all. Very powerful.

Amy's 25th Birthday

I recently made the trek over to Dallas to celebrate Amy's 25th birthday. We had originally planned on doing dinner at Saint Ann in Dallas; however, since it was restaurant week it was impossible to get a table for our big group. Instead we did dinner at this incredible restaurant called The Dream Cafe.

(Me and Amy at dinner)

After dinner we went to Saint Ann for drinks and partying...and partying we did. The night got a little out of control...as all birthdays should. I especially loved the bartender at Saint Ann for letting me "make it rain" with the cocktail napkins. And of course we couldn't head home until we had a photo shoot on the bull statues outside of Saint Ann.

(Sassy Amy) 

(Scott and Kasey)

To top it all off we had brunch the next morning at Breadwinners before Scott and I headed back to Fort Worth. 

(Scott's facial expression shows his shock of our shenanigans from the night before)

All together it was a fabulous time! What a great start to Amy's 25th year.

Boxing in the Ballroom

I was recently invited by my pseudo-big-brother, Blake, to go to the Boys and Girls Club event, Boxing in the Ballroom. Blake was named newcomer of the year at work. As his reward he received tickets for 10 and an excellent table at the event. The event featured a silent auction, a live auction, seated dinner, and live entertainment in the form of boxing. Our table was literally right next to the boxing ring. We were very nervous that the blood would splatter onto our dresses.

(Example of the blood)

The event was tons of fun, and it was a great excuse to get all glitzed and glammed up. It was a great event for a great charity.

Congratulations Blake on being Newcomer of the Year!