Viva Las Vegas

It seems like you throw around the idea of a trip like this but it rarely actually comes to fruition.  I'm just so glad we made this trip happen.  I must first and foremost thank my mother in law and Bryan for being willing to watch the girls for me while I was gone.  Bryan was on call and had a busy schedule and Patricia picked up all the slack.  I was so appreciative of them and so glad that I could get away for a few days all by myself.  Getting on the flight was the strangest thing.  I went through security without children hanging from my pant legs and lugging a huge stroller onto the belt, I didn't have to haul around five large carry on bags filled with snacks and dvd's and best of all I was able to just sit on that airplane and not worry about one thing.  I heard other kids crying and I felt really sorry for their parents.  It was such a pleasant experience.

Best of all I was able to see all of these women I adore.  We had such a bond when our husbands were in school in Ohio and getting together again was like picking up right where we left off.  The first day we headed to the strip to look around a bit.  I was very disheartened that we didn't get to go and see the fountains at the Bellagio but I never complained once about my disappointment.  Okay.  Maybe I complained a little bit.

 For whatever reason when i am without children I turn into this sucker that gets talked into all kinds of awkward and random pictures.

 The biggest chocolate fountain in the world.  We sat and debated how long the chocolate has been going through this fountain and whether or not you would want to eat it if it had been in there a long time.  Once again I posed for an incredibly awesome picture.  I really should be a chocolate fountain model.

 This photo doesn't look staged at all does it....the old lady that had obviously been playing the "Ghostbuster" slot next to me was a great gambling companion.  We were like two peas in a pod.  She hadn't bathed in two days and was wearing her pajamas, and I had just drowned myself in a chocolate fountain.

 We went to Hash House a Go Go and they have pancakes there the size of two heads.  Huge.  Jessica slapped my face away right after this picture.  She wanted that pancake all to herself.

 I mean look at those pancakes!!  Jessica ate all of hers AND Kara's.  Can you believe it?  I told her she might want to slow down but she just yelled, "Lay off me!  I'm starving!!"  And then she ate Kiki's.  It was awesome.  The food really was super yummy.  It was made all the more exciting by the weird dudes sitting at another table and every time you looked up at them they were staring at us.

 Jessica hooked us up with some free tickets to a show called "Recycled Percussion."  Every one took a pan/pot and a stick and was to make as much noise as possible.  We each had the urge to yell at random people to, "stop banging that!"  I think it's the mother in each of us  Luckily we found some headache medicine and ear plugs.  The show was actually really really fun.  Somehow I once again allowed myself to succumb to peer pressure and ended up on the stage.  I won't go into details but I will tell you there was a monkey mask involved and I may or may not have had to dance to "Gangham Style."  There were a few of the folks up there that were rather inebriated as well.  I honestly was so so so nervous that a good little mormon girl wasn't going to fit in too well up there.  Thankfully it was a very family friendly show.  A video has been made and I'm sure it will be used as blackmail at a later date.  I had to remind them, "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas."  And don't worry.  I did liberally apply hand sanitizer all over my face.

 We stayed at the Treasure Island that night which was indeed a treasure.  These lame-o's sitting next to me went to sleep at 11:30PM.  Seriously!  Weaklings is what they are.  Luckily the next night I managed to make Kara talk to me until 1:00AM.  Now that's more like it.  I threatened them all before we went to sleep that I did NOT want to wake up until 8:30AM.  I think that they are all afraid of "early morning" Annie, as they should be, and we all slept in.  And they didn't let me see the fountains, so they owed me that at least.

 We got breakfast again.  Jessica needed her some more pancakes.  Kara is eating for three so she REALLY needed some more pancakes.  And bacon.  Lots of bacon.

 We then went shopping.  It's funny.  We went to all these trendy stores that cost an arm and a leg and we all bought nothing.  But send us to TJ Maxx or Ross and we go crazy.  Cheap-os.  We haven't even changed since our husbands were students.  Luckily we did find some great deals.  I even did a celebratory dance when I found the skinny jeans I wanted.  No, it was not Gangham Style.  I've learned I can't do that appropriately without a monkey mask.

 We found Rita's!  Another reason for high fives and celebratory dances.  This is the stuff dreams are made of.  So delicious and tastes just like Ohio.  Do you know what Ohio tastes like?  Well go to Rita's and your mind will be blown.  Totally blown.  So much so you will have to instagram that joint.

 We got some delicious pizza for dinner.  Kara told me she would share with me if I ordered what she wanted.  That girls got two babies gestating in her belly so I wasn't going to mess with her.  Luckily she ordered something delicious.  I also ordered a Diet Coke which I know was already naughty but the waitress brought me a suspiciously lighter colored drink and I was sure it wasn't the Diet Coke I ordered.  Unfortunately I am influenced very easily and Jessica told me I better taste it before I send it back.  So I gave it a little sip and it was one of those spit all over the faces of your friends kind of nasty moment.  Iced tea is an enemy to me and I will never drink of it's evil substance again.  No worries with me on the Word of Wisdom front.

 Oh I just love these girls.  It really was so wonderful to get away for a few days and just laugh, shop and be with some of my very favorite women.  They are all such wonderful mothers and wives and I leave wanting to be more like them and being inspired by their example.  I am not sure of what kind of example I am to them, but I can assure you that because of me they will forever know that no matter how bad it gets, iced tea is never the answer.  And if I can give them at least that, well, I have done my job.

 Okay, okay coffee isn't that answer either.  Luckily our cups were filled with delicious steamers and hot chocolate.  And I know they were all delicious because I insisted on trying all of them.  That's what you do when you are on a girls' trip.  You have to share.

Oh thank you to all the husbands for allowing this to happen.  I know it isn't easy to do our job. So I appreciate you doing it so we could continue to be such close friends even though distance keeps us further apart than we would like.  Except Kara, thankfully we wizened up and lived close to each other.  I came home so anxious to see my children, snuggle/smell my little baby Lily and see my husband.  It was just what I needed.  I feel so blessed to have these women as my friends.  They are the once in a lifetime kind.