Viva Las Vegas

Spring Break is finally here!!! The bad news is, I woke up Saturday morning running a fever of 101 when we were planning on leaving for Vegas at 6AM. I had the worst sore throat, a fever, body aches and two ear aches. I felt miserable. We tried to cancel our show tickets to Lion King, but they were non-exchangeable and non-refundable. So plan B was to go to InstaCare and get checked out. I hoped I could get some meds and feel better within 24 hours. We were first in line, with our bags packed in the car. The doc tested me for strep, which was negative. He said I had a virus that was going around that would leave me with a wicked sore throat for 4-5 days. He told me to go to Vegas, but don't party too hard. And to be careful because I would be contagious for several days. So I loaded up on cold meds and IB profin and off we went!

We got to Vegas later than planned due to the doc visit, but I got a chance to hang out and go shopping with my sister in law while Mike played in the desert with his brother Steve. Then we got dressed up and went to our first MAJOR show... The Lion King. And we didn't just get ANY ol seats... front row seats!!

We loved the show! I got choked up in a couple of places in the show because it was so amazing!! I definitely want to see more major productions!

We stayed at my sister-in-law Sabrina's house that night, and I was super sad I couldn't play with her adorable girls because I was so sick. We made a couple of quick visits Sunday morning to see my close friend Kim and her two boys. Again, I was sad because I couldn't play or get too close. But Mikey had some fun with them! We also stopped by and spent some time with Steve and Kjerstin. We decided not to go to church and spread my germs, so we were thinking of something to do to waste time until we could check in to our hotel.
So we headed to Lake Las Vegas and invited my bff Melissa to join us. She's always up for a random good time, and she had never been to Lake Las Vegas! We walked around the quiet lake for a while, then saw these cute little paddle boats! We decided to take one out on the lake. It was so fun and so beautiful!



Mike and I go to Vegas frequently, but we have never stayed in a hotel. This time, I surprised Mike by booking us two nights in the Excalibur hotel. Even though I booked our hotel weeks ahead of time, they filled up fast. When we checked in, they said they only had two non-smoking rooms left... and they were upgrades. Not a problem for us! We got a strip-view hotel with a big screen t.v. It was pretty sweet!
Here was the great view from our hotel.
The next day I woke up feeling pretty awful, but I was determined not to let my virus ruin my true Vegas experience. We usually don't play on the strip either, so today was Vegas day. We were going to be true Vegas tourists. Mikes best friend Dennis drove a couple of hours to meet us in Vegas to play. We love Dennis. When I first started hanging out with Mike, it was always me, Mike and Dennis. We were the three musketeers. It was fun to be back together again doing random and fun things. The first of which was definitely random. Meet Kotton Kandy:

W.O.W. There are not words. But this beauty is a piece of Vegas art. With his outbursts of BAM and cheerleader like moves, I was entranced. I love people watching, but this beauty truly had my attention. I really could not stop laughing. He loved me too. He even made up a Salt Lake City cheer for me, that you might just get to see if you keep reading this long blog post.
I also met Elvis. He spent a lot of time on his phone, but as soon as he hung up, I handed him a buck and snagged a pic!
And many of my close friends know I LOVE Michael Jackson!!! As you can imagine, I was in heaven when I saw TWO MJ's doing the moon walk in unison. Definitely a picture worthy moment.
We went to Coca Cola world where there was this huge Coca Cola bear. I loved him. Seriously loved him. His eyes blinked, his mouth opened and closed. He was legit. And he even winked at me and blew me a kiss. We had something special. And then he bit Mike's head.
The three of us got Coke Floats which were delicious. Well, Dennis got Mr. Pibb. Always has to be different.
We then wandered over to M&M World and watched the 3-D movie. That was fun!
We finally headed back to the hotel for some lovely pool time. I could have lived here. For days. It was 80 degrees and beautiful. Mike and Dennis left to play in the arcade after a while, but I insisted on staying and catching some rays.

Later that night, we hit the strip again. Can't go to Vegas without visiting the conservatory in the Belagio! This one was a summery fair theme with a merry-go-round and a giant ferris wheel.

To end the night we went over to the Cosmopolitan and new City Center. A-maz-ing. I felt like I was in a movie hanging out in those hotels. Everything was so glamorous. In the Cosmopolitan there was this cool upper floor where you could play dominoes, scrabble or pool. We messed around for a little and had some fun.

There were these crazy comfy purple suede couches with these vintage telephones. I couldn't resist.
There were also giant high heel shoes!!! Of course I had to climb in, as soon as the security guards went their separate ways :)

We had a great time visiting friends and family, but mostly just having fun. This trip was about me and Mike. We're always worrying about making sure we visit everyone, see particular things, and try and divide up our time among friends and family evenly. We tried to do that to a certain extent, but this time we were on vacation. It was about us. And we had an amazing time, despite my illness. Viva Las Vegas!!
Unfortunately, fun couldn't last. I woke up the next morning running 103 temp and couldn't move. We checked out quickly and rushed to St. George where they would accept my insurance. I saw another doctor at InstaCare who said I had a double ear infection. He gave me a prescription and I suffered the rest of the way home. I'm glad that I wasn't too sick to enjoy myself while I was in Vegas, and that my illness waited to take over until we were headed home. And luckily I had something else to look forward to... a puppy!!!

And now for some Kotton Kandy: